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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 but to be honest   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.

LUKE 14 : THE PARABLE OF THE BANQUET (Matthew 22:1-14)

 

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:

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 who was a man after God’s own HEART

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.

I created this site for myself as a place to gather and collect what I was seeing going on in the world in relation to what the bible says.  I wanted to have a place where I could actively engage in what I was learning and to have a place where I could order my thoughts.  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.

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.  The LINES WERE STARTING TO GET BLURRY.

I felt like THE WALLS WERE CLOSING IN and I wondered how He could use me.

I was doing everything I could just to keep up, but things seem to be moving so fast. 

Psalm 69: The Waters Have Come Up to My Neck! (Matthew 27:32-44; Mark 15:21-32; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:16-27)

 

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.  (I had not mentioned to him, or anyone about my website at this time).  After just a few days of reading,  this was the text he sent me:  

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 13 : THE NARROW GATE (Matthew 7:13-14)

 

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.

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 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.  

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.

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 the threshingfloor^[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)

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.

THE LIGHT CHAFF (the waste of the threshing floor) would be BLOWN AWAY/SCATTERED and FALL some DISTANCE AWAY while the HEAVIER LOOSENED GRAIN would FALL at the 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 German word TENNE  means  “THRESHING FLOOR”.

When I played the ESCAPE GAME in 2016, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE was the WINDIEST CITY in the Country.

THE PROCESS OF THRESHING WHEAT symbolizes SANCTIFICATION

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. 

We are commanded to COME OUT OF BABYLON in RevelationTo be separate, holy, sanctified

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.

 “THRESHOLD” meaning “brink, verge, origin, entrance, dawn, sill into a room or house”.

The etymology of the word “THRESHOLD” comes from the word “THRESHING”.

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 son of love, to 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 is Gods THRONE and Footstool

Our HEART is the THRESHING FLOOR upon which the temple was built

 

 

 

HE WHO HAS AN EAR,

LET HIM  HEAR

 

A bride is carried over the THRESHOLD by Groom into new HOUSE after being married.

Proverbs 23:Consider Diligently what is Before You

 

7For as he thinks ^[h8176] in his heart, so is he:  Eat and drink, said he to you; but his heart is not with you.

This is the only time this word is mentioned in the whole bible.

 

It is the primitive root word that Gate ^[h8179] sha’ar derives from

Psalm 118:Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is Good  

 

19Open to me the gates ^[h8179] of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20This gate ^[h8179] of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.

Solomon’s Temple was built on a THRESHING FLOOR

 

A PURE HEART is needed to enter through the GATE of RIGHTEOUSNESS 

Mark 7 :What Defiles a Man (Matthew 15:10-20)

 

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.

Sin is first and foremost a matter of the heart.  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. Since we live out of the HEART (Luke 6:43) it 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 we 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 doing 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

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.

Romans 8 : God Works In All Things (Ephesians 1:3-14)

 

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 our HEARTS 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. 

GENESIS 4 : CAIN AND ABEL(Romans 2:1-16; Jude 1:3-16) 

 

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. 

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)  

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, and HER SINS HAVE REACHED TO HEAVEN, and we as the BRIDE are to come out of her, God has remembered her iniquities. 

HIS-STORY repeats itself.

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.

At the end of  HIS – STORY, there are 2 WOMEN and 2 KINGDOMS  are depicted and SET APART from each other

THE WHORE OF BABYLON

 JUDGED

 

 

-vs-

 

THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

 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. 

BABYLON

THE EARTHLY KINGDOM

 

 

“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-

JERUSALEM

THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM

 

 

“The City of Truth“

(by way of separation/sanctification)

built by the King of Kings,

 adorned for the bride,

built by God’s hands

 

 

ESTABLISHED BY GRACE

 

 

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.

Genesis 15 : ABRAHAM PROMISED HEIR (Romans 4:1-12; Galatians 3:1-9; Hebrews 11:8-19; James 2:14-26)

 

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

Genesis 15 : GODS COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM (Numbers 34:1-15; Romans 4:13-25)

 

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.

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 says 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.   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.

~ foreshadowing ~

 

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.  HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR

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. 

 

The VOICE of God

WALKED in the Garden,

and Adam & Eve

hid themselves from His presence

after they disobeyed his Instructions.

 

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.

God then gives Abram a new name, Abraham.  The Asian custom of (re)naming someone was always associated with the possession of authority over the one being named. 

Genesis 22 : The Offering of Isaac (John 3:16-21; Romans 5:6-11)

 

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.

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 SET APART in Elizabeth’s womb.

Genesis 25 : Jacob and Esau (Malachi 1:1-5; Romans 9:6-18)

 

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. .

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.

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.

Then JOSEPH was sold into in EGYPT where he 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.

EPHRAIM which means “Double Fruit”,  received the 1ST BORN BLESSING, & was prophesied to be a multitude of NATIONS. 

 

JOSEPH means “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 scepter shall 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.

 JOSEPH received the BIRTHRIGHT PROMISE. JUDAH received the SCEPTER PROMISE. THE SCEPTER is a MARK OF AUTHORITY and is in reference to the LAW

 

 

A 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.

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

 

Hebrews 1 : The Supremacy of the Son (Colossians 1:15-23)  

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; 

Psalm 23 : The Lord is My Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-24; John 10:1-21)

 

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.

Psalm 60 :With God We Will Gain the Victory (2 Samuel 8:1-14; 1 Chronicles 18:1-13)

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?

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.

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)

 

Here 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, and give EAR to his Commandments, and keep his covenant.

HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR

Psalm 78 : ear My Teaching  

 

1Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

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,  and were known as  THE CAMP OF EPHRAIM.

 

~ foreshadowing ~

 

 

Psalm 60 :With God We Will Gain the Victory (2 Samuel 8:1-14; 1 Chronicles 18:1-13)

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

 

 

 BENJAMIN                                                    JOSEPH

(“son of the right hand”)                      (“God has ADDED”)

 

                                                                  MANASSAH

                                                      (“he hath made me forget all my toil”)

 

                                                                EPHRAIM

                                                           (“double fruit”)

 

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 

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.

What does God require from us?

Deuteronomy 10 : A Call to Obedience (Joshua 24:14-28)

 

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?

 

To FEAR Him

 

To WALK IN HIS WAYS

To LOVE HIM & SERVE HIM

with ALL OUR HEART and SOUL

 

 

To KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

 

 The Exodus

through the RED SEA

depicts this imagery

The Covenant made

with Abraham

depicts this Imagery.

DEUTERONOMY 30 : 

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:

JEREMIAH 21 : 

8And to this people you shall say, Thus said the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

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.