This was a picture taken of my grandfather passing out Gideon Bibles at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). As you read this, you will understand why this picture of my grandfather has become so significant to me. As I have worked on this site, I have fought and wrestled with God. I have been frustrated and exhausted and overwhelmed. This picture has served as a reminder to me of why I am here and what He has called me to do. I look at my grandfather, “The Tired Gideon”, fighting the good fight. I have never felt called by God to do anything. God gave all of us gifts as part of being in the body of Christ. I wasn’t sure what mine was. Recently, however, he has placed an enormous sense of urgency and conviction in my heart.
july 2014
I bought a house that was built in 1940 and I had all these plans for how I wanted to renovate it. The first thing I wanted to do was paint the outside of it because the whole house is tan, including the roof, and I thought it was ugly. I put it off and first did a few things that I wanted to the inside. Not to long after I moved in, however, God started increasing His level of conviction in my heart. I started looking at all things that were going on in the world and I knew He was testing me. Am I going to seek Him first, and do what I feel he has placed in my heart, or am I going to put myself first and my desires before him? THE PARABLES OF THE WEDDING BANQUET hit me the hardest.
15And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.16Then said he to him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.18And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray you have me excused.19And another sad, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray you have me excused . 20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as you have commanded, and yet there is room. 23And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24For I say to you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
MATTHEW 22 : THE PARABLE OF THE BANQUET (Luke 14:15-24)
1And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said, 2The kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatted calves are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage. 5But they made light of it, and went thei r ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
december 2015
I created this website, which I named the “Narrow Gate Entrance” which I derived from LUKE 13 and MATTHEW 7. These verses struck fear in my heart. I wanted to use the site as a place to gather and collect what I was seeing going on in the world in relation to what the bible says. I felt overwhelmed with how to process what I was seeing happening in the world and how it relates to my faith. There were so many verses in the bible that I felt were in direct conflict with the way I was living my life.
LUKE 13 : THE NARROW GATE
22And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23Then said one to him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said to them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
When I started this site, I knew I needed to make sure
that’s the gate my life was heading towards
and after reading the book of Revelation,
I wanted to make sure I had the KEY OF DAVID.
Revelation 3 : Message to the Church in Philadelphia
7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; 8I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. 12Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name. 13He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.
My heart felt like it was being
pulled in a million different directions
I felt like my FAITH was hanging by a thread.
I was having more and more trouble
discerning what was even right from wrong anymore.
1Save me, O God; for the waters are come in to my soul. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: my eyes fail while I wait for my God.
13But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of your mercy hear me, in the truth of your salvation. 14Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 15Let not the flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth on me.
We are DROWNING in DATA, NEWS, MUSIC,
PODCAST, & ENTERTAINMENT and STARVING FOR TRUTH
In the last days people will be learning more and more and
never coming to the knowledge of the truth
2 TIMOTHY 3 : EVIL IN THE LAST DAYS
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest to all men, as their’s also was.
Amos 8 : The Basket of Ripe Fruit
11Behold, the days come, said the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
I was DESPERATE to know THE TRUTH
and to understand HIS STORY.
april 2016
(5 months later)
I gave my friend a bible at a bible study we were having at my house every week.
After just a few days of reading, this was the text he sent me:
I had not mentioned to him, or anyone about my website
may 2016
The company I work for took us for a team building exercise
to play THE ESCAPE GAME 1 month later.
THE ESCAPE GAME is where a group will go into a room
and you have an hour to gather
all the clues to unlock the door and break out.
It reminded me of another verse
that had a placed a sense of urgency in my heart.
LUKE 21 : BE WATCHFUL
34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come on you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accountedworthy to ESCAPE [h4422]all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man
Strong’s Greek Concordance
ESCAPE [h4422] mâla?,occurs 95 times in 85 verses
a primitive root; properly, to be smooth,
i.e. (by implication) to escape (as if by slipperiness);
causatively, to release or rescue;
specifically, to bring forth young, emit sparks:
—deliver (self), escape, lay, leap out, let alone, let go, preserve, save
I was dreading going cause I hate these types of things and I was really tired but something told me I needed to go. That day happened to be one of the peak days of my overwhelm and frustration. On my way there I actually pulled off the side of the road and just started crying.
I was crying out to Him a conversation that went like this:
“Is this really what you want me to be doing?” “Why me?”
“I am not equipped to do this.”
“I didn’t go to seminary school and I have no credentials behind my name. “
“I am not an eloquent speaker or great communicator or great story teller.”
“I sit behind a desk all day without much interaction with people.”
“Nobody will listen to what I have to say anyway.”
The more I saw happening around me the heavier my heart got. I felt like God was removing the scales from eyes but I didn’t know how to communicate it to others. My brain felt like it was going to explode with all the research I was doing. I really just wanted some type of confirmation or sign from Him.
I finally drug myself to the game. They have 5 different rooms. A different game in each room. The first thing I noticed in our room was a book called MUSIC CITY BABYLON, which is about the world of country music in Nashville, TN, where I currently live. The majority of the research I had been doing at the time was trying to figure out what the heck Babylon was.
Our room also had a clue containing a bible verse.
LUKE 13
29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
I was not much help during the game. I was standing there looking at all the interesting stuff in the rooms. As time was running out, there was a map hanging encased in a box with a silver ball at the bottom of the casing.
The clue said “THE SHORTEST DISTANCE IS STRAIGHT LINE“.
So we were supposed to use the magnet to drag the ball, which was behind the map, and drag it across to each of the four different cities on the map. If the ball behind the map wasn’t guided in a straight line, it would drop and you would have to start all the way over. They started trying to drag it but it kept dropping because they couldn’t keep a straight line. Time was running out, our team was frantically trying to figure out what to do. I was honestly just ready to go home, but I happened to see a wooden board on the floor and put it up there for them to use as a ruler to guide him into keeping a straight line from point to point on the map.
It worked and the door opened. We were the only team that actually “Escaped” in time. The next morning I was prompted in my heart to go back and read the verse that was a clue in our game.
22And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23Then said one to him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said to them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and has shut to the door, and you begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not from where you are: 26Then shall you begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not from where you are; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
When I realized that verse in our game was in the context of the verse I based this site off of, my eyes filled with tears because I realized that it was His confirmation of the calling I felt He had placed in my heart, and why I felt so urgent to create this site.
I wasn’t sure what it all meant at the time, or where all of this was leading to, I just new that He was trying to show me something that day and that I needed stay diligent and pay attention to the details.
I had used a WOODEN BOARD
to keep THE PATH STRAIGHT
(level, smooth, true)
so we could OPEN THE DOOR
and ESCAPE
During a time of CONFUSION
Revelation 3 : Message to the Church in Philadelphia
7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; 8I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door,
After this, I felt God prompting me to go back and look at the picture of my grandfather the details of the story of GIDEON. I started noticing very similar parallels between Gideon’s calling and the calling I felt He placed in my heart. I soon realized the HEADQUARTERS of GIDEON INTERNATIONAL is stationed here in Nashville as well.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
GIDEON [h1439]occurs 37 times in 39 verses
Gideon = “hewer”
“cutter down”
“brave warrior”
5th judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites
youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites
JUDGES 6 : THE CALL OF GIDEON
11And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son GIDEON [h1439] threshed wheat by the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.
The call of Gideon came from an angel of the Lord
that sat under an OAK while he was threshing wheat.
I live 2 miles from Vanderbilt whose symbol
is the Leaf and acorn from an OAK TREE .
Oak Hill within Nashville, is 3 Miles from house.
I didn’t realize it at the time,
but what I was doing when I created this site
was THRESHING WHEAT just like Gideon,
who was trying to provide food for his family.
Strong’s Greek Concordance
THRESHING [h1758]occurs 15 times in 14 verses
a primitive root; to trample or thresh: —break, tear, thresh, tread out (down), at grass
break in piecesin order to SMOOTH & LEVEL as well as LOOSEN THE GRAIN from THE HUSK
I created this site in order to try to have a place to
gather the things I was seeing going on in the world
and to have a place to sift and sort them
in relation to what I was learning in the bible.
I was trying to break apart and separate
the TRUTH from LIES
to UN-BLUR THE LINES.
I recently looked at what my house used to look like
before I bought it on the tax records .
It used to be painted GREEN
and Now it is painted TAN.
They are ugly colors to paint a house,
but they illustrate the coloring of
THE STAGES OF WHEAT from which the grain comes from.
I then realized that my last name “MILLER”,
which I got from my grandfather in the picture,
is a person who operates a MILL,
which is a device that breaks solid materials
into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing,
or cutting, just like threshing wheat.
A “MILLER” GRINDS HARVESTED WHEAT GRAIN
that has been separated the husk of wheat
into FLOUR
which is mixed with OLIVE OIL
to make dough
The dough is then kneaded
Dough is thenplaced in oven
to make Bread
Strong’s Greek Concordance
BETHLEHEM [g965]occurs 8 times in 8 verses
Bethlehem = “house of bread”
Where Rachel Died and here Jesus & David were born
When I moved into my house, is when He happened to start giving me understanding of His Word. When Jesus broke bread with His disciples, it signified Him giving them understanding of the scriptures.
Luke 24 : Jesus Explains the Prophecies
30And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave to them. 31And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?33And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon. 35And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
The disciples HEART BURNED within them
when He opened up the scriptures to them.
My grandfather’s middle name was “HUEY”,
which I always though was funny name,
but realized how close phonetically
it sounded to “HEWER” which is what Gideon means,
so I looked up what the name “HUEY” meant
and it means “HEART. Mind.Inspiration. Intelligent”.
I also happened to be born on Valentines Day
which is synonymous with the Heart symbol.
THE GIDEON’S symbol is a two-handled pitcher
and TORCH OF FIRE recalling Gideon’s victory.
A heart symbol fits perfectly over the pitcher
and illustrates this concept of the heart burning.
Gideon asked for CONFIRMATION of his calling twice
by laying a FLEECE OF SHEEP’S WOOL
on THE THRESHING FLOOR
JUDGES 6 : THE SIGNS OF THE FLEECE
36And Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in thethreshingfloor[h1637]; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the earth beside, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
THRESHINGFLOOR [h1637]occurs 36 times in 36 verses (17 books)
from an unused root meaning: TO SMOOTH (as made EVEN)
The day I played the ESCAPE GAME I had pulled over
on the side of the road because I was filled
with so much overwhelm and CONFIRMED
with God if this “IS THIS REALLY WHAT HE HAS CALLED ME TO DO”.
This was in part due to the fact that right before I went to the game
I had stumbled upon this video called “THE LOST SHEEP”
which put a lot of pieces of the puzzle together for me.
ESCAPE GAME LOGO that looks like a threshing floor
I then used what looked like a THRESHING BOARD
for my teammate to drag the ball
in a SMOOTH & STRAIGHT
line to open the door and escape.
All this got me thinking of THE SHEEP and THE HARVEST
Matthew 9 : Sheep & the Harvest
36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37Then said he to his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;38Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.
When his crop is fully ripe
…The farmer cuts down (hew’s)
his crop that he has sown in the field
typically done through use of a SICKLE or SCYTHE.
The farmer would then GATHER the stalks of wheat
together into a SHEAF or SHEAVES (multiple)
The bundled wheat is then taken to the
CIRCULAR THRESHING FLOOR
where the sheaves would be spread across it.
PAIRS OF OXEN would then be
walked AROUND the threshing floor
The Oxen would drag THRESHING BOARDS
behind them which had stones
or flint chips or iron spikes
inserted into the bottom side
to speed up the threshing process.
THE THRESHING BOARDS
are used to tear THE STALKS from the EARS of GRAIN
THE STALKS
~ from-
THE EARS OF GRAIN
“He who has an EAR, let him hear”
The THRESHING BOARDS also serve to
CUT & CRUSH the EARS
in order to
SMOOTH & LEVEL
as well as LOOSEN the GRAIN from the HUSK
This can also be done individually by using a flail
or stomping on with feet
THE LOOSENED GRAIN would then be
WINNOWED with a WINNOWING FORK
in order to SET // APART the HUSK from the GRAIN
THE HUSK/CHAFF
(The Outer Protective Coating)
-from the-
THE GRAIN
(Fruit within the Shell)
THE LIGHT CHAFF would be BLOWN AWAY/SCATTERED
and FALL some DISTANCE AWAY
while the HEAVIER LOOSENED GRAIN
would FALL at WINNOWERS FEET
& taken into the FARMERS BARN
THRESHING FLOORS were built in the
high parts (hills) of cities
to utilize the WIND to accomplish this SEPARATION
THE LIGHT CHAFF
THE HEAVIER LOOSENED GRAIN :
THE PROCESS OF
threshing wheat
~symbolizes~
THE PROCESS OF
SANCTIFICATIOn
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
SANCTIFY [h6942] qâdashoccurs 172 times in 153 verses
be SEPARATE or SET APART from profane things and dedicate to God
be HOLY
be TRUE
be SANCTIFIED
to be CLEAN (ceremonially or morally)
be PURIFIED
HOLY [h6918] qâdôwshoccurs 116 times in 106 verses
sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart
SEPARATE [h914] bâdaloccurs 42 times in 40 verses
to divide, separate
distinguish, differ
put difference between
Revelation 18 :Babylon is Fallen
4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. 5For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
VIRGIN [h1330] qâdashoccurs 50 times in 50 verses
feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to separate;
a virgin (from her privacy);
sometimes (by continuation) a bride
pure and unspotted as being separated
Revelation 19 :The Marriage of the Lamb
6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. 7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready.8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.9And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. 10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See you do it not: I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
THE BRIDE HAS MADE HERSELF READY
Meaning she has sanctified herself and has come out of Babylon,
and is given clothing of fine linen,
which represents being clothed with Christ’s righteousness.
A bride is carried over the THRESHOLD
by Groom into new HOUSE after being married.
“Bethlehem” means “House of Bread”,
where Rachel Died and here Jesus & David
were born
A “Threshold” meaning
brink, verge, origin, entrance, dawn, sill into a room or house.
The etymology of “Threshold” comes from Threshing.
We will be priests of God and Christ and reign with him 1000 years.
PRIEST’S were from the tribe of LEVI.
LEVI means “JOIN TO or UNION”
just as a MARRIAGE is a “UNION”
Revelation 20 :
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.
The Levitical Priests in the Old Testament were “JOINED”
to God and SET // APART from the rest of the congregation
to do work in the Tabernacle.
PRIEST’S were to instruct Israel in HOLINESS
by teaching the people to differentiate between.
UN-HOLY
HOLY
The Bible is a SCRIPT
( a written text of a play, movie, or broadcast)
It is a NARRATIVE or STORY
(a spoken or written account of connected events)
We are all part of the most
GRAND REDEMPTIVE LOVE STORY
that could possibly be conceived.
HIS-STORY.
The LAMB’S BOOK of LIFE
PENNED BY THE AUTHOR : JESUS
(An AUTHOR is the creator or originator of any written work such as a book or play, and is thus also a writer. More broadly defined, an author is “the person who originated or gave existence to anything” and whose authorship determines responsibility for what was created.)
The author and finisher of our faith, who endured the cross for us, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
The bible is a story of a God of love invading the world in the person of his on of love establish his kingdom of love by a radical sacrifice of love, to forgive us in love, and draw us into his family of love, and to send us out as ambassadors of the very same love. The entire hope of fallen humanity rests on this one thing – that there is a savior who is eternally steadfast in redeeming, forgiving reconciling, transforming, and delivering love. Without this, the bible is a book of interesting stories and helpful principles but it is devoid of any power to fix what sin has broken.
His word confronts us with the devastatingly humble DIAGNOSIS of our condition. It tells us that we are in a hopeless, impossible, and irreversible state apart from divine intervention. His word confronts us with the reality that sin is the problem and that it lives in our heart. It separates us from God and leads to inescapable death and destruction. Anyone who says they don’t have SIN, is a liar, and the TRUTH is not in HIM. It is an all-inclusive diagnosis. It is an accurate description of the heart and life of every person who has ever lived. We are born with wandering and divided hearts. You will not be interested in the cure if you haven’t accepted the DIAGNOSIS, and you have to know that the cure is only as effective as the accuracy of the diagnosis. ~Paul Tripp
In the Bible, the word HEART is used to describe the core,
or control center, of a person.
The heart includes your thoughts, emotions, desires, and choices.
While made to function as an integrated and connected whole,
in humanity’s fall, our hearts became fragmented,
disintegrated, separated and divided.
As a result, all of our relationships are marked by brokenness
– our relationship with God, with other people, with creation,
also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect;
likewise for THE CENTER of ANYTHING:
inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
inner part, midst
midst (of things)
heart (of man)
soul, heart (of man)
mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
conscience
heart (of moral character)
as seat of appetites
as seat of emotions and passions
as seat of courage
Genesis 6 : the wickedness of man
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [h3820] [was] only evil continually.
Genesis 8:
21… I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart [h3820] [is] evil from his youth;
Jeremiah 17:
9 The heart [h3820] [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?
At the root of SIN is SELFISHNESS and PRIDE
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Heart [h2588] kardíaoccurs 160 times in 152 verses
prolonged from a primary ??? kár (Latin cor, “heart”);
the heart, i.e. (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind);
also (by analogy) THE MIDDLE—(+ broken-)heart(-ed).
14And when he had called all the people to him, he said to them, Listen to me every one of you, and understand: 15There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18And he said to them, Are you so without understanding also? Do you not perceive, that whatever thing from without enters into the man, it cannot defile him; 19Because it enters not into his Heart [h2588], but into the belly, and goes out into the draught, purging all meats? 20And he said, That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. 21For from within, out of the Heart [h2588] of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
James 4 :
1From where come wars and fights among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. 3You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your lusts. 4You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5Do you think that the scripture said in vain, The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy?6But he gives more grace. Why he said, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
THE CURE – ANTIDOTE
The good news of the Gospel is that God sent his son to take the penalty for our sin and provided us A WAY TO ESCAPE and to have eternal life through FAITH in him and by following the PATH he set before us which is walking in His Holy Spirit which works to progressively eradicate the SIN in hour heart. Through Faith in His Son, His Word, Law, and Instructions are written onto our heart. The word of God is the ONLY thing powerful enough to penetrate and transform people’s hearts. Not technological innovation.
His word sown and written into our heart
which results in
You and I are KINGDOM oriented. We are always in pursuit of and in service to some king of kingdom. We are either living in allegiance to the King of Kings, celebrating our welcome into his kingdom of glory and grace, or we are anointing ourselves as kings and working to set up our own little kingdoms of one. God didn’t give us his grace in order t make our little claustrophobic kingdom of one work, but to invite us to a much, much better kingdom. We think we know what is best for us but we don’t. We think we are able to rule our own lives but we aren’t. We set our hearts on things that we think will make us happy but they won’t. We think that we can defend ourselves against temptation, but by ourselves we can’t Every human being is in need of king. All human beings need the rescue, forgiveness, justice, mercy, refuge, and protection that they are unable to give themselves.
The beauty of the work of Christ is not only that in that in his life, death, and resurrection we are offered forgiveness forever, but that with it we are welcomed into the kingdom of the universe’s most powerful and only perfect king. He blesses us with what no human kingdom can ever give He showers us with forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, and hope. He protects us when we don’t have the sense to protect ourselves. He rules over all the moments that seem to us to be out of control. He sets up his kingdom in our hearts, rescuing us from all the other things that would rule us. He patiently teaches us that we weren’t created to live as kings, anxiously working to set up our own little kingdoms. He teaches us what it means to rest in his kingship and to live for his glory. He encourages us with the truth that his kingdom will never end.
God sent His only begotten son, who is the light to cast out darkness. Under the burden of the shroud of rebellion and sin, the world had become a dark place. In the darkness of immorality, injustice, violence, greed, self-righteousness, thievery, racism, and a host of other ills, the world was desperate for light. Everyone was part of the problem and everyone suffered from the problem, but no one could solve the problem. God’s solution was the only way. He sent the One who is light to be the light that would light the world by his grace. He came into the darkness so that we could know light and life forever. ~Paul Tripp
What is Wholehearted Life in Jesus?
Wholehearted life in Jesus is the lifelong process of our thoughts, emotions, desires, and choices uniting through the cross to find our deepest longings and greatest hopes satisfied in Jesus alone (Psalm 86:11). This kind of life is expressed through the following four characteristics:
Renewed Mind : As God makes Himself known to us through the written and Living Word, we are continually transformed by replacing the lies we believe with the truth He reveals.
Healthy Relationships : As our inner being is made whole through faith in Jesus, and through the continual integration of thoughts, emotions, desires and choices, we begin to relate to God, others and ourselves with our whole hearts, leading to health in relationships
Satisfied Soul : As we turn from the things of this world and turn to Jesus to satisfy our desires, we discover that what we long for most deeply is most fully satisfied in Him.
Active Faith : As God speaks to us, we hear and we act – living out what we believe through immediate and tangible steps of obedience.
From the beginning, in the garden of Eden, God created us to be in relationship with Him and to be His image bearers and to bear fruit unto him.
Adam and Eve disobeyed the VOICE of God and were kicked out of Garden. Relationship was broken.
If obedience is a personal act of worship, then disobedience is personal too.
Every SIN IS A VIOLATION OF RELATIONSHIP – a sin against God.
Ever since Eve’s transgression, God has been working to restore His Seed, and ultimately a restored Garden of Eden with His new Bride, while setting distinction and separation between His seed, and the seed sown by the serpent.
28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29For 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 brothers.
ISAIAH 40:22
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth
Just as we are the clay that is molded by the hands of potter as it spins in a circle. He is the potter and we are the clay. We are the works of His Hands, predestined to bear His image of Righteousness Crafting, Shaping and Molding us until His Image is formed in us through the work His Son did for us on the cross.
By grace he works in the situations, locations, and relationships of our everyday lives to craft, hammer, bend, and mold us into people who build life based on the radical belief that he really does exist and he really does reward those who seek him.
ISAIAH 64:8
we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
In the beginning of his word we see a precedent established,
that clearly SETSAPART one from the other.
TREE OF GOOD & EVIL
-vs-
TREE OF LIFE
2 seeds planted that produce 2 distinct types of fruit.
1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel and to his offering: 5But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.6And the LORD said to Cain, Why are you wroth? and why is your countenance fallen? 7If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not well, sin lies at the door. And to you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.
THE DESCENDANTS OF CAIN
17And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bore Enoch : and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repents me that I have made them.
God FLOODED the earth to SETAPART the WICKED from the RIGHTEOUS.
SALVATION OF ONE PARTY ~implies~ JUDGEMENT OF ANOTHER
THE CITY & WORKS DESTROYED
by the WASHING OF WATER
-vs-
8 SOULS SPARED
by the WASHING OF WATER
With the Flood, God established a precedent that the works
that come from the sin in our flesh
produces is contrary to His Spirit and why we were created.
~ foreshadowing ~
Jesus coming to condemn and crucify sin in the flesh and to destroy the works of the devil.
We are Saved, Washed and Cleansed with Living Water, His Holy Spirit.
Our old man (Adam/flesh) is dead and we are alive in Christ (the New Adam/spirit)
FORESHADOWING is a literary device in which an author gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of story, or a chapter, and it helps the reader develop expectations about the upcoming events.
Everything in the Old Testament served as a shadow of what was to come and to point us to Christ’s work done for us on the cross.
In the 1st book of Genesis,
Nimrod, after the flood,
attempted to build the CITY and Kingdom of Babylon
with A TOWER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN
GENESIS 11 : TOWER OF BABEL
let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach to heaven
In the last book of REvelation,
the city and Kingdom of Babylon has been rebuilt by the kings of the earth,
At the end of HIS – STORY, there are 2 WOMEN and 2 KINGDOMS
are depicted and SETAPART from each other
THE WHORE OF BABYLON
WHO WILL BE JUDGED
-vs-
THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
WHO WILL BE REDEEMED
REVELATION 18 : BABYLON IS FALLEN
4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.5For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
-vs-
REVELATION 19 : MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB
7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. 8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
THE EARTHLY KINGDOM
of BABYLON
“The City of Confusion (by way of mixing)”
built by the kings of earth
and the works of their hands
‘will be destroyed
ESTABLISHED BY INITIATION
-vs-
THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM
of JERUSALEM
“The City of Truth”
built by the King of Kings,
adorned for the bride,
built by God’s hands
ESTABLISHED BY GRACE
The SAME RECURRING PATTERN occurs 4 different times
throughout GENESIS and EXODUS:
CITIES & KINGDOMS built by men
Resulting in PRIDE & WICKEDNESS
Which brings JUDGEMENT FROM GOD
PSALM 46 : GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH
6The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolation’s he has made in the earth
1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelled there. 3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach to heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scatter abroad on the face of the whole earth. 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. 6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8So the LORD scatter them abroad from there on the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from there did the LORD scatter them abroad on the face of all the earth.
THE TOWER OF BABEL was UNPROFITABLE to GOD. It was built by men’s hands to glorify themselves which results in being LIFTED UP WITH PRIDE and emptiness. PRIDE goes before DESTRUCTION
PROVERBS 16 :
18Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 19Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
EMPTY, VAIN, LIFTED UP PRIDE
-vs-
BOUGHED OVER HUMILITY
70NATIONS SCATTERED
across the world
at Babel
because of DISOBEDIENCE
-vs-
1SOUL REDEEMED
Abraham, because of OBEDIENCE
to be His new seed,
and the father of His nation
Babylon is destroyed
and Abram is called out
~ foreshadowing ~
Babylon is destroyed
and we as the bride
are told to come out of her.
REVELATION 17 : BABYLON IS FALLEN
4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.5For her sins have reached to heaven,and God has remembered her iniquities.
Abram was set apart and chosen by God to come out of Babylon and to be the father of a nation which would bear fruit to God through faith in His PROMISES. God PROMISES Abram that He would make him a great nation and give them the land of Canaan and that they would be blessed. He PROMISED to Abram and his seed the land of Canaan, even though at this point Abram was 75 years old and childless.
1Now the Lord said to Abram, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you:2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; 3And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6And Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, To your seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him. 8And he removed from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an altar to the LORD, and called on the name of the LORD. 9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
God then reassures Abram that even though he had no heir, that his seed would be as numerous as the stars and that they would inherit the land of Canaan. Abram believed and it was counted to him for righteousness.
1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward.2And Abram said, LORD God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3And Abram said, Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, see, one born in my house is my heir. 4And, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir. 5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them: and he said to him, So shall your seed be. 6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.7And he said to him, I am the LORD that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.
God then establishes His COVENANT with Abraham.
One thing that is unique about this story is the idea that a god would make a covenant with a person or nation. Many Israelite practices were like those of the neighboring tribes – their sacrifices, the style of their temples, their laws and other customs. But the idea of a god making a promise and binding Himself to a people was unthinkable, and no ancient stories record anything like this outside the Bible. In contrast, the “gods” of the myths of the time were always capricious, unpredictable and frequently unfair. The difference between the true God and other tribal deities is profound, because He is a God who makes a promise and keeps it for eternity. ~The God of the Covenant
8And he said, LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?9And he said to him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10And he took to him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11And when the fowls came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and, see, an horror of great darkness fell on him. 13And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their’s, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them 400 years; 14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16But in the fourth generation they shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.18In the same day the LORD made a covenant [h1285] with Abram, saying, To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Covenant [h1285] b?rîyth occurs 284x in 264 verses
from H1262 (in the sense of cutting [like H1254]);
a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):
it was custom in making solemn covenants, to pass between the divided parts of the victims
—confederacy, (con-) feder(-ate), covenant, league.covenant, alliance, pledge between men
treaty, alliance, league (man to man)
constitution, ordinance (monarch to subjects)
agreement, pledge (man to man)
alliance (of friendship)
alliance (of marriage)
When God reveals Himself to humanity, He uses images and customs that are already known rather than asking people to do something they don’t understand.
Here, when God made a covenant with Abram,
He asked Abram to bring five animals,
sacrifice them and
MAKE A PATH BETWEEN
the halves of their bodies.
God was using a method of
making (literally “cutting”) a covenant
that was well known in the ancient near east.
Typically both parties would
WALK THROUGH THE PATH OF BLOOD
to take the covenant upon themselves.
Then part of the sacrifices would be
cooked and eaten in a covenant meal,
to celebrate the new bond
of friendship between them.
Ancient covenants
were not just business arrangements,
they were more like MARRIAGES,
where the lives of both parties
are bound together to each other.
It is thought that part of the imagery
of this ceremony was that they were
MERGING THEIR LIVES TOGETHER
BY WALKING THROUGH THE SAME BLOOD,
which represents LIFE.
It is also thought that the ceremony is a way of promising that if either party does not fulfill his end of the covenant, that his life would be forfeited, like that of the animals. It is also interesting that this ceremony is modified from its original form to say something else about God. Normally both parties pass through the pieces, both committing themselves to the covenant. Here, only God passes through the pieces, as if He is making a unilateral promise to fulfill His covenant, no matter what Abram does. His constancy and faithfulness are unwavering, and thankfully not dependent on the fickleness of humankind. ~The God of the Covenant
The Covenant made with Abraham where God passed in between the flesh
of the dead carcasses with a burning lamp down the path of blood served to
FORESHADOW our WALK with Christ through FAITH
in His blood and Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
~ foreshadowing ~
Jesus, the light, who was the word made flesh,
walked the bloody path in the midst of the valley
of the shadow of death,
and paved the way for us to walk
after Him in the SPIRIT and not the FLESH
As we will see, the Imagery of being
BOUND, JOINED, or MARRIED
together with God,
and WALKING together
down the same PATH
that He carved out for us,
being led & guided
by His VOICE
is the prominent theme
that runs throughout Scripture
We are to faithfully FOLLOW after His PROMISES
and trust, and obey his instructions.
He in turn provides all we need for our journey.
The VOICE of God WALKED in the Garden, and Adam & Eve hid themselves from His presence after they disobeyed his Instructions.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Voice [h6963] qôwl occurs 506x in 436 verses
from an unused root meaning to call aloud;
a voice or sound:—
Genesis 3:
8 And they heard the voice [h6963] of the LORD God walked [h1980]in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
To Walk [h1980] hâlak occurs 500x in 468 verses
to go, walk, come
to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away,
to die, live, manner of life (fig.)
Enoch walked [h1980] with God
and God took him before the flood
and never saw death.
Noah walked [h1980] WITH God
who was perfect in Generations,
so God spared him from the flood.
Now God tells Abraham
to walk [h1980] before him
and be perfect.
GENESIS 17 : ABRAM NAMED ABRAHAM
1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk [h1980] before me, and be you perfect.2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.
God then gives Abram and new name, Abraham. The Asian custom of naming/renaming someone was always associated with the possession of authority over the one being named.
GENESIS 17 : ABRAM NAMED ABRAHAM
3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. 6And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. 7And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you. 8And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
24 years after being called out of Babylon, God establishes His Covenant with Abraham through the Covenant of CIRCUMCISION. A Covenant is a binding contract between 2 parties. This covenant was established through the faith of Abraham. CIRCUMCISION involves using a sword (knife) to remove and roll back the reproach of the flesh.
9And God said to Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you, and your seed after you in their generations. 10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.11And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you.12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of your seed. 13He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.
Circumcision represented ritual cleanliness
but served as outward expression and
to FORESHADOW what was to come
~ foreshadowing ~
which was Jesus,
who came to bring a sword to circumcise our hearts,
to remove the reproach of the flesh,
when we place our FAITH in him.
Sarai, Abraham’s wife, is now renamed to Sarah (“Princess”). God promises her that she will be the mother of nations and that she will bear a son who was to be named Isaac even though she was 90 and Abraham was 100. This princess would be given the privilege of producing nations; kings of people would come from her. During the OT period at least four nations came from Sarah’s womb: Israel, Judah, Edom, and The Amalekite’s. Within Israel and Judah collectively a total of 41 kings reigned. Sarah is the only woman in the OT whom the Lord specifically indicated He would bless.
GENESIS 17 : SARAH PROMISED A SON
15And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18And Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live before you! 19And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed; and you shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year. 22And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
Before the Covenant of Circumcision was made with Abraham and before Sarah was promised a son, Sarai gave Abraham her Egyptian handmaid Hagar to bear a son for him and she had Ishmael. He would bless Ishmael and make him a great nation but the covenant was established with Isaac.
1And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him. 6And Sarah said, God has made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.8And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
God then proved Abraham’s obedience and Faith by telling him to offer up Isaac, the son promised to him by God with his wife Sarai, as a burnt offering in MOUNT MORIAH, which was a common pagan practice that came out of Babylon. Pagans in Canaan during the OT period regularly practiced child sacrifice by making them pass through the fire to give them as food to their gods. When God saw that Abraham acted upon God’s request, God knew that he feared Him, and did not withhold His only son from Him. Abraham then offered up a substitute offering of a ram in Isaac’s place. Here we see how Obedience and Faith in God’s Promises are bound together.
1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said to him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2And he said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get you into the land of Moriah [h4179]; and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.
SACRIFICE AVERTED
11And the angel of the LORD called to him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12And he said, Lay not your hand on the lad, neither do you any thing to him: for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16And said, By myself have I sworn, said the LORD, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: 17That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice [h6963]. 19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelled at Beersheba.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Moriah [h4179]occurs 2 times in 2 verses
Moriah = “chosen by Jehovah”
the place where Abraham took Isaac for sacrifice
the mount on the eastern edge of Jerusalem
where David would purchase the Threshing floor from Ornan the Jebusite and where his son Solomon built the temple
where Christ would crucified and build his Temple not made with hands.
This served to FORESHADOW God sending his only begotten Son,
the sacrificial lamb, as a substitute offering for our sins.
The Promise that all nations would be blessed through his seed
was fulfilled by the giving of the holy spirit to those who place their faith in Christ.
~ foreshadowing ~
Abraham received a blessing from the Lord because
He OBEYED God’s VOICE
Isaac then marries Rebekah who would give birth to twins Esau and Jacob whom God then SETAPART in Elizabeth’s womb.
19And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:20And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. 21And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. 23And the LORD said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was three score years old when she bore them. 27And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. .
God HATED ESAU
who was described as
Red, Hairy, Rough, Cunning
-vs-
God LOVED JACOB
who was described as
Smooth, Plain
JACOB would be renamed to “ISRAEL”
which means “God Prevails” (against the nations).
“Gentile” means “of the nations”,
“not of the one nation-Israel”.
So from God’s perspective you are either of :
THE 70 Gentile Nations
God DISINHERITED
and scattered at the Tower
-vs-
HIS nation ISRAEL
God INHERITED
The Nation chosen by God
Deuteronomy 32 :
8When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. 9For the LORD’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
FROM JACOB CAME
THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL
(by way of his 2 wives RACHEL and LEAH
and their 2 handmaids BILHAH and ZIPLAH)
The 1st 4 TRIBES OF ISRAEL came from LEAH:
1 REUBEN
2 SIMEON
3 LEVI
4 JUDAH
RACHEL became envious of LEAH
because she was able to conceive
and give Jacob children and she couldn’t.
So RACHEL gave Jacob her BILHAH her HANDMAID to conceive who had :
5 DAN
6 NAPHTALI
LEAH then gave Jacob ZILPAH her HANDMAID
to conceive who had :
7 GAD
8 ASHER
LEAH then had 2 more sons :
9 ISAACHAR
10 ZEBULON
RACHEL
was finally given conception and had :
11 JOSEPH
12 BENJAMIN
This is where the SHEEP and the SHEPHERD narrative begins.
THE SHEEP are the descendants of RACHEL whose name means “ewe” a female lamb,
who kept her fathers sheep, just as Able was a keeper of the sheep.
RACHEL is who JACOB (ISRAEL) , “LOVED THE MOST” out of His Wive’s.
Genesis 29 : Jacob Meets Rachel
1Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. 2And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, see, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was on the well’s mouth. 3And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the well’s mouth in his place. 4And Jacob said to them, My brothers, from where be you? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5And he said to them, Know you Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel [h7354] his daughter comes with the sheep. 7And he said, See, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water you the sheep, and go and feed them.8And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. 9And while he yet spoke with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
RACHEL[H7354]Râchêloccurs 47 in 44
Rachel = “ewe” a female lamb
daughter of Laban, wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
a ewe [the females being the predominant element of a flock]
(as a good traveller):—ewe, sheep.
THE SHEPHERD came from LEAH.
THE SHEEP came from RACHEL.
The 2 wives of Jacob that BUILT THE HOUSE of ISRAEL
RUTH 4 : BOAZ REDEEMS RUTH
11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do you worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
Just as Jacob “LOVED RACHEL THE MOST” out of his WIVES
Jacob “LOVED JOSEPH THE MOST” out of his SONS
Because of this Joseph’s brothers envied him
and they threw him into an EMPTY PIT
and then JOSEPH was sold into in EGYPT
Here Joseph would marry Asenath,
who gave birth to 2 sons:
MANASSAH and EPHRAIM
Because of famine, Israel moved his family
from the land of Canaan to the Land of Goshen,
just outside of Egypt, where Jacob, blesses the sons of Joseph,
EPHRAIM and MANASSAH.
JACOB claims they are to be treated as his.
They were ADOPTED
(GRANDFATHERED) in
as part of the tribes of Israel
~ foreshadowing ~
Our ADOPTION
as sons of God
through faith in Christ His Son.
Genesis 48 : Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
5And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
17And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head. 19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Ephraim [h669]occurs 180 times in 164 verses
double fruit (ash-heap);
I shall be doubly fruitful (2x)
second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh
the mountain country of Ephraim
used name for the Northern Kingdom
(Hosea or Isaiah) a city near Baal-hazora chief gate of Jerusalem
“double land”
“twin land”
EPHRAIM
means
“Double Fruit”
who received the 1ST BORN BLESSING,
was prophesied to be a multitude of NATIONS.
EPHRAIM
(“Double FRUIT”)
who was the son of
JOSEPH
(“God has ADDED”)
“God has ADDED”
“Double FRUIT”
1ST PORTION of FRUIT:
(of the womb):
Multiplying into a nation while in Egypt
2ND PORTION of FRUIT:
The FRUIT of THE SPIRIT
given to us by Christ’s Holy Spirit
Joseph received the 1ST BORN BIRTHRIGHT
even though he was 2ND TO LAST BORN of the 12 tribes.
After Rachel died,
REUBEN who was Jacob’s actual 1ST BORN SON,
slept with Bilhah, Rachel’s Handmaid
which defiled Jacob’s bed
and caused REUBEN to lose his1st BORN BIRTH RIGHT
which was given to JOSEPH,
the 1ST BORN of RACHEL
1 CHRONICLES 5 : DESCENDANTS OF REUBEN
1Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but for as much as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. 2For Judah prevailed above his brothers, and of him came the chief ruler;but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
JUDAH and JOSEPH received the LONGEST BLESSINGS from Jacob.
GENESIS 49 : JACOB’S PROPHECY OF Judah
8Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise: your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. 9Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10The sceptershall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to him shall the gathering of the people be.11Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass’s colt to the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk
GENESIS 49 : JACOB’S PROPHECY of joseph
22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24But his bow stayed in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 25Even by the God of your father, who shall help you; and by the Almighty, who shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: 26The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brothers.
SCEPTER PROMISE
JUDAH
DAVID :: JESUS
THE SCEPTER is THE LAW,
which is what JESUS OUR SHEPHERD fulfilled,
and who was from the Tribe of Judah.
Unto him shall everyone be gathered
through obedience to his LAW
BIRTHRIGHT PROMISE
JOSEPH
EPHRAIM :: MANASSAH
JOSEPH and his 2 sons
EPHRAIM and MANASSAH are prophecied
to bare the fruit that comes from
FOLLOWING and OBEYING the shepherd
who bares the Scepter, which is the LAW
THE SCEPTER is a MARK OF AUTHORITY.
(A sceptre or scepter is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch
as an item of royal or imperial insignia.
Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty )
8But to the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. 10And, You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands: 11They shall perish; but you remain; and they all shall wax old as does a garment;
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. 3He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
6God has spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver; 8Moab is my wash pot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph you because of me. 9Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
After enduring 400 years of affliction in EGYPT, the 70 SOULS from JACOB had multiplied into over 600,000 SOULS and became the NATION of ISRAEL, who was was SETAPART and REDEEMED by God. This confirms the PROMISE made to Abram made in Genesis 15 that they would be afflicted for 400 years and then God would judge that nation and they would come out with great substance. They would then be led to the PROMISED land of Canaan.
13And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their’s, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them 400 years. 14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.15And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16But in the fourth generation they shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Moses was chosen by God to confront the Pharaoh
and to tell him to let the Israelite’s go but Pharaoh asked,
Who is the Lord? I don’t know him,
so why should I OBEY his VOICE?
He COULD NOT HEAR the VOICE of the Lord
because his HEART was hardened.
Exodus 5: Pharaoh’s First Refusal
1And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. 2 And Pharaoh said, Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice [h6963] to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
EGYPTIANS PLAGUED
EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD
BITUMOUS OIL
FROM EARTH
USED TO PRESERVE
FLESH OF DEAD
PHARAOH and His Army DESTROYED
by DROWNING in the SEA
ISRAEL SPARED
LAMBS BOOK OF LIFE
OLIVE OIL (HOLY SPIRIT)
FROM HEAVEN
USED TO PRESERVE
FLESH OF LIVING
ISRAEL REDEEMED by God
by WALKING on DRY LAND
in MIDST of SEA
EGYPTIANS PLAGUED
EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD
BITUMOUS OIL
FROM EARTH
USED TO PRESERVE
FLESH OF DEAD
PHARAOH and His Army DESTROYED
by DROWNING in the SEA
THE EXODUS from Egyptian Bondage
and the receiving of the Law and instructions
for the tabernacle which gave birth to the nation of Israel
~ foreshadowing ~
The Spiritual EXODUS from the bondage of SIN and DEATH
through the indwelling of His HOLY SPIRIT
which writes the LAW onto our heart and gave birth to His church
They began their WALK (journey)
to the land that was PROMISED to them.
During this time God TESTED and PROVED their FAITH
to see if they would do as he commanded and FOLLOW His ORDERS
and would diligently HEAR his VOICE
and give EAR to HIS COMMANDMENTS
Exodus 15:
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice [h6963] of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee.
They began murmuring for water and food on the way, and their FAITH already began to waver, asking if God can provide a table in the wilderness.
He then led ISRAEL and the aliens that had left with them to MOUNT SINAI (HOREB) where God thundered down THE LAW and 10 COMMANDMENTS, as well as instructions on setting up THE TABERNACLE in the Wilderness
God chose Israel as His new seed and he spoke to them and declared his covenant
with a great VOICE out of the thick darkness.
They were to diligently listen to the VOICE of the Lord,
Give EAR to his Commandments, and keep his covenant.
Exodus 24 :The Covenant Sealed WITH BLOOD
1And he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship you afar off. 2And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.3And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD has said will we do. 4And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD has said will we do, and be obedient. 8And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words. 9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 11And on the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
OLD COVENANT SEALED by
sprinkled blood of bulls
~ foreshadowing ~
NEW COVENANT SEALED by
Christ’s blood shed for us
All of Rachel’s descendants were stationed together in the WEST while in the wilderness,
7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver;
PSALM 80: HEAR US, SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you that lead Joseph like a flock; you that dwell between the cherubim, shine forth. 2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your strength, and come and save us. 3Turn us again, O God, and cause your face to shine; and we shall be saved.
RACHEL,
the Sheep and her offspring
JOSEPH
(“God has ADDED”)
MANASSAH
EPHRAIM
BENJAMIN
(“son of the right hand”)
THE TABERNACLE DWELT IN SHILOH, which was a city allotted to TRIBE OF EPHRAIM
The SHEEP throughout Scripture:
JOSHUA who led Israel into Promised Land: TRIBE OF EPHRAIM
JUDGES:
Othniel : Judah
EHUD : TRIBE OF BENJAMIN
Deborah : (dwelt in MOUNT EPHRAIM)
GIDEON: TRIBE OF MANASSAH
Tola : Issachar (dwelt in MOUNT EPHRAIM)
JAIR: TRIBE OF MANASSAH (a Gileadite)
JEPHTHAE: TRIBE OF MANASSAH
Samson : Dan
SAMUEL: TRIBE OF EPHRAIM
Boaz committed himself to redeem Naomi’s property, to marry Ruth, and to perpetuate the names of the 2 Ephraimite’s who had died and were married to Ruth and Orpah, upon their marriage.
KINGS:
Saul : TRIBE OF BENJAMIN
David : Judah
Solomon : Judah
JEROBOAM: the 1st King of Northern Kingdom : TRIBE OF EPHRAIM
APOSTLE PAUL: TRIBE OF BENJAMIN
GOD’S LAW & COVENANTS
with Israel
are ESTABLISHED
in the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament.
EVERYTHING IN THE BIBLE is written IN REFERENCE to the stipulations in these 5 books
The next 17 books of the Old Testament are essentially historical books
based on how well Israel followed the instructions given in these 5 books.
How well did they stay within the boundaries of the path God laid out before them.
The last 17 books of the Old Testament are books written by the PROPHETS
warning Israel of they curses that will be enacted from these 5 books
if they continue to disobey the covenant that had been established
When you get a jigsaw puzzle, you see on the cover of the box how it is supposed to fit together, but when you open it up, all the pieces are broken up. The solver is expected to put pieces together in a logical way, in order to make it look like the picture on the box. The easiest way to put the puzzle together is by first piecing the borders or boundaries together. Everything then fits within those pieces. THE LAW is the outline of the biblical puzzle. It set’s the borders on how all the other pieces should fit within it’s frame.
THE LAW was given to the Israelite’s so they could distinguish between the gods of the nations and the God who redeemed them of Egypt whom they were called to serve. All the things stipulated in THE LAW that you were not to do, were the things that they were doing in Babylon, Sodom, and Egypt which brought JUDGEMENT from God.
THE LAW was given to SEPARATE and SET themselves APART from WALKING in the customs of the nations so they could serve the God of Israel and bare Him fruit To SANCTIFY to himself a HOLY NATION and a kingdom of priests.
LEVITICUS 20: KEEP ALL MY DECREES
22Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them; that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, vomit you not out. 23And ye shall not walk [h1980] in the customs of the nation,which I cast out before you: for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey: I am Jehovah your God, who hath separated you from the peoples. 25Ye shall therefore make a distinction between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by bird, or by anything wherewith the ground teemeth, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26And ye shall be holy unto me: for I, Jehovah, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that ye should be mine.
EXODUS 19 : ISRAEL AT MOUNT SINAI
5Now therefore, if you will obey my voice [h6963] indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.
Although Mosaic Law set conditions for the people to continue enjoying God’s blessing, it wasn’t primarily give as an achievement test, a list of things this special people had to do to gain acceptance and relationship with God. No, God had already chosen them. He had already placed his love on them by redeeming them from captivity and promised them a great land. THE LAW he had given was not a test to gain his love, rather it was concrete expression of his love. God was gracing the people whom he had taken as his own with his LAW. They they were chosen to receive it depicted the special nature of their relationship with him-a relationship that other nations did not enjoy.
So this meant that when they disobeyed, they did something profoundly more significant than break abstract moral regulations. Disobedience was profoundly personal. BREAKING THE LAW was BREAKING RELATIONSHIP. Turning their backs on God’s moral code was turning their backs on God. Rebellion was more than transgressing legal boundaries, it was disloyalty to God. Transgressing God’s boundaries or breaking his law is first about breaking relationship with him. ~Paul Tripp
GOD considered ISRAEL his BRIDE.
AMOS 3: Witnesses against Israel
13Can two walk [h1980] together, except they be agreed?
THE LAW SERVES TO WARN
what will happen due to disobedience
WALKING CONTRARY to HIM
This is why we are to fear the Lord.
THE LAW SERVES TO REWARD
those who are obedient by
WALKING WITH HIM within
the boundaries of His Law
THE LAW SERVES TO WARN
what will happen due to disobedience
WALKING CONTRARY to HIM
This is why we are to fear the Lord.
PSALM 19
7The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart [h3820]: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.10More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11Moreover by them is your servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. 13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
12And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk [h1980] in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart [h3820] and with all your soul, 13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Law [h8451] tôwrâh occurs 219 in 213 verses
law
direction
instruction
a precept or statute
After they received the LAW, An angel went before them to
prepare THE WAY for them to bring them to
the place God had PROMISED and prepared for them,
whose voice they were to listen to and obey
~ foreshadowing ~
Jesus preparing the WAY for us and sending us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us,
who writes the LAWS into our hearts, whose voice we are to listen to
and obey and who brings us to the PROMISED land of eternal life.
20Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way [h1870] and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Pay attention to him and listen to his voice [h6963]; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. 22But if you will listen carefully to his voice [h6963] and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
The LAW was the Instructions, orders, commands, and directions
they were to FOLLOW and keep on their WAY to THE PROMISED LAND.
The LAW has no power to save or rescue us,
but it does have the power however to expose SIN and
provide the PATH and boundaries wherein we should WALK.
It gives us guidance on how to negotiate between right and wrong
Just like a RECIPE (bread), the LAW
provided is STEP-by STEP instructions to FOLLOW
in order to get a fixed result.
When we follow his instructions
we can rest in confident assurance of a fixed result,
at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 17:4
Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have kept [me from]
the paths [h734] of the destroyer.
Psalm 25:10
All the paths [h734] of the LORD
[are] mercy and truth
unto such as keep his
covenant and his testimonies.
Psalm 119
1Blessed [are] the undefiled in the way,
who walk [h1980]
IN THE LAW of the LORD.
3They also do no iniquity:
they walk [h1980] in his ways.
9 Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way [h734]?
by taking heed [thereto]
according to thy word.
35 Make me to go in the path [h5410]
of thy commandments;
for therein do I delight; .
101 I have refrained my feet
from every evil way [h734],
that I might keep thy word.
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding:
therefore I hate every false way [h734].
105 Thy word [is] a lamp
unto my feet,
and a light
unto my path [h5410]
It ESTABLISHES a BASELINE
( a minimum or starting point used for comparisons )
Are we WALKING WITHIN
the BOUNDARIES
of His COVENANT or NOT?
SIN
THE PATH and THE WAY
God gave Israel to WALK
Psalm 119
1Blessed [are] the undefiled in the way,
who walk [h1980]
IN THE LAW of the LORD.
WITHIN the BOUNDARY
of His LAW,
Listening to His VOICE,
OBEYING, & FOLLOWING
after His COMMANDS
and INSTRUCTIONS
SIN
DARKNESS
LIGHT
DARKNESS
DEATH
LIFE
DEATH
LIES
TRUTH
LIES
FLESH
SPIRIT
FLESH
The Exodus through the RED SEA
depicts this imagery
WATER
WALK
through RED Sea
on DRY LAND
WATER
The Covenant made with Abraham
depicts this Imagery.
DEAD carcasses
on RIGHT and LEFT.
BLOOD (LIFE)
running through the
MIDDLE
DEAD carcasses
on RIGHT and LEFT.
FLESH
BLOOD
FLESH
DEATH
LIFE
DEATH
The HEART
THE MIDDLE
or
CENTER
of anything
from which blood flows
Deuteronomy 11 :
Remember God’s Words
18Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your Heart [h3820] and in your soul, and bind them for a sign on your hand, that they may be as frontlets BETWEEN YOUR EYES.19And you shall teach them your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk [h1980] by the way [h734],
David defeated Goliath by slinging a STONE
in BETWEEN HIS EYES.
Foreshadowing Christ the Spiritual STONE
defeating death between 2 thieves at SKULL Hill
STONE
THIEF
THIEF
ENEMIES
Psalm 110: God’s Faithful Messiah
2The LORD shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion: rule you in the MIDDLE of your enemies.
6Be you therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left .
SIN is defined as transgression of the Law. SIN does not exist without the Law. The Law is not SIN, but it gives life to it, by defining what sin is.
EXAMPLE: There would be nothing considered ILLEGAL if STATE or FEDERAL LAW did not define it.
ROMANS 7 : GOD’S LAW IS HOLY
7What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet.8But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.9For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be to death. 11For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12Why the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
SIN is an Archers term for “MISSING THE MARK”.
If there was no mark or target,
there would be no way of distinguishing if their arrow landed in the correct place.
The LAW establishes the mark and target
at which we are to aim and strive for.
GENESIS 49 : JACOB’S PROPHECY of joseph
22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24But his bow stayed in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
THE LAW was ADDED
because of
REPEATED TRANSGRESSIONS
in order to
MAKE THE OFFENSES INCREASE,
and to establish a day when the
DEBT from the transgressions is due.
1 TIMOTHY :
9Knowing 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 murderers, 10For fornicators, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for enslavers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Just as the term “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW” is used in our legal system,
the same applies for God’s Law which means you are “UNDER IT”.
Laws are put in place for the well being of others and yourself,
to keep peace and justice, and to establish order. (ie. for our own good). ,
Romans 7 :
1Know you not, brothers, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
Once a boundary is crossed and we wander
outside the PATH we transgress against the LAW
it works DEBT, BONDAGE
& ultimately WRATH
ROMANS 4:15
Because the Law Works Wrath: for where No Law is, there is no transgression.
A law does not take effect until broken. When it is transgressed, it works wrath and debt.
EXAMPLE: If you are convicted of a felony by transgressing a man made law, you are in debt to repay society by serving time in prison, therefore a slave and in bondage to it.
Every sin committed is like borrowing money that you have no way of paying back. THE LAW is Spiritual but we are carnal, SOLD UNDER THE LAW of SIN and DEATH , because we have all sinned and fallen short of His RIGHTEOUSNESS .
EXAMPLE: The US is over $20 Trillion in debt, with no possible way to repay it, and each day that debt continues to grow. Our debt has doubled just within the past 10 years. It has increased at a compounded (exponential) annual rate of about 9% per year since 1971.
The Debt from Sin continues to Pile up which ultimately works WRATH & JUDGEMENT based off the CURSES. Every Transgression of the Law Adds to the Wrath being piled up and ultimately a due date for when the debt is due to be paid… where the curses enacted in the LAW ultimately devour the earth
REVELATION 17 : BABYLON IS FALLEN
5For her sins have reached to heaven,and God has remembered her iniquities..
The SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM in LEVITICUS required the blood shed of an innocent animal to cover the sins from God eyes, because The Law states, there is no REMISSION OF SIN without the shedding of blood. REMISSION is the cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty.
The SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM was put in place to point to and FORESHADOW The Sacrificial lamb whose blood innocent blood was shed for remission of our sins when we place our faith in in him. Our debt was paid for and we were bought with a price.
We often don’t understand what sin is about, and in so doing, we minimize how horrible it really is. If you unwittingly devalue the heinous nature of sin, you will also devalue the grace that alone is able to rescue you from it.
The first way we devalue sin is to think that sin is about behavior and behavior alone. Sin is first and foremost a matter of the heart (Matt 5-7). Since we live out of the heart (Luke 6:43, in always originates there. Sin is always a matter of the thoughts, desires, motives, and choices of the heart. Sin is a matter of the heart that expresses itself in the behavior of the body-your body physically goes where your heart has already gone. This is precisely why we need rescuing grace. We can run from a certain situation, location, or relationship, but e have no ability whatsoever to escape our hearts; for that, we need rescuing grace.
Second, we tend to think of sin as the breaking of a set of abstract rules. But sin is much more than that. Sin is the breaking of a relationship that results in breaking God’s rules. Remember, the 10 Commandments begin with a call to worship God above all else. Only when God is in his rightful place in my heart that I desire to live in a way that pleases him. If God is not in his rightful place, I insert myself in his place, write my own laws, and give myself to ding what pleases me. So every sin is against God. Every sin is an assault on God’s rightful place. Every sin is a betrayal of him. Every sin steals glory from him. Every sin denies his existence and his authority. Every sin replaces him with something else. Every sin quests for his power and his glory. Every sin is after his throne.
Sin is personal and relational, even if you are not conscious of it at the moment when you are sinning. That is why it is right for David, who has just committed adultery and murder, to say, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” David is not minimizing the horrible wrongs he did against Bathsheba, Uriah, and the people of Israel What he’s doing is confessing the core of what sin is about. Sin questions Gods goodness, wisdom, faithfulness, and love. Sin challenges God’s personal rule. Sin says that you know better than God. Sin is personal, and that is why Jesus suffered and died so that you and I would receive forgiving grace. ~Paul Tripp
AGAIN: THE LAW ESTABLISHES a BASELINE
( a minimum or starting point used for comparisons )
ARE WE WALKING WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF HIS COVENANT OR NOT?
The LAW has now power to save or rescue us,
it does have the power however to expose SIN
and provide the boundaries wherein we should WALK.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
To Walk [h1980] hâlak occurs 500x in 468 verses to go, walk, come
to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away, to die, live, manner of life (fig.)
CHAPTER 26 of LEVITICUS is extremely important to understand
and we will see how these PUNISHMENTS for DISOBEDIENCE
are played out for ISRAEL
Leviticus 26 : The Blessings of Obedience
1You shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither raise you up a standing image, neither shall you set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God. 2You shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 3If you walk [h1980] in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;4Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5And your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time: and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. 7And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9For I will have respect to you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. 10And you shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. 11And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. 12And I will walk [h1980] among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. 13I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
14But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments;15And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant: 16I also will do this to you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17And I will set my face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18And if you will not yet for all this listen to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
21And if you walk [h1980] contrary to me, and will not listen to me; I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins.22I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
23And if you will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk [h1980] contrary to me; 24Then will I also walk [h1980] contrary to you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25And I will bring a sword on you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when you are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and you shall eat, and not be satisfied.
27And if you will not for all this listen to me, but walk [h1980] contrary to me; 28Then I will walk [h1980] contrary to you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.29And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall you eat. 30And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the smell of your sweet odors. 32And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and you be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 35As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when you dwelled on it. 36And on them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursues. 37And they shall fall one on another, as it were before a sword, when none pursues: and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38And you shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
God Remembers Those who Repent
40If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked [h1980] contrary to me; 41And that I also have walked [h1980] contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts [h3820] be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: 42Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lies desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. 44And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.46These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.3He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Yes, though I walk [h1980] through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
We see RACHEL meaning “ewe” lamb,
is from an unused root meaning
“to JOURNEY”.
“A good TRAVELLER “
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
RACHEL[H7354]Râchêloccurs 47 in 44
Rachel = “ewe” a female lamb
daughter of Laban, wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
a ewe [the females being the predominant element of a flock]
(as a good traveller):—ewe, sheep
While in wilderness, God chose 1 from each tribe to go spy out Canaan, the land promised to them by God as an inheritance. Moses instructed the spies to report whether the land was good or bad and to bring of back the fruit of the land. They returned after 40 days of searching they said the fruit of the land is good and it flows with milk and honey, but, those who dwell in the land have cities that are walled and the sons of Anak who are giants and stronger than us dwell there so there is no way we can possess the land. They feared the inhabitants of the land more than they feared God.
Numbers 32 :
10Andthe LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying,11Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. 13And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.
They departed from the PATH
and from God through unbelief
and their hearts were hardened.
They lusted after evil things.
They committed Idolatry
(they sat down to eat and drink,
and rose up to play)
They committed Fornication
and 23k fell.
They tempted Christ and
were destroyed by serpents.
They murmured against Him and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Only 2 of the 12 spies did not
bring back a negative report
and did not fear the inhabitants of Canaan,
and wholly FOLLOWED the Lord
CALEB
from the TRIBE of JUDAH
JOSHUA
from the TRIBE of EPHRAIM
These are the only 2 people
that left during the Exodus and
actually made it to
the PROMISED land after God
made them wander in the wilderness
for 40 years due to disobedience!!!
They departed from the PATH
and from God through unbelief
and their hearts were hardened.
They lusted after evil things.
They committed Idolatry
(they sat down to eat and drink,
and rose up to play)
They committed Fornication
and 23k fell.
They tempted Christ and
were destroyed by serpents.
They murmured against Him and were destroyed by the destroyer.
They Disobeyed his commands
and DID NOT WALK in the STRAIGHT PATH
God set before them
So God caused them to WANDER
aimlessly in the wilderness
until the perished
They could not HEAR HIS VOICE
because their HEART was hardened.
They did not enter into his rest
and the LAND PROMISED because their FAITH,
when TRIED, was not proven to be TRUE.
They did not hold their initial profession of FAITH steadfast until the end.
601,730left during the Exodus and all of them died in the Wilderness
except JOSHUA from EPHRAIM & CALEB from JUDAH
+ the sons and daughters that were born to those who died
during that 40 year period.
It was only the children of this generation,
that was to enter the PROMISED LAND under JOSHUA.
JOSHUA who led Israel in THE PROMISED LAND,
used a sword (knife) to circumcise
all those who were born in the wilderness
at hill of foreskins in Gilgal (Circle) before
reaching the Promised Land of CANAAN.
~ foreshadowing ~
JESUS leading Israel into THE NEW PROMISED LAND
by circumcising our hearts with the Sword of His Holy Spirit
before we reach the new promised land of ETERNAL LIFE.
Strong’s Concordance
HEBREW
Joshua [h3091]occurs 218 in 199
Joshua = “Jehovah is salvation”
son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel;
led the conquest of Canaan
GREEK
Jesus [g2424] occurs 975 in 935
Jesus = “Jehovah is salvation”
Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind, God incarnate
just before they finally entered the Promised Land of Canaan,
we see God adding a new covenant at Moab,
to that which was given to the generation before at Horeb/Sinai.
Deuteronomy 29 : The Covenant in Moab
1These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.
14Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15But with him that stands here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: 16(For you know how we have dwelled in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which you passed by;.
So this covenant was given not only to that generation,
but to all generation that came after them
The COVENANT @ MOAB was an
EXPANSION OF THE BLESSING & CURSES
given at HOREB (Leviticus 26)
PENDING OBEDIENCE to the Law.
The COVENANT at MOUNT SINAI (“HOREB”)
Contained in the books:
EXODUS
LEVITICUS
NUMBERS
+
The COVENANT at MOAB
Contained in:
DEUTERONOMY
(2nd Covenant)
DEuteronomy 30 : Restoration Promised
1And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where the LORD your God has driven you,2And shall return to the LORD your God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart [h3820], and with all your soul; 3That then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4If any of your be driven out to the outmost parts of heaven, from there will the LORD your God gather you, and from there will he fetch you: 5And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
6And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart [h3820], and the heart [h3820]of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart [h3820], and with all your soul, that you may live. 7And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies, and on them that hate you, which persecuted you. 8And you shall return and obey the voice [h6963] of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command you this day. 9And the LORD your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers: 10If you shall listen to the voice [h6963] of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart [h3820], and with all your soul.
THE CHOICE OF LIFE OR DEATH
11For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. 12It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart [h3820], that you may do it.
15See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil; 16In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk [h1980] in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it. 17But if your heart [h3820] turn away, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18I denounce to you this day, that you shall surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your days on the land, where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. 19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live: 20That you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey hisvoice [h6963], and that you may hold to him: for he is your life, and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
MOSES SET BEFORE THEM
THE LAW of
SIN & DEATH,
EVIL & CURSING
CURSES FOR DISOBEDIENCE
on MOUNT EBAL
The sons of their handmaids stood on
Mount Ebal to curse (w/ exception of Reuben)
Reuben
Gad
Asher
Zebulun
Dan
Naphtali.
THE LAW of
RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH,
LIFE, GOOD & BLESSINGS
BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE
on MOUNT GERIZEM
The sons of Jacob’s Wives,
Rachel and Leah, stood on Mount Gerizem to bless.
Simeon
Levi
Judah
Issachar
Joseph (meaning Ephraim & Manassah)
Benjamin
THE LAW of
SIN & DEATH,
EVIL & CURSING
CURSES FOR DISOBEDIENCE
on MOUNT EBAL
The sons of their handmaids stood on
Mount Ebal to curse (w/ exception of Reuben)
Reuben
Gad
Asher
Zebulun
Dan
Naphtali.
Deuteronomy 32 : THe song of Moses
44And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Joshua the son of Nun. 45And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: 46And he said to them, Set your hearts [h3820] to all the words which I testify among you this day, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. 47For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over Jordan to possess it.
Moses told Israel before entering the PROMISED LAND…
The ONLY thing that is NOT VAIN
(empty, worthless)
is to SET YOUR HEARTS to
OBSERVE and DO
ALL THINGS STIPULATED in THE LAW
When they finally arrived in the promised land, each tribe had land allotted to them.
Israel eventually decided to have a king over them:
1 SAUL
2 DAVID
MOUNT MORIAH, where Abraham offered up Isaac,
is the place where David would purchase
the THRESHING FLOOR
from Ornan the Jebusite and
ESTABLISH JERUSALEM
for 600 shekels of gold. (1 Chronicles 24).
This would be where Solomon, David’s son, who was the wisest on earth,
laid the foundation and built the temple made with hands, which took 7 years to make.
but after Solomon sat on the throne and had built the temple…
He led Israel to follow other gods.
They did not WALK IN HIS WAYS to do that which is right in God’s eyes,
and to keep His statutes and His my judgments, as David did…
so God Split the KINGDOM into 2
1 KINGS 11 : God’s Anger against Solomon
9And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart [h3820] was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared to him twice, 10And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.11Why the LORD said to Solomon, For as much as this is done of you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12Notwithstanding in your days I will not do it for David your father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of your son. 13However, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to your son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.
31And he said to Jeroboam, Take you ten pieces: for thus said the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you: 32(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) 33Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked [h1980] in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
Just as the United States became divided during the Civil War…
Southern States :::::::::: Northern States
Israel was divided, but unlike the US, Israel never came back together.
After Solomon died, God SPLIT THE KINGDOM into 2 SEPARATE DIVISIONS.
NORTHERN KINGDOM
10 TRIBES were given to Jeroboam
(from the Tribe of Ephraim).
He was in charge of whole
labor force of Joseph was given.
They became known as:
THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH
THE HOUSE OF EPHRAIM
SOUTHERN KINGDOM
2 TRIBES were given to Rehoboam
which included
Judah and Benjamin
They became known as:
THE HOUSE OF JUDAH
Both Kingdoms ended up being banished from their land and taken into captivity.
Only a portion of the Southern Kingdom was led back to Jerusalem.
THE NORTHERN KINGDOM
“THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL”
was taken by the Assyrians.
THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM
“THE HOUSE OF JUDAH”
led into Exile in Babylon.
ISRAEL : NORTHERN KINGDOM
KING
REIGN
PROPHETS
1 Jeroboam
931-910 (22)
Ahijah
2 Nadab
910-909 (2)
3 Baasha
909-886 (24)
4 Elah
886-885 (2)
5 Zimri
885 (7 days)
6 Omri
885-874 (12)*
Elijah
7 Ahab
874-853 (22)
Elijah/Micah
8 Ahaziah
853-852 (2)
9 Jorah
852-841 (12)
Elisha
10 Jehu
841-814 (28)
11 Jehoahaz
12 Jehoash
13 Jeroboam II
814-798 (17)
798-782 (16)
782-753 (41)*
Jonah, Amos,
Hosea
14 Zechariah
753 (6 mo)
15 Shallum
752 (1 mo)
16 Menahem
752-742 (10)
17 Pekahiah
742-740 (2)
18 Pekah
740-732 (20)*
19 Hoshea
731-721 (9)
*co-regency
722 BCFALL OF SAMARIA TO ASSYRIA
JUDAH : SOUTHERN KINGDOM
KING
REIGN
PROPHETS
1 Rehoboam
931-913 (17)
Shemaiah
2 Abijah
913-911 (3)
3 Asa (g)
911-870 (22)
4Jehoshaph..(g)
870-848 (25)*
5 Jehoram
848-841 (8)*
6 Ahaziah
841 (1)
7 Athaliah
841-835 (6)
8 Joash (g)
835-796 (40)
Joel
9 Amaziah (g)
796-767 (29)
10 Uzziah (g)
767-740 (52)*
11 Jotham (g)
740-732 (16)
12 Ahaz
732-716 (16)
13 Hezekiah
716-687 (29)
14 Manassah
15 Amon
16 Zedekiah
687-642 (55)*
642-640 (2)
640-608 (31)
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah
17 Jehoahaz
608 (3 mo)
18 Jehoikim
19 Jehoichin
20 Zedekiah
608-597 (11)
597 (3 mo)
597-586 (11)
Daniel, Ezekial,
Jeremiah
*co-regency
586 BCTEMPLE DESTROYED : BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY
Daniel 9 : 70 years of desolation
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments: 6Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, which spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7O LORD, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. 8O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10Neither have we obeyed the voice [h6963] of the LORD our God, to walk [h1980] in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, even by departing, that they might not obey your voice [h6963]; therefore the curse is poured on us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing on us a great evil: for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done on Jerusalem. 13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come on us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand your truth. 14Therefore has the LORD watched on the evil, and brought it on us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he does: for we obeyed not his voice [h6963].
Daniel laments,
we have not OBEYED THE VOICE of THE LORD
TO WALK IN HIS LAWS
which has caused the CURSE to poured out upon us.
Only a portion of the Southern Kingdom ever returned back to Jerusalem
after being in Babylonian captivity for 70 years.
The first thing they did was came together as ONE MAN
before the WATER GATE and
READ THE LAW OF GOD DISTINCTLY,
so they understood it
~ foreshadowing ~
Coming together as ONE IN CHRIST, understanding his Law,
and being led to the Fountain of Living Waters
after coming out Babylon Captivity
Nehemiah 8 : Ezra Reads the Law
1And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate;and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.
8So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
Nehemiah 1 : Nehemiah’s Prayer
7We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which you commanded your servant Moses. 8Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you transgress, I will scatter [h6327] you abroad among the nations:9But if you turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 11And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. 12Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perishes and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passes through? 13And the LORD said, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice [h6963], neither walked [h1980] therein;14But have walked [h1980] after the imagination of their own heart [h3820], and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: 15Therefore thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16I will scatter [h6327]them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Scatter [h6327]occurs 69 times in 66 verses
a primitive root; to dash in pieces
literally or figuratively (especially to disperse):
They remembered that God said he would SCATTER them for disobedience.
They forsook GOD’S LAW which HE SET BEFORE them
to WALK within and they did not OBEY his voice,
but WALKED after
the IMAGINATION of their own HEART.
\
Now we see this scripture in
LEVITICUS 26and Deuteronomy
beginning to unfolded,
as the covenant curses and
punishment for DISOBEDIENCE were enacted.
Leviticus 26 : Punishment for disobedience
27And if you will not for all this listen to me, but walk [h1980] contrary to me; 28Then I will walk [h1980] contrary to you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.29And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall you eat. 30And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the smell of your sweet odors. 32And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33And I will scatter [h6327]you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
God Remembers Those who Repent
40If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked [h1980] contrary to me; 41And that I also have walked [h1980] contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts [h3820] be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: 42Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lies desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. 44And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.46These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
Deuteronomy 28 : The Curses of Disobedience
64And the LORD shall scatter [h6327] you among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other; and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65And among these nations shall you find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest: but the LORD shall give you there a trembling heart [h3820], and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:66And your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear day and night, and shall have none assurance of your life: 67In the morning you shall say, Would God it were even! and at even you shall say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
Deuteronomy 4 : Warning Against Idolatry
27And the LORD shall scatter [h6327] you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the heathen, where the LORD shall lead you. 28And there you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29But if from there you shall seek the LORD your God, you shall find him, if you seek him with all your heart [h3820]t and with all your soul. 30When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come on you, even in the latter days, if you turn to the LORD your God, and shall be obedient to his voice; 31(For the LORD your God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.
During the reign of Jeroboam II,
Hosea began his ministry to the NORTHERN KINGDOM.
The book of HOSEA is about God and his
ADULTEROUS WIFE “ISRAEL/EPHRAIM”
and his unfailing Love to Unfaithful people.
God‘s charges against them were that they:
violated basic covenant requirements.
rejected knowledge of God and His law.
became self-satisfied and proud
and had forgotten God’s grace.
engaged in idolatry and harlotry.
trusted in human devices rather than God.
were guilty of injustice, violence, murder, theft, lying, oppression.
God pleaded for them to
TURN from their SIN
Ephraim [h669]
occurs 180 times
in the OLD TESTAMENT
Through Hosea, the Lord told the people of Israel to stop their promiscuity, idolatry, and iniquity and to return to Him in humility and faithfulness toward the law of the covenant. Like a marriage partner, God is deeply involved in our lives and is pained when we go our own way. God demands love and loyalty from His own. Often God’s people have failed to demonstrated whole-hearted love for Him. But He stands ready to forgive and restore those who turn to Him in repentance. In buying Gomer’s freedom, Hosea pointed ahead to god’s love perfectly expressed in Christ, who bought the freedom of His bride, the church with His own life.
Hosea 1 : Hosea’s Wife and Children
9Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.
THERE WAS NO TRUTH,
MERCY,
OR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
in the land because
THEY REJECTED GOD’S LAW
and joined themselves to idols.
HOSEA 4 : GOD’S CHARGES AGAINST ISRAEL
1Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel: for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.2By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood touches blood. 3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwells therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yes, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for your people are as they that strive with the priest. 5Therefore shall you fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother. 6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no priest to me: seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
16For Israel slides back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. 18Their drink is sour: they have committed prostitution continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give you. 19The wind has bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
They trespassed against his LAW
and found it to be a strange thing.
They sowed the wind, and reaped the whirlwind.
Israel forgot their maker
Hosea 8 : Israel will Reap the WhirlwinD
1Set the trumpet to your mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. 2Israel shall cry to me, My God, we know you.3Israel has cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. 4They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. 5Your calf, O Samaria, has cast you off; my anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocence?6For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. 7For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it has no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.8Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. 9For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim has hired lovers.. 10Yes, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. 11Because Ephraim has made many altars to sin, altars shall be to him to sin. 12I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.13They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of my offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepts them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.14For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and builds temples; and Judah has multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire on his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
Hosea 13 : Ephraim’s Glory Vanishes
1When Ephraim spoke trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. 2And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. 3Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
Hosea 5 : God’s Judgment on Israel and Judah
15I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Hosea 6 : Israel and Judah are Unrepentant
10I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the prostitution of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
Ephraim is defiled and referred to as a prostitute
whose root is dried up and bears no fruit
so they will be wanderers among the nations.
HOSEA 9 : HOSEA ANNOUNCES ISRAEL’S PUNISHMENT
13Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. 14Give them, O LORD: what will you give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house, I will love them no more: all their princes are rebels. 16Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yes, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. 17My God will cast them away, because they did not listen to him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.
1Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he has done. 5For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:6That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. 9The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. 10They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk [h1980] in his law; 11And forgot his works, and his wonders that he had showed them.
So the Northern Kingdom did nothing different than what Solomon did under his rule.
After 19 different kings and 200 years of idolatry,
Israel was exiled into Assyria. In 721 BC
God had Assyria conquer Sumeria
and take the Northern Kingdom captive to Assyria.
Here we see the prophecy and curse coming to pass
where God said He would SCATTER them among the nations for disobedience.
ISRAEL (The Northern Kingdom) OFFENCES
LISTED IN 2 KINGS 17
and the reason for EXILE:
They WALKED in the statutes of the nations
They did secretly those things
that were not right against the LORD their God
They built them high places in all their cities,
from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city
They set up images and groves in every high hill,
and under every green tree
They burnt incense in all the high places,
as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them;
They worked wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
They served idols
They rejected his statutes and God’s Covenant
They left all the commandments of the Lord
They made molten images, even 2 calves, a grove,
and worshiped the host of heaven, and served Baal.
They caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire
They used divination and enchantments
They sold themselves to do evil and to provoke God.
They FOLLOWED after VANITY and became VAIN
God considered Israel as “HIS BRIDE”
and chose EPHRAIM to bear the fruit
from WALKING with Him
and OBEYING His Voice
But because of Unfaithfulness
and not WALKING in HIS WAYS, within his LAW,
GOD DIVORCED them,
and they became scattered Chaff
and they began to assimilate into the nations
that had been scattered at the Tower of Babel.
Jeremiah 3 : Israel’s and Judah’s Unfaithfulness
6The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? she is gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot.7And I said after she had done all these things, Turn you to me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 9And it came to pass through the lightness of her prostitution, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. 10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to me with her whole heart, but feignedly, said the LORD.
11And the LORD said to me, The backsliding Israel has justified herself more than treacherous Judah. 12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, you backsliding Israel, said the LORD; and I will not cause my anger to fall on you: for I am merciful, said the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, said the LORD.14Turn,O backsliding children, said the LORD; for I am married to you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
15And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.16And it shall come to pass, when you be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, said the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 17At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance to your fathers.
19But I said, How shall I put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, You shall call me, My father; and shall not turn away from me. 20Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, said the LORD. 21A voice was heard on the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come to you; for you are the LORD our God.
God divorced the Northern Kingdom because they hardened their hearts
and rejected God’s Law in pursuing other Gods.
They are truly, no longer His people.
The Northern Kingdom never returned and rarely acknowledged
as unified entity in scripture again,
because they were eventually dispersed and never returned to Samaria,
like the Southern Kingdom returned to Judah
after having been taken into Babylonian captivity.
In all of this we see that which was spoken
over 1100 years earlier concerning Ephraim,
by Jacob himself begin to manifest
as they began to assimilate into the nations
that God had scattered at the Tower of Babel.
Gen 48 : Jacob Blesses Ephraim & Manasseh
19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
Even though Ephraim and the Northern Kingdom had been divorced by God
and scattered among the Nations,
because they had followed vanity (emptiness),
and DID NOT WALK WITHIN HIS LAW,
we see in the prophets,
that it is God’s plan to seek them out
from where he scattered them.
Micah 2 : The Remnant of Israel
12I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the middle of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.13The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
Jeremiah 50 : Hope for Israel and Judah
4In those days, and in that time, said the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.5They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. 6My people has been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.
Ezekial 20 : Judgment and Restoration
33As I live, said the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein you arescattered [h6327], with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
11For thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.12As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered [h6327]; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have beenscattered [h6327] in the cloudy and dark day. 13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them on the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and on the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed on the mountains of Israel. 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, said the Lord GOD. 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. 23And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.24And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
Jeremiah 30 : Restoration of Israel and Judah
7Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. 8For it shall come to pass in that day, said the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them. 10Therefore fear you not, O my servant Jacob, said the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, see, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11For I am with you, said the LORD, to save you: though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered [h6327]you, yet I will not make a full end of you: but I will correct you in measure, and will not leave you altogether unpunished.
1At the same time, said the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.2Thus said the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. 3The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you. 4Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel: you shall again be adorned with your tabrets, and shall go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. 6For there shall be a day, that the watchmen on the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise you, and let us go up to Zion to the LORD our God. 7For thus said the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish you, praise you, and say, O LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel. 8Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together: a great company shall return thither. 9They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
I WILL CAUSE THEM TO WALK BY
THE RIVERS OF WATERS IN A STRAIGHT WAY
WHEREIN THEY SHALL NOT STUMBLE:
FOR I AM A FATHER TO ISRAEL
AND EPHRAIM IS MY FIRSTBORN
10Hear the word of the LORD, O you nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered [h6327] Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock. 11For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 12Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. 13Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, said the LORD. 15Thus said the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16Thus said the LORD; Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears: for your work shall be rewarded, said the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17And there is hope in your end, said the LORD, that your children shall come again to their own border.
MERCY ON EPHRAIM
18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn you me, and I shall be turned; for you are the LORD my God. 19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote on my thigh: I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy on him, said the LORD. 21Set you up markers, make you high heaps: set your heart [h3820] toward the highway, even the way which you went: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these your cities.
22How long will you go about, O you backsliding daughter? for the LORD has created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. 23Thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless you, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. 24And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, farmers, and they that go forth with flocks. 25For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. 26On this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet to me. 27Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, said the LORD. 29In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 30But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eats the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
A NEW COVENANT
31Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was an husband to them, said the LORD: 33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, said the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts [h3820]; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, said the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God,
and they shall be my people
35Thus said the LORD, which gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36If those ordinances depart from before me, said the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37Thus said the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, said the LORD. 38Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel to the gate of the corner. 39And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it on the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook of Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
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:
17And 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. 20 And 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 [h1980] 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
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:
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.
David my servant shall be king over them;
and they all shall have one shepherd:
they shall alsowalk [h1980]in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them
9O Zion, that bring good tidings, get you up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
God said he would rescue the sheep He scattered.
Wouldn’t this break his own law THOUGH?
His own law forbids re-marrying to person whom you divorced.
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. 5When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he has taken.
How can God search for his lost sheep and re-marry them
after He has already divorced her and she is defiled,
when it states in His own Law that it is a sin to do so?
This was a great mystery to all the priests and rabbis.
They wondered how He was going to redeem the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
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.
SO HOW CAN GOD REMARRY
THE LOST SHEEP OF ISRAEL
WITHOUT BREAKING HIS OWN LAW?
DEATH
Romans 7 : Released through Death
1Know you not, brothers, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?2For the woman which has an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
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
36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheephaving no shepherd.
Matthew 18 : The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7)
10Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12How think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray?13And if so be that he find it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Isaiah 53 :
6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
49And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said to them, You know nothing at all, 50Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.51And this spoke he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;52And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.53Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. 54Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went there to a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
So Christ DIED FOR THE LOST SHEEP
who were SCATTERED into the NATIONS
in order to bring them BACK INTO THE FOLD
He drank from the cup of bitter water
that causes cursing in the Garden of Gethsemene
the night before the crucifixion which was
prescribed in NUMBERS 5 for a woman
who committed ADULTERY against her husband
He took the curse in our place on the cross,
being made a curse for us
He blotted out the Ordinances that were
CONTRARY to us and nailed it to the Cross
Colossians 2 : Alive in Christ
6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 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; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Numbers 5 :The Adultery Test
11And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 13And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; 14And the spirit of jealousy come on him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come on him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 15Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: 17And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: 18And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causes the curse: 19And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, If no man have lain with you, and if you have not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of your husband, be you free from this bitter water that causes the curse: 20But if you have gone aside to another instead of your husband, and if you be defiled, and some man have lain with you beside your husband: 21Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say to the woman, The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD does make your thigh to rot, and your belly to swell; 22And this water that causes the curse shall go into your bowels, to make your belly to swell, and your thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 24And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causes the curse: and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. 25Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it on the altar: 26And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. 27And when he has made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. 28And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goes aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 30Or when the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute on her all this law. 31Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
This is the handwriting of 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 the curse mentioned in Numbers 5:21, that he took away from us.
So we see that Jesus died not only so he could remarry his divorced bride,
but he took the place of her judgement,nailing that judgement 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.
1Truly, truly, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.4And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6This parable spoke Jesus to them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them.
7Then said Jesus to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.10The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep.13The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.15As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 19There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. 20And many of them said, He has a devil, and is mad; why hear you him? 21Others said, These are not the words of him that has a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
My SHEEP
HEAR my VOICE
and they FOLLOW ME
and I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of my HAND.
THE PROPHECY of the NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
(which comes from the prophetic books of HOSEA and EZEKIAL)
EZEKIAL 4 : THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM PREDICTED
1You also, son of man, take you a tile, and lay it before you, and portray on it the city, even Jerusalem: 2And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. 3Moreover take you to you an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.4Lie you also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it: according to the number of the days that you shall lie on it you shall bear their iniquity. 5For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days,390 days: so shall you bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6And when you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed you each day for a year.7Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8And, behold, I will lay bands on you, and you shall not turn you from one side to another, till you have ended the days of your siege.
In the book of Ezekial, The Northern Kingdom should have
begun being restored after390 years
from the time in which they were
exiled and scattered into the nations in 721 BC
This means they should have been restored 331 BC
However, history shows that the Northern Kingdom
never returned to their land.
So what else does Scripture give us that can shed light on this?
Let’s look back at his LAW
THE LAW SERVES TO WARN
what will happen due to disobedience
WALKING CONTRARY to HIM
This is why we are to fear the Lord.
THE LAW SERVES TO REWARD
those who are obedient by
WALKING WITH HIM within
the boundaries of His Law
THE LAW SERVES TO WARN
what will happen due to disobedience
WALKING CONTRARY to HIM
This is why we are to fear the Lord.
LEVITICUS 26 : PUNISHMENTS FOR DISOBEDIENCE
14But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments; 15And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant: 16I also will do this to you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17And I will set my face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18And if you will not yet for all this listen to me, then I will punish you7 times more for your sins.19And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.21And if you walk [h1980] contrary to me, and will not listen to me; I will bring 7 times more plagues on you according to your sins.
WALKING CONTRARY TO GOD
brings 7 times more
plagues,
punishment,
and chastisement
according to SINS
WALKING WITH GOD
He will
WALK
among us
WALKING CONTRARY TO GOD
brings 7 times more
plagues,
punishment,
and chastisement
according to SINS
390years (laid on Ezekiel to bear the iniquity of ISRAEL)
Though we know Christ made it possible for the return to begin,
the restoration would not fully come fruition until
we were in the 3rd day of the punishment because of HOSEA’S Prophecy.
1day =1000years
HOSEA 6 : ISRAEL AND JUDAH ARE UNREPENTANT
1Come, and let us return to the LORD: for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has smitten, and he will bind us up. 2After2 days will he revive us: in the 3rd day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
2 Peter 3
8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that 1 day is with the Lord as a 1000 years, and a 1000 years as 1 day.
2009,
the same year both of my grandfathers passed away
and God stirred up my HEART,
began the process of the HEARTS of the Northern Kingdom
coming back to Him in large numbers,
thus concluding the Northern Kingdom’s judgement.
Which is after 2 days and in the 3rd of the punishment.
The work of Christ started the restoration
but its in the 3rd day that He completes the restoration.
After 2 days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence. (as it says in Hosea 6:2)
He is bringing his people back to WALK in his WAYS, after his commands
SIN
THE PATH and THE WAY
God gave Israel to WALK
WITHIN the BOUNDARY
of His LAW,
Listening to His VOICE,
OBEYING, & FOLLOWING
after His COMMANDS
and INSTRUCTIONS
SIN
At my granddad’s funeral (the one in the picture),
the amount of people that came and told me that
he was one the “most Godly, humble, and kind men” they had ever met,
and the impact he had on their life, made me really question what I was doing with my life.
I will always remember seeing his bible with underlines and highlights all throughout.
He never had much money, and tithed when he didn’t know
if he was going to even have enough money
to pay the bills, yet, he had so much peace in his life.
I saw first hand the fruits produced from a life led by the holy spirit.
I, on the other hand was constantly stressed about money and at the time didn’t tithe.
I knew the life I was leading was not pleasing to Him.
I had become an empty vine, producing no fruit.
I tried to carve my own path
and become selfish and prideful
left with nothing but baggage and misery.
I desired Vain Glory and became a glory thief.
There is nothing more sobering than realizing the things
you have built your life around are worthless in God’s eyes.
What God consider’s worthless and vanity is our own works,
fueled by our own will, for our own glory.
The serpent deceives by inverting everything to make it about your glory instead of Gods.
You are empty and left with nothing once it ends.
Philippians 2
16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.
Psalm 39 : I Will Watch My Ways
4LORD, make me to know my end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. 5Behold, you have made my days as an handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before you: truly every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.6Surely every man walks in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heaps up riches, and knows not who shall gather them. 7And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in you.8Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. 9I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because you did it. 10Remove your stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of your hand. 11When you with rebukes do correct man for iniquity, you make his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
After my dreams of basketball were crushed with a knee injury my junior year in college, I pursued after girls, money, and possessions.
I moved to Nashville in 2006 from Huntsville, AL. I bought a condo and was enjoying all the perks a big city had to offer. I had made some new friends and the new scenery seemed to be what I needed. Things were going great. Shortly after moving here I met a girl. 6 months later my girlfriend informs that she is pregnant. We end up getting married and when we go to find out if it was going to be a boy or girl, and we find out something is wrong during the ultrasound. Shortly afterward she loses the baby. This was an extremely difficult way to start a marriage. We both had different ways of coping with the situation and it ended in a divorce in 2010. She ended up moving in with a guy in my same condo complex. I would come home from work and see her new boyfriend walking my dog.
So taking account of my life at that point,
it had turned into one big massive train wreck.
It had veered off the rails.
My relationship with my mom was broken because of her embarrassment
of me getting a girl pregnant out of wedlock, who she had not even met yet.
I was completely mentally, physically, and spiritually broken and exhausted.
I was ashamed and humiliated.
I had reached a point where I knew nothing could save me from the pit
I had dug for myself, not my parents, not a doctor, not a psychiatrist, not a drug.
I was at such a low point in my life that I honestly didn’t know if I could keep going.
My kingdom of me had crumbled to the ground.
I never rehabbed my knee correctly after college
so now I could hardly even run and do the one thing I loved.
Every time would try to run my knees would swell up like a balloon.
I was stuck behind a desk doing a job I didn’t like.
I began to wonder why all this was happening to me.
Everything that gave me any sense of enjoyment was taken away.
I was 30 years old and I felt like I had just been drug through the depths of hell.
I had never known what true despair felt like.
When you reach that point you start asking yourself why you are even here.
What is the point? I will never be able to dig myself out of this mess.
The more I did, the more empty, fruitless, and tired I became.
I had spent the first 30 years of my life “LABORING IN VAIN”
and the end result was CHAFF that SCATTERED with the wind.
One day I was walking around the complex and she was walking our dog. When the dog saw me it tried running towards me, scratching and clawing as hard as it could to run to me, but she held her back on the leash and I kept walking. I loved that dog so much but didn’t I couldn’t stop because I had so much anger toward my wife and I didn’t want to speak to her.
When I got to back into my condo I hit the floor and cried out to God, “please save me!”.
At my lowest point I felt God’s hand reaching out to me.
He started to slowly pick me up and started to put back the pieces in my life and repair what I had broken. When I finally put everything in His hands and let him take it, that’s when He really started healing my heart and when I truly started understanding the power of Christ. I finally started understanding what true forgiveness was and why God hates divorce so much. When we hurt, He hurts. He knows the pain it causes us and He hates seeing us suffer.
It was when God started opening my eyes and started giving me understanding.
AMAZING GRACE!
How sweet the sound
That SAVED a WRETCH like me!
I once was LOST, but now I am FOUND
I was BLIND, but now I SEE
These verses in Psalms 119 sum up my life:
I considered my ways & turned my feet to Your testimonies.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn your statutes.
Turning (repenting)
from SIN
Turning (repenting)
from SIN
PSALMS 119
:59I considered my ways & turned my feet to Your testimonies.
. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have i kept your word68You are good, and do good; teach me your statutes. 69The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep your precepts with my whole heart. 70Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in your law. 71It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn your statutes. 72The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.
176I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant; for I do not forget your commandments.
Before I was afflicted, I went astray…
But now I have kept your word
Jeremiah 31: MERCY ON EPHRAIM
18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn you me, and I shall be turned; for you are the LORD my God. 19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote on my thigh: I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy on him, said the LORD.
The Camp of Ephraim was typified as an OX
(unaccustomed to they yoke)
Matthew 11: Rest for the Weary
28Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
13Can two walk [h1980] together, except they be agreed?
Psalm 94:
10He that chastises the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teaches man knowledge, shall not he know? 11The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. 12Blessed is the man whom you chasten, O LORD, and teach him out of your law; 13That you may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be dig for the wicked.
Blessed is the man whom you chasten, O LORD, and teach him out of your law;
HEBREWS 12 : GOD DISCIPLINES HIS SONS
4You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin. 5And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to children, My son, despise not you the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and whips every son whom he receives. 7If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not? 8But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons.9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they truly for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby. 12Why lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
We have been RECONCILED to God through His Son and brought back into right relationship with the father through FAITH in Christ. We can now once again take part in His promises and covenant. Israel had been DIVORCED by God so they had NO HOPE and could not take part of the covenant PROMISES.
Ephesians 2 : One in Christ
11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands) 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility15by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace 16and reconciling [g604] both of them to Godin one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Reconcile [g604] apokatallásso occurs 3 times in 3 verses
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.
Israel/Ephraim was considered the firstborn son of God.
It wasn’t until the perfect son, Jesus, came and died as the son of God
to annul the old covenant and to establish the new.
He died in our place.
He came as the true Son of God, Israel.
Israel was no longer son because of disobedience.
Jesus was son because of obedience.
When He died on the cross, the marriage covenant
was made void because He died as the true son, Israel.
exchange (figuratively, adjustment), i.e. restoration to (the divine) favor:—atonement, reconciliation(-ing).
exchange
of the business of money changers, exchanging equivalent values
adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to favour
in the NT of the restoration of the favour of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ
2 Corinthians 5 : We are ambassadors
16Why from now on know we no man after the flesh: yes, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now from now on know we him no more. 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18And all things are of God, who has reconciled [g2644] us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation [g2643]; 19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling [g2644] the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation [g2643]. 20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be you reconciled [g2644]to God. 21For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled [g2644] to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled [g2644], we shall be saved by his life. 11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement [g2643].
Romans 11 : The Ingrafting of the Gentiles
11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness? 13For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office: 14If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling [g2643] of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Reconcile [g604] apokatallássooccurs 3 times in 3 verses
from G575 and G2644; to reconcile fully:—reconcile.
to reconcile completely
to reconcile back again
bring back a former state of harmony
Ephesians 2 : One in Christ
11Why remember, that you 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; 12That at that time you 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: 13But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of two one new man, so making peace; 16And that he might reconcile [g604] both to God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were near. 18For through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile [g604] to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. 21Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds. 22But now He has reconciled [g604] you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— 23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
We are SET APART
FROM THE WORLD
who are considered NAKED
and in a DIVORCED state
and under the bondage
of the Law of SIN and DEATH
Oppression
Bondage
Death, Evil, Sin
Slavery
Enemies
Debt
Destruction
RECONCILED with God
through FAITH His Son
and are CLOTHED with His RIGHTEOUSNESS because we are COVERED (atoned) by GRACE and mercy through the indwelling of His Spirit and JOINED together (married)
under Grace and the
Law of Truth and Righteousness
Deliverance
Redemption
Purchased
Bought with a price
Set Free
Restoration
Debt and Sin Covered, Canceled
We are SET APART
FROM THE WORLD
who are considered NAKED
and in a DIVORCED state
and under the bondage
of the Law of SIN and DEATH
Oppression
Bondage
Death, Evil, Sin
Slavery
Enemies
Debt
Destruction
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Reconcile [h3722]??????kâphar,occurs 102 times in 94 verses
to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch
figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:
—appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile(-liation).
PROPITIATION was where the sacrificial lamb
COME’S UNDER GOD’S WRATH as it is killed.
__________________________________________
He FULFILLED THE LAW for us by living a sinless life
and taking the wrath we deserved on the cross in our place.
The SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM required the blood shed of an innocent animal to cover the sins from God eyes, because The Law states, there is no REMISSION OF SIN without the shedding of blood. REMISSION is the cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty.
The SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM was put in place to point to and FORESHADOW The Sacrificial lamb whose blood innocent blood was shed for remission of our sins when we place our faith in in him. Our debt was paid for and we were bought with a price.
1 CORINTHIANS
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
A PROMISSORY NOTE is a legal DEBT INSTRUMENT,
in which one party (the maker or issuer) PROMISES in writing
to pay a determinate sum of money to the other (the payee),
either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee.
THE HOLY SPIRIT which we receive through the hearing of FAITH
is His stamped Promissory Note
that states that we have been bought with a price
and seals us unto the day of Redemption,
when the Debt from the Law is due.
We been REDEEMED from being under the bondage
to the LAW of SIN and DEATH and have been ADOPTED
as sons of God through FAITH in Christ His Son.
Just as JACOB claimed EPHRAIM and MANASSAH to be his.
They were ADOPTED (GRANDFATHERED) in as part of the tribes of Israel
1Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.6And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.7Why you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
a go-between, i.e. (simply) an internunciator, or (by implication) a reconciler (intercessor):—mediator.
one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and friendship, or form a compact, or for ratifying a covenant
a medium of communication, arbitrator
1 TIMOTHY 2 :A CALL TO PRAYER
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth5For there is one God, and one mediator [h3316] between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Hebrews 8 :Christ’s Eternal Priesthood
1Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: why it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5Who serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, said he, that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you in the mount. 6But now has he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator [h3316] of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Hebrews 9 :Redemption through His Blood
11But 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; 12Neither 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. 13For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh: 14How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15And for this cause he is the mediator [h3316] 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. 16For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives. 18Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. 19For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God has enjoined to you. 21Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Galatians 3 : The Purpose of the Law (Romans 7:1-6)
15Brothers, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man cancels, or adds thereto. 16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ. 17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after, cannot cancel, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
19Why then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator [h3316]. 20Now a mediator [h3316] is not a mediator of one, but God is one.21Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness should have been by the law. 22But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up to the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24Why the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
The divine purpose of the LAW was to clarify sin until Christ, the SEED, came. An angel was involved as a mediator in the because the LAW was 2 party contract with both God and Israel responsible for keeping it.
The ABRAHAMIC COVENANT was a one -party contract as seen in the way the Lord ratified the covenant as the only active party (Abram was a sleep). Such a covenant is unconditional.
The LAW was never in conflict with God’s PROMISES to Abraham. The LAW played the necessary role of convicting people of sin during the almost 1,500 years between Mount Sinai and the gospel of Justification by FAITH in Jesus Christ.
(22-23) The LAW is pictured as a jail cell.
(24-25) It is portrayed as a schoolmaster. This was a slave who took a young pupil for instruction and protected him from harm until he came of age. When the gospel of Christ came on the scene, that role of the law was not longer needed.
A SEED is the flowering plants unit of reproduction
1The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2And great multitudes were gathered together to him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed,
some seeds fell BY THE WAY SIDE,and the fowls came and devoured them up:
MEANING: When any one hears the word of the kingdom,
and understands it not, then comes the wicked one,
and catches away that which was sown in his heart.
(Luke: lest they should believe and be saved. )
some seeds fell ON STONY PLACES, where they had not much earth: and immediately they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
MEANING: When any one hears the word he immediately with joy, receives it;
yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while:
for when tribulation or persecution rises because of the word,
by and by he is offended.
(Luke: in time of temptation fall away. )
some seeds fell AMONG THORNS; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
MEANING: He hears the word but the care of this world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word,
and he becomes unfruitful.
(Luke: bring no fruit to perfection.)
some seeds fell INTO GOOD GROUND, and brought forth fruit, some an 100 times, some 60 times, some 30 times.
MEANING: (Luke : which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.)
MARK 4 : PARABLE OF SOWER EXPLAINED
13And he said to them, Know you not this parable? and how then will you know all parables? 14The sower sows the word.
Jesus told his disciples,
IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER,
you will not understand any of the other ones.
The SEED
the Gospel
is the WORD
(Christ was the WORD made flesh)
A SEED contains INSTRUCTIONS
which are detailed information telling
how something should be done, operated, or assembled.
The SEEDS INSTRUCTIONS
are the LAW & Commandments
The SOIL in which the word is planted
is the HEART
(Fertile soil contains all the nutrients for basic plant nutrition)
The Gospel is a proclamation that the long awaited kingdom of God has arrived in the person of Jesus and this kingdom of God is where this truth is being turned right side up again and all things made new. And through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, everyone from every tribe and nation can enter into this kingdom through faith in the king. That announcement is bearing fruit all over the world.
3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints, 5 For the hope [g1680]which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;6Which is come to you, as it is in all the world; and brings forth fruit, as it does also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
FAITH – LOVE – HOPE : Paul is saying here that the reason for your faith and love is HOPE. Paul is saying the Colossians Faith and love have been birthed from a HOPE in the things of God (his domain/kingdom) and not of the fleeting things of the world (appetites, lusts, and things your eyes crave) which will not bear the kind of fruit that leads to life. This new hope births faith and love.
Paul is saying that the gospel is a seed that has been planted and is bearing fruit. An entire forest can come from one tree as that tree bears fruit and then those seeds are blown by the wind and other trees sprout up. The seed of Gospel is planted in human heart and begins to grow inside and your changed by it, like something bursting forth. It transforms you from inside out. Paul is saying obedience and discipline flow out of a changed heart.
There’s only one thing that causes the changed heart and that is faith in the seed. Transformation is result of truth taking root and over time old patterns and thoughts are disrupted, new thought and belief is replaced and the core idea that starts it all is that you are loved unconditionally by the only one whose opinion matters and its not earned by you. God takes the love of his own son who followed him perfectly and places that on us through our faith in him and he says that’s how i love you. You are now in the kingdom through faith. Knowing that you are loved and secured has the power to transform a life.
The Gospel renews our mind which is the catalyst for a changed life. Our new sense of HOPE will produce the fruit of the faith and love which is in turn can go out into the world and plant more seeds, which is our faith being multiplied
Bears Fruit
UPWARD
GLORIFYING
God
The SEED (Instructions)
of the GOSPEL of TRUTH
take root DOWNWARD
into SOIL of HEART
WHERE DO WE PLACE OUR HOPE?
WHAT CAN BEAR THE WEIGHT OUR OUR HOPE?
Nothing can bear the weight of being at the center of our universe.
There is only 1 who can.
The 10 COMMANDMENTS were kept within the ARK of the COVENANT
which was a wooden CHEST covered in gold.
This served to FORESHADOW
Jesus writing the LAW onto our Heart
which resides in our CHEST through His Holy Spirit.
The LAW & COMMANDMENTS
administered to Israel by Moses.
They heard it
but since Sin lived in there flesh,
it became weak and void
because his HEART was hardened.
The flesh barred the commands in the Law
from being sown into their hearts
But Jeremiah and Ezekial prophecied
that God would remove their HEARTS of STONE
and they would receive new HEARTS
Jeremiah 24:7
7 And I will give them an heart [h3820] to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart [h3820].
Jeremiah 32:35, 39, 41
39 And I will give them one heart [h3820], and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: ... 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart [h3820] and with my whole soul.
Ezekiel 11:19, 21
19 And I will give them one heart [h3820], and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart [h3820] out of their flesh, and will give them an heart [h3820] of flesh:
21 But [as for them] whose heart [h3820] walketh after the heart [h3820] of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 36:26
26 A new heart [h3820] also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart [h3820] out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart [h3820] of flesh.
GRACE and TRUTH
Administered by Jesus.
The FLESH, which was represented by the VEIL
in the temple was ripped in 2 during crucifixion.
His Holy Spirit now administers
the Righteousness and Truth of the Law
directly into our hearts.
The LAW, COMMANDMENTS, and TABERNACLE
made nothing perfect,
Jesus is the LIGHT of the world,
but the light had not come into the world yet
so these things served as His shadow
which would precede him.
A SHADOW is caused by the INTERCEPTION of LIGHT
THE LIGHT was intercepted by our FLESH
which caused the SHADOW
and barred the Commandments,
and the Righteousness of the LAW
from being sown in our heart.
The LAW, COMMANDMENTS, and TABERNACLE
served as a SHADOW of what was to come,
but not the very image.
Hebrews 7:
19 For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope [g1680] [did];
by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Our HOPE is BOUND to His PROMISES, which are BOUND to our INHERITANCE (our HOPE and confident expectation, comes from the PROMISES made in His Word, that He will DELIVER what he PROMISED which is eternal life)
Christ became the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better PROMISES.
HOPE comes from a PROMISE that someone can DELIVER or furnish something for the other party.
Abraham against HOPE, believed in HOPE that he might become the father of many nations, even though he was 100 years old and Sarah was barren. He did not stagger at THE PROMISE of God through unbelief but was strong in FAITH, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what he had PROMISED, he was able to perform.
Abraham was PROMISED by God that he should be heir of the world and that all nations would be blessed because of him, through the righteousness of FAITH. The LAW is not against the PROMISES of God. The LAW concludes that we are all under sin so that the PROMISE BY FAITH in Jesus Christ might be given to those who BELIEVE. So the blessing that was PROMISED to Abraham came upon the nations through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the PROMISE of the spirit through FAITH, not by the LAW, because that would void FAITH and the nullify the PROMISE. The LAW works wrath and defines what sin is, therefore it is of FAITH, that it might be by GRACE to the end the PROMISE might be sure to all the seed.
The giving of his HOLY SPIRIT is the fulfillment of the PROMISE made to Abraham because all the nations were blessed through the receiving of the spirit through FAITH.
Galatians 3:14
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise [g1860]of the Spirit through faith.
After we hear the word of truth and the Gospel of our Salvation, and we BELIEVE, we are sealed with the HOLY SPIRIT of PROMISE. It is God’s PROMISSORY NOTE that we have been bought with a price.
Abraham and his descendants were PROMISED the land of Canaan.
The NEW COVENANT is ESTABLISHED and built upon even better PROMISES
Christ is the mediator of a better covenant, established and built upon even better PROMISES by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the 1st testament, they which are called might receive the PROMISE of ETERNAL INHERITANCE.
If we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the PROMISE which is RIGHTEOUSNESS by FAITH, by which we receive SALVATION.
THIS IS THE PROMISE that he has made to us : ETERNAL LIFE
Biblical HOPE is not a dream of what could be, but a confident expectation of a guaranteed result, that we wait patiently for.
It changes how we live and propels us forward to walk in FAITH.
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Hope [g1680] elpís occurs 54 times in 48 verses
from a primary ??p? élpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure);
expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:—faith, hope.
expectation of evil, fear
expectation of good, hope
in the Christian sense
joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
on hope, in hope, having hope
the author of hope, or he who is its foundation
the thing hoped for
Romans 5: Faith Brings Peace and Joy (John 14:27-31)
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope [g1680] of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope [g1680]: 5And hope [g1680] makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.
24For we are saved by hope [g1680]: but hope [g1680] that is seen is not hope [g1680]: for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? 25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 15:
13 Now the God of hope [g1680] fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope [g1680], through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Colossians 1:
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope [g1680] of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Colossians 1:
27 To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope [g1680] of glory:
Galatians 5:
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope [g1680] of righteousness by faith.
Ephesians 1:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope [g1680] of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Hebrews 3:
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope [g1680] firm unto the end.
Hebrews 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 [g1680] set before us:
Hebrews 7:
19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope [g1680] [did]; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Hebrews 10:
23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith [g1680] without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;)
We are all on a constant quest for HOPE
Hope is not a thing, a location, a situation,or experience. It is a person.
Day after Day, the things we do are fueled and directed by Hope
What are you asking of something when you place you HOPE in it?
You are asking it to give you peace of heart.
You are asking it to give your life meaning.
You are asking it to give you purpose and direction.
You are asking it to give you a reason to continue.
You are asking it to help you get through difficulty and disappointment.
You are asking it to free you from envy or anxiety
You are asking it to give you joy in the morning and rest at night
God hardwired us for HOPE.
We all find our identity, meaning, purpose, and inner sense of well-being in something.
What you place your HOPE in will set the direction of your life.
Our life path is directed by HOPE. Whether it’s HOPE in a philosophy, a person, a dream, a location…your life will be shaped by what you place your HOPE in
HOPE always includes an object and expectation, that it or they can deliver.
HOPE, to be HOPE, has to fix what is broken.
We all place our HOPE in something and ask it to DELIVER.
HOPE always assesses something is broken, otherwise there would be no need for it.
HOPE always has something you bank you HOPE in and you ask that something fix what is broken or to DELIVER what you desire.
We are either looking for HOPE in creation or placing our HOPE in the hands of the creator.
HOPE always surrenders to an expectation.
If our HOPE disappoints us, its because we have the wrong HOPE.
We can search for HOPE horizontally in situations, experiences, possessions locations, and relationships of everyday life which all suffer brokenness.
They are part of the problem therefore unable to DELIVER what you asking.
They were never made to be the source of our HOPE but to POINT us to where HOPE can be found vertically.
Only when our HOPE is place in HIM is our HOPE secure.
Because what is broken and needs to be fixed is our heart.
He is the only way for our hearts to be healed and the only way to find rest and peace.
We have HOPE because He PROMISED that :
he that overcomes, shall inherit all things
he has delivered us from death
our souls will be saved from Gods wrath
he has gone to prepare a place for us,
eye’s have not seen, nor ears heard that which he as prepared for those who love him and that in his kingdom there are many mansions.
we have an inheritance un-defiled, PROMISED before the world began.
we will receive the crown of life which the lord PROMISED to those who love him.
there will be a new heaven and earth and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.
Has God not chosen the poor of the world, rich in FAITH, and HEIRS of the kingdom which he has PROMISED to those that love him?
If in this life only, we have HOPE in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Living by the PROMISES of God is the hardest thing to do but it is the only way worth living.
The Bible does not deny reality and never tricks you into thinking that things are better than they are. The Bible is straightforward and honest but not void of HOPE. The honesty does not crush the HOPE but neither does the HOPE negate the honesty.
Confession of sin is rooted in HOPE because that HOPE is rooted in whats already been done for us. The only reason we would confess our sin is because we confidently HOPE and expect to be delivered from it. When we confess our SIN, he is FAITHFUL to FORGIVE.
Jesus Sermon on the Mount did not take away from the commandments,
He narrowed the down the INTENT of each COMMAND
Matthew 5 : Jesus Fulfills the Law
17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.18For truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass, one stroke or one pronunciation mark shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.19Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
BREAKING ONE THESE LEAST COMMANDMENTS,
and TEACHING MEN TO DO SO
he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven
16And, behold, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said to him, Why call you me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments
To ENTER INTO LIFE,
KEEP the COMMANDMENTS
1 JOHN 1 : OVERCOMING THE WORLD
1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loves him that begat loves him also that is begotten of him. 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous
This is THE LOVE OF GOD,
that we
KEEP his COMMANDMENTS
1 John 2 : Jesus is Our Advocate
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4He that said, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.5But whoever keeps his word, in him truly is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6He that said he stays in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
WE KNOW HIM
and THE TRUTH IS IN US
if we
KEEP his COMMANDMENTS
Psalm 103 :
15As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.17But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on them that fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children; 18To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
If you KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS
you shall ABIDE IN MY LOVE
John 15 : Jesus the True Vine
1I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.2Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.8Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples.9As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue you in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. 15From now on I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.16You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.17These things I command you, that you love one another.
God is the SOWER
(A farmer sows/plants a SEED to produce FRUIT)
The seed is His Son who is the WORD,
and the VINE/TREE PLANTED by GOD.
A SEED ceases to become a SEED
(meaning, it has to die)
so it can become SOMETHING NEW
(in order to BEAR FRUIT).
We are BORN AGAIN by incorruptible seed (his word)
planted in our heart in order to bear fruit to God
JOHN 3 : JESUS AND NICODEMUS
1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him. 3Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.4Nicodemus said to 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? 5Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh;and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again.8The wind blows where it wants, and you hear the sound thereof, but can not tell from where it comes, and where it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
John 1 : Witness of John
9That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11He came to his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
BORN OF FLESH
AND BLOOD
Does the WILL of the flesh
BORN OF GOD
THROUGH SPIRIT
Does the WILL of God
BORN OF FLESH
AND BLOOD
Does the WILL of the flesh
1 PETER 1 : The Word of the Lord Stands Forever (Isaiah 40:6-8)
22Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and stays for ever. 24For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass wither, and the flower thereof falls away: 25But the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached to you.
BORN OF CORRUPTIBLE SEED
(FLESH)
which perishes
& withers as grass
BORN OF INCORRUPTIBLE SEED
(SPIRIT)
by the Word of God
which endures forever
BORN OF CORRUPTIBLE SEED
(FLESH)
which perishes
& withers as grass
We are the BRANCHES of the VINE/TREE
with the sole purpose of BEARING FRUIT
We were created to GLORIFY HIM
and that is done by producing
It is the only thing acceptable in His eyes and
THE ONLY THING AGAINST WHICH THERE IS NO LAW.
Fruit can only come through ABIDING IN A VINE
The only way to ABIDE in HIS LOVE and HIS TRUTH
is by observing and doing
all that HE COMMANDED/INSTRUCTED
WHICH PRODUCES
James 5 : Patience in Suffering
7Be patient therefore, brothers, to the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8Be you also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws near
Romans 7 : Released through Death
1Know you not, brothers, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2For the woman which has an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.4Why, my brothers, you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that you should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God.5For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit to death.6But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
THE FLESH
UNDER THE LAW
brings forth
FRUIT to DEATH
MARRIED to CHRIST
NOW being in THE SPIRIT
FREE from the LAW
brings forth
FRUIT to GOD
THE FLESH
UNDER THE LAW
brings forth
FRUIT to DEATH
Here is a picture of my other grandfather, on my mom’s side of the family,
removing and separating the HUSK from the CORN
HUSK
FRUIT
HUSK
He loved pecans.
He would go and gather pecans that fallen from trees.
He would spend countless hours cracking them,
packaging them, and giving them to his friends as gifts.
This is a picture of him gathering them up and my mother
recently found the cracker he used which was made in 1925.
A pecan, is not truly a nut, but is technically a drupe,
a FRUIT with a single STONE or pit, surrounded by a HUSK.
“Pecan” is from an Algonquian word
variously referring to pecans, walnuts and hickory nuts,
or more broadly to ANY NUT requiring a STONE to CRACK.
disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious
in order to get to the
Psalms 1 : The Two Paths
1Blessed is the man that walks [h1980] not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night.3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. 4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
THE UNGODLY
ARE CHAFF
FLESH
LOST
FAMINE
HUNGER
SCARCITY
WANDER
NAKED
SCATTERED
BROKE
EXHAUSTION
DEAD
THIRST
DIVORCED
EXILED
OPPRESSION
BONDAGE
SOLD
DEBT
CAPTIVITY
DEATH
CURSED
ORPHAN
WORTHLESS
EMPTY
LOSS
VAIN
LIES, DECEIT
DARKNESS
PRIDE, LIFTED UP
WICKED
INIQUITY
UNHOLY
UNJUST
UNCLEAN
ROUGH
SCARLET WOOL
BITTER
DESTROYED
SEPARATED
GUILTY
THE RIGHTEOUS
ARE FRUITFUL
SPIRIT
FOUND
FEAST
CONTENT, SATISFIED
ABUNDANCE
RETURN
COVERED, CLOTHED, ATONED
WHOLE
PEACE
REST
ALIVE
QUENCHED
MARRIED
RESCUED
DELIVERED, SET FREE
RANSOMED, REDEEMED, PARDONED
BOUGHT, PURCHASED
REMISSION, PAID FOR
LIBERTY
LIFE
BLESSED
ADOPTED
VALUABLE
FULL (FILLED)
GAIN
FRUIT
TRUTH
LIGHT
HUMILITY, BROUGHT LOW
JUSTIFIED
RIGHTEOUS
HOLY
JUSTIFIED
CLEAN
SMOOTH
WHITE LINEN
SWEET
PRESERVED, RESTORED
RECONCILED
BLAMELESS
THE UNGODLY
ARE CHAFF
FLESH
LOST
FAMINE
HUNGER
SCARCITY
WANDER
NAKED
SCATTERED
BROKE
EXHAUSTION
DEAD
THIRST
DIVORCED
EXILED
OPPRESSION
BONDAGE
SOLD
DEBT
CAPTIVITY
DEATH
CURSED
ORPHAN
WORTHLESS
EMPTY
LOSS
VAIN
LIES, DECEIT
DARKNESS
PRIDE, LIFTED UP
WICKED
INIQUITY
UNHOLY
UNJUST
UNCLEAN
ROUGH
SCARLET WOOL
BITTER
DESTROYED
SEPARATED
GUILTY
Isaiah 42:16
And I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not;
I will lead them in paths [h5410][that] they have not known:
I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.
These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
16And, behold, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said to him, Why call you me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments.18He said to him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 20The young man said to him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said to him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow [g190] me.22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23Then said Jesus to his disciples, Truly I say to you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26But Jesus beheld them, and said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
27Then answered Peter and said to him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed [g190] you; what shall we have therefore? 28And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, That you which have followed [g190] me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred times, and shall inherit everlasting life. 30But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Strong’s Greek Concordance
follow [g190] akoloutheob occurs 93 times in 88 verses
to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him
to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple
side with his party
from G1 (as a particle of union) and ???e???? kéleuthos (a road);
properly, to be in the same way with,
i.e. to accompany (specially, as a disciple):—follow, reach.
John 21:19
This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, follow[g190]me.
John 8:
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth[g190]me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 10:
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow[g190]him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow[g190], but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow[g190]me:
21For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow[g190] his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously: 24Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. 25For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Christ also suffered for us
leaving us an example,
that you should
FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS
Revelation 14:
4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow[g190]the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
When we take up our cross and make a DECISION to FOLLOW Christ,
by confessing with our mouth and believing with our hearts
that God raised him from the dead for our justification,
16This I say then,walk [g4043]in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.17For the flesh lusts against the Spiritand the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. 18But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, jealousies, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Contentions, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk [g4043] in the Spirit. 26Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
THE WORKS OF THE FLESH
Adultery,
fornication,
uncleanness,
lasciviousness,
Idolatry,
witchcraft,
hatred,
variance,
jealousies,
wrath,
strife,
seditions,
heresies,
Contentions,
murders,
drunkenness,
revelings, and such like:
They which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is:
love,
joy,
peace,
long-suffering,
gentleness,
goodness,
faith,
meekness,
temperance:
against such there is no law.
24And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
26Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
THE WORKS OF THE FLESH
Adultery,
fornication,
uncleanness,
lasciviousness,
Idolatry,
witchcraft,
hatred,
variance,
jealousies,
wrath,
strife,
seditions,
heresies,
Contentions,
murders,
drunkenness,
revelings, and such like:
They which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 2 :Alive with Christ
1And you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past you walked [g4043]according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:3Among 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. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;) 6And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk [g4043] in them.
WALKING
according to
the prince of
the power of the air
We were:
DEAD
ENSLAVED
OBJECTS OF WRATH
WALKING
among the disobedient
under Satan’s dominion
We are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to good works,
which God has before ordained
that we should WALK in them.
Now we are:
ALIVE
ENTHRONED
OBJECTS OF GRACE
WALKING
in union & fellowship
with Christ
WALKING
according to
the prince of
the power of the air
We were:
DEAD
ENSLAVED
OBJECTS OF WRATH
WALKING
among the disobedient
under Satan’s dominion
EPHESIANS 4 : PUT ON THE NEW MAN
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you from now on walk [g4043] not as other Gentiles walk [g4043], in the vanity of their mind,18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20But you have not so learned Christ; 21If so be that you have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25Why putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. 26Be you angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath: 27Neither give place to the devil. 28Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. 29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers. 30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.
PUT OFF OLD MAN
which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts
lying
anger
stealing
corrupt communication
bitterness
wrath
anger
clamor
evil speaking
malice
PUT ON NEW MAN
which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness.
be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
speak every man truth
with his neighbor:
let not the sun go down on your wrath:
steal no more:
communicate that which is good
to the use of edifying,
that it may minister grace
to the hearers.
be kind one to another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ’s sake
has forgiven you.
PUT OFF OLD MAN
which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts
.
lying
anger
stealing
corrupt communication
bitterness
wrath
anger
clamor
evil speaking
malice
Colossians 3 :Put On the New Self
1 If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which you also walked [g4043] some time, when you lived in them. 8 But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds;10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts [g2588], to the which also you are called in one body; and be you thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts [g2588] to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
PUT OFF THE OLD MAN
sexual immorality
impurity
lust
evil desires
greed, which is idolatry
anger
rage
malice
slander
filthy communication out of your mouth
Lie not one to another
things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience:
PUT ON NEW MAN
bowels of mercies,
kindness,
humbleness of mind,
meekness,
long-suffering;
forbearing one another,
forgiving one another,
above all these things put on love,
which is the bond of perfection,
let the peace of God
rule in yourhearts [g2588]
And whatever you do
in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God
and the Father by him.
PUT OFF THE OLD MAN
sexual immorality
impurity
lust
evil desires
greed, which is idolatry
anger
rage
malice
slander
filthy communication out of your mouth
Lie not one to another
things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience:
I (Flesh)
MUST DECREASE –
HE (Spirit)
MUST INCREASE +
I (Flesh)
MUST DECREASE –
John 3 :
He must increase[g837], but I mustdecrease[g1642].
12Why, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned: 13(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded to many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses to justification. 17For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came on all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came on all men to justification of life. 19For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21That as sin has reigned to death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
OLD MAN :: ADAM
THE SHELL
Born of FLESH
From EARTH
Was made a
LIVING SOUL
SIN ENTERED
into the world
through
1 MAN’S OFFENCE
DEATH
passed unto many
DEATH
reigned by 1
By the OFFENCE
OF 1 JUDGEMENT,
came CONDEMNATION
unto all men
By the DISOBEDIENCE of 1,
many were made
SINNERS
SIN REIGNED
THROUGH DEATH
THE LAW ENTERED
that the OFFENCE MAY ABOUND
NEW MAN :: JESUS
THE FRUIT
Born of SPIRIT
from HEAVEN
Was made a
QUICKENING SPIRIT
GRACE ENTERED
into the world
through
1 MAN’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
LIFE
passed unto many
RIGHTEOUSNESS in life
shall reign by 1
By the RIGHTEOUSNESS
of 1 FREE GIFT
came JUSTIFICATION
UNTO LIFE of all men
By the OBEDIENCE of 1,
many were made
RIGHTEOUS
GRACE REIGNED
unto righteousness to life
BUT GRACE
did much more ABOUND
OLD MAN :: ADAM
THE SHELL
Born of FLESH
From EARTH
Was made a
LIVING SOUL
SIN ENTERED
into the world
through
1 MAN’S OFFENCE
DEATH
passed unto many
DEATH
reigned by 1
By the OFFENCE
OF 1 JUDGEMENT,
came CONDEMNATION
unto all men
By the DISOBEDIENCE of 1,
many were made
SINNERS
SIN REIGNED
THROUGH DEATH
THE LAW ENTERED
that the OFFENCE MAY ABOUND
DEAD IN THE FLESH
UNDER WRATH
ALIVE IN CHRIST
THROUGH HIS SPIRIT
UNDER GRACE
DEAD IN THE FLESH
UNDER WRATH
John 6 :
63It is the spirit that strengthens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.
THE FLESH
PROFITS
NOTHING
THE SPIRIT
STRENGTHENS
and is LIFE
THE FLESH
PROFITS
NOTHING
Romans 8 : No Condemnation in Christ
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk [g4043] not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk [g4043] not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5For 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.
THE LAW of
SIN & DEATH,
EVIL & CURSING
THE LAW of
RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH,
LIFE, GOOD & BLESSINGS
THE LAW of
SIN & DEATH,
EVIL & CURSING
BONDAGE
to
THE LAW OF SIN & DEATH
UNDER
CONDEMNATION
WALKING in CHRIST
through the SPIRIT
so the RIGHTEOUSNESS
of the LAW is fulfilled in usFREE to
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT of LIFE
BONDAGE
to
THE LAW OF SIN & DEATH
UNDER
CONDEMNATION
6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God
9But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But 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 dwells in you.
12Therefore, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption,whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
IF YOU LIVE AFTER
THE FLESH
YOU SHALL DIE
IF YOU, THROUGH THE SPIRIT,
DO MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY
YOU SHALL LIVE
IF YOU LIVE AFTER
THE FLESH
YOU SHALL DIE
THE SPIRIT
of
BONDAGE
THE SPIRIT
of
ADOPTION
THE SPIRIT
of
BONDAGE
2 CORINTHIANS 4 :
16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the middle of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will whip you in their synagogues; 18And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. 20For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.
5But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asks me, Where go you? 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you. 8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more; 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13However, when he, the Spirit of truth[g225], is come, he will guide you into all truth[g225]: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you. 15All things that the Father has are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it to you. 16A little while, and you shall not see me: and again, a little while, and you shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Truth [g225]occurs 110 times in 99 verses
what is true in any matter under consideration
from aleth?s [g227]
true (as not concealing)
True [g228] alethinósoccurs 27 times in 25 verses
that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true genuine
opposite to what is fictitious, counterfeit, imaginary, simulated or pretended
it contrasts realities with their semblances
opposite to what is imperfect defective, frail, uncertain
true, veracious, sincere
John 14 : JESUS PROMISES THE HOLY SPIRIT
16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth[g225]; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
33Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews? 34Jesus answered him, Say you this thing of yourself, or did others tell it you of me? 35Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me: what have you done? 36Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth[g225]. Every one that is of the truth[g225]hears my voice. 38Pilate said to him, What is truth[g225]? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, I find in him no fault at all. 39But you have a custom, that I should release to you one at the passover: will you therefore that I release to you the King of the Jews? 40Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
IT IS OUR THRESHING INSTRUMENT
(which was prophecied to be given to us by Isaiah)
which helps us to separate the TRUTH from LIES
LIES
TRUTH
LIES
Isaiah 41 : God’s Help to Israel
13For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not; I will help you. 14Fear not, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, said the LORD, and your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.15Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. 16You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and you shall rejoice in the LORD, and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The Camp of Ephraim was typified as an OX
(unaccustomed to they yoke)
Matthew 11: Rest for the Weary
28Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
13Can two walk [h1980] together, except they be agreed?
Psalm 145 : David’s Psalm of Praise
17The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18The LORD is near to all them that call on him, to all that call on him in truth[h571]. 19He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20The LORD preserves all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
THE PATHS of the Lord
are MERCY and TRUTH
Psalm 25 :
4Show me your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5Lead me in your truth[h571], and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all the day. 6Remember, O LORD, your tender mercies and your loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. 7Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to your mercy remember you me for your goodness’ sake, O LORD. 8Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth[h571]to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Psalm 31 :Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit
1In you, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in your righteousness. 2Bow down your ear to me; deliver me speedily: be you my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me. 3For you are my rock and my fortress; therefore for your name’s sake lead me, and guide me. 4Pull me out of the net that they have laid privately for me: for you are my strength. 5Into your hand I commit my spirit: you have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth[h571]. 6I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
Psalm 86 :
11Teach me your way, O LORD; I will walk in your truth[h571]: unite my heart to fear your name. 12I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify your name for ever more.
Teach me your way and
I will WALK in your TRUTH
UNITE my HEART
to fear your name
3 John 1 : Greeting to Gaius from the Elder (2 John 1:1-3)
1The elder to the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth[g225]. 2Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. 3For I rejoiced greatly, when the brothers came and testified of the truth[g225]that is in you, even as you walk in thetruth[g225]. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk intruth[g225].
WALKING
in His
LIES
TRUTH
LIES
2ND TIMOTHY : THE LORD’S APPROVED WORKMAN
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth[g225].
SANCTIFY them in TRUTH,
Your WORD is TRUTH
John 17 : Prayer for the Disciples
13And now come I to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them through your truth : your word is truth[g225]. 18As you have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth[g225].
JOHN 8 : THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;32And you shall know the truth[g225], and the truth[g225]shall make you free.
IF we continue in His WORD
then we are his disciples
and we shall KNOW TRUTH
and the TRUTH shall SET US FREE
James 1 : Perseverance in Temptation
18Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth[g225], that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
1 Peter 1 : The Word of the Lord Stands Forever(Isaiah 40:6-8)
22Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying thetruth[g225] through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and stays for ever.
Acts 5 :
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and [so is] also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Our souls are purified by
OBEDIENCE to the TRUTH,
THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT
which is gien to those who
OBEY HIM
John 4 : Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
22You worship you know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth[g225]: for the Father seeks such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth[g225].
5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not thetruth[g225]: 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth[g225]is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 Timothy 2 :A Call to Prayer
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of thetruth[g225]. 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Once we enter through
the DOOR OF FAITH
the TRIAL OF OUR FAITH begins.
(A TRIAL is a formal EXAMINATION OF EVIDENCE before a judge,
in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings.)
1 Peter 1 : A Living Hope
7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes,
though it be tried with fire, might be found to praise and honor and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
romans 14 :
10But why do you judge your brother? or why do you set at nothing your brother?
for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11For it is written, As I live, said the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
SCALES OF JUSTIFICATION
(symbolizing the measure of a case’s support and opposition)
JUSTIFICATION is a court room term where one under trial
is in the process of being declared
INNOCENT or GUILTY in the eyes of the JUDGE and JURY
how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates?
Are his LAWS written in our heart?
ARE WE IN CHRIST?
DO WE ABIDE HIS LOVE?
DOES HE KNOW US?
HAS HE SEARCHED OUR HEARTS?
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Heart [h2588] kardíaoccurs 160 times in 152 verses
prolonged from a primary ??? kár (Latin cor, “heart”);
the heart, i.e. (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind);
also (by analogy) the middle:—(+ broken-)heart(-ed).
the heart
that organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life
denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life
the vigour and sense of physical life
the centre and seat of spiritual life
the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours
of the understanding, the faculty and seat of the intelligence
of the will and character
of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions
of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate
14And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15And he said to them, You are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts [g2588]: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it. 17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one pronunciation mark of the law to fail.
2 Corinthians 5 :
6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9Why we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad. 11Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest to God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 12For we commend not ourselves again to you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart [g2588]. 13For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 14For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15And that he died for all, that they which live should not from now on live to themselves, but to him which died for them, and rose again.
1 Corinthians 4 : Servants of Christ
1Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yes, I judge not my own self. 4For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judges me is the Lord. 5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts [g2588]: and then shall every man have praise of God.
1 Timothy 1 :
5Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart [g2588], and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6From which some having swerved have turned aside to vain jangling; 7Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. 8But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
Psalm 139 : You Have Searched Me and Know Me [ A psalm of David]
23Search me, O God, and know my heart [h3820]: try me, and know my thoughts:
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 26:2
2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart [h3820].
Psalm 44 : Redeem us
15My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face has covered me, 16For the voice of him that reproaches and blasphemes; by reason of the enemy and avenger. 17All this is come on us; yet have we not forgotten you, neither have we dealt falsely in your covenant. 18Our heart [h3820]is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from your way;19Though you have sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21Shall not God search this out? for he knows the secrets of the heart [h3820].
1 Samuel 16 : Samuel Anoints David as King
7But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart [h3824]
Jeremiah 17 : a pen of iron
9The heart [h3820] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10I the LORD search the heart [h3820], I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
When faced being CONVICTED of Crime,
people are often asked to take a LIE DETECTOR TEST,
where they tie a band around your HEART.
It measures and records several physiological indices such as
blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity
while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions.
You are first asked basic questions like:
“What your name?”
“What is your age?”
“Where do you live?”
This is done in order to ESTABLISH a BASELINE OF TRUTH
and the needle stays fixed, firm, and established during these questions,
drawing a straight line on the polygraph paper.
This BASELINE provides a minimum staring point
for which all proceeding interrogating questions will be compared to
Hebrews 4 : God’s Word is Living and Active
12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart [g2588].13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
WHEN TELLING A LIE
the needle will turn
to the RIGHT and LEFT
WHEN TELLING THE TRUTH
the needle drawing a
STRAIGHT LINE
WHEN TELLING A LIE
the needle will turn
to the RIGHT and LEFT
Once we accept Christ into our hearts
through FAITH,
His WORD and LAWS
are written onto our HEARTS
establishing the BASELINE OF TRUTH,
and setting THE BOUNDARIES
of the PATH
we are to WALK in
which is how
we abide in His Love,
walk in his Spirit
and keep the STRAIGHT
and NARROW PATH.
Hebrws 13 : Jesus Christ is the Same
8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 9Be 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.
Psalm 108 : Israel’s Kingdom Blessing
1O god, my heart [h3820] is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
Psalm 57:7
7 My heart [h3820] is fixed, O God, my heart [h3820] is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Psalm 112:7-8
7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart [h3820] is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart [h3820] [is] established, he shall not be afraid, until he see [his desire] upon his enemies.
Psalm 64:6, 10
10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart [h3820] shall glory.
DISOBEDIENCE
SELF-WILL
WITH A DIVIDED HEART
WALKING IN DARKNESS
CONTRARY TO GOD
IN THE FLESH
OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES
IN LAWLESSNESS
WITH A HARDENED, PROUD ,
& UNCIRCUMCISED HEART
ABIDING IN
LIES
WHERE
THE PATH IS
Broad
Rough
Crooked
Turning to Right and Left Hand
False
Slippery
Stumbling
Backsliding
Wandering aimlessly
Gone astray
Perverted
(altered from original course)
Lost
Wavering
Reed Shaken in Wind
Reeling To and Fro
Staggering
Drunk
FOLLOWING
AFTER
IMAGINATION OF
OWN HEART
IN
Lies
Emptiness
Vanity
Lusts of the flesh
Fornication
Idolatry
Covetousness
Envy
Self Pursuit
Strife
RUNNING A RACE
THAT HAS A
WORKING TO EARN SALVATION
ONLINE IDENTITY
GLORIFYING
SELF
WHICH IS
THE WAY OF
The World
Darkness
Misery
Cain & Balaam
Stubbornness
Evil
Lies
Death
Destruction
Wicked
Folly (Foolish)
Rebellion
WHICH LEADS TO
EMPTINESS,
DEATH
&
DESTRUCTION
OBEDIENCE
DOING GOD’S WILL
WITH THE WHOLE HEART
WALKING IN THE LIGHT
WITH GOD
IN THE SPIRIT
WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES
OF HIS LAW
WITH A TENDER , HUMBLE,
& CIRCUMCISED HEART
ABIDING IN
TRUTH
WHERE
THE PATH IS
Just (Upright)
Smooth
Level
Plain
Straight
Narrow
True
Unwavering
Fixed
Firm
Established
Found
OBEYING HIS VOICE
and FOLLOWING
AFTER
HIS COMMANDS
IN
Truth
Righteousness
Godliness
Faith
Love
Patience
Meekness
RUNNING A RACE THAT
IS ALREADY
APPLYING SALVATION
ALREADY GIVEN
IDENTITY IN CHRIST
GLORIFYING
GOD
WHICH IS
THE WAY OF
Holiness
Light
Peace
Pleasantness
Able
Wisdom
Obedience
Good
Truth
Life
Salvation
Righteousness
WHICH
LEADS TO
FRUITFULNESS
&
LIFE
DISOBEDIENCE
SELF-WILL
WITH A DIVIDED HEART
WALKING IN DARKNESS
CONTRARY TO GOD
IN THE FLESH
OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES
IN LAWLESSNESS
WITH A HARDENED, PROUD ,
& UNCIRCUMCISED HEART
ABIDING IN
LIES
WHERE
THE PATH IS
Broad
Rough
Crooked
Turning to Right and Left Hand
False
Slippery
Stumbling
Backsliding
Wandering aimlessly
Gone astray
Perverted
(altered from original course)
Lost
Wavering
Reed Shaken in Wind
Reeling To and Fro
Staggering
Drunk
FOLLOWING
AFTER
IMAGINATION OF
OWN HEART
IN
Lies
Emptiness
Vanity
Lusts of the flesh
Fornication
Idolatry
Covetousness
Envy
Self Pursuit
Strife
RUNNING A RACE
THAT HAS A
WORKING TO EARN SALVATION
ONLINE IDENTITY
GLORIFYING
SELF
WHICH IS
THE WAY OF
The World
Darkness
Misery
Cain & Balaam
Stubbornness
Evil
Lies
Death
Destruction
Wicked
Folly (Foolish)
Rebellion
WHICH LEADS TO
EMPTINESS,
DEATH
&
DESTRUCTION
When we are not WALKING in his TRUTH,
we are WALKING in LIES
and are making CROOKED PATHS,
turning to the right and left.
When we do step outside the boundaries of the LAW (PATH)
the Holy Spirit CONVICTS our heart of the TRUTH.
Phillippians 2 : Shine as lights of the world (Matthew 5:13-16)
12Why, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.13For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the middle of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world;16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. 17Yes, and if I be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18For the same cause also do you joy, and rejoice with me.
Isaiah 59
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.
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.
Psalm 37:31
The law of his God [is] in his heart [h3820]; none of his steps shall slide.
Isaiah 51 : Salvation for Zion
7Listen to me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart [h3820] is my law; fear you not the reproach of men, neither be you afraid of their revilings.
Psalm 40:
1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, and established my goings.3And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 4Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust, and respects not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.5Many, O LORD my God, are your wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order to you: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.6Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears have you opened: burnt offering and sin offering have you not required.7Then said I, See, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,8I delight to do your will, O my God: yes, your law is within my heart [h3820].9I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: see, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, you know.10I have not hid your righteousness within my heart [h3820]; I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation: I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great congregation.
PROVED, TESTED & TRIED
MALACHI 3 : THE COMING DAY OF JUDGMENT (John 1:6-13)
1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, said the LORD of hosts.2But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, said the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 13 : The Shepherd Struck, Sheep Scattered
7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, said the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand on the little ones. 8And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, said the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
1/3
Brought through the FIRE
and REFINED
2/3
Shall be cut off and DIE
1/3
WORTHLESS METAL
(DROSS)
1/3
REFINED TRIED SILVER
(PURIFIED)
1/3
WORTHLESS METAL
(DROSS)
PSALM 17
3You have proved my heart [h3820]; you have visited me in the night; you have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 4Concerning the works of men, by the word of your lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. 5Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps slip not.
Psalm 11 :
5The LORD tries the righteous: but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates.
Psalm 66 :
10For you, O God, have proved us: you have tried us, as silver is tried. 11You brought us into the net; you laid affliction on our loins. 12You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but you brought us out into a wealthy place.
We WALK in his TRUTH
and down the STRAIGHT
and NARROW PATH
because his LAWS
are written onto our HEARTS
made possible through
his MERCY and GRACE
THE NARROW
GATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Psalm 118 :
17I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. 18The LORD has chastened me sore: but he has not given me over to death. 19Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 21I will praise you: for you have heard me, and are become my salvation. 22The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
13Enter you in at the strait gate [h4439]: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate [h4439], and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.
15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Why by their fruits you shall know them.
21Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work lawlessness.
13 (For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Strong’s Greek Concordance
gate [g4439] pýle occurs 26 in 26 verses
a primary word; a gate
i.e. the leaf or wing of a folding entrance (literally or figuratively):—gate.
the access or entrance into any state
GATE, the leaf or WING of a folding entrance.
WINGS of CHERUBIM were over the ARK
which contained the COMMANDMENTS
Ruth was REDEEMED and SET FREE because she trusted in the God of Israel “under whose Wings [h3671] she came to trust.” which alludes to her willingness to be obedient to commandments that God had given to Israel and therefore abiding under the protection of His WINGS. We find grace and favor from God when we abide in his covenant. Wings [h3671]covered the Ark of the Covenant where the 10 commandments were kept.
It also alludes to the command to make fringes on the borders/wings of their garments which was to remind them to keep the commandments. This is what the woman touched when she touched Jesus garment and was made whole.
Numbers 15: THe law of tassels
–Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders [h3671]of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders [h3671]a ribband of blue: 39And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart [h3820] and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41 I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I [am] the LORD your God.
DOES HE KNOW US?
HAS HE SEARCHED OUR HEART?
WE KNOW HIM &
TRUTH IS IN US
IF WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS
We ought to WALK
as He WALKED
1 John 2 : Jesus is Our Advocate
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4He that said, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.5But whoever keeps his word, in him truly is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6He that said he stays in him ought himself also so towalk [h4043], even as he walked.
ARE WE WALKING WITHIN IN INSTRUCTIONS and COMMANDS,
in the PATHS of HIS LAW, or do we work LAWLESSNESS?
His LAW set’s the boundaries of the NARROW PATH and WAY
which we are to walk in FAITH without works is DEAD,
meaning there has to be EVIDENCE of our FAITH.
Turning (repenting)
from SIN
THE EVIDENCE
OF OUR ACTIONABLE FAITH
is our keeping of
HIS COMMANDMENTS
and
TURNING FROM SIN
Turning (repenting)
from SIN
Psalm 139 : You Have Searched Me and Know Me
1O lord, you have searched me, and known me. 2You know my sitting down and my rising up, you understand my thought afar off. 3You compass my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
1 Peter 4 :Suffering as Christians
12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: 13But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14If you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you; for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19Why let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as to a faithful Creator.
God, being merciful, gave us a way to pass the Polygraph through the giving of His Son and His Mercy. The Polygraph needle stays straight under interrogation and tribulation, if we Abide in His Love and Truth through his Holy Spirit, which was given to us by Him who fulfilled the Law for us. When we do sin and fall on our walk, we have a intercessor (attorney), the Holy Spirit, given to us by Jesus, that pleads for us on our behalf in front of the Judge (God) as did Moses.
26Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Thus being able to pass the test, and declared Righteous in his sight
because our FAITH has been proven to be TRUE.
The Needle’s PATH/WAY is
ESTABLISHED
JUST (UPRIGHT)
SMOOTH
LEVEL
PLAIN
STRAIGHT
TRUE
UNWAVERING
FIXED
STILL
CALM
Revelation 3 : Message to the Church in Philadelphia
7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; 8I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door,for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. 12Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name. 13He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.
The KEY of DAVID
is given to those who are
HOLY and TRUE
HOLY
“SANCTIFIED”
“Washed Clean”
and
TRUE
ESTABLISHED
JUST (UPRIGHT)
SMOOTH
LEVEL
PLAIN
STRAIGHT
UNWAVERING
They are left an OPEN DOOR
They will be made a PILLAR of
I will write on him the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem,
which comes down out of heaven from my God:
and I will write on him my new name
The MEANS of our SALVATION
FAITH & OBEDIENCE
The CAUSE of our SALVATION
GRACE & MERCY (a free gift)
The EFFECT of our SALVATION :
PRESERVATION OF SOUL
(saved from the wrath of the Law,
by being declared Justified/Righteous through Faith )
We cannot obtain JUSTIFICATION from the LAW
because we are sinners,
but walking in the boundaries of his LAW
is an expression of the fact that you have been reconciled to Him.
When we abide in Him, through FAITH (a conviction of the truth) :
We are no longer subject to the wrath stipulated in the Law.
We are not longer under the curse of the Law or Sin.
We are JUSTIFIED (declared RIGHTEOUS) in God’s eye’s
and SAVED from WRATH through Him
by FAITH in His Blood that was shed for us.
Being JUSTIFIED in HIS sight, means you are
TRUE, RIGHTEOUS, BLAMELESS, INNOCENT and UPRIGHT.
Not because we deserved it, or through adherence to the Law,
but His Mercy and Grace and through our FAITH in the one
who did fulfill all Righteousness on our behalf, SO NO MAN CAN BOAST
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Justified [g1344] d??a??? dikaióo,occurs 48 times in 36 verses
14Why hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing whip shall pass through, it shall not come to us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16Therefore thus said the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste.17Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing whip shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.
The CORNERSTONE or FOUNDATION STONE is the stone of a building that represents the starting place in construction. It is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. It is carved with a date and laid with appropriate ceremonies. It is what holds the building together.
The Cross folds into a CUBE
AKA…A PERFECT TRUE STONE
Through the Door of FAITH in Christ, represented by the Cross,
we are brought back into the SHEEP FOLD
and become justified (true) stones of the New Temple
by means of UNWAVERING FAITH
in HIS RIGHTEOUS BLOOD THAT WAS SHED FOR REMISSION
1Truly, truly, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.2But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. 4And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6This parable spoke Jesus to them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them.
7Then said Jesus to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep. 13The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
6Behold, you desiretruth[h571]in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me.
Matthew 21 : Parable of the Wicked Tenants
42Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43Therefore say I to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.44And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. 46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
Christ became the TRUE CORNERSTONE upon which the new TEMPLE would be built and upon which all stones added will be set in reference to this one, Peter being the first.
13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He said to them, But whom say you that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.19And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.20Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Just as Solomon hired Stone Squarer’s to hew JUSTIFIED STONES for the temple…
1 Kings 5 : Solomon’s Workmen and Laborers
. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stone squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
He works to carve His image into us and to make us TRUE stones through his Holy Spirit. We are justified by HIS BLOOD through FAITH and obedience to His Commandments. Being JUSTIFIED in HIS sight, means you are TRUE, RIGHTEOUS, BLAMELESS, INNOCENT and UPRIGHT.
28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29For 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 brothers.30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies.34Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Romans 5 : Faith Brings Peace and Joy (John 14:27-31)
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.
6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Our JUSTIFICATION as “TRUE” stones
IS NOT BASED OFF OUR OWN WORKS
but by the WORK DONE FOR US on the CROSS
and OBEDIENCE to HIS WORD
Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, being rooted and grounded in love,
so we may be able to comprehend what is the breadth, length, depth, and height.
Together we work and labor to EDIFY each other,which is “the act of building up”
and promoting growth, by serving others and not ourselves.
Each stone is bound together (bundled/united) through the Holy Spirit,
and we endeavour to keep the unity in the bond of Peace
by walking with all lowliness, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another in love.
Before constructing and laying the FOUNDATION of a building,
the area must be PREPARED by SMOOTHING & LEVELING
David purchased the THRESHING FLOOR at MOUNT MORIAH in Jerusalem
where EARS of GRAIN would then be CUT & CRUSHED
with the threshing board
in order to SMOOTH & LEVEL
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
THRESHINGFLOOR [h1637]occurs 36 times in 36 verses (17 books)
from an unused root meaning: TO SMOOTH (as made EVEN) , a place levelled.
Upon this THRESHING FLOOR would be where SOLOMON’S TEMPLE would be built upon.
2 Chronicles 3 : Temple Construction Begins (1 Kings 6:1-4)
1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah [h4179], where the Lord appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.2And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
God does does not dwell in temple made with hands and thus served as a SHADOW of Heavenly things
Mark 13 :
1And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2And Jesus answering said to him, See you these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone on another, that shall not be thrown down.
TEMPLE MADE WITH HANDS
~ foreshadowing ~
NEW TEMPLE MADE W/O HANDS
Hebrews 8: A more excellent ministry
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true [g228]tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: why it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:5Who serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, said he, that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you in the mount. 6But now has he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
The New Covenant
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, said the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, said the Lord. 10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13In that he said, A new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.
Jesus, the TRUE son of David, would laid THE NEW FOUNDATION and CORNERSTONE in our hearts, where he rebuilt the temple not made with hands in 3 days by writing HIS LAWS into our HEARTS and MINDS through his giving of the HOLY SPIRIT
This is why John the Baptist, whose LOINS were GIRDED with TRUTH, and who Malachi & Isaiah prophesied would “PREPARE THE WAY”, was sent before Jesus to “PREPARE PEOPLE’S HEARTS” and to make their PATHS “STRAIGHT, LEVEL, or SMOOTH” by preaching REPENTANCE and baptism.
4As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his pathsstraight[g2117]. 5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
EVERY MOUNTAIN & HILL
SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW
EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE FILLED
ROUGH WAYS
SHALL BE MADE SMOOTH
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Straight [g2117]
(literally) LEVEL or SMOOTH
(figuratively) TRUE;
We are the LIVELY TRUE STONES, through Faith and OBEDIENCE that make up the rest of the Temple. Built upon the foundation laid by Christ and held together by the TRUE cornerstone. We are built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1 PETER 2 : THE LIVING STONE
4To whom coming, as to a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6Why also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believes on him shall not be confounded. 7To you therefore which believe he is precious: but to them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM
Priests would kill sacrificial animals where BLOOD was shed then cleanse with WATER then placed on the altar to be burned with FIRE as a sacrificial offering to God.
The ALTAR SANCTIFIED (cleansed, purified) the gift/offering.
CHRIST SACRIFICE
whose righteous BLOOD was shed for us, we die with him in baptism where we are cleansed with WATER (His Word) then are baptized with FIRE (by receiving His Holy Spirit) which purifies our hearts (the altar)
Our new PURE HEART SANCTIFIES our spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God for sweet smell
~ foreshadowing ~
Hebrews 13 :
12Why Jesus also, that he might sanctify [g37]the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate 13Let us go forth therefore to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.16But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. .
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight: that you might be justified when you speak, and be clear when you judge. 5Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, you desiretruth[h571]in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with your free spirit. 13Then will I teach transgressors your ways; and sinners shall be converted to you. 14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, you God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 15O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise.
16For you desire not sacrifice[h2077]; else would I give it: you delight not in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices[h2077]of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18Do good in your good pleasure to Zion: build you the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then shall you be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks on your altar.
14Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?15And what concord has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? 16And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17Why come out from among them, and be you separate, said the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.18And will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, said the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 7 : Joyful in Tribulation
1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
PERFECTING HOLINESS INDICATES THAT GROWTH IN SANCTIFICATION IS NOT OPTIONAL.
Believers are to become as mature and Christlike in this lifetime as they can, but the work will be completed only on the day of Christ.
13Why gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which has called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation;16Because it is written, Be you holy; for I am holy.
Matthew 25 : The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.12But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.
OLIVE OIL has also been used with linen wicks to keep flames burning for light for thousand of years. Olive oil is 99% pure fuel and does not produce smoke or soot and does not burn if spilled. The key to burning olive oil is to keep the wick saturated at all times. A little will go along way because it burns quite slowly. OLIVE OIL does not need processing but you HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT KIND of LAMP and WICK.
THE RIGHT KIND OF LAMP
needed for OLIVE OIL to burn is HIS WORD
Psalms 119:105 NUN.
Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Proverbs 6 : 23
For the commandment [is] a lamp; and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the way of life:
THE RIGHT KIND OF WICK that’s needed for
olive oil to burn is a WHITE LINEN WICK
which represents having a
CLEAN, WHITE and PURE HEART
by means of HIS WORD
dwelling here.
Revelation 19 :
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
LINEN represents the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the saints
Aaron and his sons, the priests, wore linen coats/mitres
Linen underwear/breeches were worn by the priests to cover nakedness (loins girded with truth)
Psalm 33 : Praise to the Almighty Creator
1Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. 2Praise the LORD with harp: sing to him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. 3Sing to him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. 4For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. 5He loves righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
The disciples HEART BURNED within them
when He opened up the scriptures to them.
Luke 24 : Jesus Explains the Prophecies
30And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave to them.31And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.32And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
My grandfather’s middle name was “HUEY”, which I always though was funny name,
but realized how close phonetically it sounded to “HEWER” which is what Gideon means,
so I looked up what the name “HUEY” meant and it means “HEART. Mind.Inspiration. Intelligent”.
I also happened to be born on Valentines Day
which is synonymous with the Heart symbol.
THE GIDEON’S symbol is a two-handled pitcher
and TORCH OF FIRE recalling Gideon’s victory.
A heart symbol fits perfectly over the pitcher
and illustrates this concept of the heart burning.
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THE OLIVE OIL, the fuel for our heart to burn
which gives us understanding of HIS WORD.
and guides us in HIS TRUTH, represents HIS HOLY SPIRIT
which fuels our LINEN HEARTS to keep burning
and allows us to produce the resulting FRUIT OF HIS SPIRIT
that comes from HIS WORD DWELLING in our HEART.
When I first moved into my house I had to buy a lawn mower to cut my grass. The following summer my lawnmower went up in smoke as I was trying to mow. I had not put enough oil in it and it burned up the engine. If you run out of engine oil, your engine will fail. Engine oil is the life blood of your vehicle. It’s essential for the function of your engine. Any lack of engine oil in the system, or even dirty oil, will lead to extreme engine wear, and driving a car low on oil can lead to some bad situations. Inside of the engine, there are fast moving parts, with a lot of potential friction. The engine oil is the lubricant that keeps parts sliding against each other smoothly, instead of grinding each other down. If the engine runs out of oil, it will start to grind, and then seize up, stalling the vehicle. This is what an engine looks like after 80k miles and no oil change.
The same goes for our bodies. You can have the nicest looking clothes, hair, and bodies, but if there is no oil, it will wear down and become useless. We cannot function or be preserved without his Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Our hearts become darkened and we end up with a grenade in our chest.
Luke 18 : Parable of the Persistent Widow
7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them? 8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith [g4102] on the earth?
Matthew 25 : The Parable of the Ten Virgins
10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.
So how does “Threshing” relate to an entrance?
Strong’s Greek Concordance
Gate [h8179] sha?ar
occurs 371x in 302 verses
gate (of entrance)
gate (of space inside gate, i.e. marketplace, public meeting place)
city, town
gate (of palace, royal castle, temple, court of tabernacle)
heaven
Psalm 118:19-20 19 Open to me the gate [h8179]s of righteousness: I will go into them, and] I will praise the LORD: 20 This gate [h8179] of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
from the
primitive root
word
[h8176] sha?ar
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Think, Opening, Door, Gate
[h8176] sha?ar
occurs 1 in 1 verses
a primitive root;
in its original sense; an opening, to split or open,
i.e. door or gate:—city, door, gate, port (× -er).
i.e. (literally, but only as denominative from H8179); compare see H7778to act as gatekeeper;
(figuratively) to estimate:—think.
to split open, reason out, calculate, reckon, estimate, to cleave, divide, to estimate, to set a price
Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh [h8176] in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.
Joshua 18 : The Tabernacle at Shiloh
1And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh[h7886], and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.
THE REMAINER DIVIDED
8And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh[h7886]. 9And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh. 10And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh[h7886]before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance
Shiloh [h7886/h7887]occurs 33 times in 31 verses
“place of rest”, “tranquility”
a city in Ephraim
temporary home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle
the place where Samuel grew up
The Tabernacle and the ARK OF THE COVENANT rested in Shiloh, which was a town allotted to EPHRAIM and where Samuel grew up
~ foreshadowing ~
Jacob’s prophecy of Judah stated the scepter (Law) would not depart from Judah and unto him shall he gather all the people (meaning Ephraim)
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WORKING TO EARN SALVATION
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