1 Samuel 1:1–28 The Birth of Samuel

[Study Aired January 5, 2026]

Today’s study focuses on the two wives of Elkanah – Peninnah and Hannah. The study goes into details about Hannah’s struggle with her barrenness, which was ordained by the Lord, and Peninnah’s endless torment of Hannah to make her miserable. In Hannah’s desperation, she made a vow to the Lord that if the Lord will give her a man-child, then she will give him to the Lord as long as he lives. The Lord answered Hannah’s prayer as she gave birth to a boy called Samuel, who was eventually given to the Lord to work under Eli, the High Priest. 

As we are aware, it is the spirit that gives life, the flesh or the letter, profits nothing. In this study of the Book of Samuel, we shall look at the spiritual significance and not focus on the stories which will not benefit us.

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

Introducing Hannah

1Sa 1:1  And there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim from the hills of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 
1Sa 1:2 And he had two wives, the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the second, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 

Elkanah means ‘God has possessed.’ He was an Ephrathite who lived with His two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. As we are aware, a woman represents a church, either positively or negatively.  The fact that Peninnah had many children while Hannah was barren means that Peninnah represents the church system of this world or Babylon or Jerusalem which has many children but is in bondage with her children. In other words, the church system of this world has many members while the church of the firstborn or the Lord’s elect has few people.

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

The name Peninnah suggests the kind of woman she signifies. Peninnah means ‘coral’ which is a hard stony substance secreted by certain marine creatures in the sea. In simple terms, Peninnah represents the woman dominated by the sea of flesh (hard stony substances from the sea) which cannot submit to the Lord. 

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

On the other hand, Hannah symbolizes the church of the Lord’s elect or Jerusalem which is above. Her barrenness was ordained by the Lord to show us how His church must be barren in this age, until the lake of fire age, when His elect as saviors shall bring salvation to the whole of the human race from Adam to date. 

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.   

The name Hannah means grace, and we know that it is by grace through faith that we are saved. Every elect knows that our salvation is not by our own selves. It is the work of the Lord.

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

1Sa 1:3  And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
1Sa 1:4  And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 
1Sa 1:5  But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 

Shiloh means ‘rest’, and therefore the Lord of hosts being at Shiloh signifies that knowing Jesus entails being at rest in Him. 

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

However, when we are operating under the law of Moses, we find no rest in the Lord, because being under the law of Moses is about trying to obey the laws by ourselves. This brings about frustration because we end up failing to obey. 

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

Elkanah’s religious adherence to the yearly worship and sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh together with his wives, signifies that the church of the Lord’s elect, together with the church system of this world all start their walk with the Lord with the law of Moses, which does not bring us the way of peace or rest. 

Isa 59:8  The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
Isa 59:9  Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 
Isa 59:10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 

The mention of Hophni and Phinehas as priests of the Lord at that time in Shiloh is to make us aware of the deplorable state of the leaders of the church system of this world into which we were ushered at the beginning of our walk with Christ. This is what the word of the Lord says about Hophni and Phinehas, who were sons of Eli, the high priest:

1Sa 2:12  Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 

1Sa 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. 

According to Strong, the sons of Eli being referred to as sons of Belial is to show us their deplorable state as they epitomize wickedness. One of the principles of the word of the Lord is the ‘is, was, and will be’ nature. If at the time of Hannah, the leaders of the church system of her day were sons of wickedness, then it means that the situation today is the same, that is, evil men are in leadership. 

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 

Mic 3:11  Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. Your priests teach for a price. Your prophets tell the future for money. But they rely on the LORD when they say, “After all, the LORD is with us. Nothing bad will happen to us.”
Mic 3:12 Because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, and the temple mountain will become a worship site covered with trees. (GW)  

Jer 5:30  A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 
Jer 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? 

As we can see from verse 3 and 5 of I Samuel chapter 1 above, the Lord, represented here by Elkanah, in His wisdom has given to both the church system of this world represented by Peninnah and the church of the Lord’s elect something to offer to Him. 

Psa 116:12  What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? 
Psa 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. 

However, as we can see in verse 5, the Lord always gives His elect a worthy portion to offer because He loves His elect.  

Jer 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 
Jer 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

In spite of the Lord’s love for the church of the firstborn or of His elect, He has shut her womb. This is signified by Hannah not able to give birth despite the love that the husband Elkanah had for her.

Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

1Sa 1:6  And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. 
1Sa 1:7  And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 
1Sa 1:8  Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? 

What happened to Hannah is the same that is happening to the church of the elect in every generation. To our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world, we are barren, and therefore, the established church system of this world or Babylon is always provoking us sorely. They do not know that the Lord’s plan entails having few people as His elect in this age as saviors for the whole of humanity. 

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

This brings to mind the three hundred men who were chosen by Gideon to engage the Midianites in a battle. To a carnal man, they are too few or barren compared with the total army strength of thirty-two thousand men who initially assembled to take on the Midianites. 

Jdg 7:2  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Jdg 7:3  Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. 
Jdg 7:4  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 
Jdg 7:5  So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 
Jdg 7:6  And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 
Jdg 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. 

It is insightful to note in verse 8 that Elkanah was doing everything possible to comfort Hannah and letting her know that having him as a husband is better than ten sons. The Lord is always with us, comforting and urging us on and letting us know that when we have Him, He is more than ten sons. In other words, when we have Him as our husband, He is more than having all fleshly men (the significance of ten men) on our side. Do you feel that you are alone in all your struggles? No, you are not alone! You have Jesus and an innumerable company of angels on your side. Here is what the word of the Lord says about this:

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 

The Birth of Samuel

1Sa 1:9  So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD
1Sa 1:10  And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
1Sa 1:11  And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 

When we are under the judgment of the Lord, we are in bitterness of soul, and our recourse is to pray to the Lord who is able to make a way of escape with the purpose of making us able to bear it. 

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

There is nothing wrong in weeping when we are under the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh. However, the Lord has assured us that after weeping comes joy in the morning. 

Psa 30:2  O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 
Psa 30:3  O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 
Psa 30:4  Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psa 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Psa 30:11  Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 
Psa 30:12  To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.  

In verse 11, we see the purpose of the church of the Lord’s elect, represented here by Hannah’s promise that if she gives birth to a man child, she will wholly dedicate him to the Lord. The church’s purpose is to bring forth a man-child dedicated wholly to the Lord. We can say in a negative sense that since Hannah was under the law of Moses, she can signify the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, who travailed in birth and brought forth a man child who was caught up to God.

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 
Rev 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

1Sa 1:12  And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. 
1Sa 1:13  Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 
1Sa 1:14  And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. 
1Sa 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
1Sa 1:16  Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

As Hannah continued to groan before the Lord, Eli, who represents the leadership of the church system of this world, thought she was drunk. Indeed, our brothers and sisters think that there is something wrong with us, just as on the day of Pentecost, the church system of the disciples’ days thought that the disciples were drunk. 

Psa 38:9  Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

Psa 102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;

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

Act 2:12  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 
Act 2:13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 

1Sa 1:17  Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 
1Sa 1:18  And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 

Our petition before the Lord shall not go unanswered. These are some of the assuring words that the Lord has given to us to wait in expectation:

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.

Isa 65:23  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 
Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Verse 18 shows us that after Hannah had prayed to the Lord, she went her way and did eat, after which her countenance was no more sad. This is another way of saying the following:

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1Sa 1:19  And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. 
1Sa 1:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

It takes the Lord’s remembrance for things to happen. Our efforts are in vain without the Lord’s remembrance. This does not mean that the Lord forgets. It is a biblical expression to show us that when the set time comes according to the Lord’s agenda, He performs it.

Psa 98:3  He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Psa 105:8  He hath remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

Psa 105:42  For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.

Hannah’s pregnancy and everything that pertains to the birth of Samuel are all written in the Lord’s Books. In other words, the Lord has written everything we will do in this life before we were born.

Psa 139:15  Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, 
Psa 139:16 but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do. (CEV)

Therefore, when we find ourselves in difficult situations with no way of escape, we must remember that what we are going through is all written in His book, and therefore, at the right time, the Lord will intervene in our circumstance and bring us to an expected end. He will never leave us alone!

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

There are times that I go through certain situations when I wonder whether all of these were written in His books concerning me. Then it will dawn on me that all these are written and therefore the solutions to all these challenges are also written concerning me. That is when I come to realize that whatever situation I find myself in, it shall not hold me back from the love of the Lord.  

Samuel Given to the Lord

1Sa 1:21  And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 
1Sa 1:22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide forever. 

Hannah did not go to offer the yearly sacrifice and her vows because she wanted the child to be weaned and presented to the Lord as a mature young boy so that he would abide in the Lord’s presence forever. The focus of the church of the Lord’s elect is therefore to prepare God’s people to mature so that we shall abide permanently in the house of the Lord. This preparation involves helping the Lord’s people to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil and knowing that His rod and staff are comforting us. Being mature also entails seeing the goodness and mercy of the Lord which will make us dwell in the house of the Lord forever!!

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

1Sa 1:23  And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

The Lord has already shown what is good to us, that is, the church must focus on the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry and edifying of the body of Christ so that we all come in the unity of the faith. In other words, the church must wean the babies in Christ. That is what the Lord, through Elkanah, was telling the church, represented by Hannah. 

Mic 6:8  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 

1Sa 1:24  And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. 
1Sa 1:25  And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 
1Sa 1:26  And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. 
1Sa 1:27  For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: 
1Sa 1:28  Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

In the Old Testament time, those who offered a bullock or ox as sacrifice to the Lord were regarded as very rich. 

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

Hannah offering three bullocks therefore implies that it is through the process of spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgment that the church of the Lord’s elect becomes spiritually rich. Offering three bullocks, an ephah of flour and a bottle of wine implies that the church of the firstborn is spiritually rich in the knowledge of the truth of the word of the Lord, as flour and wine are all symbols of the word of the Lord. 

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

In these verses, Eli represents the Lord. Leaving Samuel under the care of Eli as long as he lives is the same as having lent Samuel to the Lord. According to Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB), lent can mean to borrow. This shows that Samuel being lent to the Lord means borrowing from the Lord. Samuel here signifies the elect, and therefore Samuel being lent to the Lord means that we, His elect, are debtors to the Lord. As the parable of the unforgiving servant suggests, we are all debtors to Christ because of sins. By the death of Christ, we are set free from being debtors because of sin. However, as the word of the Lord shows us, we are still debtors, but in this case, it is in regard to putting to death the evil deeds of the flesh.

Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 

May the Lord help us to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Amen!

[Posted January 31, 2024]

The elders deliberated on whether Jephthah offered his daughter for a burnt offering or not. In the final analysis, the elders reached a consensus that Jephthah did not offer his daughter for a burnt offering but that the vow was in relation to her virginity. Now let’s take a look at the verses of scripture about Jephthah’s vow and related events.

Jdg 11:29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 
Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 
Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 
Jdg 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
Jdg 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 
Jdg 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 
Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

From the account given, the vow Jephthah made was in relation to the virginity of his daughter since all Israel were aware of the abomination of a human sacrifice, and therefore, he could not have said that whosoever comes out of his house shall be offered for a burnt offering. We know that animals do not come out to welcome people and so Jephthah was aware that it was a human being who would come out to welcome him. A human sacrifice was therefore not on his mind since it was an abomination in Israel. Apart from this, a burnt offering must be offered with assistance from a priest, and no priest would consider carrying out this abomination. The King James version of the Bible gave a poor rendition of verse 30 by saying that whatever comes out of Jephthah’s house to meet him shall be offered as a burnt offering.

Jdg 11:31  then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

The original manuscript does not have the underlined words. This implies that Jephthah was going to dedicate whatever comes out of his house to the Lord and after that offer a burnt offering to the Lord.

Another proof that Jephthah did not offer his daughter as a burnt offering can be gleaned from the response of the daughters of Israel as they made it a custom to celebrate Jephthah’s daughter four days in a year. If what took place was a human sacrifice, which was an abomination, the daughters of Israel would not even dream of having it as a custom.

Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Again, King James’ use of the word “lament” in verse 40 is misleading as it suggests that the custom was about weeping for this unfortunate incident – human sacrifice. However, there are fewer versions of the Bible that use the word “celebrate” instead of lament. The celebration was for the daughter’s decision to remain chaste or virgin for the Lord.

Jdg 11:40  that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. (ASV)

Jdg 11:40  that for four days every year the girls in Israel would go out to sing the praises of the daughter of Jephthah, the man from Gilead. (GW)

All the elders came to the consensus that Jephthah did not offer a human sacrifice of his daughter but that the daughter was dedicated to the Lord, which necessitated that she remain a virgin for the rest of her life. In addition to devoting her daughter wholly to the Lord, additionally he offered a burnt offering. 

Numbers 30:1-16  The Command to Honor our Vows

[Study Aired December 4, 2023]

Num 30:1  And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded. 
Num 30:2  If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. 
Num 30:3  If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth;
Num 30:4  And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
Num 30:5  But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 
Num 30:6  And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; 
Num 30:7  And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 
Num 30:8  But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her. 
Num 30:9  But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. 
Num 30:10  And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; 
Num 30:11  And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 
Num 30:12  But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. 
Num 30:13  Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 
Num 30:14  But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
Num 30:15  But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.
Num 30:16  These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.

Introduction

Today’s study is devoted entirely to vows. A vow is used in the Bible as a promise made to God to perform some deed as well as for a prohibition which a person imposes upon himself to abstain from something which is otherwise permitted. It was not part of the law of Moses, but the law came to regulate its practice. Vows were regarded as a voluntary act but once a vow is made, it becomes compulsory.

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

The first time a vow appeared in the Bible was when Jacob had an encounter with the Lord in a dream, when he was running away from his brother, Esau.  

Gen 28:20  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
Gen 28:21  So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

This first-time mention of a vow shows us its significance. Jacob had deceived his father and obtained the blessings that were due Esau instead. When Esau came to this realization, he wanted to kill Jacob. Jacob was therefore very apprehensive as he realized his helplessness in protecting himself and therefore ran away from his brother. It was at this point that the Lord appeared to him in a dream to assure him of His protection and to bring him to an expected end. 

Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 
Gen 28:16  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Gen 28:18  And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 
Gen 28:19  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 

When Jacob realized the Lord was with him and that He would continue to be with him to bring him to an expected end, it was then that Jacob, out of his appreciation of what the Lord had said He would do, vowed a vow. The principle here is that it is the Lord who always takes the initiative to come to us, and when we realize this, we naturally want to offer something back to the Lord. However, we do not realize that we do not have what it takes to fulfill a vow. The law therefore has to come in to show us that we cannot fulfill a vow on our own.

1Jn 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us.

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Rom 7:8  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

There are two instances in the Bible where those who vowed were depending on the Lord’s mercies in order for them to give back to the Lord. The first one relates to the birth of Samuel. Hannah came to the realization, just like Jacob, that without the Lord’s intervention, there was no way what she expected could happen – that is, to conceive and give birth. Therefore, she vowed a vow that if the Lord would give her a man child, she would dedicate him back to the Lord.

1Sa 1:9  So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. 
1Sa 1:10  And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 
1Sa 1:11  And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Through the Lord’s mercies, she gave birth to a son (Samuel), and she wholly gave him to the Lord’s service. 

Another example was that of Jephthah, who was the son of a harlot and therefore, an outcast. Jephthah knew there was no way he could ever become a king. Thus, when the elders of Gilead made him their head and expected him to overcome the Ammonites on their behalf, Jephthah knew that it was of the Lord and therefore he vowed a vow that if the Lord would grant him victory, then he shall sacrifice the first person to come out of his house when he comes home in victory. 

Jdg 11:1  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 
Jdg 11:2  And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. 
Jdg 11:3  Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. 
Jdg 11:4  And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
Jdg 11:5  And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: 

Jdg 11:9  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 
Jdg 11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
Jdg 11:11  Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.

Jdg 11:29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 

Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 
Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 
Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

Jephthah means “he opens.” It is indeed God who, when He opens, no one can shut. As our Father, God has made a vow to redeem us from our enemies by offering as a sacrifice whatever comes out of His creation (house) first. 

Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

In this context, it is the daughter who came out of the house of Jephthah first, and she was the only offspring of Jephthah. What we need to understand is that in the scriptures, the spirit behind the words is more important than the details. We know from the scriptures that in Christ (in the word) there is neither male nor female. So, the daughter here first represents our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only begotten of the Father and was sacrificed on our behalf so we can have the victory.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

This daughter also represents the church of the first born or New Jerusalem. We are the first to come out of our Father’s house to appreciate the victory that our Lord Jesus (Jephthah) has wrought on our behalf.  Remember that Jesus Christ is also called our Father in the scriptures. Because Jesus won the victory over his flesh (the Ammonites) during His time on earth, we, too, can win the victory over our flesh. 

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Like the daughter of Jephthah, we, too, are the first to come out to celebrate the victory of Christ in our lives with timbrels and with dances. Coming out with timbrels and dancing is the same as being of good cheer because our Father Lord Jesus has overcome the world for us. It also means we must praise the Lord for His wonderful works of deliverance towards us.

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

Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Coming back to the principle behind a vow, we can see that it is when the Lord has shown mercy to us that we want to offer something back to the Lord. However, because of the frailty or weakness of our flesh, we do not realize that we do not have what it takes to give back anything to the Lord. That is when the law of Moses comes in. As we know, the law was to show us that we cannot on our own please the Lord. The fact that the law of Moses regulated the practice of a vow is therefore to show us that it was because of abuses of a vow that the law came in to set things straight and to make it obvious to us that of our own, we cannot fulfill a vow. When Jesus, the reformer, came on the scene, one of the first things he did was to come up with a new law of the spirit which negates this whole issue about vows.

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 
Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 
Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Since we are therefore not under the law but are operating under the law of the spirit of life, which sets us free from the law of sin and death (the law of Moses), we are not required to make a vow. All we have to do is that our yes must be yes, and our no must be no. One may then ask why Paul undertook a vow and that of the zealous four men of the church in Jerusalem in the New Testament dispensation? 

Act 18:18  And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. 

The recent studies in the Book of Acts have shown us that it took a long time for the church to see that the law of Moses was only our schoolmaster until faith came. Now when faith comes, we are no longer under the law. Thus, the church was erroneously practicing the law of Moses while they were under the law of the spirit of life. That explains why Paul and the four men took a vow. However, under the law of Christ, we are not to vow.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 

As indicated, the essence of a vow is to show our gratitude to the Lord in view of His mercies towards us. However, because of the weakness of our flesh, it is impossible for us to fulfill a vow. The coming of Christ therefore opened a new way where we can offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord as He enables us. 

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

Men and Vows

Num 30:1  And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.
Num 30:2  If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

As indicated earlier, the need to regulate vows may have been the result of abuses of vows. The law came in to show us our inability to please the Lord on our own. When we come to see that, then the law has done its work.

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Verse 2 enjoins us to be careful with what comes out of our mouth. Knowing that we do not have the capacity to fulfill a vow, our yes must be yes, and our no be no.

Women and Vows

Num 30:3  If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth;
Num 30:4  And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 
Num 30:5  But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 

As we are aware, a woman represents the church. The woman in her youth signifies the formative years of the church before the coming of Christ when the law was her schoolmaster. In other words, when we started our walk with Christ, we made a lot of promises to the Lord (vows) which our Lord Jesus Christ heard. However, since the Lord had not come into our lives with the Spirit of His mouth, that is, our father holding His peace, these promises were binding. In the fullness of time, when the Lord comes to us, that is, disallows us in the day he hears, then all our vows or promises are no longer binding. In other words, the written codes that were against us were all done away with in Christ.

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:   

Col 2:13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 
Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 
Col 2:15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 

Num 30:6  And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; 
Num 30:7  And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
Num 30:8  But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.

These verses are the same as the 3-5 verses except that in this case, Christ is our husband. As indicated, before Christ came to us with the Spirit of His mouth, the law was binding on us as a result of our promises to the Lord.  However, with the Lord’s coming with His brightness, we are set free from all that has held us in bondage. 

Verses 6 to 8 also show us the authority the Lord has given to a husband over his wife just as He has authority over us.

Eph 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 
Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Num 30:9  But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. 
Num 30:10  And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; 
Num 30:11  And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 
Num 30:12  But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.

A widow or a divorcee has no husband, and therefore any vow made is binding. When we were in Babylon and played the harlot, we were technically widows or divorcees since we had thrown away the authority of Christ in our lives as we did whatever we like. Our vows were therefore binding since we had no husband. During this time of our walk in Babylon, we made a lot of promises to the Lord, such as, “I will serve you all my life”, “My whole life is dedicated to you”, etc. However, with the coming of Christ in our lives, He canceled everything that was against us.

Jer 3:6  The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? 
Jer 3:7  And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 
Jer 3:8  She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. 
Jer 3:9  Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 
Jer 3:10  Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.” 

The verses also tell us that during the beginning of our walk with the Lord before we went astray, if the Lord hears our vows and denounced them, then we are free. Indeed, the Lord canceled all that was negatively affecting us. 

Num 30:13  Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 
Num 30:14  But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
Num 30:15  But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. 
Num 30:16  These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house. 

In these verses, we are given additional information in verse 15 that if the husband makes void his wife’s vow after he had heard it, then he shall bear her iniquity. It is the Lord who suffered on our behalf as He bore our iniquities.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 

Isa 53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

At this point, we cannot help but give thanks to the Lord for His wonderful work of salvation. He is with us all along the way no matter our current situation. Just remembered this song from the Book of Psalms:

Psa 24:7  Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 
Psa 24:8  Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 
Psa 24:9  Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 
Psa 24:10  Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

No matter our situation, let’s lift up our heads in anticipation of what our Lord will do in the final analysis. In these verses of Psalms, we, His elect, symbolize gates or everlasting doors since we are the gates or doors for all humanity to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is as we lift up our heads that the King of Glory shall come into our situation. Lifting up our heads is looking up to Him with great expectation that the Lord shall carry away or sweep away all that trouble us when the King of Glory comes in to address our situation!! 

May His name be praised!!! Amen!!  

Jdg 16:17-31 So Samson Killed More People in his Death Than in his Life

[Study Airs August 2, 2021]

Jdg 16:17  That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
Jdg 16:18  And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 
Jdg 16:19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 
Jdg 16:20  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 
Jdg 16:21  But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. 
Jdg 16:22  Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 
Jdg 16:23  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 
Jdg 16:24  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. 
Jdg 16:25  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
Jdg 16:26  And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 
Jdg 16:27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 
Jdg 16:28  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 
Jdg 16:29  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 
Jdg 16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. 
Jdg 16:31  Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. 

Today’s study is about Samson yielding to the incessant pressure of words from Delilah and the consequence of his actions. This is to affirm to us that whatever we sow, we reap. To the natural mind or our self-righteous nature, we may think that we may have done better than what Samson did as he was not faithful to his Nazarite vows and did not regard his election as a prize possession. However, we are not different from Samson. We, too, in our time in Babylon, were unfaithful, and we disregarded our calling in favor of pleasing the church instead of Christ. As the word of God says, what happened to the Old Testament people is typical of us and is written for our admonition.

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

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

Jdg 16:17  That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

As indicated in the previous review, the hair of a Nazarite is what separates him from other Israelites as far as God is concerned, and therefore cannot be cut. It is a sign of his separation or election which is the source of his strength. Samson revealing this source of strength to Delilah is the same as what Hezekiah did when he showed the treasures of his house to the Babylonians (Delilah).

2Ki 20:12  At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah. For he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
2Ki 20:13  And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion which Hezekiah did not show them.
2Ki 20:14  And Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say? And from where did they come to you? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country, from Babylon.
2Ki 20:15  And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures which I have not shown to them.
2Ki 20:16  And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the Word of Jehovah.
2Ki 20:17  Behold, the days come when all that is in your house, and which your fathers have laid up in store until today, shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says Jehovah.
2Ki 20:18  And of your sons which shall issue from you, which you shall father, they shall take away. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
2Ki 20:19  And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the Word of Jehovah which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good if peace and truth are in my days?

Verse 18 of 2 Kings chapter 18 says that we become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. This means our walk in Babylon is/was characterized as unproductive. Whatever we do in the churches of this world (Babylon) does not work since we think we are doing them by our own strength.

We all love to show our spiritual treasures or insight to our brothers and sisters in Babylon when we started to see and hear. However, Jesus warned us that we should not cast our pearls before swine for they end up tearing us apart. That was what happened to Samson.

Mat 7:6  Do not give that which is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and tear you.

Jdg 16:18  And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 

Our desire to please the church instead of Christ is taken advantage of by the church to enslave us to their delicacies. Our flesh, represented here by the Lords of the Philistines, therefore enslaves us to the pursuit of money, making us believe that gain is godliness. We therefore pierce ourselves with many sorrows through the pursuit of worldly mammon.

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness:  from such withdraw thyself.
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Jdg 16:19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 

It is through the church or Babylon that we are put to sleep, and as a result, we become spiritually dead!! Samson’s hair symbolizes his separation or election, and therefore the shaving off of the seven locks of his head means that his relationship with Christ was completely destroyed. Since our relationship with the Lord is our strength, the destruction of this relationship means that our strength had gone out from us while we were in Babylon.  Our miserable state in Babylon is described by several Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. Most of their writings describe our state in Babylon after our strength is taken away from us, just as Samson’s strength was gone after the seven locks of his hair were shaved. Let’s look at what these prophets tell us about our state in Babylon:

Jer 4:22  For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Jer 4:23  I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Jer 4:24  I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25  I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26  I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
Jer 4:27  For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
Jer 4:28  For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

Isa 3:8  For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
Isa 3:9  The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Isa 3:12  As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Jdg 16:20  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 

In Babylon, we think we have the strength to obey the Lord and do whatever we want, but we have no inkling that our Lord has departed from us.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Jdg 16:21  But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Samson’s inability to see his miserable state when he was overcome by the flesh (Philistines) in Babylon is shown by the fact that Samson’s eyes were removed, and he was bound with fetters of brass. Samson’s situation was not unique to him alone. We all go through periods where our eyes are removed and we are bound with fetters of brass, which talks of our bondage to sin. Throughout this period, we are tried or judged by the word of God. However, in the fullness of time, our Lord Jesus Christ sent and loosed us. This is clearly demonstrated by the life of Joseph.

Psa 105:17  He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant [sold to sin]:
Psa 105:18  Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron [Our walk was controlled by the flesh]:
Psa 105:19  Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him [Joseph was judged].
Psa 105:20  The king [our Lord Jesus] sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
Psa 105:21  He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

This period of Samson’s incarceration is the period of his judgment by the Lord with the view of conforming him to the image of Christ.

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

As we are aware, our forefathers in the Old Testament were typical of us, and so whatever happened to them is written for our admonition. We also are being judged in this life, just as Samson was judged in prison, so that we would learn righteousness.

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

Jdg 16:22  Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

If we are marked out as God’s elect, then in spite of whatever desperate situation we go through, our hair will start to grow again.  This means that we would begin to do things that conform to our election or separation as the judgment we go through would bring us to righteousness.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Inwardly, we would start seeing and hearing the word of God and would be given the power to obey, which would gradually bring us to conform to the image of His son Jesus.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

The experience that Samson went through is to tell us that we are marred in the hand of the potter before we are made into another vessel fit for the purpose of our Lord.

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

The vessel being marred in the hand of the potter means that all that happens to us is of the Lord. It is not in the hands of the devil that we are marred!! This should assure us that all we are going through is the process of making us into another vessel.

Jdg 16:23  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Jdg 16:24  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

Inwardly, the Philistines represent our flesh, and outwardly they represent Babylon as they worship Dagon, their god, which is another Jesus. When we are under the influence of the flesh, we worship another Jesus, and we invest a lot in praise and worship of our Lord but do not submit to Him. It is good to praise the Lord as fruit of the lips as we appreciate what the Lord has done for us, but there is a higher form of worship which is offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him.

Our spiritual form of worship is not conforming to the standards of this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In Babylon, our worship only pertains to the fruit of the lips in which we invest all our energies but disregard the spiritual form of worship, which involves not conforming to the world and being transformed by our renewed minds which comes as our eyes begin to see and our ears hear!!

Heb 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

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

The way the Philistines were rejoicing over what their god Dagon had done in delivering Samson to them reminds me of when the Israelites rejoiced when the ark of the covenant was brought in their midst when defeat was staring them in their faces as they engaged in battle with the Philistines.

1Sa 4:2  And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
1Sa 4:3  And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
1Sa 4:4  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1Sa 4:5  And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

In Babylon, we do not have the presence of mind to think that our Lord has departed and that the God we are worshiping, which is represented by the ark carried by Hophni and Phinehas, is another Jesus. As we are aware, Hophni and Phinehas were very evil priests (1Sa 2:12-17). This means that those who led us (the priests) in Babylon were carrying another Jesus to us. We praise and worship this other Jesus (ark) thinking that it would save us. To the carnal mind or our fleshly mind, the sound of our praise and worship assures us that God is indeed with us. This was what happened to the Philistines (our flesh) when they heard the noise of their worship:

1Sa 4:6  And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
1Sa 4:7  And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
1Sa 4:8  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

Jdg 16:25  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. 
Jdg 16:26  And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 
Jdg 16:27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 

Our flesh likes to do or watch sports as a way of venting the pressures of everyday life. This is not to say that sports are carnal or bad. No! I enjoy watching sports as I’m currently watching the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. I do play tennis also to keep fit. As Paul said, sport is good, but is only a very temporal relief, but our focus must be on the goal of godliness.

1Ti 4:8  For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Our feasts in Babylon are all characterized by the old leaven of malice and wickedness. As indicated by Peter and Jude, we counted it pleasure to riot in the day time as we feast in Babylon.

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

Jud 1:12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

The pillars that held the house in which Samson was set represent the weak and beggarly elements which are the principles of the world that govern Babylon. These weak and beggarly elements include free will; observance of days, months, times and years; the trinity of God; everlasting punishment in hell, etc.  These pillars or foundations are only brought down in our lives as we die to the old man and his doctrines.

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

The three thousand men and women of the Philistines mentioned as the number of those feasting signify the fact that it is through judgment that the pillars holding Babylonian doctrines together in our lives are brought down. That is when the power of death is destroyed in our lives, and we can be presented to God as holy and blameless.

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

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

Samson being led by a lad means that when we were/are in Babylon, we are led or ruled by children who do not know what they are about. The children here are those who have just started their walk with the Lord but are carnal. These children lead us to err. The positive aspect of being led by a lad is that this evil experience will finally lead us to the identification and destruction of these pillars that hold Babylon together in our lives.

Isa 3:4  And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

Isa 3:8  For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

Isa 3:12  As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 

Ecc 10:16  Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 
Ecc 10:17  Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Jdg 16:28  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

Samson’s prayer suggests that our blindness is due to our flesh (Philistines) or our carnal nature. Samson praying for strength to defeat the Philistines means that he had come to the realization that he had no strength anymore and must depend on God for victory over the flesh.  Our evil experiences in Babylon are all designed by the Lord to humble us.  This humbling is to bring us to the realization that of ourselves, we can do nothing and that we must depend on God totally for everything. Being unable to do anything even includes the evil that we do. We have to be strengthened to even do evil. It is when we come to this realization that we become strengthened to win the war against the flesh!!

Ecc 1:13  And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail [evil experience] hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith [humble us].

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

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

Jdg 16:29  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 

Jdg 16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Samson saying that he wants to die with the Philistines means that we must die to the flesh or the old man with all its doctrines. That is what being an overcomer is about. In the eyes of the Lord, it is not what we do but what we are becoming that is most significant.  If we lose sight of this, we would be like those who would ask the Lord, “Have we not prophesied in thy name and done many wonderful works?” That is when we shall be told that we are not known by the Lord.

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.

This is not a one-time death of the flesh as the story suggests. We must know that the sum of God’s words says that dying to the flesh, or the old man, is a process that lasts a lifetime.

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

The great city being divided into three parts means that our judgment which brings about the death of our flesh is a process. It is when we die to the flesh that we become productive in the service of our Lord as shown by the statement that the death of Samson resulted in more Philistine deaths than when he was alive. It is during this process of dying to the flesh that our Lord calls us to arise and shine as our light has come. Our light coming is when we are given to see and to hear.

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Isa 60:2  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
Isa 60:3  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Isa 60:4  Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

Jdg 16:31  Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

The burial of Samson by his brethren and all the house of his father is to let us know that our brothers and sisters have a role to play in the death of our old man or the flesh. It is through what every joint supplies that precipitates the death of our old man.

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Burying Samson between Zorah and Eshtaol is significant. According to Strong, Zorah means a type of wasp called a hornet. In the scriptures, there are only two places that the word “hornet” are used, and it was in relation to the defeat of the enemies of Israel as follows:

Deu 7:20   Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

Jos 24:12  And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

The name “Eshtaol” means to enquire, pray or request, and the name Manoah means rest. So what we are being told is that as we find rest in our Lord, our request to defeat our enemies or the old man is accomplished.

In our previous review, we have explained what the twenty-year rule by Samson entails. For easy reference, it is reproduced as follows:

In the scriptures, the number twenty signifies the beginning of maturity, as we are now ready to become enlisted in the Lord’s army to war against the enemies of our land.

Num 1:20  And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Num 1:22  Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Based on these scriptures, we can say that the twenty-year rule of the Israelites under Samson is a period in our lives that we are dominated by the flesh (Philistines), but we are gradually becoming mature in the things of God as a result of the sunlight (Samson) or the light of the glorious gospel we are receiving from the Lord. This beginning of maturity pertains to recognizing our appalling situation and beginning to rely on the Lord, through His words, to begin the cleansing process in our heavens which results in the gradual death of our flesh or the old man.

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.

Jdg 16:1-16 Samson saw a Harlot and Went in Unto Her

[Study Aired July 26, 2021]

Jdg 16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. 
Jdg 16:2  And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. 
Jdg 16:3  And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. 
Jdg 16:4  And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 
Jdg 16:5  And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. 
Jdg 16:6  And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 
Jdg 16:7  And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 
Jdg 16:8  Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 
Jdg 16:9  Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. 
Jdg 16:10  And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. 
Jdg 16:11  And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 
Jdg 16:12  Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. 
Jdg 16:13  And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. 
Jdg 16:14  And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 
Jdg 16:15  And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 
Jdg 16:16  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 

Chapter 16 of Judges tells us about how we end up becoming impoverished in Babylon.  We become blind as our eyes are removed. Thus, our ability to understand the word of God is taken away from us at the end of our Babylonian captivity. Our deplorable situation in Babylon is described in Psalm 137 as follows:

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?
Psa 137:5  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

We need to note that it is as we sit by the rivers of Babylon that we end up weeping when we remember our first love in Zion. The rivers here are the great swelling words of man’s wisdom which we receive during our time in Babylon. This is what makes us worse off at the end of our Babylonian journey.  Not being able to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land means we cannot please God when we are under the church system of this world (Babylon).

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.

Jdg 16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. 

Like Samson, who was taken in by a harlot, all of us become enchanted when we set our eyes on the harlot during the part of our walk with Christ when we are carnal. As indicated in our previous review, the disciples were also charmed by the harlot when they pointed Jesus to the beauty of the buildings of the temple in Jerusalem.

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.

Gaza means ‘strong’ according to Strong’s dictionary. So here we are being told that the attraction to this harlot which is Babylon is very strong and will definitely sweep us off our feet since our flesh dominates us (symbolized by the Philistines dominating the Israelites during that time).

Just as in the natural, where most men cannot resist the invitation of a very beautiful woman under the cover of darkness, so it in the spirit that when we are ruled by darkness, we just cannot resist the pull of the harlot woman.

Pro 7:9  In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
Pro 7:10  And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
Pro 7:11  (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Pro 7:12  Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
Pro 7:13  So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
Pro 7:14  I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
Pro 7:15  Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
Pro 7:16  I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
Pro 7:17  I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Pro 7:18  Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
Pro 7:19  For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
Pro 7:20  He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
Pro 7:21  With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
Pro 7:22  He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Pro 7:23  Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Pro 7:24  Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Pro 7:25  Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
Pro 7:26  For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

It is only when we are carried away in the spirit (our eyes begin to see and our ears begin to hear) that we come to see who this woman arrayed in purple and scarlet color really is – that is, she is a harlot, and we wonder with great admiration.

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.
Rev 17:7  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

Jdg 16:2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

These Gazites are men of Philistines who symbolically represent our flesh which dominates us during the dark periods of our lives. What we are being told here is that during our time in Babylon, when we were with the harlot, we did not see our flesh as the enemy as they lie in wait during the night of our lives. No wonder the church does not regard the flesh as the main enemy of our progress in Christ but rather focuses on the devil outside.

These Gazites decided to lie in wait until the morning comes when they planned to kill Samson. This means that it is when Christ begins to shine His lights on us (morning) that we see the pull of the flesh being so strong and dragging us to bondage again with the ultimate aim of spiritually putting us to death.

Rom 7:10  And the commandment [the revelation of Christ], which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death [judgment].
Rom 7:11  For sin [the flesh or the Gazites], taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me [the process of dying].
Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Jdg 16:3  And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. 

It is during our experience of evil in Babylon that the Lord comes to us to shine His glorious light on us. That is when we start our journey out of Babylon. Unfortunately, when leave Babylon, we carry a lot of garbage (doctrines forming idols of the heart) from Babylon, symbolized by the carrying of the doors of the gate of the city of Gaza by Samson on his shoulders to the top of the hill near Hebron. Hebron means ‘seat of association’ or ‘company’. So we can say that we carry these idols of the heart with us to the company of the saints or the gathering of the first born.

That was what happened to Jacob when the Lord shone His light on him to leave Babylon where he was serving under Laban. His wife Rachel stole the images that were her father’s. This means that Jacob’s flesh (wife) grasped at the idols in Babylon and would not let them go as they journeyed to Canaan.

Gen 31:17  Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
Gen 31:18  And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
Gen 31:19  And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

Gen 31:34  Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.

The dying of Rachel near Bethel therefore signified the dying of Jacob’s flesh with all the idols of the heart. Her dying near Bethel means that it is in the house of God (which is the meaning of Bethel) that we die to all that we have taken from Babylon. The death of Rachel was through childbirth, which was the judgment pronounced by the Lord upon Eve when she sinned in the Garden of Eden. So it is through judgment that we gradually let go of all that belongs to Babylon in us.

Gen 35:16  And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
Gen 35:17  And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
Gen 35:18  And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
Gen 35:19  And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

Gen 3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Jdg 16:4  And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 

When we are dominated by the flesh, we will always be attracted to the Jerusalem which is – that is Delilah. Samson’s attraction to Delilah was the result of being under the dominance of the Philistines which represent his flesh. The name Delilah means ‘languishing’ which is the same as deteriorating. So our time in Babylon is the period of our deterioration which is part of the experience of evil marked out for us as His elect. This deterioration is the result of the famine of the word of God, the sword and the noisome beast which rules us in Babylon. These are all part of the four sore judgments of God which we experience in Babylon.

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.

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

Jdg 16:5  And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Jdg 16:6  And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

The Lords of the Philistines represent an aspect of our old man who loves to bear the name of Christ but wants to wear his own clothes and eat his own food. This Babylon in us poses a strong opposition to our growth in Christ. These verses reveal to us that the experience of evil we face in Babylon is directed toward the destruction of our strengths so that we are destroyed by the flesh. According to the word of God, our strength comes from our relationship with the Lord. Thus, our experience of evil in Babylon is to destroy our relationship with Christ.

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Psa 28:7  The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

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

Isa 40:29  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

The fact that the Lords of the Philistines promised Delilah eleven hundred pieces of silver is to let us know that our motivation in Babylon pertains to what we eat, drink and wear.

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

In essence, what we aim at in Babylon is money, and our love for money is the root of all the evil we experience. We therefore pierce ourselves with many sorrows.

1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing intothis world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Jdg 16:7  And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 
Jdg 16:8  Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 
Jdg 16:9  Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

The deplorable situation in which we find ourselves in Babylon as we near the end of our experience of evil does not happen in a day. It is a gradual deterioration of our relationship with Christ as we go through Babylon. In a similar way, our growth in the knowledge of Christ is also a gradual process as shown in Ezekiel as follows:

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.
Eze 47:2  Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
Eze 47:3  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
Eze 47:4  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Eze 47:5  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

We are ensnared by the words of our mouth. In other words, in Babylon we get bounded by what we hear, and it does not happen all of a sudden – it is a process.

Pro 6:2  if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth,
Pro 6:3  then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.

Samson’s engagement with Delilah where he was bound on several occasions is an indication of what happens to us in Babylon. In verse 7 to 9 of Judges Chapter 16, we are told that Samson was bound by seven green withs which have not been dried. According to Strong, withs means overhanging ropes and by implication excess or exceeding. So what we are being told here is that in Babylon, we are bound completely by all that we hear from our leaders (Lords of the Philistines) who go beyond (exceed) what is written. The fact that the withs must not be dried means that there may be some water or nuggets of truth in what they say, but these truths are polluted by words which are beyond what is written.

1Co 4:6  I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.

Because we are not aware of our situation in relation to our flesh ruling us and the fact that we do have answers to some of our prayers, we think we are in good standing with God and are free from any bondage. Samson felt that way, too, especially when he is able to break his bonds. We all thought that we sit as a queen and shall never see suffering.

Rev 18:7  As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’

Jdg 16:10  And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
Jdg 16:11  And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 
Jdg 16:12  Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

The second level of binding by Delilah, and supported by the Philistines, relates to Samson being bound by new ropes which have never been used or tested. This binding by new ropes represents words that are spoken in Babylon that have not been tested by the words of God. Because we are not able to test the spirit to know if they are of God while we are in Babylon, we just accept whatever is spoken.  The consequence of this is that we imbibe lies which strengthen the idols of our hearts and make it difficult to know Christ. Thus, we are like Samson who is bound by new ropes.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Jdg 16:13  And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
Jdg 16:14  And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

The third way which destroys our relationship with Christ and makes us an easy prey for the enemy while in Babylon is when we do not value our election as a prized possession. The hair of a Nazarite is what separates him from other Israelites. It is therefore a sign of their separation or election. Thus, the hair of a Nazarite is sacred and is not something to be toyed with, but we see Samson making Delilah weave a web with his hair and fasten it with a pin.

Num 6:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:

Num 6:5  All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

Samson’s lack of recognition of the sacredness of his hair by allowing Delilah to toy with it means that Samson did not value his election.

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

We all did not appreciate our election while in Babylon, but God, in His great mercies, comes to us to turn us around to focus on the ultimate prize.

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

Jdg 16:15  And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
Jdg 16:16  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

Our time in Babylon is a period that we are overcome by the strange woman, represented here by Delilah who draws us to the path of hell, resulting in being slain by her. Being slain by her means we become spiritually dead – destroys our relationship with Christ who is the source of our strength!! That was what happened to Samson when he walked the path of Delilah.

Pro 2:16  To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Pro 2:17  Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Pro 2:18  For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Pro 2:19  None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

Pro 7:24  Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Pro 7:25  Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
Pro 7:26  For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
Pro 7:27  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Verse 15 and 16 focus on the words that are spoken by the harlot woman. Such words spoken by the harlot woman are like cancer that eats our resistance away and before we realize it, we are spiritually dead!! That was what happened to Samson. The incessant words of Delilah ate away his devotion to the Lord and became an easy prey for the enemy to slain him. That was what happened to us in Babylon. The incessant words of the church system destroy our relationship with Christ and therefore we become spiritually dead!!

Pro 5:1  My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Pro 5:2  That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Pro 5:5  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Pro 5:6  Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Pro 5:7  Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Pro 5:8  Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
Pro 5:9  Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Pro 5:10  Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

All these experiences of evil that we experience in Babylon are to bring us to a point where we are humbled as we come to realize that, indeed, we are the greatest sinners!! That is when our God of mercies comes into our lives to turn us around so that the mercies we have received will be administered to the whole of humanity in an age to come!!

Ecc 1:13  And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all which is done under the heavens. It is a sad task God has given to the sons of men to be humbled by it. (MKJV)

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

May our Lord help us all to be delivered from all that belongs to Babylon in us so we will be the administrators of His mercies to the human race at the fullness of time!! Amen!!

Jdg 11:23-40 And Jephthah Vowed a Vow unto the Lord

[Study Aired June 14, 2021]

Jdg 11:23  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 
Jdg 11:24  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. 
Jdg 11:25  And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them, 
Jdg 11:26  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? 
Jdg 11:27  Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:28  Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him. 
Jdg 11:29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 
Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 
Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 
Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 
Jdg 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 
Jdg 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 
Jdg 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 
Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. 

The first part of Judges Chapter 11 deals with how the Gileadites made Jephthah their leader to fight the Ammonites on their behalf. This is to assure us that if we win this war against the flesh, represented by the Ammonites, we shall reign with the Lord when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

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

The second part of Judges Chapter 11 has to do with how Jephthah won the war with the Ammonites and how his only daughter was sacrificed because of the vow he had made to the Lord.

Jdg 11:23  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 
Jdg 11:24  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. 

It is the Lord who fights our battles for us. As long as He is our Lord God, we only possess what He has given to us. This fight against the old man within is the Lord’s fight. The key to possessing what our Lord has prepared for us is being in Him or abiding in Him. How do we abide in Him? Abiding in Him is obeying His words. As long as we are in Him, we are victorious. Without Him, we can do nothing.

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

Jdg 11:25  And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
Jdg 11:26  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? 

In these verses, Jephthah posed a series of questions to the King of the Ammonites about why the Ammonites are now attacking Israel after several years of non-engagement. The answer to these questions is that at the start of our walk with Christ, we cannot engage the enemy within in a fight because we do not know even who our enemies are. The enemies within are therefore allowed to fallow for several years, signified by the three hundred years mentioned in verse 26. During this period, we are under the sway of the old man, or the flesh, and since we are not confronting them, there is peace between the old man and us. It is when our Lord comes to us that this peace between us is lost. Let’s hear what the Lord’s say about this:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

The Lord’s coming is when our eyes begin to open and our ears begin to hear. That is when the enemy within is brought to the fore, and it starts to contend with us to maintain its dominance over us. This fight is how to walk in the spirit, which means living by the word of God. That is the only way we can resist (fight) the enemy within which is the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Jdg 11:27  Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:28  Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

In order to fulfill the prophesy regarding this war with the Ammonites, it was imperative that God hardens the heart of the King of Ammonites just like how our God hardened the heart of Pharaoh to resist the release of the Israelites until God has performed His miracles in order for His name to be declared throughout the earth.

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.

In a similar vein, God hardens the flesh to resist it from conceding easily and to fight against us. The reason for strengthening the old man is the same as the purpose for hardening Pharaoh’s heart. That is, to show forth His power in us and to make His name known in everything that breathes within us.

Jdg 11:29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 

The Sprit of the Lord coming upon Jephthah is the same as our Lord opening our eyes to see and our ears to hear the word of God. That is when we are ready to start this fight against the enemy within, represented by the children of Ammon. As Jesus said, when the spirit comes, he will lead us into all truth – which in this particular case, is realizing who the enemy within is and engaging the enemy within in battle to overthrow his dominance in our lives.

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

Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

We see here that Jephthah made a vow to the Lord about what he would do for the Lord if he were granted victory. The question is, “Should we make a vow to the Lord?”  God does not desire us to make vows to Him because we have no idea what tomorrow brings.

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

What verses 30-31 are teaching us is that it is only God who can grant us victory over the flesh. Jephthah’s house in verse 31 symbolizes our bodies. So what these verses mean is that as God grants us victory over our old man or flesh, it is then that we can offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

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

From another spiritual perspective, we can see that it is only our Father God who can vow a vow because He only is capable of honoring His vow since He arranges everything and knows tomorrow. We can therefore say that Jephthah represents our Father God who swore by himself to assure us of victory against our old man by sacrificing the first to come out of his house (his creation), who is Christ our Lord. We therefore have this hope of salvation as an anchor that what He has started, He is able to finish!!  Let us lift our eyes from our present predicaments (judgments) knowing that He has vowed by Himself to defeat our enemies for us and to bless us!!

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

Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

Remember, that in verse 30 the spirit of the Lord took over Jephthah. It is the spirit which strengthened him to engage the Ammonites in a fight to defeat the enemy on his behalf. As indicated, the spirit is the word of God, and it is when our eyes are opening and our ears are hearing the word of God that we engage the enemy within in a fight to subdue it. This battle is the Lord’s. It is the Lord who fights our battle for us.  All we have to do is to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, for the enemies we see today, we shall see no more.

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

Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

As we stated earlier, Jephthah represents our Father God who has made a vow to redeem us from our enemies by offering as a sacrifice whatever comes out of his creation (house) first. In this context, it is the daughter who came out of the house of Jephthah first, and she was the only offspring of Jephthah. What we need to understand is that in the scriptures, the spirit behind the words is more important than the details. We know from the scriptures that in Christ (in the word) there is neither male nor female. So the daughter here first represents our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only begotten of the Father who was sacrificed on our behalf so we can have the victory.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

This daughter also represents the church of the first born or the New Jerusalem. We are the first to come out of our Father’s house to appreciate the victory that our Lord Jesus (Jephthah) has wrought on our behalf.  Remember that Jesus Christ is also called our Father in the scriptures. Because Jesus won the victory over his flesh (the Ammonites) during his time on earth, we too, can win the victory over our flesh.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Like the daughter of Jephthah, we too, are the first to come out to celebrate the victory of Christ in our lives with timbrels and with dances. Coming out with timbrels and dancing is the same as being of good cheer because our Father Lord Jesus has overcome the world for us. It also means we must praise the Lord for His wonderful works of deliverance towards us.

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

Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

This verse is to point out to us the pain our Father Jesus goes through when we are going through suffering as part of the sacrifice He has marked out for us. For we have a high priest who feels our pain. He really feels what we are going through.

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

For our brothers and sisters all over the world who are going through all kinds of pain, infirmities, etc., we are not alone in this fight of offering our lives as a living sacrifice. Just like the Hebrew young men who were thrown into fire to be burnt – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – there is always a fourth person (Jesus our Lord) who is with us in this fire of our affliction.

Dan 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Isa 43:1  But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 
Isa 43:2  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

The good news is that all what we are going through now in this life do not compare with the glory stored up for us.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

In verse 35, Jephthah told his daughter that he has opened his mouth to the Lord and cannot go back. Our Lord Jesus is telling us that to the church, his daughter, he has sworn he will deliver us from our enemies and cannot go back. What He has started, He is able to finish!!

Php 1:6: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally  finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Jdg 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 

This verse reminds me of what our Lord Jesus’ physical mother Mary said when she was told of Jesus’ birth. Despite the shame of being exposed as adulterous, she said, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” This was what the daughter of Jephthah also said, who first represents our Lord Jesus Christ and also the church of the first born. In other words, she despised the pain of being sacrificed for this victory over the Ammonites. Before this daughter of Jephthah was sacrificed, our Lord Jesus has already been sacrificed for our sake before the foundations of the world. Our Lord Jesus despised the shame and willingly endured the pain of being sacrificed at a tender age for our victory over the flesh.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Luk 1:38  And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Like a sheep led to the slaughter, our Lord Jesus never complained, like the daughter of Jephthah, but bore our sins for our victory.

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isa 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 
Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 
Isa 53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 

In spite of all the tribulation we are all going through now as part of our judgment, we should say just like Mary, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” This is what wins the war!! In this present age, we are also being offered as sacrifice, just like the daughter of Jephthah, to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in our flesh.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Here in verse 25, Paul said that the reason for his ministry was to fulfill the word of God. This is the same as saying like Mary, “Be it unto me according to thy word”.

Let’s hear what Paul has to say about this victory through sacrifice which our Lord Jesus went through first and is exemplified by the daughter of Jephthah:

1Co 4:9  For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
1Co 4:10  We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 
1Co 4:11  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
1Co 4:12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
1Co 4:13  Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

Going through all these, do you think our walk with Christ is this greasy grace which we learned during our walk with the Lord in Babylon? Absolutely Not!!

Jdg 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 
Jdg 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

Jephthah’s daughter’s request to go up and down the mountains to bewail her virginity was granted by his father. This tells us of Jesus stripping off the glory He had with the Father to come down to earth to bewail his virginity. Spiritually, virginity here signifies election. The number two means witness, and so the two months that Jephthah’s daughter asked is the period that our Lord Jesus walked on this earth to bear witness to the truth. Bewailing her virginity means taking up the cross because of His election.  So what these verses mean is that Jesus took up his cross of suffering while here on earth bearing witness to the truth.

Luk 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

The word of God says that as He is, so are we here on earth. We, too, like the daughter of Jephthah and our Lord Jesus Christ, must bewail our virginity for two months by taking up the cross and following our Lord Jesus in our lives here on earth as we bear witness to the truth.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Jdg 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

At the end of Jesus’ life here on earth, represented here by the two months, he returned to His Father after being sacrificed by bearing our sins on the cross. She knew no man in verse 39 here means that Jesus did not sin while here on earth. The statement in this verse, “And it was a custom in Israel” means that as Israel of God we are also to follow the example of Jesus by enduring suffering as part of filling up that which is left behind of the afflictions of Christ in the flesh and bearing witness to the truth while living here on earth. On a negative note externally, the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus became a stumbling block to our brothers in Babylon. They observe as a custom the physical death of our Lord Jesus Christ just like the heathens celebrate their ancestors or gods when the Lord has warned us not to follow after the customs of this world or enquire about how the world worships their gods. We used to be involved in these rituals while we were in Babylon.

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.

Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

The daughters of Israel symbolize Babylon. What this verse therefore means is that a time will come when brothers and sisters in Babylon will also bewail their virginity just like the daughter of Jephthah. In other words, they will also take up their cross and follow our Lord Jesus Christ. Currently, it is the elect who are bewailing their virginity. However, Babylon will also bewail her virginity in the lake of fire age through the agency of God’s elect.

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.

The verse said that the daughters of Israel will lament four days in a year. The number four means the whole of the matter being discussed, so four days means all of the days in a year.  In other words, our bewailing or lamenting is throughout our lives here on earth. Babylon will also come to know Christ and bear witness to the truth!!

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

(Key verses: Gen 25:22-34)

Spiritual sonship is a theme in the scriptures which highlights God’s purpose with mankind, which in this life is reserved for those few whom He is conforming to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Joh 1:1-4; Col 1:15-19; Rev 3:14). Jesus is God’s preeminent creation as He is above everything, and He alone has immortality or spiritual perfection at this stage with the Father (1Ti 6:15-16; Eph 1:13-14). This glorious conforming process in the few elected ones is marked with fiery trials and much tribulation to make these sons of God perfect (Rom 8:29; 1Pe 4:12; Act 14:22; Heb 2:10; Heb 12:4-7):

Rom 8:22 (Phillips NT) It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail.
Rom 8:23 And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised our full sonship in him.
Rom 8:24 We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got.
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.

This theme of spiritual sonship is also typified in Genesis through the relationships between Abraham, “the father of us all” in terms of the faith, and Abraham’s beloved son, Isaac, and Isaac and his offspring (Isa 51:1-2; Rom 3:22; Rom 4:12; Rom 4:16; Rom 9:7-8; Heb 11:17-18). Whether it is physical or spiritual, the firstborn in scripture is related to might, strength, excellence, dignity, elevation and power, which all links to taking or having governance and authority (Deu 21:17; Psa 105:36; Hos 12:2-3):

Gen 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

This rulership and authority of the firstborn, as acknowledged by the father of the son, is also promised within the law of the double portion according to the law of Moses:

Deu 21:15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn [Hebrew: “bekôr” which links with “bikkûr” which means “firstfruit”: In Exodus 23:16 this “bikkûr” also is the feast of harvest or pentecost] son be hers that was hated:
Deu 21:16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
Deu 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

This spiritual truth of the double portion of the firstborn was established in the beginning in Jesus Christ as the Lord and ruler of both the heavens and the earth, which is what this double portion in the law of Moses typified (Gen 1:1; Gen 2:7; Pro 8:22-30; Joh 1:1-4; Act 17:24; Rev 1:1-8). This Jesus could only reveal to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead:

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given [Greek aorist tense] unto me in heaven and in earth.

Within these two realms there is also an order established by God. It is only through faith that anyone will be able to see that the things which are seen (“the earth”), are ruled and controlled by the spiritual (“the heaven”), which do not appear to the natural man as such, and which the natural mind cannot appreciate or understand (1Co 2:14):

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

All things are first “bound” or “loose[ed]” in heaven before it has any affect or application on the earth:

Mat 18:18 (CLV) Verily, I am saying to you, Whatsoever you should be binding on the earth shall be those things having been bound in the heavens, and whatsoever you should be loosing on the earth shall be those loose in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Again, verily, I am saying to you that, if ever two of you should be agreeing on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it is they should be requesting shall be coming to them from My Father Who is in the heavens.

From this perspective, the heaven rules not only that which belongs to heaven, but also that which is on earth (Mat 6:9-10). The rulership of the heavens is therefore vital to lay hold of as this powerful heavenly perspective and insight helps us to subdue and have dominion over our own earth and all the nations of that earth (our own bodies and carnal mind first):

Isa 40:17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

These spiritual foundations were properly laid in the beginning – that is in Christ, the firstborn or firstfruit (Hebrew: “rêshı̂yth”; Greek: “archē”) of the Father (Gen 1:1; Joh 1:1-3; Rev 1:8). Through Christ, the foundations of heaven and the foundations of earth were laid, and He works with them (Psa 24:1; Pro 16:4; Joh 1:3; Col 1:16; Job 38:4; Psa 102:25). Spiritually the number 12 speaks of foundations (including that of power and authority), and the number 24 signifies the total authority over the foundations of heaven and earth (Gen 2:7; Gen 17:20; 1Co 3:11; Jas 1:1; Rev 14:1-5; Rev 21:19-20). This position was given to Jesus by the Father, and He gives this ‘right’ of the firstborn also to those whom He receives from the Father in this age – the “uihothesia” who is also called “a kind of firstfruits” in the scriptures (Exo 23:15-16a; Psa 103:19; Mat 16:19; Luk 12:31-32; Rom 8:23; Jas 1:18):

Isa 40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isa 40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

This rulership is now made available to those whom He has chosen before the foundation of the earth to rule and reign with Him:

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

This dominion over all is a desire every human craves, but our natural thinking on this is always twisted. Many therefore exercise evil authority over others and are greedily chasing earthly possessions to give them this false sense of being blessed and in control. This constitutes also what the strong delusion is which God sends in them (2Th 2:11). In the world this hierarchy of power is prominent, which is also revealed through the spiritual whore, Babylon. This whore enjoys keeping many in spiritual diapers and looks down on those who are deemed not up to their spiritual standard. This spiritual whore is rewarded with what she has been given to believe:

Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

The law of the firstborn is what caused so much unhappiness in the household of Isaac and Rebekah. After Isaac waited and prayed patiently for twenty years for an offspring with his wife, Rebekah conceived twins (Gen 25:19-21; Gen 25:26), but there was a struggle within Rebekah’s womb which will affect their lives as long as they lived:

Gen 25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

So this struggle was for this right to rule. This struggle relates to the war in our own heaven when we become aware of this double portion or two eons in which we must live and rule (Mat 4:4; Rev 12:1-17). God ordained that the heavens and the earth will be these opposing forces as the generations of the heaven and the generations of the earth will always be foreign to each other (Gen 1:1; Gen 2:4; Psa 2:1-2; Gal 5:17). Although the flesh is first on the earth, it will not have spirit life or get the double portion of spiritual rulership, which is given to the one that is born “afterward”:

Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The spiritual eon comes second or last for us, and that spirit life in the second man, Christ, gives us the rulership over all. What the flesh cannot see or accept is that the last Adam, Jesus Christ, is actually the Lord from heaven who has this rulership before the foundation of the earth (Isa 48:13; Zec 12:1; Heb 1:10):

Col 1:15 Who [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The war in the heavens is all about inheritance – the spiritual versus fleshly inheritance. God has no pleasure in flesh or its inheritance:

Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The outcome of this struggle in the womb of Rebekah was already predetermined: “…the elder [flesh] shall serve the younger”. The election that those who “are after the spirit” will have dominion over those who “are after the flesh” is revealed in these two offspring of Isaac and Rebekah. As the first Adam is “the figure” or type of the last Adam, they are indeed a twin in that sense, but the lastborn has the superior position (Rom 5:14):

Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

God had nothing against Esau personally, but against that which he was chosen to represent, which is death and its fleshly desires. God’s pre-election or predestination is a doctrine which few can accept because of their false beliefs in a free will of mankind and the doctrine of an eternal hell. These and other false teachings prevent many from seeing how God works His plan to save all people through His elected spiritual sons. Those who reject the doctrine of predestination actually accuse God of being unrighteous in making these choices:

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

These accusers of God cannot accept the great mercy of God, and their hate-filled heart will only be satisfied if their enemies burn in an eternal hell (Psa 136:1-26). This is revealing the wickedness of their own Adamic hearts which they themselves cannot see in their self-righteous state of mind. God has never spoken a word, and neither did it ever come up in His mind that He will burn His own children with physical fire for all eternity (Lev 18:21; Lev 20:1-5; Eze 16:20-21; Jer 7:30-31). Yet many are still deluded by these false and evil teachings of eternal hell and the eternal existence of flesh and death, even when God clearly states in the scripture that death in all its carnal forms will be destroyed (Rom 8:6-8):

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Our first old man is indeed delivered and redeemed by the fire of God’s word through judgment which brings the resurrection to new life through Christ, the firstborn (Exo 13:13; Isa 26:9; Jer 5:14; 1Co 3:13-15). God made the choice, and we respond to His choice – not the other way around (Rom 9:16):

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

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

Sonship is God’s choice and through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob this is made clear for those who can receive this. Through Isaac’s offspring, this pattern is repeated, and again the firstborn is rejected even before he did anything either wrong or right:

Gen 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 25:25 And the first came out red [Hebrew: “admônı̂y” from “âdam”], all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

The firstborn was Esau, and he was red and hairy, which reflects the first man Adam who is from the ground or field, and that includes “all that is in the world” (Num 6:18-19; 1Co 11:14):

Mat 13:38a The field is the world….

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Esau is that which represents the lusts of this world in us as we all must first endure this stage of fleshly sonship, and this type of sonship is not “of [the spirit] of the Father” (Mat 19:30). Jacob, the twin brother of Esau, was the last born, and his actions in the womb and during the birth process reveal so much about our own walk and the struggles of the flesh until the day of final redemption from this “body of sin” (Rom 6:6; Rom 7:18; 2Co 5:21):

Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob was holding on to Esau’s heel! Jacob’s name actually means exactly that – “heel holder” or “supplanter”. Heels are the part of the foot which leaves prints and tracks, and through these prints or tracks others can identify us and our walk (Psa 89:51; Son 1:8):

Jer 13:22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels [Hebrew: “âqêb”/“iqqebâh” = heel/footsteps/footprint] made bare.

The heels we first take hold of are visible in the tracks or footprints of the rejected flesh, which is revealed to us when we can see the man of sin in ourselves first (2Th 2:3-4; Rev 13). The revelation of our true carnal nature is important in our growth and development in sonship. We start off being the enemies of the elect of God when we have reproach in our hearts against the truth in the words. Our old man of sin does lift his heel against the new man:

Psa 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend [our old man], in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel [Hebrew: “âqêb” or “iqqebâh”] against me.

Psa 89:50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
Psa 89:51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps [Hebrew: “âqêb” or “iqqebâh”] of thine anointed.

God’s elect will be brought to repentance by the rebuke and chastening of our loving Father, and then they will continue in His Word, even against those who hide themselves and mark our steps to rejoice when we stumble (Psa 56:4-6; Joh 8:31; Heb 12:5-7). This relationship between Jacob and Esau and the ways they live also brings important aspects of our own growth process to the fore:

Gen 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

These two sons of Isaac and Rebekah also caused the division in the family in terms of the preference these parents showed for these two sons and their way of life:

Gen 25:28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau, like his name, was attached to anything that is red, which connects with the earth, which is the first Adam (Gen 2:7). Isaac was also more attached to the fleshly firstborn, Esau, but Rebekah loved the last born, Jacob:

For Sarah the second born of her husband was the favourite son (Isaac). Now also for Rebekah the second born of the twins (Jacob) is favoured. A woman is a picture of the church in scripture – the false church or the true church – and these two women, Sarah and Rebekah, are given to us as types of the true church in the way they were attached to the types of the true Seed which God favoured (Gal 3:16; Gal 3:29). It is through God’s true church that the true sons of God and the manifold wisdom of God will be revealed:

Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.

The earth is what the weak flesh is attached to, and from its composition the flesh also sees its survival and preservation (Gen 2:7; Gen 3:17-19):

Gen 25:29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Gen 25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [Hebrew: “âdôm” from “âdam”] pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom [Hebrew: “ĕdôm” from “âdôm”]

Jacob, true to his name, wanted to negotiate for something much more important than what his flesh wanted. He wanted rulership over much more:

Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright [Hebrew: “bekôrâh” = belonging to the “bekôr”]
Gen 25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Esau despised the rights of the firstborn and the inheritance attached to it (Gen 17-18; Gal 3:16; Gal 3:29). The buying of this birthright was, for the time being, only this pottage of lentils, but it will becomw a more costly transaction for Jacob progressively. This inheritance connects spiritually to the blessed and holy first resurrection which comes at a very high price for God’s elect – the losing of their lives (Mat 10:38-39):

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Many cannot appreciate this powerful inheritance when they, like Esau, cannot see the profit to live soberly in this present age as the chastening power of the grace of God has not been unveiled to them (1Tim 2:11-12). They despise the true sons of God by rejecting and mocking their election and make fun of their suffering as they cannot see what the mystery of the glory of Christ is (Luk 24:46; 2Co 11:23-28; Col 1:24-27). Although the first resurrection is not yet fulfilled outwardly, this spiritual governance and dominion over sin is being inwardly established now in the elect, even in downpayment form (Eph 1:13-14).

Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

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

Begotten and Born
Numbers in Scripture
Colors in Scripture – Red, Part 1
The Spiritual Significance of The Nazarite Vow
Revelation 14:1-5
The Biblical Overview of The Plan of God, Part 7

The Spiritual Significance of The Nazarite Vow In The New Testament

Study Aired June 8, 2014

In our last study we saw that all the symbolism of the Nazarite vow, from the uncut locks of hair to the prohibition against wine, strong drink, and touching a dead body, are one and all symbols of immaturity. It is completely fitting that the last judge of Israel, Samuel. and the last prophet of Israel, John the baptist, were both life long Nazarites, symbolizing the spiritual immaturity of that dispensation of the law of Moses.

I want to thank our brother John McDowell for pointing out that the beheading of John the baptist by King Herod, symbolized the end of that immature, Nazarite dispensation of the law of Moses and ushered in the beginning of the reforms which our Lord was prophesied to bring. The life of John the Baptist, like this prophesy in Deuteronomy, was for the purpose of proclaiming “the time of reformation” that was Christ’s ministry.

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16  According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 
Deu 18:17  And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 
Deu 18:19  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

It is Christ Himself who informs us that all the sacrifices, as well as all the instructions for the building of the tabernacle and all the prophesies of the law of Moses, actually “concerned” Christ Himself:

Joh 5:39  Search the [Old Testament] scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 

Luk 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 

The entire Bible is a Christ-centric book. How would it be possible to be any other way since Christ tells us that He is “the beginning and the end, the first and the last”.

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

Of what exactly is Christ “the first and the last”? Here is what the scriptures reveal:

Rom 5:14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure [Greek: tupos – type. “the first man Adam”] of him that was to come [the last]. 

As Paul later explains:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam [the spiritual tupos, type of Christ] was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

It is all contained in these words:

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

“All things” certainly includes the lessons behind the symbolism of the Nazarite vow. The very fact that it is a ‘vow’ belies the immaturity of all of its symbolism.

Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

The symbolism of not being permitted to cut one’s hair, short hair being the very symbol of the man who is the head of the woman…

1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1Co 11:4  Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

1Co 11:14  Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

The symbolism of not being permitted to drink, or eat, or even touch anything concerned with “the vine tree” or “the fruit of the vine”, the very symbol of Christ and His words…

Luk 22:20  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup [of wine] is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

The symbolism of not even being permitted to touch the dead bodies of his own family, which even the priest, typifying Christ, were permitted, all demonstrate the spiritually “yet carnal” symbolism of this entire vow:

Lev 21:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
Lev 21:2  But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
Lev 21:3  And for his sister a virgin [Mat 12:48-49] , that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

Mar 5:39  And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
Mar 5:40  And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
Mar 5:41  And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

Mat 12:48  But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
Mat 12:49  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 

Col 2:20  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

So the Nazarite vow in the lives of Samson, Samuel and finally, in the life of John the baptist, symbolizes the immature nature of “carnal… babes in Christ”, and the “law for the lawless… and… any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine”, which is what the scriptures call the law of Moses. (1Co 3:1-4)

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 

Like Moses before Him, our Lord was a reformer, whose life and doctrine began a reformation which is still taking place to this very day in the lives of all in whom He dwells.

Before the coming of Christ, no one had any idea that “Ye are the 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. 

To this very day that is a revolutionary concept.

Here is where the time of Christ is called “the time of reformation”:

Heb 9:1  Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 
Heb 9:2  For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
Heb 9:3  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Heb 9:5  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 
Heb 9:6  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
Heb 9:7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 
Heb 9:9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. 
Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 

Carnal ordinances were imposed on Israel until the time of reformation. When did that reformation begin? We just read that “God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto [Moses]“, who was also a great reformer. So the times of reformation began with Christ. But no reformation yet has ever taken place overnight. Christ made that perfectly clear concerning the reformation He had come to begin when He made this statement:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

So Christ simply started the reformation, and like the reformation begun by Moses, which prophesied of a place where God would place His name, “the times of reformation” continued for many years.

Deu 14:23  And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

2Ch 6:6  But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

The ‘place where God would place his name’, part of the reformation begun by Moses, was not fulfilled until the time of King David and his son Solomon, 350 to 400 years later:

One of the most powerful revolutionary parts of Christ’s “time of reformation” is this statement He made to the Samaritan woman at the well:

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 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  

In spite of how plain our Lord speaks here, the prominence of the physical city of Jerusalem is in no way diminished by that statement from our Lord for the Christian world as a whole. For most Christians that statement simply means that Christians can worship God wherever they are in the world. “You shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father”, simply does not register. Not even the destruction of the temple in 70 AD has helped to make “You shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father” register with the average Christian.

So we are to this day living in “the time of reformation”, and the details of Christ’s reformation were slowly being revealed to us throughout the New Testament. For many years not even the apostle Paul was aware of the depth of the meaning of the statement Christ made to that Samaritan woman, “… Ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father”. It was going to take a very long time for even the apostles of our Lord to accept the depth of the Truth of those words.

The process of reforming the way we think is the same in the New Testament as it was in the Old. We are living in the time of reformation. It began with Christ, and it took many years to make that change from the material sphere to the realm of the spirit.

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

That reformation continues to this very day.

A great part of that unveiling of Christ’s reformation was placed upon the shoulders of one more person who we are told took a Nazarite vow, indicating that he, too, was not yet mature while under that vow. The words “Swear not at all”, had not yet registered with this man, and that person was the apostle Paul. Paul was not a life-long Nazarite like John the baptist, but we do read this concerning Paul:

Act 18:18  And Paul after this tarried there [Corinth] yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 

There were various reasons for shaving one’s head in the law of Moses. The cleansing of a leper, and the purifying of the Levites required shaving the head, but the only time a vow is connected to the shaving of one’s head was in the case of the Nazarite vow. I had not made that connection until our sister, Bettie Rogers, asked me why I had not mentioned Paul in my study on the spiritual significance of the Nazarite vow last week.

So now I will mention Paul, and it will be very revealing to see that Paul himself was still in a Nazarite stage of his own understanding before being imprisoned in Rome. It was while in prison in Rome that Paul wrote the epistle to the Ephesians where he tells us clearly and boldly for the first time:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye [Ephesian Gentiles] being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man.” Such a reforming doctrine was unknown to the Paul of Acts 15 who signed onto what the holy spirit and the church had said in the letter that came out of that conference:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Act 15:22  Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Act 15:23  And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
Act 15:25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Why did it please “the apostles and elders, with the whole church…” here in Acts 15 for the the Jews to continue be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses while the Gentiles were only expected to “abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication”? Would the holy spirit agree to something that was not yet the mature Truth?

Here is the answer to that question:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Ephesians 2:11-19 is part of those “many things” which Christ’s own apostles, including Paul himself, could “not bear” until after Paul was taken prisoner to Rome, where he was given to finally understand that the law of Moses was for the lawless and was being reformed to the extent of being “done away… abolished”, and replaced with “a change also of the law”. Paul had written many things which were slowly revealing that the physical realm was being replaced by the things of the spirit, but the fact is that Paul himself did not apply any of these statements to Jerusalem and the Jews, to the extend that he thought God was making of the Jew and the Gentiles, “one new man”.

Let’s look at a few things Paul said early on, of which we can safely say he did not understand the depth of his own words. For example:

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.

1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 

2Co 3:11  For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 

Gal 3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Gal 3:11  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Gal 3:12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

This is all in Romans and the first and second epistles to the Corinthians and in Galatians. All these epistles were written before Paul was apprehended in Jerusalem, but in Paul’s mind, and in the mind of all who had signed on to that epistle to the Gentiles in Acts 15, these words, at this time, applied only “to the brethren which are of the Gentiles”, and not at this time to the Jews who were in Christ. It was not until Paul was in prison in Rome that it was revealed to him for the first time that God:

Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

The body of Christ was not yet one while the Jews were being taught to keep the law of Moses, and the Gentiles were being taught the law had been “done away”.

How do I know that these statements in Romans 1st and 2nd Corinthians and Galatians, in Paul’s mind did not apply to Jews who were in Christ? That is clear from the fact that Paul himself had agreed to what was said in Acts 15. Further, it is very clear that Paul himself was still living under the immature law of Moses to the extent that He had taken a Nazarite vow, as I have already noted.

Besides that mention of Paul shaving his head because he had a vow in Acts 18:18, let’s consider a few other verses which demonstrate that Paul was not yet aware that the reformation of Christ would, in the end make both Jews and Gentiles “of twain one new man”.

In Acts 18 we read:

Act 18:21  But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

Paul did not say ‘attend this feast’, he said “keep this feast”, and that was what he did. Paul was still keeping the Jewish holy days according to the agreement he had signed onto in Jerusalem.

He was still keeping the day of atonement:

Act 27:9  Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast [day of atonement] was now already past, Paul admonished them,

If Paul was not keeping these holy days, how could he possibly have made this statement to Festus:

Act 25:7  And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.
Act 25:8  While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.

If you still have any doubt that Paul was keeping the law while teaching the Gentiles that they needed not to do so, let us look at one more proof of that fact. In Acts 21, having just penned his epistle to the Romans, Paul has arrived in Jerusalem with a generous gift from the churches of the Gentiles in Macedonia and Achaia.

Rom 15:25  But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.
Rom 15:26  For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

So all the epistles in which it appears that Paul was teaching that the law was not for the Jews or the Gentiles, were already written before Paul brought this gift up to Jerusalem, and before his prison epistles.

What we will now read in Acts 21 will settle this question of whether Paul was still keeping the law of Moses beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: 
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. 
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

That there are four of these Christians who have this Nazarite vow, shows us that we are all, to this very day, first “carnal… babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), before we are granted to see the things of the spirit.

See the study on the spiritual significance of the number four: http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_four/

The fact that there are four of these Jewish Christians who had this Nazarite vow indicates that the Christian church as a whole was, and still is, at first under the law. You may very well ask “How can you possibly say that the Gentile Christian church is still under the law? Gentile Christians don’t keep the weekly Jewish sabbath, Gentile Christians don’t keep the Jewish holy days,  Gentile Christians don’t circumcise their sons, How can you possibly say that Gentile Christians are still under the law?” Here is how Paul tells us the Gentiles are under the law:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 

What this tells us is that Gentile Christians have their own weekly sabbath, their own holy days, and yes, many Gentile Christians still circumcise their sons. I myself paid extra to have my first two sons circumcised as a Gentile Christian…on the eighth day, of course.

Getting back to what happened to the apostle Paul in Acts 21, either the accusations being made against Paul in verse 21 were false and Paul had never taught the Jews that were among the Gentiles to forsake the teachings of Moses or else Paul is a hypocrite of an incredible magnitude to agree to pay for the sacrifices of these four Nazarites so “all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law,” while going around for years teaching the Jews that lived among the Gentiles that they need not keep the law of Moses.

But Paul is not a hypocrite, and he has already proven repeatedly that he is willing to lay down his life for the truth of Christ as he understands it. He has already been stoned and left for dead for the gospel’s sake:

Act 14:19  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 
Act 14:20  Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

That was just one of many such persecutions Paul had endured to stand firm with Christ in His Truth:

2Co 11:24  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
2Co 11:25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

So Paul was not worried about what anyone thought about him. He wanted only to please God, and God had not yet made it clear to Paul that not only are the Gentiles fellow heirs with the Jews, but now, while in prison in Rome, just two or three years prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews out of their own country at the hands of the Romans, God has decided that it is time for the truth to be made known that He is in the process of “making of twain [Jews and Gentiles] one new man”.

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

“Even the law of commandments contained in ordinances [is now] abolished.” Gentiles who are in Christ are now to consider themselves spiritual Jews, and all the false ‘two administration” doctrines to the contrary, the Jews will, with no temple at which to offer the offerings of the Nazarite, now be saved just like the Gentiles, just as Peter had prophesied way back there in Acts 15:

Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

The holy spirit used the apostle Peter to verify the revelation God gave to Paul at the beginning, and I will close this study with another quote from the apostle Peter who is again vouching for the authenticity of the revolutionary revelations God gave Paul to show us the depth of the reformation Christ had come to complete within each of us:

2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Mike,

I need help with something. I came across some passages in the Bible that I cannot reconcile in my head. It has caused a big problem with my faith in the Bible. Could you help me make sense of this:

Jdg 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Jdg 11:31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Jdg 11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
Jdg 11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
Jdg 11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
Jdg 11:36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
Jdg 11:38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
Jdg 11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
Jdg 11:40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

The problem I have is that it seems that this is a human sacrifice to God? That cannot be right. Have I missed something?

Thanks,

T__

Hi T____,

You are so right. This would be something that would have cost Jephthah his own life if it was to be understood as so many take it.

Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

This is not a vow of Jephthah, this is the law of God for ancient Israel. Breaking any one of the ten commandments was punished by death. She “bewailed her virginity“, not a supposed pending death as many take these scriptures to mean.

The answer to this delimma is the “and she knew no man” in verse 39. This was what troubled Jephthah so. He had no sons, and now he had to give up his daughter to God, just as the prophetess Anna served in the temple in the time of Christ. Jephthah was now going to lose even any offspring he might have had through his one daughter. This was not a human sacrifice as is so often read into it. Human sacrifice would have been far more offensive to God than even to offer a swine. Both were to be punished by death.

The point of this story is “Swear not at all.”

Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all;

I hope this is of some help to you.

Mike

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Who Are The Children Of The Priests?

God, Christ, and the offerer find satisfaction in the peace offering. But there is one other party who also partakes of this offering, the priest’s children:

Lev 7:31  And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
Lev 7:32  And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.
Num 18:9  This shall be thine of the most holy things, [ reserved] from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, [ shall be] most holy for thee and for thy sons.
Num 18:10  In the most holy [ place] shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.
Num 18:11  And this [ is] thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

Who are the children of the priest? If the priest is Christ, then His children are His church. But just as Christ is presented to us in many different forms which are needed to portray to us His many functions as sacrifice, offering, offerer, temple, altar, vail and vessels and chief cornerstone, etc., so too, is the church, which is His body, also presented to us in many different forms. The church is also called His body, lively stones, the son of the bondwoman, the son of the freewoman, the first Adam, the last Adam, Israel according to the flesh and the Israel of God, the vail of the temple, His bride, 10 virgins, 5 wise and 5 foolish, the olive tree, the fig tree, Jerusalem and New Jerusalem, etc. etc. Each name reveals another aspect of the church, or another degree of maturity in Christ.
These are all the children of the priest. To partake of the offering at all, “the sons of Aaron and his daughters” had to partake of the offering with the priest. If this offering is received at all it is through the priests. So it is to this day, we receive of Christ only through Christ and His Word. The church is in communion with Christ and His Father through the offering of Christ. The church is, with the priest, receiving nourishment and intercession through Christ in the very presence of God in the holy of holies, where only the priest can go. And lest we get the wrong nourishment, let me point out this verse:

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [ to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think [ of men] above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Now leave out the uninspired words in brackets and read this verse again:

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and  Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

If you want any hope of properly “trying the spirits” then you had better be willing to “acknowledge that the things… written are the commandments of the Lord.”

1Co 14:37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

And that is why there is a qualifier when it comes to the priest’s and their children:

Num 18:11 (b) I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

This is a spiritual statement about spiritual food because:

Joh 4:24  God [ is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [ him] in spirit and in truth.

This verse is the very basis of this statement by the apostle Paul:

1Co 11:23  For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [ same] night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1Co 11:24  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:25  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
1Co 11:27  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Co 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [ that] bread, and drink of [ that] cup.
1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Lev 7:20  But the soul that eateth [ of] the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that [ pertain] unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Only a “clean priest and his children” are permitted to partake of communion with God. Anything unclean is under the curse of attempting to contaminate the “most holy thing,” Christ and His Word. That is why when we are informed that we have an altar at which those who serve the physical tabernacle have no right to eat, the verse before that is warning us against false doctrines:

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

The reason “they have no right to eat” is that though they are ‘children of the priest… they serve the [ physical] tabernacle… and they are unclean.’ They are nepios, immature sons, no better than a servant, though they are children of the priest. They will not go beyond the six milk doctrines of Hebrew 6, or worse still they are so puffed up in their own spirituality that they are willing to “go beyond that which is written.”

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving [ going on beyond] the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection [ yet still within “that which is written- the commandments of the Lord”]; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3  And this will we do, if God permit.

In either case “they have no right to eat” at our altar and of our meat of the offering, Christ. Christ is not stuck in Heb 6:1-2, nor has He gone beyond “that which is written.”

1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

How are we to avoid this predicament?

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves [ try our own spirits], we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Spiritual words one and all! “Not discerning the Lord’s body” is not “trying the spirits,” it is not “judging ourselves,” it is “eating and drinking unworthily.’

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

The Different Grades Of The Peace Offering

The only grades in the peace offering are the herd and the flock. The peace offering can be of the herd, male or female, or it can be a lamb or a goat of the flocks. There is no turtle dove given as a peace offering. There are no washings of the different parts of the offering. There is no restricting of this offering being only a bullock. Here are the only instructions given for offering the peace offering so far as the offerer is involved:

Lev 3:1  And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
Lev 3:2  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

That’s it, the offerer”shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…” just like the offering of the herd in the burnt offering. But when we  get to the offering of the flocks the sheep and the goats are treated separately, whereas they are considered as one in the burnt offering. There is no mention here of offering either the lamb or the goat “on the north side of the altar.” There is no mention of being only a bullock. There is no mention of  laying out the parts in order on the altar. There is no mention of washing God’s part of the offering, the inwards and the legs, with water. All of these particulars given concerning the burnt offering are missing and left off in the peace offering. Why would that be so?
The reason why so many of the particulars are not included in this offering is that those who understand this offering will already understand the instructions concerning the particulars given in the burnt offering. If you grasp that you can sit down and enjoy a meal of Christ with Christ and His Father, if you grasp that you are “accepted in the beloved,”  if you understand that you are communing with, and being interceded for in Christ, you will also understand that God’s burnt  offering has to be cleansed through baptism, you will understand that you are being judged from the north, you will understand that you have fellowship with God through Christ, and that your ‘head, inward parts and the very best you have to offer, the fat,’ are all God’s and are offered first. Those who “have a right to eat at our  altar” know and understand these distinctions. So these distinctions are not mentioned in this offering which nourishes God, Christ and the offerer, because they will be generally comprehended by those who know their offering to this extent.

Two Different Reasons For Offering A Peace Offering

1 )  For Thanksgiving and  2)  For A Vow

But lest we begin to think that “the resurrection has already past,” this offering still has two different reasons for being offered, to show us that we, the church, are still in a “body of this death… sinful flesh:”
1 )  For Thanksgiving

Lev 7:11  And this [ is] the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.
Lev 7:12  If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
Lev 7:13  Besides the cakes, he shall offer [ for] his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
Lev 7:14  And of it he shall offer o ne out of the whole oblation [ for] an heave offering unto the LORD, [ and] it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.
Lev 7:15  And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.

“Leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving.” Why is leavened bread which “cannot be burned on the altar” accepted “with the sacrifice” of the peace offering?
It is to show us that while the church is flesh and “cannot inherit the kingdom,” and cannot as flesh, be in the kingdom and in the presence of the Father, yet our Priest identifies with us and is nourished with us in our communion with Him:

Lev 7:13  Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
Lev 7:14  And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.

This is just one more gaping hole in the ‘fulness now,’ ‘the resurrection is already past’ doctrine which still, to this day, plagues God’s church. The church is the “leavened bread” of the Pentecost offering. As long as we are flesh we cannot inherit the kingdom but in down payment “earnest” form.

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also [ trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

And when are we “redeemed?” Are we redeemed already? In down payment form, yes! But not in “the redemption of the purchased possession:

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;                
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Heb 9:15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

2) A Vow – Being Faithful To The Word Of God

Lev 7:16  But if the sacrifice of his offering [ be] a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:
Lev 7:17  But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
Lev 7:18  And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
Lev 7:19  And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.
Lev 7:20  But the soul that eateth [ of] the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that [ pertain] unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Lev 7:21  Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean [ thing, as] the uncleanness of man, or [ any] unclean beast, or any abominable unclean [ thing], and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which [ pertain] unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

This all has to do with trying the spirits to see whether your spiritual food is of God:

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
1Co 5:11  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 5:12  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13  But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your] house, neither bid him God speed:

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

What is the Meaning Of ‘In The Morning…’ And “The Third Day?’
Morning = Resurrection

Psa 49:14  Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
Psa 49:15  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter [ herbs] they shall eat it.
Exo 12:9  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Exo 12:10  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning ; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now [ it is] high time to awake out of
sleep: for now [ is] our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the d ay is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

And that is why there was to be no flesh left until the morning.
Ever wonder why Christ is called ‘the morning star?’

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.
Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Here is why:

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

The Third Day  

Hos 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Which scriptures? This one among others:

Lev 7:16  But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:
Lev 7:17  But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
Lev 7:18  And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: i t shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.

But these verses also foretold Christ’s resurrection:

Exo 12:10  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Lev 7:15  And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.

Flesh is not accepted in resurrection, and ‘in the morning’ and ‘the third day’ are both merely different views of resurrection; “in the morning” being the better and brighter of the two.

“With What Body Do They Come?”

This is a question which Paul rhetorically poses:

1Co 15:35  But some [ man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
1Co 15:36  [ Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

Now for those who believe that perfection is achieved while still in this flesh, look at how Paul answers his own question:

1Co 15:37  And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [ grain]:
1Co 15:38  But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him , and to every seed his own body.

There are many who teach that Christ being sinless was given a perfect body of sinless flesh when He was resurrected. Is there any Truth to this doctrine? Here is Christ’s own answer to what is a resurrected body?  

Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [ of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Now here is an amazing part of the peace offering which should give us some a scriptural perspective on the state of mankind even in his approach to God as His “sweet smelling savor… peace offering:”

Lev 22:23  Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer [ for] a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

A ‘freewill’ or ‘praise’ offering could be a bullock or a lamb “that hath anything superfluous or lacking in his parts.” A peace offering for a vow could not be of this kind, yet both represent Christ. But ‘Christ ‘ in which of His many capacities and offices? Why can a sacrifice”lacking in his parts” be accepted as a prise offering, but not as a vow?
As we pointed out earlier, leaven is allowed in the meat (meal) offering at Pentecost and in the peace offering only. Why is leavening allowed in both of these offerings? And why are we now also told that…

“Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering” Both the meat offering at Pentecost and the meat offering accompanying the peace offering typify Christ in His elect. Neither typify Him as our unblemished sacrifice, rather both typify the church struggling against the flesh, still fighting the leavening effects of this leavened “corruptible… sinful flesh… lacking in his parts.”

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

But why is this not allowed in a vow peace offering? It is because vows are words that mean exactly what they say. These sacrifices are Christ in His various capacities. And God promised both Adam and Cain that in the end they would ‘rule over sin.’

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [ shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Every word out of God’s mouth is a vow. It will be performed. If we say the word, we too, are to perform it:

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Has God told us what He will do?

Eze 12:25  For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it , saith the Lord GOD.

“… I say the word and will perform it” is better typified by an uncompromising vow than by an offering “that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts,” a sweet smelling savor offered with “leavened bread.” These symbols are far better applied to those who are in bodies of sinful flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

1Co 15:35  But some man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
1Co 15:36  Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
1Co 15:37  And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
1Co 15:38  But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body .
1Co 15:39  All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
1Co 15:40  There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1Co 15:41  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

“One star differs from another star in glory?” Why would that be? Are not all these ‘stars’ in Christ? Yes they are all ‘in Christ.’

Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own [ Pagan Athenian] poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

But while Christ is in us, Christ in this corruptible flesh is “accepted in the beloved” as an “unblemished… without spot” offering, Christ in us in this capacity of His office and in this capacity of His offering, will yet invariably  as  “either a bullock or a lamb…[ have some] thing superfluous or lacking in his parts.”

Lev 22:23  (a) Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts

But let us not say what scripture does not say. Let us never say that because Christ is pictured as offered as “either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts” and offered with leavened bread in the meat offering of Pentecost, and as the leavened bread given with the praise portion of the peace offering, let us never say that this makes our Lord’s offering with either spot or blemish. It is never to be so understood. Just look at the verse immediately before and the verse immediately after verse 23:

Lev 22:21  And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish [ his] vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein .

All of us, as sinful flesh, are “Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts. What is meant by the word ‘blemish?”

Lev 22:22  Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen [ running sore], or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.
Lev 22:23  Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts,[ but not blemished] that mayest thou offer [ for] a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
Lev 22:24  Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make [ any offering thereof] in your land.

What is ‘your land’, and how could you possibly offer a ‘blemished offering’ to 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.

What are we offering to God in our temple?

Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD [ is] contemptible.
Mal 1:8  And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [ is it] not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, [ is it] not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

What is “the lame and the sick” which we are offering to God? The ‘sick and the lame’ are our half- hearted service to God. “The sick and the lame” is the fact that we simply cannot find time in our busy schedules to make time for this man to whom we give so much lip service. Where is our heart? To whom are these words addressed?

Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Mat 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The peace offering, with its two ways of being offered, reminds us that, as Christ Himself we still “bear the image of the earthy [ but] we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”>