Part 3 – Fulfilling the LAW

DEUTERONOMY 24 : LAW OF DIVORCE
    1When a man has taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he has found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorce, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorce, and gives it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and you shall not cause the land to sin, which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.

God divorced Israel | Ephraim | the Northern Kingdom.  

God used the book of Hosea to metaphorically describe the husband wife relationship between Himself and Israel (the wife).

God divorced her, and according to His own law it states that it is an abomination to remarry who you divorced.

God said he would rescue the sheep He scattered.

Yet how can this be?

How can Yahweh search for his lost sheep after He has already divorced her?

 Wouldn’t this break his own law?  His own law forbids the one who He divorced.  Are we looking at a do as I say, not as I do situation?  

Another reason why God couldn’t remarry Ephraim is this:  A priest could only be a priest if he was a descendant of Aaron. 

  LEVITICUS 21

If this is the case for priests, how much more so for God?  

He was the first true High priest as He was the first to offer up a sacrifice for a Adam and Eve to atone for their sins.  

Example of God being High Priest: 

 HEBREWS 5

Jesus was a priest because He was God’s Son.

 Just like a Levitical Priest through Levitical Priesthood had to be a descendant of Aaron.

Here we see Jesus is established as a priest first by being the Son of God.

What is it said of us regarding being priests? 

1 PETER 2

 REVELATION 20

Why are we be going to be considered priests?  Because we will be adopted as sons by God, the first High Priest.

  ROMANS 8 : PRIESTS THROUGH SONSHIP

 ROMANS 9

 EPHESIANS 1

So we see in this that Yahweh can not bring Ephraim back because He himself being a priest cannot break His own law that He gave regarding priests.  

Again:

LEVITICUS 21 : REGULATIONS REGARDING PRIESTS

But we also see that Ephraim back is definitely his intent….

 EZEKIAL 34

 MICAH 2

This was a great mystery to all the priests and rabbis.  They wondered how can He remarry the very one He divorced and declared to have given herself over to prostitution.  God can not break the very righteous laws that define his own Righteousness.   Breaking the ‘Law of God’ is Sin.  The Law defines Sin according to God’s own words.  God cannot Sin.

 ROMANS 7 : RELEASED THROUGH DEATH

Paul goes onto say that we die in Christ, when we come into the faith.  Releasing both us and God from the requirement of the law as it relates to divorce and remarriage.  So Christ came down and died for the Lost Sheep in order to bring them back into the fold.  He came as the word, to die in our place.   The only way the covenant could be annulled was through death of either partner.  

This was his goal, to die as the Son of God, to restore that which was lost.

He died to nullify the covenant and make way for the new.

 LUKE 19

10For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. 

What was lost?  His people.

JOHN 15 : GREATER LOVE HAS NO ONE THAN THIS

13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

When you die in him, you are dead to the sins of our disobedience.  If you live in him, you can be re-united with the Father.  But if you are not in him, you are still in the divorced state, considered dead in your sins, and you cannot be reunited with God, the first High Priest. 

 HOSEA

1When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.

Notice He was declared dead (spiritually) by the Baal worship.  Would that not be enough to annul the covenant?  No.

This just left them dead in their sins and now out of the covenant with the Father because of those sins.

At the point of their rebellion they were no longer considered God’s sons anymore.

HOSEA 1

9And the LORD said, “Call his name Not My People,b for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”c

In the eyes of God, they were dead because they were not longer His.

 COLOSSIANS 2

13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 

Meaning out of covenant.  Circumcision represents covenant.

This is what ‘THE PRODIGAL SON’ is all about.

The prodigal son is Ephraim who was considered DEAD.

LUKE 15 : THE PRODIGAL SON

11And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided to them his living. 13And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave to him. 17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you, 19And am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants. 20And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son. 22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23And bring here the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

It wasn’t until the perfect son, Jesus, came and died as the son of God to annul the covenant.

To establish the new.

He died in our place.

 

 

DEUTERONOMY 21

18“If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, 19then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. 20“They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21“Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.

22“If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

 

EXODUS 4  :MOSES LEAVES FOR EGYPT

18And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said to him, Let me go, I pray you, and return to my brothers which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. 19And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought your life. 20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21And the LORD said to Moses, When you go to return into Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. 22And you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus said the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23And I say to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, even your firstborn.

24And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. 25Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband are you to me. 26So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband you are, because of the circumcision.

Israel was considered firstborn of God.

Joseph received the firstborn birthright promise. 

 ROMANS 16

 EPHESIANS 3 : THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL

 EPHESIANS 6 : PRAY CONTINUALLY

 COLOSSIANS 1

Christ came to bring His people back into the relationship that was established in His covenant and living in obedience to his Law. 

It was these ordinances written on the scroll that were contrary to us or against us and that were washed off the scroll into the cup.  Then was nailed to the cross and to Jesus.   He had to drink as prescribed in the law for the wife accused of adultery.  This is why he had to drink the bitter water.   Now we know why Jesus prayed in the garden…

Exodus 20 : Idolatry Forbidden

22And the LORD said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23You shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall you make to you gods of gold.

Hebrews 11 : The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah

4By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaks.

Cain’s offerring to the LORD was the fruit of the ground and work of his hands

5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

MATTHEW 26  : JESUS PRAYS IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

39And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.

MATTHEW 27

39And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads,

They cursed and denounced him, at the very timing of the curse going forth.

What curse is that?

NUMBERS 5

21then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy abdomen to swell;

 The THIGH is representative a person’s word or credibility, or even authority. Used in matters of keeping one’s word. This is why we see oath’s given why a man’s hand was under the others thigh.

GENESIS 24

9And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning this matter.

GENESIS 47

29And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;

 The thigh wasting away was representative of ones credibility being useless. 

When Jesus did not give the crowds proof of being the Son of God, His credibility meant nothing.

MATTHEW 27

40and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41In like manner also the chief priests mocking him , with the scribes and elders, said, 42He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him. 43He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God

 He held no credibility with them.  

Yet there will be no mistaking his word, credibility, or authority, at his second coming.  

His thigh will make it very clear. 

17th listed from Adam : “PELEG” which means “Division” | “Earthquake”

17th Hebrew Letter “PE” | LEG

REVELATION 19

15And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.16And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KINGS OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

 The strongest muscle in the body is the quadricep, in the thigh.

 How did his thighs waste away on the cross?  

It was the thighs that one used in raising themselves up,  in order to breathe when being crucified.  

After all of this suffering and torture that happened before ever seeing the cross. 

Then after several hours on the cross, constantly lifting himself up, on the cross, just to struggle to breath, his thighs finally gave way.  

Which shows how he suffocated after saying, “It is finished”.  

Because truly his thighs could lift him no more.  

There was no strength left and he suffocated as a result of his thighs wasting away.

NUMBERS 5

21then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy abdomen to swell;

  Our lungs expand towards the least resistance given.  In a relaxed state, that expansion is downward.  Our Savior had been up all night in a mock trial, plus we know he was stressed because his sweat was mixed with blood, the night of praying in the garden.  

He didn’t enter this day on a good night’s sleep, on a nice mattress. So he has been up over 24 hours,after being smacked around by the Pharisees, and having his beard pulled, he gets beat up by the Roman soldiers, then presented to his people, with a crown of thorns. Then he gets flogged to the point of hardly having human recognition. 

ISAIAH 52

14Like as many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men),

 Then he has to carry the weight of his own cross.

 Every breath he took on the cross was in weakness, not strength.

His lungs filled with fluids while hanging on the cross why in the hands of the Romans.  

The shear weight of the lungs would have been enough to push down on the abdomen and push it out.

 His stomach  was pushed out just like in the curse given to the unfaithful wife in Numbers 5:21. 

27And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

 He endured bitter suffering on the cross and the punishment of the unfaithful spouse.

NUMBERS 5

23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:24and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.

 He took the curse mentioned in Verse 23 and nailed it to the cross, just like it was mentioned in Colossians 2:14

JOHN 19 : THE DEATH OF JESUS

28After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst. 29There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth.

 What scripture is fulfilled here?

How many times did he say this, when he only said it because the scripture said it would happen that way?  

Like the donkey. Did He need the donkey to go into Jerusalem? Of course not. He did it because the scripture said it was going to happen that way. Things that were prophesied, he had to make sure they happened, so those around would have no excuse for not seeing prophecy taking place right before their eyes. Yet other prophecies that required action from others were clearly orchestrated by the spirit.

JOHN 19

24They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots.

34howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water. 35And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe. 36For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

So what scripture needed to be fulfilled from John 19:28 that He needed to drink something?

What was He given to drink? 

Wine Vinegar from a sponge. 

In essence, that which is bitter.

COLOSSIANS 2

13And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say , did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;14having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out that way, nailing it to the cross;

He enabled his wife to be wiped clean of her guilt and be remarried at the same time.

She can now be justified.  

Justified – declared or made righteous in the sight of God. 

Just-if-I’d never done it

He took the hell that you and I deserve.  

He came to redeem His people so they could come back into covenant relationship with Him.

 PSALMS 103

At the time of Jesus the Jews were centrally located in Judea but there were  still others who were living in other nations.

 JOHN 7

Diaspora, Dispersion, Scattering

 ACTS 2

These were the ones Peter was referring to later in this chapter. 

 ACTS 2

Who was he referring to that were afar off that Peter was referring to? 

   EZEKIAL 11

Christ focus was the regathering of the lost sheep of Israel.

At the time of His ministry though, the assimilation of the Northern Kingdom into the nations had already begun, yet not completed.

Yet there were some who still recognized and acknowledged who they were. 

  MATTHEW 10

Though Christ pursued the lost sheep, He still reached out to others.

 1 PETER 1

He then confirms who he is talking to by these next verses:

 1 PETER 2

 EXODUS 19

 JAMES 1

 GENESIS 48

The fullness of the prophecy of Ephraim was that He would become a multitude of nations, not just scattered among them.

To reach those who had assimilated into the nations, God gave Paul the ministry or reconciliation to the Gentiles. 

 1 TIMOTHY 2

7whereunto I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth, I lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

 2 CORINTHIANS 5

18But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation;  19to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses, and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  20We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.

 ROMANS 5

8But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. 10For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life; 11and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

 COLOSSIANS 1

20and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say , whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.

It was through this reconciliation that Paul was to bring back the Northern Kingdom with the Southern Kingdom.

 ROMANS 8 : HOSTILE TO GOD’S LAW

6For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: 7because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: 8and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

 ROMANS 9 : ISRAEL’S UNBELIEF

30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith: 31but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling;

 ROMANS 11 : ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED

25For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;26and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

“The fullness of the Gentiles” – “The fullness of the Nations”

“all Israel will be saved” –

The Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom

Jew and Gentile.

The cultivated and the wild, Representing the 2 Kingdoms.  

Meaning the Kingdom, or Olive Tree that was broken is now coming back together.

 JEREMIAH 11

16Jehovah called thy name, A green olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

The focus of Christ was to bring His Kingdom back together as one.

One in the faith of Abraham…Obedience.

Christ was not concerned with what His physical lineage was, His concern was obedience. 

 JOHN 8

39They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 

He is saying that anyone who did what Abraham did, would be called children of Abraham.  

So what did Abraham do? 

 GENESIS 26

4And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. 5Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Those who obey His commands can call Abraham their father. 

Even the ones who are actual descendants from Abraham but do not follow God’s commands, they are not considered children of Abraham.

 JOHN 10

24The Jews therefore came round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly. 25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, these bear witness of me. 26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

 

 

 1 TIMOTHY

4neither to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questionings, rather than a dispensation of God which is in faith;’so do I now . 

The faith that produces the lineage of Abraham. 

JAMES 2

21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. 24Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.

Ones genealogy did not guarantee salvation. 

Even when they left Egypt there were foreigners that came with Israel. 

 EXODUS 12

38And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

 

 

 NUMBERS 11

4And the mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 

One law for all: 

 NUMBERS 15

15For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you , a statute for ever throughout your generations: as ye are, so shall the sojourner be before Jehovah.16One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.  

 

 EZEKIAL 37 : ONE NATION WITH ONE KING

15The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 16Moreover, you son of man, take you one stick, and write on it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:

17

And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in your hand. 18And when the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these? 19Say to them, Thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take

THE STICK OF JOSEPH,

which is in the HAND OF EPHRAIM,

and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him,

even with THE STICK OF JUDAH, and

MAKE THEM ONE STICK,

AND THEY SHALL BE ONE IN MY HAND.

20And the sticks where on you write shall be in your hand before their eyes. 21And say to them, Thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, where they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:22And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

24And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelled; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the middle of them for ever more. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yes, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the middle of them for ever more.

 

Continue to Part 4

Part 4 – The Lost City

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