Bringing Tongues Of Fire From The Sparks Of Faith…
LESSON 3
PENTATEUCH 3
EXODUS
By Rev. G. Evan Newmyer
INTRODUCTION TO LESSON 3
We enter Exodus, which means Departure, referring to the leaving of Egypt, when we leave our Egypt we will be in the land of exposure, the place called The Wilderness. Matthew called it the “kingdom of heaven”, or the place just for the called out ones, It’s no longer Egypt, but neither is it the Promised Land. The Wilderness is the place where God’s people were free of the oppressive elements of darkness, the place to learn how to be a king, or a priest, the introduction to the Law and understanding of the Commandments. Our wilderness is no different, we are trained to be kings and priests, to learn how to keep our kingly and priestly positions by the Spirit. We also learn we are never going to impress or surprise God. For some reason we impress ourselves, thinking we have impressed God as well. Not so, neither do we surprise Him with our mistakes or blunders. The wilderness is the place to become the victor over the old man (self nature), it’s the place to hone our belief so we can prefect our faith, the place to find what Crucified with Christ really means.
When we left Egypt there was a time of Joy based on the “parting of the Sea”, then came the wilderness, where we felt lost. Where did the joy go? What happened? Is it all lost? No, God is doing His best work. This is the area of true discipleship, the place where we can learn, or we can allow our emotions to run wild. Emotions are good when saved, a mess when they are not; unsaved emotions refuse to see Correction, rather it calls it “Rebuke”, reacting rather than responding. The Children made the mistake of thinking they were being rebuked, when they were being trained, a mistake we don’t want to make.
The Wilderness was the place for them to be free of the slavery mentality, but rather than be free of it, they used it against the called of God. Along with the mentality came the “fear of rejection”, a most horrid and hindering element causing us to do all sorts of destructive things. When we fear rejection we will either compromise to make people happy, or set up a wall to shut people out; or worse use our anger against anyone who even suggests they are going to reject us. The children confused discipleship with being attacked; correction with belittling, they ended attacking the very source of their freedom. Yet, God called them “holy”, how can this be? When God deals with us as His children, we are holy by association. There are three types of holiness defined in the Tabernacle, if there is the “holiest of all”, there must be lesser holies. The holy place was holy, but not as holy as the holiest of all; the courtyard held a lesser holiness than the holy place. We are called the sons of God, by being taught of the Holy Ghost as He compares spiritual with spiritual. If we remain carnal, we won’t have a clue when God is dealing with us, rather we will attack the Lord of Glory thinking we are attacking the devil. Shall we enter the Wilderness.
LESSON 3
PENTATEUCH 3
EXODUS
THE BEGINNING
When Joseph was still alive the Pharaoh in charge was friendly to the children of Israel, but things changed. Did God know it? Yes, He told Abraham there would be a captivity, but He also told Abraham there would be a deliverance. Jesus told us in the world we would have tribulation, but He also told us He has overcome the world (Jn 16:33). It behooves us to stay out of the world to avoid the tribulation. Not only did God tell Abraham there would be a deliverance, but He also gave him a time element. God told Abraham the children would be afflicted 400 years, afterward they will come out with great substance (Gen 15:13-14). Not only would they be delivered, not only did God say when they would be delivered, but He said they would come out with great substance. What example did Abraham have? He came out of Egypt with great substance as well, yet in our case it’s leaving Egypt behind becomes the benefit, the substance comes when we seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33).
Was God guessing, or did it just happen to come out right? God saw the end, then told Abraham what He saw, thus it was not a guess. Prophecy is not something we make come to pass, rather Paul showed us faith in God gets outs us into the good prophecy, or delivers around or through the difficult prophecy. When God told Abraham there would be a captivity and a deliverance, both were future tense to Abraham, which is prophecy. Prophecy coming to pass proves God was with us all the time, God spoke in one time about a time yet to come. When the timing came the word God spoke came to be, proving itself. The test of prophecy is the prophecy itself, but no prophecy will be against Scripture. Paul asked, “What says the Scripture?” (Rom 4:3); it has to be our first question, when we forget we will form traditions, or attempt to use carnal means to accomplish spiritual tasks. Prophecy is not something we force to come to pass, it’s something given us so we know God has this well in hand. Unless we use the check and balance of Scripture regarding Prophecy, or the Proceeding Word we will follow personalities, ending following some whacko, or self-appointed nut case.
The Scriptures were used by Paul and others over and over as a check and balance, we should follow suit. The problem is of course the doubters, they come with all the carnal excuses questioning the Bible, it’s their carnal nature making a feeble attempt to get us to doubt the Bible. Once we doubt the Bible, the enemy moves in with other doubts, then we become lost in mass of natural intellectual wanderings. If we are Born Again, the Holy Ghost will guide us into all truth, as the New Man guides us on the path of Grace. The doubter looks at two verses seeing “error”, the Born Again saint sees the same two verses as opportunity to discover a mystery. Moses will write many Scriptures, if we suppose Moses was the Author, rather than the Scribe, we will form doubts. From the faulty premise of making man the Author we will move to making scholars our idols, then we will hold their words above the Bible. After all we have more intellectually sound people than Moses could hope to be, thus those who tell us it’s “doubtful” must be right. Wrong, the Holy Ghost is right, stick with Him, far better to find the mystery, than go about doubting the very basis God gave us for our belief. Proverbs 25:2 tells us it’s the Glory of God conceal a thing, but the honor of the king to search it out. Parables, metaphors and verses which seem in error are provided to the Believers to search out the truth, but the doubters and pouters still see error.
This is the same idea behind, “we are not of them who draw back to perdition, but of them who believe unto the saving of the soul” (Heb 10:38-39). The saving of the soul does have a faith position, but it also has a very important belief position. Each day we must believe in what Jesus promised us, “with God all things are possible”, the saving of our souls is not a mind game, it’s based on the New Testament Promise, with the added faith reaching to our Hope. Our Belief is based in what Jesus said, yet if we begin to doubt the Bible, we will begin to doubt the words of Jesus. Faith is a doubt not performance, yet there is a falling away from the Faith, guess where it begins? The doubters and pouters, who claim errors, when in truth the error is in their own minds. Our present Confidence is based on what Jesus told us to Believe, giving us a “God Is” foundation, then our faith is projected to the point where God is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). Without Belief, our Faith has no platform. We will run into some hard Scriptures, some may even appear to conflict, but we are a people of belief and faith, knowing the Holy Ghost will clear the issue, giving us more knowledge upon which to believe.
The issue to prove the point was seen in the last lesson, how many of Jacob’s people entered Egypt? We had three different numbers, yet we found all were correct. The doubters would see different numbers, then say, “we have error”, whereas the child of faith sees those same numbers knowing God has given us a mystery to assist us in our belief of how the Scriptures are God breathed. How? Easy, if man was in control, he would make sure all the numbers were the same, or the verses matched completely, yet with God we find mysteries. The mysteries show us how much God has this well in hand. Those who think they found error are really saying they are more intellectual than the Holy Ghost, not real smart.
God promised Abraham a son, but proved there would come a nation from the son when He said the nation would be in captivity. Therefore, He didn’t speak of the “son”, but the nation, giving Abraham a prophetic word regarding the promise, yet at the same time affirming the Promise of a son. We could have a promise of a ministry, when the Holy Ghost tells us “when you preach to them”, it’s the affirmation of the hope. Therefore, we see without a son there could be no nation, yet God was speaking of a nation. Did Abraham run to Egypt and attempt to make a captivity happen so he could force the deliverance? No, did the children take off for the Red Sea in some attempt to force the prophecy of the deliverer to come to pass? No, Time and Timing, faith keeps us on the prophetic path, presumption attempts to force God to do what we want.
What did Abraham do wrong to cause this bondage of his heritage? What did Isaac do? Or Jacob? Or Joseph? Or the children? Nothing, it was in the plan. It was a training process, not punishment. An area we tend to forget, “Oh Lord surely You have forsaken me”, not so, it should be, “Thank You Lord for training me”.
One thing was for sure, the children had the word of deliverance, but they couldn’t deliver themselves. Yet, they believed a deliverer would come, because God said so. The Book of Hebrews shows they had the faith to cross the Red Sea, but it also appears they left their faith on the shore of the sea. What happened? They didn’t like the way God was perfecting them, in their anger they grasped a false definition of holiness. They failed to see their holiness was not in what they were wearing, or what they were doing, but in God dealing with them as children. If God was dealing with them, there was something which needed to be dwelt with.
They faced many situations, many appeared terrible on the surface, yet it was their personal observation based on their opinion of the event. God had a plan in each event, in each case God proved Himself. However, Jude would have us know, although at times we forget, how the Lord having saved the children out of Egypt, He destroyed those who believed not (Jude 5). Jesus would remind us how being in the Body (baptized) is great, but in order for the words “shall be saved” to apply we must continue to believe (Mark 16:16-18). Belief is the foundation for our faith, wreck our belief, destroy our faith. Although Belief and Faith are in the Now, they are different, but like Mercy and Grace they support one another.
The children knew Deliverance would come, as time moved on they started looking for their Deliverer. They didn’t make him come to pass, they waited for the prophetic word to develop. When we force the word to come to pass, it doesn’t show us a thing about God, but it does show we doubt God is able. When the Word does come to pass it proves God was not only with us, but He saw the future from a first hand prospective. They had a word from God to their father Abraham, their hope looked for the 400 years to end. Daniel saw how Jeremiah the prophet said the captivity in Babylon would be 70 years, so at the end of the 70 years did Daniel pack his bags? No, he prayed for God to have mercy on him and his people to open the deliverance, then he waited with bags packed. If we really want to do something regarding the “words” spoken in our lives, then follow “what does the Scripture say?”; remember the sister of Faith is Patience.
While in Egypt the children had a future hope of deliverance, their faith reached to the hope. We know they had faith, since they crossed the Red Sea by faith, thus the same faith should have been with them in the wilderness. What changed? They allowed their own unbelief to rule, missing the greatness of God in their lives. All of us were given the Measure of Faith, but belief is a choice we make. Any of us can misconstrue the event, or what God is doing in our lives causing us to enter unbelief. Paul used the events in the wilderness were teaching aids for the Corinthians (I Cor 10:1-11). What the children did, they did, but the lessons remain for all of us. Some of us excuse the warnings by saying, “well you have to understand who these people were writing to”, they were writing to saints. Let us take heed, lest a root of bitterness spring up in us to defile us, as Esau who sold his birthright for a morsel of meat (Heb 12:15-16).
The wilderness is the training area so we can hold the Kingdom of God as good kings. Face it, enter it, enjoy it. The children being captive in Egypt was hope, it did show the word given to Abraham was coming to pass. Their faith didn’t drown in the Red Sea, they allowed their unbelief to block the effectiveness of faith. What caused them to fail? Was it their captivity in Egypt corrupting their belief? Was it being a slave for all those years? Or was it simply the self-based mind of man wanting deliverance, but not willing to follow God’s plan? God showed them His power of deliverance before they entered the Wilderness, thus they had more then enough evidence in which to believe. Ahh, the nature of fallen man demands for all things to fit the desires of man, yet faith centers on pleasing God, whether we’re pleased or not.
Faith must entail the knowledge of God’s vision, not our self-based vision of some self-importance, rather it’s God’s vision of His greatness through us. The carnal mind seems to think it’s their greatness God is using, rather than seeing it’s God greatness being used through us. Discerning prophecy is vital, we need someone who is well seasoned in the Office of Prophet to look at the words given us, after all “let the other judge” (I Cor 14:29). If we don’t want them to judge the words given us, then we know we have twisted them, misinterpreted them, or come up with our own. For the most part we forget prophecy is in part, God told Abraham there would be a captivity, a deliverance and the time of the deliverance, it was more than enough to establish Hope. God didn’t tell them how they would be delivered, or about the signs and wonders, nonetheless the word came to pass, then came the training for the people so they could possess the Promised Land. These people become a study guide as well as a lesson book on the do’s and don’ts of discipleship.
The Family Tree of Adam to David is a miracle, much less from David to Jesus. The odds were stacked against the plan, yet God knew “odds” mean nothing in face of His Power. Look at some of the members of this family, Adam who had two commandments, the one he was suppose to do, he didn’t, the one he was not suppose to do, he did. Adam lost his relationship with God and his wife, ending with a relationship with his career (toiling the ground). Next, Eve lost her relationship with her husband, rather than a help meet she became a slave. The result of the Fall was corruptness, yet from it would come Enoch, who walked with God. Along the path we find Terah, the father of Abram who was an idol worshiper, it is also reported how he was an idol maker by some of the Jewish historians. It’s seems bad enough to worship idols, but have our own family making them? Not counting others like Laban, Balaam, Korah, who were all “family”, yet corrupt. The conclusion we can draw is one of faith, remember Faith will win this, not any Faith, but the great and wonderful Faith of Jesus. Our faith in God is vital, the New Man operates off our faith to keep us on the path the Faith of Jesus blazed for us. Jesus defeated death, hell, evil, and corruptness by His faith, not the Law of Moses; it takes faith to follow faith; therefore the Law of the Spirit based on the victory of Jesus. The Law of Moses came as a result of the children failing to keep the Ten Commandments. The Law of Moses is based on failure, the Law of the Spirit is based on Victory.
If we trust in the “family line”, we will fail, yet if we fail to trust in Jesus we are a failure. The words spoken to these people are more important than the people, at times we tend to hold the people higher than the Word spoken. Look at the people, the mess in the marriages of Jacob, yet God used it to bring the “tribes”. Jacob couldn’t get within six blocks of some of the stiffnecked churches today, yet from his loins came the 12 tribes of Israel, the one nation out of all the nations of the earth called of God (Amos 3:2). God already laid out the premise of one man and one woman, yet He was able to take the mistakes and failures of man to bring about a plan for our redemption. Did God cause the mistakes? No, but He did use them (I Cor 10:13).
God had a purpose for the Patriarchal Family, the Purpose would be to complete the plan regardless of any faults those in the family may have had. Metaphorically we can see why we must “change families”, our soul was once adopted into the family of the darkness, the “token” was the old man. We are now adopted into the perfect family of God, the token of the adoption is the New Man, also known as the Seal of the Holy Spirit of Promise.
The Patriarchal Family Tree shows how convoluted all these relationships were, only God could bring Good from it. How can God use this messed up family? God knew they were not perfect; wherein we find our lesson of lessons. It’s true “God knows our heart”, but He is not trying to save our hearts, He is out to save our souls by giving us a New heart. We make mistakes, miss it, yet say, “oh well God knows my heart”, He sure does, it’s we who keep ignoring it. Our old heart was wicked above all things, thus Jesus said from the heart comes no good thing, yet Paul said we must believe in our heart, but he also said our “circumcision” was a cutting away of the old heart, in order to gain a New Heart by the New Birth (Ps 51:10 & Rom 2:26-29). Of course God knows our heart, the old one was rotten, the New One is His seed. Never trust in “well God knows my heart”, it’s not the point, it was our own lusts causing us to chase after those self-designed golden calves. However, we are also in the Kingdom, the place of instant restoration based on instant repentance. We fall, but we can gain, we see the exposure, we admit it, we repent, the New Man begins the cleaning procedure based on the Justification process.
On the other hand we know we’re not perfect, but we can’t allow it to hold us back. There are those who think they are the perfect of the perfect, who go about holding others back. Either case lacks Godly knowledge and wisdom. Our imperfections tell us we’re human, God’s perfection makes Him God. Our imperfections show us this is a Process, from time to time the Golden Plow of God will roll over a rotten root from a past tree, it needs to be dwelt with. “Man, I thought it was under the Blood, now what?”. It still is, it’s time to be free, not a time to fall back to natural reasoning. The Blood of Jesus is cleaning us from unrighteousness, the washing of the Water by the Word is removing spots and wrinkles, yet the Cross made the old man, the wiles of the devil, sin and the sin nature ineffective. “’All I know is it’s the same thing over and over, I can’t get free”; wrong, it’s not the “same thing”, it’s being set free of the same thing, each time is a step closer to complete freedom, each step a gain. Let’s face it, years ago it was the same thing, yet we didn’t care, progress in the process brings us to a place of caring.
There are many ways one can think they are Justified, there are those who think they are justified before the Law of Moses, but it doesn’t mean they are Justified before God. There are those who are self-justified, they presume by using “faith” they are justified on their own, yet the Scriptures say we are justified by the Faith of Christ (Gal 2:16). Our Justification and our Righteousness are related, but not the same (Gal 2:16 & Ph’l 3:9). Our goal is not simply to be justified, but to be Justified by God before God (Rom 8:33). The Report says we are Justified, but it’s the Declaration, the Witness is carrying out the Declaration on earth, thus we are being Justified, but God says we are (Rom 3:24-28, 5:1 & Titus 3:7). Over confidence is based in pride, it makes us think we have completed the process, before it began. If the old nature can convince us this is not a process, we will still use the spirit of man in a false religious in nature, hardly the goal.
The Law of Moses was Good, it provided man a means to balance the scale, but it also proclaimed one to be a sinner void of faith. It doesn’t mean God is sitting in heaven wondering if His food is Kosher, it would remove Him from being Alpha and Omega, rather it’s not from whom the Law came, but to whom it was directed. God doesn’t stop heaven every seven days, or put the universe on hold, He finished His work on the Sixth Day then Rested, because the Work was done for the Night. It tells us the Night will happen, it also tells us this is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. The Word still watches over the works to see them complete. If God rested on the Seventh Day, why then have the sign of circumcision done on the eighth day? Making no sense whatsoever, unless we see the concept of Rest means the work is finished, there is nothing left except for the work to be carried out. The Genesis creation was from evening to morning, which shows the “works” for the Night are complete, but we are of the Day, meaning there is a Creation for the Day. From the Cross the works of the Day began, they will continue until the Night begins when no man can work; then there will be silence in heaven for the last half of the Hour ( Jn 9:4 & Rev 8:1).
The contrast between these people and some of us is amazing, it’s as if God looked at us then had these people play out our lives. We came to the Cross based on the Holy Ghost drawing our measure of faith, but once we entered we hit “formula trail”, make this happen, force this, or promote that, yet we know we didn’t make the Cross happen. Well, maybe these people just didn’t have faith. Not so, the Book of Hebrews tell us they crossed the Sea by faith (Heb 11:29); therefore, if they had the faith to cross the Sea, they had enough to cross the Wilderness, the same is true for us. We had the faith to receive Jesus, we need to maintain the same faith in God to get us through this.
The evidence shows how God not only told them to believe, but placed signs and wonders before them proving He was far greater than anything Egypt had to offer. God will not ask us to do anything He hasn’t already given us the ability to do, yet we know there are things He will not do for us. Our example will be the deliverance of the children, God brought the signs and wonders, but He didn’t force them to leave Egypt. God parted the Red Sea, but they had to cross it. God brought them into the wilderness, but they had to believe in God to sustain the training.
Jesus also tells us it’s mandatory for us to continue to believe after we enter the Body; therefore He will give us more then enough evidence for us to believe, but He won’t believe for us. He will give us the Ability, but He won’t apply the Ability, we have to. What is the one requirement for water baptism (other than water)? Social importance? Theology? No, it’s “belief”, when the eunuch from Ethiopian heard Philip speak about Jesus he asked, “what does hinder me to be baptized” (Acts 8:36). Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (Acts 8:37). The eunuch was a Gentile, although Cornelius will be the first Gentile to be Born Again (Acts 10:45-46), this eunuch will be the first Gentile baptized under New Testament authority granted by Jesus. All it took was a belief in Jesus, no fancy footwork, no great miracle power, not even faith. Faith is vital, but without belief it has no direction.
The one doing the baptizing must be a member of the Body, operating under the Authority of Jesus, but the one being baptized need only believe and submit. Water baptism as we know is our Token of accepting the Body, identifying us with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul saw some of the Corinthians failed to believe in the Resurrection, his question was why were they baptized unto death, if they didn’t believe in the Resurrection? (I Cor 15:3-6 & 15:12).
The Book of Jude is only one chapter long, the name “Jude” is short for the name “Judas”. “Oh wow, you mean Judas the one who betrayed Jesus wrote the Letter?”. No, the name Judas was a popular name back then, although it’s not now (wonder why? Even the heathen avoids it). The Jude who wrote the Book of Jude was the brother of James, and the half brother of Jesus (Jude 1 & Luke 6:16). We found how Jude 5 told us to remember how the Lord having saved the children, destroyed those who believed not. They gave God no choice, God delivered them from Egypt, placed a protection over them, separated them from Pharaoh as well as the danger of Egypt, but they believed Him not (Deut 9:23). Just as we are saved from the world by God’s mercies to enter a place of Process to be saved by Grace through faith unto the salvation of our souls. We will read over and over how the same people God separated from the world were seen under the “Green Tree” worshiping idols. They were not worshiping the Green Tree, they were hiding under it. Jesus said the fowls of the air pick at the fruit of the Tree, they are not branches, they are not the fruit, they invade to attack the fruit. When clarity came to Ephraim, he said he would no longer worship idols, but would become a Fir Tree before the Lord (Hosea 14:8-9). The metaphor Green points to Mercy or Life, in the case of the children the Green Tree was the protection of God’s Mercy over the nation. The children would hide under God’s Mercy, yet worship idols, thinking the Green Tree (Mercy) would protect them. Jeremiah found the children under those Green Trees, although they worshipped idols and sacrificed their children, they would also say, “the temple, the temple, God will not allow the temple to be destroyed”. Wrong, we can be covered by a Green Tree, but we better be producing Godly fruit, rather than idols of the self. Exposure brings those “treasures of Pharaoh” to the surface, so we can reject them, then allow God to remove them. Everyone is drawn away by their own lust, no lust, no drawing (James 1:14). If we are enticed, then there is a lust in us, but if there is no lust, it becomes a test. If we approach God with a lust, it doesn’t mean God is tempted, it means God is not, but He will send a test back to us to expose the lust in us. We will see with these children, they tempted God, yet He tested them.
Jude’s words, or those of James are not to scare us, but to keep us from fables, or to keep our Salvation thinking in a serious mode. This goes right back to work out your own Salvation by fear and trembling. Did these children have the ability in hand? Yes, God brought them into a place to train them. The building of the Tabernacle proved they held God given talents, thus they had the ability, they simply refused to apply it unless they had to. Those who are spiritual in nature have tons of God given abilities, the Manifestation of the Spirit is just one area, the Nature of Grace another, there are more benefits, yet we can have all of them, yet never apply them.
Do we have the ability to win this? Yes, Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, because He was anointed, thus the anointing was first, then the Spirit. We also know the Yoke is destroyed Because of the anointing, thus the Yoke was destroyed to grant us the anointing (Isa 10:27). The Process is seen here, the Yoke of Egypt was broken, then the children were anointed, although they didn’t have the Spirit, they nonetheless had the fire by night and the cloud by day. In the midst of their unbelief what did God do? Care for them, give them more signs. In the midst of their lack of faith what did God do? Sent them quail, gave them the Law of Moses, gave them manna. Their unbelief didn’t stop God from blessing them, but it did stop them from entering the Promised Land, yet entrance into the Promised Land was the goal. Blessings prove God loves us, but does it prove we love Him? Although the first generation had many blessings in hand, it would be the second who would enter the Promised Land.
For these children there would be two areas of being saved, one from Egypt and one from their Egypt thinking. The Old Testament being the shadow also shows we have two areas, Saved and Salvation, first we are saved from the world, which is akin to these people crossing the Red Sea. Next comes the Process of faith unto the salvation of our souls, which is akin to getting to the Promised land. Between the two is the wilderness; being delivered from the world isn’t the end of this, it’s the beginning.
These children not only had to believe they were God’s chosen, they had to accept the position with all it entailed in order to posses the Promised Land. In their case it was a change in mindset, from slavery, to being free, from being under the hand of the ungodly, to being in the hand of God. For us it’s a matter of believing God is working with us unto the Promise. This shows why God allowed Egypt, they knew first hand the torment of someone lording over them. The lesson of course was not to make slaves out of the people they would be over. In our case we have a Nature change, but we too are told to “feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock” (I Pet 5:2-3). They were salves, treated harshly, but unless those hurts, pains and bondage attitudes were addressed and healed, they would become taskmasters. Therefore, God took them to a place separated from Egypt (world) in order to get Egypt out of them.
However, there is an opposite to the slavery mentality, one of control. The children were to experience Freedom, but they engaged in control, the wanted to control their actions, Moses, even God. Control is not faith, faith must be centered in pleasing God, control is based in self-pleasure. We find we can enter the illusion of “being pleasing”; thereby thinking if we’re pleased, God must be. It was the error these children will make, if they are displeased, they think God is, if they are pleased they think God is. Yet, we find God was not pleased with many of them (I Cor 10:5). When God began to deal with them, they didn’t like the manner, they allowed anger to rule their minds, causing them to enter unbelief. When we presume we are pleased by something we do, it also means God is automatically pleased, we are living an illusion. Trusting in God is an element of faith keeping pride out of the picture, there is no way we can Trust fully in God, yet demand control, or think our acts are impressing Him. When God did something the children wanted, they danced, when God asked them to do something, they got mad, murmured or complained ending attacking the man of God.
Were all of them bad? Not hardly, they were a special people, they had courage, but they placed their courage on the self-nature. Since they crossed the water what other metaphoric content do we see? The Net, the Net was cast into Egypt then pulled through the water to the Wilderness. In the Wilderness there was the good fish and bad. God knew the first generation wouldn’t make it, but like Paul says, these things are written for our sakes (I Cor 10:11).
If God knew these people wouldn’t believe, why even deliver them? “Oh, because He told Abraham, then when He saw how bad they were, He still couldn’t go back on His word”. No, it would mean God wasn’t omnipresence, or omnipotent, thus before God spoke to Abraham, He had the end in hand. We have to accept God saw their actions in Egypt, and in the Wilderness long before the foundation of the world. So why pick them? A lesson for us? Partly, but in truth none of them could ever say they didn’t have the opportunity. Everyone who enters the kingdom of heaven has the potential and opportunity to make it to heaven, not one who has received Jesus has a reason to fail. Jesus not only takes us in, but gives us the power to succeed.
When they were in Egypt death was the focus of attention, the entire process of burial, or the constant thought of the “after life” was the center of the religious mind of the Egyptians. These children are going to hear about “life”, a concept strange to their thinking, thus the wilderness is place to change mindsets. In their case they allowed the fear of death to choke out the hope of life. Jesus would face this same “death mentality” in the religious minded, He answered with, “God is the God of the living not the dead” (Mark 12:27). One the items prized by the Egyptians was the “book of death”, a sacred document telling them how to prepare the dead. For us it’s preparation for the Gospel of peace unto life, yet the spirit of man is still centered on death; so much so there is a fear of death (Heb 2:15). The ancient secrets of embalming and preserving the corpse have been the subject of folklore for years, yet they still center on death.
The children may have made idols, but being forced to make idols, still doesn’t mean one has to worship them. They had the opportunity to see how foolish idol worship was, it’s also evident, from the hands of slaves came the gods of Pharaoh. These same gods had to be defeated in order for the children to be free indeed. The same is true with us, the New Man will destroy the idols in our minds, so we can be free indeed.
Although these children didn’t worship the idols, they were the ones who failed to believe while in the wilderness, which produced the famed golden calf. Their failure to believe caused them to miss the Rest of God, yet they were also the ones who refused to worship idols while in Egypt. When they entered the wilderness they were suppose to leave their Egypt thinking behind, but as we will find, it was easier for God to remove the children from Egypt, then it was to remove Egypt from the children. Their murmuring and complaining were signs of their displeasure, their displeasure came from their unbelief.
YOUNG MOSES
The word Exodus means Departure, but Exodus is not the Hebrew name of this book, rather Exodus is a compound Greek word made up from Ex (out) and Hodos (way). At first it would seem the meaning was saying, “out of the way”, or “get out of the way”, but it refers to leaving a way, not “the Way”; in this case it’s departing from the ways of Egypt to a place to learn of the Ways of God. It’s important, since it shows one can depart a place, but not the mental attitudes of the place. If one retains the mentality of the old, they really haven’t made an Exodus at all. The children made a physical departure from Egypt, but failed to make a mental Exodus.
Didn’t they take things with them? Yes, thus it doesn’t mean leaving things, they were suppose to leave the hurts, pains, bad thoughts, bad experiences, nature and habits behind in order to begin anew. Here God purposed the Exodus from Egypt, but the children brought Egypt in their hearts. Metaphorically we can see how their attitude relates to a “falling away from the Faith”. How? The failure to make a true Exodus from the world; there are some, like these children, who leave the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but return to the things of the world (II Pet 2:18-22). It doesn’t mean they left the world completely to pick it up again, it means they retained something of the world, John called it the “he who is in the world”, simply showing they are in the Body, but their interests and minds are still worldly (I Jn 4:1-4). They are also known as the Wicked, they are not in the world, they are those who leave the world, yet retain the authority of the world. The phrase, “Greater is He in you, than he in the world” is our hope, showing the New Man is the Greater He, but the “he in the world” pertains to the spirit of the world. Paul said the spirit of man knows the things of man, but is completely ignorant of the Spiritual things of God (I Cor 2:11). However, the spirit of the world is opposed to the Spirit that is of God (I Cor 2:12). The spirit of the world did not become a problem until the Holy Ghost began to reprove the world, as He gave us the Spirit that is of God. Our growth has many rewards, as children we know our sins are forgiven, but as youngmen we have overcome the Wicked, thus the path of Salvation is a Process. The more we know Jesus, the more we love Him, our desire coupled with our belief and faith firms our hope. The desire of the Wicked is much different, they love power, position, or the feeling of being religious (morally correct in their eyes), but they only love God as far as the love can benefit them. This shows us the spirit of the world is the “he in the world”, it’s opposed to the Spirit which is of God, thus the Spirit which is of God is the Greater He in us (I Cor 2:12 & I Jn 4:1-4). The Greater He wants us to study so we gain knowledge and confidence in God: the spirit of man wants us to study so we are can exalt ourselves, or feel superior over the rest of the Body. Cult systems stem from the spirit of man unto the spirit of the world, they desire to be the greater than the Body of Christ, to have something setting them apart from everyone else, a special book, an ordinance, a rite, something they fell makes them superior, or better than the rest of the Body. They have the “only truth”, the “real Gospel”, the “secret rite”, yet it’s all flesh. The Hope for us is the Spirit of Truth in us, the Greater He, Another Comforter, the New Man, Christ in us the Hope of glory.
Paul used the children in the wilderness to show holding to carnal thinking can hinder our walk, thus there is a division between the Wicked and the carnal minded. The carnal minded still use the natural mind, as do the Wicked, but the carnal are ignorant, the Wicked are not. The Wicked have become deceived by their own deceptive ways, but they also feel what they do is a service to God, the carnal have no idea what they are doing. To the carnal mind spiritual matters are foolishness, to the Wicked spiritual things are a danger to them.
“Well, none of these people were Born Again or in the Kingdom”. True, but these things are written for our knowledge, II Peter 2:18-22, Jude 5 and other Scriptures given to us regarding these people show how any of us can fail to leave the world behind. It need not be so, opportunity coupled with ability are given unto us, we can win.
The term “Iniquity” is the key to all this, sin is the transgression, or the trespass into an area we should not be, but Iniquity means Unequal, or out of balance, it can only be accomplished by those who have the call and ability to do something, yet work at not doing what they should. Iniquity being an unbalanced condition surely shows the person has the ability, they simply refuse to do what they are told to do, making themselves without a Law. There are times when God wants us to do something, but we do all sorts of things just to avoid doing what we are suppose to do, because we simply don’t want to do it. It’s iniquity, but the workers of iniquity make it part of their nature, it’s not one event, rather they work at it. The main element of their iniquity is taking the Mercy of God, yet refusing to give it. Jesus defined it best by showing a group who did acts, but failed at the will of the Father (Mercy – Matt 7:21-23). Iniquity will lead to sin, it always does, just as the failure for these children to believe in God, led them to making the golden calf.
Before they crossed the sea Pharaoh was visibly right behind them, in front of them stood the parted Sea, but for how long? In front of them, behind them, on both sides appeared potential for death, yet they had faith to reach the other side. Although we can see their faith was based in desperation, they nonetheless followed their leader. However, from there to the walls of Jericho there isn’t another recorded element of faith attributed to them. When they made the choice to enter unbelief, they lost the foundation for the measure of faith to exist. The potential of faith is based in our belief of “God Is”, without it we will cast our faith in all sorts of things, at times we will place our faith in people to deliver us, or save us, which is always failure in the making.
The world has elements used by the spirit of man, those elements are the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. The phrase, “pride of life” in the Greek means “self-confidence”, or a trust in ones self abilities. “Wow, I thought we were suppose to have good self-esteem and self-confidence”. Self-esteem has two sides, on one side it means having an awareness of ones self, based on what God says, no less than what He says, or no more. If Less, then self-pity becomes a false sense of unworthiness, if we go the other way we enter a realm of self-confidence allowing pride to rule. Once we enter self-confidence we will begin to think our gift, talent or ability is of our doing. False self-esteem is as dangerous as trusting in our self-righteousness, wherein one takes pride in what they perceive are good works, or social endeavors. We are to have a full awareness of who we are, but taking pride in our self abilities is hardly the goal. If we wear fifty masks attempting to convince people of who we are, we will also use fifty religious masks attempting to convince people we are religious. The Word in us will divide, separate, destroy facades by removing masks, bringing us to a place to be open and naked before God (Heb 4:12-13). In all this we must also see there is a division between the “soul” and the “self”, we are told to deny the self, we are not told to deny the soul. The goal is the saving of our soul, we must lose our soul to Jesus, in order to find it. When we find it, we will know who we are, who we were, more important who we can be in Christ (Matt 16:25 et al). Naturally minded people tend to confuse the self with the soul, but the self is a product of the Fall, the soul a creation from God. Until the Power came from on High no one had the ability to separate the self from the soul, but even these children had the ability to believe in God.
These people were subject to Pharaoh, an evil man, yet if they gain power over Pharaoh, will they treat Pharaoh as they were treated? Eye for an eye; however, the phrase means keep it equal, it was never two eyes for one eye, or six teeth for one. The propensity of man is over kill, take five dollars from me, I will take sixty from you. Unequal in any regard leads one into iniquity. Turning the other cheek, is not, “Okay, I’m a child of God, go ahead hit the other one”, rather it means we don’t use the same means used against us. Jesus told us it was said of Old, “an eye for an eye”, then He told us to turn the other cheek (Matt 5:38-39). These children will be given a Law conducive to their nature, if ones nature fits the Law of Moses, they should do the Law of Moses, but if their nature fits the Spirit, they should do the Law of the Spirit.
The Ability for us to walk in the Mercy of God was granted when we accepted the Cross, for these people the ability to learn of God without the interference of Egypt was granted the second they entered the wilderness. The Cross granted us the ability to be free of the prince of the power of the air, as it is written regarding Jesus, “forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; through death He might destroy (make ineffective) him who had the power of death, the devil” (Heb 2:14). Once these people cross over the water Pharaoh became ineffective in their lives, the same is true with us, once we enter the kingdom of heaven the devil becomes ineffective in our lives. it’s great, but nothing we should boast in, surely nothing to take pride in; rather it means we can be trained without the interference of the darkness.
Young Moses will have a training program, one making him a leader. He would have abilities, but without Godly training he will make his abilities gods; without Godly training we would do the same. We have an intellect, but without the Godly guidance the same intellect will become a god. Moses was first discipled by Egypt, thus he used his talents in the manner of Egypt, but when he faces the burning bush, he will begin a Godly discipleship program. Moses will face his own battle of unbelief, he would have to conquer his unbelief by making the choice to believe, then his measure of faith could be productive; because he was able, it also shows the children had the same opportunity.
God was going to give them evidence for belief, God would show His power to deliver is far greater than Pharaoh’s power to keep them in bondage. He did the same for us, by the Cross God showed us His power to deliver us from darkness in order to forgive us was far greater then the devil’s power to keep us in darkness. The Power of God to forgive sins, shows the Power of forgiveness is greater than the power of sin. In order for one to be greater than the other, they have to have a greater power. All things are under the feet of Jesus; we are His Body, thus we have authority over all things. The iniquity of the Wicked is remaining the footstool, they make the choice to use the spirit lusting to envy. When we were in the world we were under the spirit lusting to envy, now we have authority over it, it’s what makes the Wicked the enemies of Jesus, they find they can use the spirit lusting to envy to their advantage, they work at their iniquity by refusing to submit to the Seed of God, they become the beasts of the field (Gen 3:15).
There is a battle, when the things of this world call out, we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God to resist the call of darkness. The world will challenge us to reenter its worldly ways, or come back to the darkness. The world uses all the reasoning of natural man, but the lusts of the world are still lusts. The world will “toss its own net” of natural reasoning, worldly concerns, compromise and fear. The world has concerns, concerns they tell us are legitimate, they are to them. We were all part of the world, but the time came when we left it behind. One element of the undefiled religion is to remain unspotted by the world (James 1:27). We can feed every poor person in the world, pray five times a day, yet if we use the spots of the world as our ability, we are none the better.
The devil uses Godly principles in reverse, we toss the net to pull people out of the world, the devil tosses the net of the world into the kingdom to draw us back. Our measure of faith drew us to the Cross, the devils measure of social fear is sent to draw us back into using the ways of the world: Paul called it “warfare”, yet we have the advantage, nothing of the enemy has authority or power over us, suggestions is all he has, words without force.
Healing and removing the old roots, or busting stones of abuse take time, the power and authority of the “works of Pharaoh” don’t. It simply takes a firm decision not to use those things anymore, no more manipulation, no more deception, no more mind games, no more using the ways of darkness to get our way, no more attempting to impress people, or change who we are to satisfy the whims of people, no more doing things just to get a feeling the flesh desires. It’s only half the chore, we must have something to replace those endeavors. The New Nature, man uses one evil to replace another, it’s not our goal. The New Man brings all the elements contained in the Holiness of the Father with the Righteousness of the Son to drive out the old. If we retain the old, the New has no place to rest. The goal is not to appear as if a change has taken place, it’s just another facade, the goal is to be Changed into the Image of God’s Son (Rom 8:29).
God was pulling these people to the Promised Land, but their stubbornness and rebellion resisted God. The devil wasn’t the problem, the stinking thinking of the children was. These children had the evidence of God to bring them into a Promise, a Great Promise, but they didn’t like the way God was doing it. They rebelled against the man of God, they attacked the words spoken to them, they lost what little they thought they had (Jude 5). It’s one thing to think its a demonic attack, then find out it was God, another to know it’s God, yet fight against Him.
These people were self-deceived into thinking Moses brought them into the wilderness to kill them, yet Moses couldn’t take them to the movies without the power of God. They knew better than to blame God, but in blaming Moses, they were blaming God. “What?, Are you saying Moses was God?”. Not hardly, but Moses was the man sent by God, Moses was doing what God told him to do, thus to attack what Moses was doing, was the same as attacking God. The anointing on the man was granted by God, thus they were in effect attacking the anointing, or being “anti-anointing”. God sends us an anointed preacher with the truth, we don’t like it, so we attack the man, yet we are really attacking God who sent them. We will find the sin against God under the Old or the New is when anyone slanders, attacks, or comes against the children of God. When brother attacks brother it’s still wrong: sin at the door means the thinking is there to attack, yet at the door and in the house are different.
These children came into Egypt as a free people, but they were taken bondage, yet they were also delivered by the Hand of God. Who brought them into Egypt? God, who delivered them? God. We entered the world as children, having done neither good or evil, but we were born into a nature more prone to yield to the flesh than it was to resist the flesh. The first time we used the fallen nature to get our own way it began to teach us how to use it the more: the more we used it, the more it used us, until it held us in bondage. The world talks about Jesus being a “crutch”, in truth, He is more than a crutch, for without Jesus we would surely fall (Heb 10:38-39).
When we were in the world, we used manipulation because it worked, but simply because something works doesn’t mean it’s of God. We used anger to get our way, or self-pity to get our way, they worked, but witchcraft works, it’s why witches use it (Acts 16:16). Just because something seems to work, doesn’t mean it’s of God. Then came the day when those elements began to use us, anger became a controlling ruling element, it governed how we spoke, or treated others. The rulers of darkness begin as servants, but their intent is to become master. All this points to Authority, the devil has authority based in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. Authority is the granted permission to carry out a task Limited to the Authority. If one goes beyond the authority, they are either usurping authority, or in rebellion. Leaders have authority to Perfect the saints, do the work of the ministry and edify the Body (Eph 4:11-12). They do not have authority to take the oversight of the flock by constraint, nor do they have authority to seek after filthy lucre, nor do they have authority to invoke the Law of Moses on New Covenant people (I Pet 5:1-4).
Some of the ways of the old man are based in feelings, thus the lost do the deed to gain the feeling. Judging people gives one a feeling of superiority, but it’s an illusion, when we judge, we are being judged. One would think if Jesus told the Pharisees “you are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father you will do”, He was judging (Jn 8:44). Yet, He also said if we Judge, it will come back on us shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38). Paul said, “oh man, who are you who judges another, and you yourself do the same, and have condemned yourself?” (Rom 2:1). It seems as if Paul is judging those who judged. Wow, now what? Judging, clarity and responding by Discerning are all different, when we Judge someone we do it to feel superior over them. The best example is the Pharisee who saw the publican praying then said, “I thank you oh God, I am not like this sinner” (Luke 18:10-13). The Pharisee judged the Publican so the Pharisee could gain the feeling of being superior, yet he thanked God. The Pharisee was using God to make himself feel superior over the publican. On the other hand Jesus responded to questions and events, not to feel superior, but to warm and expose to bring correction.
Someone can judge us to the bone, yet when we tell them, “it’s not right”, they jump up and shout “are you judging me?”. Hello? They did it for thirty minutes; however, we were not judging, we were responding to their ways. Different intents, different sources. Those who are spiritual are judged by no man, but they judge things (I Cor 2:15). So, was Paul judged of man? More than once, but did he accept man’s judgment? No, did he judge man? No, he judged “things”, usually words, thus we as spiritual people do not judge people, we discern things and respond. A thin line? Perhaps, but nonetheless one separating the carnal minded judge from the spiritually minded saint.
Many of the events the Jews have faced over the last years were allowed by God, although the Jew sees the events as anything but God based, we can see they tasted of oppression to prepare them for a time when the Mountain of the Lord will sit on the mountains of the world (Isa 2:2, 11:1-6, & Micah 4:1-2). God is training them for the Night, the time when they will sit In the high places of the world, but we also know when they say Peace and Safety, sudden destruction will be upon them (I Thess 5:3 & 5:9). The Book of Revelation shows the Woman in the wilderness, thus she is still in the place of training (Rev 12:14 & 17:3). Jesus entered the wilderness to defeat the devil’s temptations, we enter the wilderness to defeat the wiles of the devil. Jesus didn’t remain in the wilderness, neither should we. Our warfare is not against an enemy who is equal in power and authority, it’s against an enemy who is defeated, made ineffective, but refuses to admit it.
Having laid the foundation the first thing we find in the Book of Exodus appears to be a theological problem; in Genesis 46:26 we found 66 people came with Jacob, but in Exodus 1:5 the number changes to 70 people. In Acts 7:14 Stephen said the number of people were 75; three different numbers, yet all are correct. This area becomes the evidence of the Gospel accounts, all four are correct, it depends on what stage of growth one is talking about. In Genesis it’s the number of people who came with Jacob, less the living wives of the sons, and less Joseph’s family who were in Egypt. We must recall the wives of both Judah and Simeon were dead at the time, thus Stephen takes the 66, adds the wives of the living sons, but it still doesn’t tell us why we find 70 in Exodus. Ahh, in Exodus we find the addition of Joseph and his family, thus the 66 plus the 4 from Joseph’s family give us the number 70 found in Exodus 1:5. Genesis and Stephen are talking about those who came into Egypt with Jacob, here in Exodus we’re looking at the house of Jacob in Egypt, which would include Joseph’s family. This shows all three numbers are correct, it depends on the prospective one is using. This little mystery is like many provided in the Bible; we can either claim Fault in the Bible, or search for the Truth. When we study the Bible, or view events, we never do so to prove we’re right, or to prove someone else wrong, or to find something to exalt ourselves, rather we seek Truth.
New converts are told to read John’s account, but John is speaking to the Full Corn in the Ear, what gives? Because the word Faith never appears in John’s account, we find it’s a foundation for “belief”, the very element every new convert needs (Jn 20:31). Belief is a foundation, one so vital we find the meaning of “disobedience” is unbelief.
In Exodus 1:8 we read, “now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph”. The phrase “knew not Joseph” points to the promise made to Joseph by the old king regarding the land given to the Hebrews. This “new king”, with the phrase “arose over Egypt” tells us much. This new king didn’t honor any promise made to Joseph, or the Hebrews, but why? The law of Pharaoh demanded for the words of Pharaoh be honored; however, remove the political power, and the promise means nothing. The phrase “arose over Egypt” could also read “arose against Egypt”, this probably connects to the Hyksos nation. The Hyksos were a people related to the Hebrews, who later conquered Egypt, giving us another people to take over the seat of Pharaoh. This new order of government didn’t honor or recognize any of the prior laws made by the old Pharaoh. Even today if one government falls, yet another takes its place, the “old order” is as if it never happened. However, the Kingdom of God is steadfast, never changing, yet continual in growth.
Although the Hyksos were related to the Hebrews, it was very distant. The Hyksos didn’t come from Ishmael, rather they came from the third family of Abraham, thus they were not subject to the Promise. The Hyksos were lower on the scale than Ishmael, they didn’t even come close to the meaning of the title, Hebrew. The Hyksos invaded Egypt killing the old Pharaoh who knew Joseph. The Hyksos were idol worshipers, but we also find Egypt was split by their invasion. The Hyksos were afraid of the Hebrews, they felt if the Hebrews gained in number, they would overthrow the Hyksos, in like manner as the Hyksos conquered the old regime. This brought about slavery, with the assumption, “if we keep them slaves, they can’t gain numbers or come against us”. However, Exodus begins by telling us Israel grew until it out numbered the Egyptians, which caused more fear to enter the hearts of these new Egyptians. Even under slavery the Hebrews Multiplied, this accounts for the number of people, the land was being filled with Hebrews, yet the Hyksos knew if some army invaded the land, the Hebrews would join them, thus overpower the Hyksos, so they used manipulation and denomination, the two elements giving the minority power over the majority.
Another element coupling itself with bondage is the fear of rejection, the Hyksos used fear to control the children, thus God gave them signs showing He would not leave them, nor forsake them. When they entered the wilderness they failed to face their fear, causing their anger to raise up to protect their egos. The fear of rejection will cause us to join majority groups, just to feel like we belong. Rather than go to the little body down the street, we will travel miles to be in the biggest congregation in the state. Not because the teaching is any better, but because we validate ourselves by being in the majority. The same is true with carnal acceptance of denominationalism, we join a denomination because it’s popular, or has masses, just to validate our position; some even think their denomination will be the only one in heaven. Validation by man is a sure sign we lack faith, or trust in God. We are of the Kingdom of God, we not only belong, but we have the Seal of the Holy Spirit to prove it. We are a nation in a nation, individuals in a Body made up of individuals. God deals with us as individuals, evidenced by the New Man, but it doesn’t mean we gain “special treatment”, nor does it mean God will elevate us above the rest of the Body. It simple means God deals with us as children on an equal basis, no one better than another, no one less than another. If we want to be in a denomination because we agree with them, it’s not the same as allowing the denomination to control us. Our validation is in Christ, not social religious endeavors.
The Hyksos like the prior Egyptians were vegetarians, thus when Jacob came into Egypt the thought of being a sheep herder was an abomination. No one under Pharaoh touched red meat, thus the children took many animals into the wilderness, yet called out for food. The “food” they called for was veggies, fish, or fowl, the animals they brought with them were for sacrifices, or to carry burden, not for food. Like many of us we wonder why they had all those animals, yet cried for food. Therefore, when the Law of Moses came into existence allowing them to eat certain red meat it was seen as a blessing, not bondage. It was easy for them to see there could be “unclean meat”, after all in Egypt all red meat was unclean.
The thinking of the Hyksos to keep the Hebrews busy, was the basis for Pharaoh rejecting the idea of letting the people go, even for a few days. What if they tasted of freedom? What if they planned to come back to overthrow Pharaoh? Pharaoh thought of himself as the “god of the gods”, thus he could see no reason for anyone to desire to worship any other god. When God said, “let My people go”, Pharaoh responded with, “who is this God?”. Pharaoh took the words as a challenge, “Your people? we’ll see”. In the eyes of Pharaoh the people were his property, they did as he said, when he said it. However, in truth Pharaoh was only serving a purpose. The Bible tells us God raised Pharaoh as a vessel of dishonor for this very purpose. What purpose? To show the children God’s Power of deliverance (Rom 9:17-22). How did God raise him? Can God raise evil? No, but God allowed the man to exist, then allowed him to take Egypt so God could show His power to His children, so they could believe Him in the wilderness.
Pharaoh was fitted for destruction (perdition), thus God formed the man according to the man’s own heart. Pharaoh was a human, but he thought he was a god. He was the leader yet exalted by those around him. Like others with his type of thinking, he fell for the deception of mentor worship. This would be a direct violation of “have no other gods before Me”. However, we can’t forget God made Moses a god before Pharaoh, the difference? Pharaoh attempted to make himself a “god”, God made a Moses a “god”, or better God made Moses to be over Pharaoh as a representative of God toward Pharaoh. The phrase also means Pharaoh had no authority over Moses, which turned out to be the confidence for Moses to say, “Let the people go”. In truth we are kings over the things of the world, but not over the people of the world, thus we tread on the works of the enemy, not on the people in the world.
For Moses to go back to Egypt would take a promise from God to show Moses was in a position where Pharaoh could do him no harm. Moses believed what God told him, then he was able to act in faith (Heb 11:25-26). Pharaoh entered this with a hard heart, thus we will find God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, but the method and means explains the how. God provided signs to show His people He was more powerful than the gods in Egypt, in order to build the belief of His people. However, Pharaoh took it personally, considering each sign a challenge, thus causing his heart to be hardened the more. Since God provided the signs, God says He hardened the heart of Pharaoh. God’s intent was not to harden Pharaoh’s heart, but He knew the signs would. The same sign setting one free, can harden the heart of another. Is it the sign? Or the heart of the person? It has to be the heart, since Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, yet the children left Egypt.
Here we find the meaning of the title Hebrew means a Sojourner, or one who is yet to hold the Promised land. The children were not residents of Egypt, we were not residents of the world, we were captives. Jesus never prayed for the world, but He did pray for us while we were captive in the world (Jn 17:9), knowing the Cross would free us. The Exodus example shows even if we were treated as slaves, God is still able to bring us into the Promised Land. Before Jacob’s people entered Egypt they were in land of Jacob, the same land Abraham was given, thus before they could rule, they had to trained.
When the Sea swallowed Pharaoh the people danced, sang and had a good old camp meeting, the wicked Pharaoh was dead, but ding dong three days into the wilderness, they thought they were dead. “Good time faith” is not the answer, faith remaining Steadfast regardless of the event is the answer.
Skill without the ability to produce labor is still bondage and failure, just as labor without skill is slavery. Labor and skill are different, the children had Skills, the Egyptians did not. The Egyptians could produce laborers, but without skill their efforts would be useless. The Egyptians made the mistake of allowing the children to hold both the skill and labor, the Egyptians couldn’t make an idol, they couldn’t make a thing. When it appeared as if the children were truly leaving, Pharaoh found even his “god” position was nothing without “helps”. God produces Skilled children, those who have manifested abilities, in our case the Spirit in us can train us to do many things, including working with machines.
We know the Hebrews were the center of the work force, if not all of the work force (Ex 1:14). The word for “service” in Exodus 1:14 in the phase “service in the field” is used for farm work as well as for those who had talents in other areas, such as making brass items, or the such, it was also used to describe the workmanship for the Tabernacle. We find they made bricks, as well as many other things. Today we find many graves near the old Pyramids, one could mistake the remains for Egyptian workers, but there were certain Hebrews given higher ranks, who were more skilled than the others. When it came to building the Tabernacle, God increased the skills of some, but He also used the skills of others which were already honed, nonetheless the ability still came from God (Ex 26 et al).
The labor made the children strong, so much so they brought forth more children, but the Egyptians afflicted them the more (Ex 1:11-13). The Egyptians thought they controlled the children, but in truth they didn’t. It was the actions of the children causing the Egyptians to react, not the other way around. In order to decrease the Hebrew population, the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives saying, “if it be a son of a Hebrew, kill him, if it be a daughter, let her live” (Ex 1:15-16). It may sound strange, but Pharaoh didn’t want to wipe them out, only control the number. This alone shows the number of Hebrews was growing considerably, so much so the Egyptians were outnumbered greatly.
The midwives feared God, they knew killing the young was an abomination in the eyes of God; therefore, they didn’t do as the king asked (Ex 1:17). This is akin to Joseph refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife, the midwives rejected the evil suggestion to use their positions to cause death, when their authority was to assist in bringing life. It would appear they were in rebellion to the rulers of the land, but we find Pharaoh never gave them the “if” clause, nor was there any punishment involved (Ex 1:16). Since there was no threat of punishment, there could be none, thus this is not rebellion, but rejection of the suggestion. If it was a law, there would be an “if clause” giving one the defined punishment for failure to obey. Every law of man, in order to be a law must have a clause defining the punishment for failure to obey; if no punishment, there is no violation, without a violation it isn’t a law, only a suggestion.
How about the Law of Moses? Yes, the curse would fall on the one who failed to do all the Law. “Wait, I think I see it, a Law relating to carnal man must have a punishment, for man, but a Law given to the spiritually minded is based on their willing obedience”. Right, oh so right, the “punishment” in the case of the Spirit is refusing to be Spiritual in nature, which becomes spiritual wickedness. Those who are subject to the laws of man, or laws given to carnal man obey the laws based on one of two reasons. The punishment for not obeying, or the reward for doing. Whereas, the Law of the Spirit is based on a willingness to obey.
Exodus 1:15 names the midwives as Shiphrah and Puah, we might think, “gee only two?”, but don’t forget the children had been in Egypt nearly 350 years before the birth of Moses, so these are not the only midwives who entered the land; nonetheless we find some interesting things. Their services weren’t always needed (Ex 1:19), since the Hebrew women were termed “lively”, which is the Hebrew Chayeh meaning the Vigor of life, it only occurs here in Exodus 1:15; it’s often seen is the very reason there were only two midwives, they were rarely needed. Nonetheless, because of the faithfulness of the midwives God blessed the people, the Hebrews multiplied and waxed mighty (Ex 1:19).
Pharaoh then went to his own people saying, “every son born of the Hebrews shall be tossed into the river” (Ex 1:21-22). During the captivity the act of circumcision ceased, the habits of the children moved to coincide with the habits of the Egyptians. In all, we will find it was easier for God to remove the children from Egypt, than to remove Egypt from the children. Did God know? Yes, we will see where Moses will tell God, “you knew these people”, thus God knew about the people, it was the people who failed to really know God.
Moses didn’t face Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian, but the Bible (not the movies) shows Moses ran thinking Pharaoh would kill him. From then until Moses faces Pharaoh with “Let My people Go”, changes had to take place in Moses. Yet it all begins for the child when others made a decision for the child to live, because they saw he was a special child (Ex 2:1-2 & Heb 11:23). Therefore, rather than the “Moses, Moses, Moses” theatrical approach, we find the events are very plausible. The calling, the removal, the training, the anointing, building confidence in God, then the man could say, “Let my people go” as a representative of God.
According to the Book of Hebrews Moses would be about three months old when he was placed in the river (Heb 11:23). Moses the baby is placed in a basket, then placed in the river, thus his placement was not in violation of Pharaoh’s orders, but in compliance. The command to toss the children into the river left much to the hand of the one doing the tossing. Should the child be tossed to the middle of the river? To the side? In a basket? Or could the child be removed after being tossed? Really if you toss a baby in the river, yet the baby is in a basket, you still did your duty.
The sister of Moses followed the basket to see where it would end, in the meantime Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river to wash herself. She saw the “ark” with Moses in it among the “flags” (reeds – Ex 2:3-5). She sent one of her maids to fetch the basket, therein she found the baby Moses weeping, then she had “compassion” on him. The fear of the father didn’t stop the compassion of the daughter, yet she also knew he was one of the Hebrew children. There was no command from Pharaoh regarding once a child was tossed into the river, they had to stay there, thus all things are still in order.
The sister of Moses was still following the basket, she asked the daughter of Pharaoh, “should I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child?”, Pharaoh’s daughter said “go” (Ex 2:7-8). Pharaoh’s daughter paid the real mother of Moses to nurse the child, the child grew and Pharaoh’s daughter claimed him as her son (Ex 2:9-10). The name Moses can be traced to the Egyptian language to a compound word showing his name to mean “a child from the river gods”, thus even Pharaoh would accept the child as “the river god had given birth to him”, from the Egyptian “Hapimos”. Later it appears Moses dropped the river god part, but remained with the Hebrew Mosheh. It also stands the daughter of Pharaoh isn’t about to give her son a Hebrew name whether he is Hebrew or not.
The new Pharaoh was naming cities after himself, thus Moses knew cities which were not known to Jacob or Joseph. Nonetheless Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh, yet he knew he was a Hebrew, one day he went among his brethren, he not only saw their burdens, but on one of those visits he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew (Ex 2:11). Moses looked one way, then the other, when he thought no one saw him, he killed the Egyptian (Ex 2:12). The next day, Moses went out where he saw two Hebrew men arguing, when one hit the other Moses said, “Why do you hit your brother?” (Ex 2:13). The Hebrew said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? do you intend to kill me, as you did the Egyptian?” (Ex 2:14). Fear hit Moses motivating his feet, he made tracks in the sand before Pharaoh could hear of the killing (Ex 2:15).
Moses ran to Midian where he saw seven daughters of a Midian priest being abused by some shepherds, accordingly Moses drove the shepherds away (Ex 2:16-17). What happened? First he runs in fear, now he’s ready to fight a bunch of strangers. Moses didn’t kill these shepherds, he drove them away; they were shepherds, not Egyptians, or soldiers. Nonetheless, the man is already learning to apply his lessons. Instead of murdering the oppressor, he is making them flee.
The situation also gives Moses a view of what was in his future, but like us he didn’t see it. The “daughters of a priest” were being abused by “shepherds”, the man was moved to save the daughters from the bad shepherds. Later God will call on him to save the children from the false priests of Egypt. Some of us have been called to save the lambs from the false shepherds as well, if so, preach the Truth in Love.
Moses couldn’t help saving the seven daughters he was born to be the deliverer; however, without the guidance of God, his calling was going astray. The calling is found in our measure of faith, was it there before we were called, it’s why we are called. However, the ability comes when God gives us the Gift to guide us. Assuming our God given gift or talent is enhanced by worldly methods is error, the world uses talents for the sake of the world, God desires for us to use them for the sake of the Kingdom. The calling applied through the old man still ends in destruction, yet the same calling through the New Man ends in Salvation. However, Moses was not Born Again, thus his ability would still be applied through his flesh, ours through the spiritual nature. If a man like Moses could do as God desired, yet was not Born Again, surely we can stand in the Faith by the Spirit.
Between the Desire and the Ability there are tares, hurts, misconceptions which must be removed, or cleaned, for us it’s the washing of the water by the Word, with the cleaning of the Blood: in the case of Moses it was God training him, yet Moses still held some of the old Moses of fear, as we will see.
God meets us where we’re at, but He never intends to leave us in the same condition. God takes Moses the fearful one, bringing forth the Deliverer of courage. In the meantime, the king of Egypt died, the children of Israel cried out the more for deliverance, and God heard their cries (Ex 2:20-25). Why? If the king is dead, pack a bag, right? Wrong the son of Pharaoh would now reign, he was worse and more arrogant than his father.
In the meantime Moses married Zipporah, one of the seven daughters of Jethro, the Midian priest. The Midians will play a major role in the Wilderness, but for here we simply want to identify the father of Zipporah as a priest of the Medians. Going back to Genesis 25 we find Midian is from the third family of Abraham (Gen 25:2), thus there was a connection between Jethro and Moses, although distant.
Moses at this time was still uncircumcised, he didn’t have the Token for the Abrahamic Covenant, since the token stopped with the captivity. They would again enter the Covenant by taking the token, but only after deliverance began. This type and shadow shows no one is going to have the Spirit until deliverance happens, it’s the very issue in Acts 10 when Peter saw the Holy Ghost fall on Cornelius. Peter knew Jesus had accepted Cornelius, thus Peter rushed to get some water in order to water baptize Cornelius as acceptance of the man into the Body. If Jesus accepted the Gentile, who was Peter to deny him?
However, as far as Zipporah knew Moses was an Egyptian, but when Moses is told by God to become circumcised, then to circumcise his sons in order to enter the covenant, Zipporah will see who this supposed Egyptian really is, and have a fit. Why not? She was deceived, but Moses couldn’t enter the calling with deception hanging over his head. Clarity comes in many ways, for Moses it was taking away his “Egyptian mask”.
There were other cultures who used circumcision as a tribal rite, but not in the same manner as the Hebrews. The offspring of Ishmael circumcised at the age of 13, since Ishmael was circumcised at 13, but it still didn’t grant them the Covenant. Tribal rites are one thing, entering a Covenant with God another. Unless one is Baptized in water for the specific purpose of entering the Body of Christ, it’s not “baptism”, a bath maybe, or a back stroke. The Body of Christ is the only organization granted the Godly authority to baptize others in water (Matt 28:18-20).
Two thoughts surround Zipporah, one is she died then Moses married an Ethiopian woman (Numb 12:1); however, where would Moses get an Ethiopian woman? Ethiopia was south of Egypt, the wilderness north, they were in the wilderness when Jethro brought Zipporah to Moses, thus she was still alive then (Ex 18:5). In order to understand what Aaron and Miriam meant by the term “Ethiopian woman” one must go back to Cush. The Ethiopians came from Cush, to the Jew calling someone an “Ethiopian” was the same as calling them “Nimrod” (Gen 10:7). It’s a slang term, thus Zipporah didn’t stand by her man, in fact she sent her man packing. She also rejected the act of circumcision for her two sons, yet circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, the Covenant of the Law of Moses was yet future tense at this point.
Moses having his wife with him would be wise if one considers the murmuring, complaining, doom seeking children. If they jumped all over Moses, guess what they would do to his wife? If they do things in a Green Tree, what will the do in a Dry? (Luke 22:31). In Numbers when Aaron and Miriam confront Moses their precept will be correct, but their approach in error; it becomes an important issue when Moses misrepresents God at the Rock. It simply doesn’t make sense for God to keep Moses from the Promised Land for hitting a Rock. For us it’s a sign not to crucify Christ twice, but what else was there? Moses took out his anger on the Rock, it was like inflicting justice on the Rock, but Paul says the Rock is Christ (anointing), thus when Moses stuck the Rock it was like hitting the anointing over the people. The first time he struck the rock it was akin to Jesus being smitten on the Cross, afterward any “blows” would be to the Body. Moses was mad at the people, he took out his anger on the Rock, something none of us should ever do.
However, Moses just hit a plain old rock, how could it keep him out of the Promised Land? What came from the Rock? Water, from our bellies comes living water (Jn 7:38-39). The Rock represented something to the people, but it represented more to God. Paul used the example when talking to the Corinthians, let’s face it the Corinthians needed help. Paul wasn’t going to strike them with stones of theological abuse, or anger, he was going to apply correction through love. Paul understood the concept of hitting the Rock, Paul was a piece of the Rock, be careful Corinthians, you may be striking the Rock, yet banishing your own selves from the Promised Land (I Cor 10:4).
We can see how Moses’ misrepresentation was a gross error, if God punished Miriam for her misrepresentation, surely the warning was there. It takes care of the metaphor usage of the term “Ethiopian woman”, it has nothing to do with the nation, it had to do with the connection to Cush through Nimrod, coupled with the rejection of the Token to the Abrahamic Covenant by Zipporah.
This also brings up the question regarding the two sons of Moses, Gershom and Eliezer. Did they make it to the Promised Land? Were they of the order of Levi? Let’s see, if a male is considered Jewish, it means their mother must also be Jewish, if a male is connected to the kingly order, it means their father must be connected to the blood line of David, so where does it leave Gershom and Eliezer? David wasn’t even in the picture, so any “king” connection isn’t considered, but what about the Jewish aspect? Their mother wasn’t Jewish, but wait, who was at this time? The term doesn’t become a factor until the children enter the Promised Land, thus the term “Hebrew” is at issue, meaning the requirements to be “Jewish” weren’t a consideration. The sign regarding a Hebrew then was circumcision of the flesh plus the connection to Isaac (Gen 17:10-12). If we jump to First Chronicles 23:15-23 we find Gershom and Eliezer remained with Moses in the wilderness after Jethro brought them and Zipporah to Moses. The line from Aaron produced the priestly order, but from Moses came the “chiefs”, the chiefs were in charge of keeping the tabernacle in order, caring for the courtyard, as well as seeing the outer camps were set up in order. The requirement for being a priest or chief was to be a Levi, Jewish or not, Hebrew or not,.
From Gershom would come Shebuel, who was a chief (I Chron 23:16); from Eliezer would come Rehabiah who was also a chief (I Chron 23:16). From this we find the sons of Moses were circumcised before Moses faced Pharaoh, then after the children left Egypt and entered the wilderness Jethro the father-in-law of Moses brought the wife of Moses with the two sons of Moses into the wilderness for the sake of reuniting the family. From the evidence in Chronicles we find it worked, helping us define this “Ethiopian” woman as the wife of Moses, and why the rebellion of Aaron and Miriam was such an issue, don’t forget Aaron died in the wilderness (Numb 20:28).
Hitting the Rock was an outburst of anger, but there were other issues, how could Moses “judge” the people if he held unforgiveness toward his own wife? Without saying it, or perhaps without knowing it Aaron and Miriam were about to turn the entire system upside down by their misplaced accusation. If Moses failed to forgive his own, how could the people expect mercy from God? The man of God represented God, although Aaron’s garments protected him at the time, we find Miriam had no such protection, she was immediately taken by leprosy. Later when the “garment” of Aaron was removed, so was his protection; the mercy he failed to grant came back as his own condemnation, he died in the wilderness.
Moses and Aaron were brothers, Miriam their sister, they were direct descendents of Levi. When Levi was still around he had no idea his line would be the priestly order, rather all he heard was, “Simeon and Levi are brethren: instruments of cruelty are in their habitations”, with “cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen 49:5-7). Was Israel a physical land then? No, but it was a Nation. Levi was to be Divided, so it was, the priestly order from the political body. Moses’ line is interesting, before Abraham knew there was a “priestly order”, God had it all figured out.
By the time Abraham married Katurah Isaac was well grown, the Covenant was well known among the various families. There is no mention of the children of Abraham and Katurah being circumcised, even Josephus who mentions Katurah doesn’t mention if they were circumcised. Which would add to the concerns of Zipporah, she had to know the descendents of Isaac and Ishmael were the only ones who honored circumcision, as well as how it connected the descendents of Isaac to the Covenant. All this helps explain why Zipporah regarded circumcision a “bloody rite”.
From this we find both Moses and Zipporah come from Abraham, but were divided by cultures. Moses who came from Isaac, who was subject to the promise, Zipporah coming from Midian, who was not, causing a conflict; however, the only requirement on the sons of Moses was circumcision, then later keeping the sabbath, thus anyone from Isaac who was circumcised had a “right to the covenant”, anyone who kept the “sabbath day” who was of Israel had a right to the Law, which allowed both the sons of Moses rights to the order through Moses, but it still didn’t mean they were Jewish, at this point in time it didn’t matter.
It’s also clear it was God who told Moses to circumcise his sons, meaning God extended the covenant to the sons of Moses through Moses, only God could. All this shows the complexity of the system, in order for a male to be considered a “Hebrew subject to the Promise” they must be circumcised of the flesh, in order to be a “Jew subject to the Promise, they must be circumcised of the flesh when they are eight days old as well as their mother being Jewish”, thus Luke uses the phrase “as was supposed”, then lists the males in the line of Mary, following Mary’s father to Nathan the son of David, who was not a king. Luke uses the term “as was supposed” in two avenues, first he shows Joseph was not the real father of Jesus, rather it’s “as was supposed”, but the term was also used to list the father’s of the women, thus the father of Mary was Heli (Luke 3:23). In Matthew we find the father’s listed relating to the kingly line, thus the father of Joseph is listed as “Jacob” (Matt 1:16). Following both lines back to David we find Matthew lists Solomon, the son of David, but Luke lists Nathan another son of David (Matt 1:6 & Luke 3:31). All very interesting, so complex it would be a complete violation for any person who held the office of priest to make their self a king. Which we know happened in the Maccabees family, it not only ended the reign, but Herod killed all the remaining members, including his own wife and her two sons. One of the major divisions between the Old and New is the issue of priest and king, we are circumcised of heart, Jesus has made both kings and priests unto God; we didn’t make ourselves kings or priests (Rom 2:29 & Rev 1:6).
Zipporah’s father was first known as Reuel, then Jethro (Ex 2:18 & 3:1). Reuel is a Midian name meaning, A friend of God; whereas, Jethro is the Midian translation of the Hebrew Jether, meaning His excellence, we find the man’s name was “Reuel”, his title was “Jethro”. The names also reflect how Moses felt about his father-in-law, as he associated him more to the Hebrews, than the Midians. Later when Jethro comes into the wilderness Moses will treat him with respect, listening to the “elder”. It’s important, for some reason we want everyone to listen to our “prophetic words”, but we reject the words spoken by others. Give and it shall be given is a principle, not a suggestion.
There will be another connection to the Midians, a man named “Balaam”. Balaam was known as a prophet, the man never gave a false prophecy, it was his character and teachings becoming his error. We use the phrase, “God is not a man that He should lie”, and rightfully so, but the prophet who said it was Balaam. Balaam lived among the Midians, since they came from Abraham, we can see how the “prophet Abraham” had offspring who were priests and prophets as well. Prophet or not, being in the Covenant was the goal.
The inter-religion marriage of Moses would almost seem at conflict with the man’s calling, but it fit right in. Jethro was able to look at the event from the outside, yet one would think Moses who talked to God, would be able to hear the suggestions of God. Ahh, there are times when we can’t see the trees for the forest, nor can we hear the Voice of the Lord because of the confusion of the event. God used the priest of Midian to assist Moses, it would be Jethro who will suggest the “judging system” to Moses.
Although Moses gained a family with Jethro, he was still a Hebrew, called as a deliverer of God’s children. This process shows how God allowed Moses to be removed to train him, in order to send him back. God didn’t leave Moses with Jethro, rather it was just another step in the training process for his calling. Jesus told us He is the Door to the sheepfold, we enter, are trained, then we leave and return. This entrance time is not ten or fifteen seconds, it’s a time of discipleship.
Moses ran from Egypt based in fear, so what good would he have been as a deliverer? None, thus God allowed events to take place in order for Moses to run, in order to get the man alone on a mountain, in order to instill courage in the man so he could become a deliverer. Don’t curse our wildernesses, neither reject the caves or mountains, they are places of great benefit.
One day while Moses was tending Jethro’s flock on the backside of the mountain of the Lord, an angel of the Lord appeared in the midst of a burning bush, yet the bush was not consumed (Ex 3:1-2). Moses wasn’t on the right side of God’s mountain, but on the backside, the burning bush is a symbol of God’s fire of affliction. The fire of God burns, yet it doesn’t destroy us, it builds us. The fires in the world destroy, but consider this, a fire in a forest may appear to destroy, but as time passes we find life comes forth from the charred ground. The fire of God is to remove wood, hay and stubble, so the Wheat can grow without hindrance. This entire experience shows how close Moses was to Egypt in locale, Mount Sinai is still around today, as are other mountains (they do that, you know). Sinai is located near the very place where the children will cross the Red Sea in their Exodus, thus the route they left by, was considerably close to the route Moses entered by.
God talked to Moses from the midst of the bush telling him, “Draw near, take off your shoes for you are standing on holy ground” (Ex 2:4-5). The shoes of Moses were still signs of bondage; we are given a different type of shoe for the preparation of the Gospel; preparation always begins with repentance and belief. Godly repentance is based on turning from darkness, then turning toward the Light to become the Light. Anyone can turn from danger then travel another direction, yet never travel toward the Light. Repentance to avoid the danger or exposure without the fruit of desiring a change is useless. There are degrees of steps in the Process, although we are declared Justified and Righteous, we find those elements are in the New Man, the New Man is bringing them to pass in our lives.
God predestinated Moses, but then comes the calling, then the beginning of the process (Rom 8:29-30). This shows we can be Predestinated, but it doesn’t mean God is going to force us to enter the plan, rather He Calls, we answer. Of course when the Voice of the Lord “calls” it’s hard to resist, but we still have the choice to resist, or accept.
When faced with the calling Moses said, “Who am I, that I should go” (Ex 3:6-11). In this phrase, as well as some to follow, Moses is asking God, “why not send the man who is suppose to go?”. Moses, like many of us entered the “I’m not worthy” stage, he was right, as are we. If we think we’re worthy of the calling, we’ll abuse it. God isn’t looking for power horses, there are more than enough of those. God is looking for the one who knows without God, they are nothing, absolutely nothing. In this case we can see how God had more confidence in Moses, than Moses had in Moses, which is really a good sign. If we have more confidence in ourselves than God has, we will end using the Pride of Life, not the Power of His Christ.
All of us have felt we’re not the one God wanted, just someone down the list of the Called. If God knows all things, if God picked fifty before us, yet they all rejected the call but we became the one who said, “Here I am, send me”, then in God’s eyes we are the first. If God knew the others would reject the call, yet knew we wouldn’t, doesn’t it fit God would present the calling to them first, knowing they would reject it, knowing we wouldn’t? We were really First Choice, the others may have asked, but they didn’t have the desire, yet God gave them opportunity. They can never say, “I would have done it, if You would’ve asked me”. If we are doing the calling, then we were God’s first choice.
God not only has a plan, but He gives us the skill to carry out the plan. Moses could chase away a few shepherds, but face Pharaoh? Ha! There had to be something from God on the man to give him the ability to bring forth what was in the man. It may sound strange, but when Moses builds the Tabernacle he will recognize what God did for him; there comes a time when we recognize what God has done in our lives.
God answered Moses saying, “Certainly I will be with you” (Ex 3:12). God never sends us anywhere without giving us the ability, He will never ask us to do anything without giving us the skill to perform the task, but He will ask us to have faith beyond our limits. Moses will try a different approach by asking God, “Who shall I say has sent me?” (Ex 3:13). God said, “I Am That I Am, You shall say I Am has sent me to you” (Ex 3:14). God didn’t say, “I was that I was”, or “I will be that I will be”, or “I have been”; the former would be past tense, the latter future. God is Alpha and Omega, not Alpha or Omega. This would be the first time God would reveal His Omnipresence to man, yet part of Abraham’s faith entailed the knowledge of God being Omnipresent. Abraham didn’t need God to tell him “I Am”, rather the man believed without having to hear each detail of God’s greatness. Abraham summed it up with “Almighty God”, knowing God was fully able.
There are some who think the “Name of God” is some form of identification, much like God walking into a room showing His Passport to prove who He is, but the Name refers to a point of authority. The old question, “well wouldn’t you like to be known by your name? Well so would God” falls apart when we find the Name of God refers to His Authority, not His birth certificate. Why should God identify Himself? He Is, which is the same as “I Am”, thus by God using the “I Am” we find Him telling Moses, “Whatever you need I Am, whatever it takes I Am”. The same is true with the Name of Jesus, it too is a point of Authority, thus the various Names of God used in the Old Testament point to the authority He is using at any given moment. The proof of this is Matthew 28:18-20; as the Son of man Jesus had power and authority to forgive sins on earth (Mark 2:10 et al), but after the Resurrection it changed to “heaven and earth” when Jesus stood as the Son of God. Then we find the Name, not “names” of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost became centered in the Name (Authority) of Jesus. If we confuse the Name with identification, we will miss the Authority. Clearly when we see “the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost” two things are obvious, first it’s Name not Names, next the Son is included in the phrase. Since it’s the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost then Jesus is the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9). It’s not an Only condition, rather it’s an inclusive position, thus we are in the Body of Christ, not the Body of Elohiym. Whatever Name God used in the Old Testament is wrapped up into the granted Authority of the Son, thus God did talk to man by the prophets, now it’s by His Son. Without Authority we have no basis for Power, thus Jesus first granted the Authority, then said Tarry for Power from on high.
Moses operated under a specific Authority from God, Abraham didn’t know the Authority Moses would use, because Abraham didn’t need deliverance from slavery. When God said, “I Am” it was present tense, it wasn’t future, or past. Moses was called from the foundation of the world, but Moses didn’t know it. The false concept of predestination removes choice, or denies it. However, the Bible is full of people who made choices. God didn’t tell Abraham, “I have a covenant and you are going to enter it, or die”. Neither did He tell these people, “You will leave Egypt, or die”. The plan is there, but it doesn’t mean the Plan will control us, dominate us, or place us in bondage to it. God knows everything, we don’t; He knows if we will accept the plan or not. God didn’t tell Abraham, “perhaps they will leave in 400 years, give a decade or two”, God knew the exact second they would leave, since He saw it before man did. If we are in the Body then God called us, if God called us, He is willing to Justify us, if He prepared the Justification then He also has planned for us to be Glorified. However, it’s not God’s salvation at stake, ours is. God knew everything before the foundation, it’s we who don’t know. Our faith and trust in God places us on the path of Righteousness, the New Man is our Righteousness, and fully able to bring us into the fullness of the Justification. When we add Mercy (Water) and the Blood (Grace) to the equation we have the Witness in full force and effect. However, Moses didn’t have the witness, he had the burning bush coupled with the Voice from the bush.
Belief is based in past information or experiences, Moses was gaining a foundation of belief, thus his faith would have a solid platform to lead him forward. We are told to believe in our heart God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus said He would raise Himself, Romans says it was the Spirit, Galatians says it was the Father, One God all in all. But why raised? Why not the Cross? The Resurrection is our hope, many people have died, but only Jesus has been Resurrected. Lazarus was not resurrected, he was resuscitated. Paul said why even baptize toward death, if the dead raise not? What possible advantage is it to be dead, or imputed dead if there is no Resurrection?
God is not bound, limited by, or subject to time, thus He is always Now. Time is only an element associated with death, since God is not subject to death, time is relative. When God was talking to Moses, He was also talking to Jacob, Abraham, you and I. God is everywhere at all times, at anytime, at the same time. While God was telling Moses what Moses would do, it was Now in God’s eyes. When God was telling Abraham about the captivity, it was not something future tense to God, it was Now, thus God is “I Am”. The very meaning of Eternity coupled with Immortal means a constant Now, thus in heaven we will not be bound to time. When God was talking to Moses, God was calling things as a were not to Moses, but a were to God; all Moses had to do was believe the words by agreeing with God’s vision in order to enter the faith to complete the calling (Ex 3:15-22). After hearing, Moses said, “they won’t believe me” (Ex 4:1). Moses didn’t say, “I don’t believe You”; rather his fear of rejection was clouding his judgment: instead of saying, “God is my strength”, he said, “I am slow of speech”.
Some of us know what God can do with others, it’s our trust in Him working with us causing our bouts with doubts. Moses was given a sign, by the sign he would know God would provide signs to convince the people (Ex 4:2-9). However, the first purpose for signs and wonders was to convince Moses. It’s true Moses will speak, but it won’t be his words to convince the people, it will be the signs and wonders. In this case it had to be the signs and wonders to convince him, they are not the same produced by the Christian, but nonetheless signs and wonders. How much more of a benefit do we have? Rather than frogs, plagues and the such, God has given us healings, miracles and the Power of His Christ to bring forth the Word of Truth.
Moses had a speech impediment, thus he told the Lord, “I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since you have spoken unto Your servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (Ex 4:10). “Ah gee Moses, I didn’t know, go back and send in the next person in line”. Moses had the problem going up the mountain, he still had it, thus he felt God had to heal his speech to make him a leader, he was looking at the wrong foundation. Moses has yet to learn who God is; God knew he had a speech impediment, so what? He isn’t asking Moses to star in a movie; Moses was under the false impression he had to Impress Pharaoh with fancy speech, God was looking for the “bus”, there were tons of “bus drivers” out there.
Moses wanted to see and feel, but God told Moses, “Who made man’s mouth? or who makes the dumb or deaf or the seeing or the blind? have not I the Lord?” (Ex 4:11). If Moses had a speech problem, it was God who did it. Moses discovered God makes the blind for a purpose, it’s not based on some sin the fetus committed, rather it’s to provide for the evidence to show God’s power (Jn 9:3-4).
When Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim the Gospel, He said, “Preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils..” (Matt 10:7-8). During the earthly ministry the kingdom was at hand, we have it in hand. Paul said, “the Gospel doesn’t come in Word only but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance” (I Thess 1:5). Signs and wonders follow the Believer, if we want to find a Believer we look for the trail of signs, but the Believer doesn’t look for signs, they bring them (Mark 16:16-18). Of course one must know what signs and wonders entail, or they might limit the phrase.
The evidence of Mark 16:16-18 is found in Acts, the signs did follow. Signs and wonders include a change in life, as well as producing something to assist a person to secure them in their belief. The evidence of the signs in Egypt show the very premise, God was building their belief, so they would have faith in the wilderness. What would happen if we preached yet no one needed a physical healing, or no one needed a devil cast out? Would we say there were no “signs and wonders”, even if all came to the Lord? Of course not, the people coming to the Lord is a sign and a wonder: from death to life based on faith in Jesus is always a sign and wonder.
Three times God tells Moses, he is the one God has picked, however, Moses just came to see the bush, he didn’t come to be called. Moses kept coming up with excuses to avoid the call then, “The anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (Ex 4:14). The second time we find the word Prophet in the Bible it has to do with Aaron, but verse 14 tells us the calling came from the “anger of the Lord”, this is very important when we get to the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses came as a result of God’s Mercy to avoid His Wrath, the Law of the Spirit as a result of God’s Love secured by His Spirit.
Moses was a Hebrew, he knew the mark of the covenant was circumcision; however, he was not circumcised. This takes us to the deception Moses used at the well, thus God will clear up issues by bringing tares to the surface. How do we know? Exodus 12 talks about “them” being circumcised, yet the act again stopped in the wilderness, in Joshua 5:5 we find the next generation had to be circumcised before they left the wilderness. The point remains the sons of Moses were not circumcised, showing he hid his Hebrew heritage from this wife. Now God has commanded for Moses and his sons to be circumcised. Other than “remove your shoes”, this would be the next step of obedience. The wife of Moses was so mad, she circumcised the children, then called Moses a bloody man, a common phrase used against the Hebrews (Ex 4:24-26 & 2:19). The wife of Moses didn’t go with him into Egypt, Paul tells us, if the unbelieving don’t want to walk our path and they go, let them, we are not under bondage in such cases (I Cor 7:15). Here the evidence also shows if the Lord tells us to go, yet the unbelieving mate says “No, I will stay”, we still go, but we’re not under bondage in such cases. However, it’s not the same as tossing them out, then saying, “they left, I’m not under bondage”.
The wife of Moses knew God was in the mountain, yet when it came to the token of circumcision she held to her traditions. Her traditional thinking produced her anger, leading to bitterness, then the slanderous words against her husband. This same attitude will produce the phrase “Ethiopian woman”.
The circumcision at this point is also important, Moses was entering the Covenant God made with Abraham, which had to take place before Moses faced Pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrews. The deliverer was connected to the Abrahamic Covenant, since God promised Abraham there would be one; how would it look if God sent a man who was not marked with a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant?
The Lord then sends Aaron, the older brother of Moses to meet Moses (Ex 4:27-28). God called Moses alone, but God never pushes us beyond our own capabilities, thus Aaron was called as the prophet to Moses, but Moses was like a god to Aaron and Pharaoh (Ex 7:1). We found this doesn’t mean Moses was God, nor does it mean he was an independent little god. However it also shows God gave the Law to Moses, then Moses gave the Law to the people, but Moses is not subject to the Law named after him. Although we read how God appointed Moses as a god over Pharaoh, we also recall the promise of the serpent to Eve to be as “gods”, so what is the difference? Who has the authority to grant the position? God alone, the serpent not only lacked the authority, but his promise was deceptive. The devil was promising Adam they could be independent of God, not dependent on God. Moses will still be dependent on God, but not subject to Aaron, or Pharaoh.
With all this we find the many families of Abraham involved, but only one of them was privy to the Promise. The Hyskos came from Abraham’s third family, Moses’ father-in-law also came from Abraham’s third family, so did Balaam, thus any of them could say, “we are Abraham’s seed”, but would it be Truth? No, the Seed of Abraham comes from one line, the line must include Isaac. The family tree of Moses shows how he came from Levi, through Gershon, Libni, then Arman. Moses was the fourth generation of the third son, but more important is the ranking order. Moses came from the first son of Levi, thus he had standing, but Moses was not the first son of Arman, rather Aaron was. This would be strange, except we find God picked Aaron to be a priest and prophet to Moses. This also shows how God knew the Law of Moses was not going to be the First Law in ranking, the First Law in ranking came Second (Law of the Spirit). Later in Numbers we will read about a man named Korah, who was also a third generation from Levi. Since Korah was third, with Moses as the fourth, Korah felt he had standing, but soon found a ground shaking experience rebuking his self-imposed thoughts.
Moses was not required to keep the Law of Moses, since God gave the Law to Moses for the people, thus Moses stood face to face with God or better, became God’s friend. The term, “face to face” doesn’t mean Moses saw God, it means they talked without something between them. The Law of Moses stands as Moses (it’s why they call it the Law of Moses), thus the doer is hidden behind the Law, meaning they can’t be seen by God. Therefore, we find God instilled an authority and power into the Law of Moses, the person does a deed, the Law of Moses rewards the person. Thereby showing the difference between who does the deeds in the Law of Moses and the Cheerful Giver who is loved of God.
The sabbath day is the Token for the Law of Moses, once someone takes the token of the Law of Moses, they are bound to it until they die, or receive the Cross, where they impute death (Col 2:14-20). Although the doer of the Law thinks they are honoring God, we find the Law of Moses is against them, it points out their sin, convicts them by finding them guilty of death (Rom 7:8-14). However the Law of the Spirit is different, it’s not designed to separate us from God, but join us to God, it is never against us, it’s always for us, it does not send a blessing to us, it makes us a blessing. The token for the Law of the Spirit is the Seal of the Holy Spirit, which is the circumcision of the heart (Eph 1:13). The Spirit in us is the Token to show we are “sons of God”, the position also includes being a representative, but in our case we have the added ability of the Water (Mercy), Blood (Grace) with the Spirit (Born Again), elements Moses never had, yet Moses was able to stand toe to toe with Pharaoh, yet Pharaoh could do him no harm. What then is our excuse?
Clearly Moses was going to represent God to Pharaoh; therefore, the only connection Pharaoh would have to God, would be what he sees in Moses. There are many who judge God by what they see the people of God do, so the enemy sends in tares to slander the reputation of God, but the wheat enhance the reputation of God.
The first time Moses and Aaron speak to the people, the people believed, but belief without knowledge is soon lost (Ex 4:30-31). Their belief lasted until Pharaoh placed some burden on them. This relates to the Ground receiving the Seed with gladness, then when affliction comes for the Word’s sake. The foundation must be established, in the case of the Seed the ground must hold the believe of God Is. Belief is based on past information or experiences, but it’s nonetheless a Now confidence. Faith is also a Now confidence, based on the unseen, but projected to a future hope. Some of us read Hebrews 11:1 as, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, producing the unseen”, but it’s not what the verse says. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”, which shows Faith is the Substance (confidence) of something not seen, thus James shows our faith can be seen (James 2:18). Therefore belief is not the unseen element from which faith comes, but it is the foundation directing our faith. The unseen is the Hope, yet from the manner in which one uses their faith, we can detect their source. If they have faith in man, their measure of faith is motivated by the spirit of man. If they have faith in the world, their measure of faith is motivated by the spirit lusting to envy; thus the spirit of man knows the things of man, but is completely ignorant of the Spiritual things of God (I Cor 2:11). The spirit of the world is the source behind the he in the world, but the Holy Spirit is the Spirit which is of God (I Cor 2:12). If our faith is in God, the source is the New Man. If one is double-minded, they have some faith in the world, some in man, some in their abilities, talent or gift, what is left over they put in God. When the event sets itself against them, they send their faith in all sorts of directions, but have limited it so much, they panic, falling into despair. Moses had to learn to trust in God, the people will make the mistake of putting their trust in Moses, later the religious rulers will trust in the Law, rather than in God.
These people had to be trained in faith before they could leave Egypt, the training began with signs and wonders to build their belief. Why would it be important? They were about to cross the Wilderness, surely if God could deliver them from Pharaoh’s hand, He could deliver them through the Wilderness. They will cross the Red Sea by faith (Heb 11:29), then dance up a storm on the shore, three days later the test will prove them. Their experience is vital to us, God provided all the material for training, yet they rejected it. A Believer has to be ready to receive truth, but they also have to be aware there are some who are not delivering truth, rather they are attempting to involve us in the cares of this world. Pharaoh will deliver a few signs of his own, but there will be a cut off point, a time when Pharaoh will seal his fate, yet at the same time the children’s freedom will be in hand.
Without a firm trust in the Lord, faith becomes self-confidence, or good time faith, looking to benefit the self. It will move mountains, sometimes right on top of other people. A Faith working by Love will also move mountains, but never on top of people. Faith is tested in the valleys, not on the mountain tops. Faith cements our joy in the times of trouble, pointing our hearts to God. Faith doesn’t need to understand the event, it knows the result will be based in the will of God, whether we understand the purpose or not. Faith doesn’t have to like the circumstance, it holds to God through it. Faith pleases God, it doesn’t have to be pleasing to us. Faith begins when we believe God Is, then reaches to He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, but faith doesn’t dictate the reward (Heb 11:6). Faith doesn’t look at pending destruction, it looks for God’s deliverance (Heb 11:7). Faith doesn’t see God as the Almighty Taskmaster, but as the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The works of faith are obedience through love to please God and benefit others (Heb 11:8); the attitude of faith is joy, trust, obedience, confidence in God, with an assurance in God’s ability (Heb 11:11& Rom 4:3-22).
Obedience without love lacks joy, often producing the root of bitterness, thus it becomes Reluctant Obedience, rather than Willing Obedience. Faith which pleases God works by love, thus we can have great faith, but without love it doesn’t seek to please God, it seeks to be pleased (Gal 5:6). Godly faith looks to please God, even if we chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (Heb 11:25). Moses will keep the Passover by faith, trusting in God’s promise to be protected, even when the evidence outside the door shows the firstborn of Egypt were dying (Heb 11:27-28). Faith doesn’t escape the event through fear, faith obeys as we are delivered through, or around the event. Faith never attempts to save itself, it follows the deliverance God has established. By faith some escaped the violence of fire, the edge of the sword, yet by faith some were stoned, cut asunder, slain with the sword, some wandered about in sheepskins, being destitute, subject to affliction and tormented, but they nonetheless had faith (Heb 11:33-38). Faith is not a means to enhance the self, it’s a means to maintain confidence in God in all events, good, bad or indifferent. Faith trusts the Lord in good times, or bad times, whether the event pleases us or not.
Moses held little confidence in the burning bush, but his faith in God grew through his experiences with God, until there came a time when Moses wanted to be a friend of God, then he wanted to know God’s Way (Heb 11:25-28). Trust leads to love, love leads to trust, we can trust people to do what they should, but we never put our trust in people. Putting our trust in people means we trust them for our deliverance, safety, need, salvation, security, or protection, if our trust is in man, yet man fails, we fall further than they.
The burning bush was a sign, but the voice of God is where Moses found his confidence. Moses will face the wilderness with his measure of faith in the Lord, although Moses will be faced with a bunch of unbelieving people, he won’t allow the unbelief of others to disrupt his love for the Lord. However, they will get “his goat” from time to time, yet even when they are attacking him, he will stand before God begging for Mercy on their behalf, becoming “faith at work”. Pharaoh is a type of the a vessel of dishonor, Moses a vessel of honor, when things looked bad Moses was motivated by Mercy, but Pharaoh attacked through his hard heart of bitterness.
Moses won’t run when faced with the threats from Pharaoh, as he did when he murdered the Egyptian. Moses will still have the same natural nature, but a man with an experience always out weighs one with an opinion. There is something about God talking through a burning bush to make one change their thinking.
MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH
After Moses and Aaron saw the belief of the people, they marched into Pharaoh saying, The God of the Hebrews was with them, but instead of telling Pharaoh to free the people from bondage, the first request was to allow the children to go for three days and sacrifice unto the Lord (Ex 5:1-3). Did God change His mind? No, the mercy of God is reaching, God knew Pharaoh would say no, but opportunity is the issue. Also this is the first sign, we will find three days into the wilderness the children will be tested, they can give their sacrifice of praise, or murmur.
This is another example of God’s knowledge, we would think, “gee, what will happen if Pharaoh says Okay?”. We know the Egyptians, including this new order, considered the shepherds an abomination, thus God figured the false premise into the plan. God is merciful, He wanted to take His people away from the eyes of the Egyptians, so the Egyptians would not be offended. All this is within God’s mercy, but it will also harden the heart of Pharaoh. Pharaoh didn’t see the mercy, he saw the children out of his control. The voice of mercy was present, but the mind of Pharaoh resisted it, so did Mercy harden his heart? Who has ever heard of such a thing? Right here, when Mercy is applied to one who has none, it will have a reverse effect by hardening their heart the more. Is it the fault of the Mercy? No, it’s the fault of the one who has the hard heart of unbelief.
Another aspect of the “three days” for the Sacrifice is a type and shadow of the joy found in the Resurrection of Jesus, telling us why we seek the Power of His Resurrection, whether we understand the fullness of the Power or not. Paul said he was instructed to abound and be abased, these children loved the abounding, hating the abasing. After three days in the wilderness the children find “bitter water”, Moses puts a tree (wood) in the water, changing it from bitter to sweet. Types and shadows, yet we also see something about ourselves. There are times when we are full of joy, God did something we liked, we are abounding, yet when it comes time for instruction, we rebel, murmur, or kick the family cat, yet the instruction is to teach us to Trust God in all things, as it gives us a foundation to have the Rest of God in the sufficiency of Christ (Ph’l 4:12-17). For these people it was trust in God through the wilderness, the evidence is before them, will they?
The wildernesses of God are all purposed for something, the first wilderness is not for us to tempt the Lord, rather it’s to prove our love for God, thus in the proving, our love becomes stronger. Experience builds confidence, but opinions build strongholds. God will prove His love for these people while they are yet in Egypt, then it becomes their turn to prove their love for God. God knew the hindering nature of Pharaoh would never allow the people freedom to express their love, or make a free will decision. On the other hand using the hindrance of Pharaoh as an excuse not to love the Lord would be rebellion. The second we accepted the Cross the devil with his wiles became ineffective in our lives, whether we believe it or not is a different story. The second these children crossed the Sea, Pharaoh became ineffective in their lives, whether they believe it or not, is a different story, actually it is the story isn’t it?
One could make the mistake of thinking Moses allowed fear to enter, then changed the plan from “Let My people go”, to “a couple of days is all we need kind sir”. Not so, as noted, this is an expression of God’s mercy. The connection is found in Romans, Paul by the Holy Ghost saw this then used it to show God’s Mercy. “Has not the Potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction: so He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of Mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory” (Rom 9:21-23). In the same area we also read, “For the Scripture says unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised you up, so I might show My power in you, and My Name might be declared throughout the earth. Therefore has He (God) Mercy on whom He will have Mercy, and whom He will He will harden” (Rom 9:17-18). What Name? Jehovah? El? I Am? Or God’s Authority? The Authority of course, the day when God delivered these people, it proved God can deliver His own.
Since the test in the wilderness is to determine if the people love the Lord or not, as well as determine if they were willing to serve Him, this “sacrifice” mentioned by Moses goes much further than animals, it included the people giving of themselves unto the Lord. These people asked God to deliver them, thus their request displayed how only God could deliver them, if so, then God is God. The token of our Water Baptism included our vow to continue to Believe in God regardless of the event, we also vowed to serve Him from within the Body in appreciation for our deliverance. Our testings not only determine how willing we are to keep the vow, but each testing affirms the vow in us.
Pharaoh not only rejected God’s Mercy, he rejected the man sent by God, then attacked the position of Moses. Why didn’t Pharaoh say, “wait a second Moses, aren’t you wanted for murder?”. One could say it was a long time ago, but we find is Pharaoh never found out it was Moses who killed the Egyptian. It was a Hebrew who saw Moses kill the Egyptian, thus the information was never given to the Egyptians. Wow, Moses ran for nothing. Not so, if Moses had not run, he would never have found the burning bush. God allowed him to believe something, a strong delusion, so is God deceptive? Not at all, it shows God can allow us to believe something, knowing the test is in our favor.
Instead of Pharaoh taking his anger out on Moses, he took the straw from the children forcing them continue to meet the same quota of bricks, yet gather stubble on their own time (Ex 5:6-12). Who were the subjects in the deliverance? The children, thus when God said, “Let My people go”, Pharaoh inserted his control to show God the people belonged to Pharaoh, not God. The straw was the binding element keeping the bricks from falling apart under pressure. Without straw the bricks would crumble, meaning their quota couldn’t be reached, yet they could not stop work until the quota was reached. This form of manipulation indicates if the quota couldn’t be reached, the people couldn’t leave, not even for one day, much less three.
Moses is also faced with a problem, this wasn’t on his ticket when the boarded the “train of deliverance”. We’ve been there, we assumed God would do one thing, then He does something else. Now what, Moses wasn’t told Pharaoh would pull this stunt, if God is all knowing, He knew it. So, did God fool Moses? No, how many of us knew what God had for us when we said, “Here am I, send me”?. Training unto faith means we don’t know the details, but our belief and faith are honed to accept them. Therefore, this was an area building faith in Moses, how he reacted would be seen by the children, they had their example, if they receive it. The days of facing Pharaoh, or dealing with the children was forming the leader for the wilderness.
The children have yet to see a “sign” of God, what they see is the wrath of Pharaoh. True, before the children saw the signs they were not privy to the knowledge of what happens when one comes against the anointed of God. However, all the signs and various plagues should have been enough of a warning to show what happens when one becomes Anti the Anointing. Whether they remember this when they murmur against Moses is yet to be seen. It’s interesting how man views things, the children saw Pharaoh attack Moses, then the result. However, when they are in the wilderness what do they do? Attack Moses.
This is one of those times when we see the nature of God at work, did God know Pharaoh would say “no”? Yes, so why not form a sixty-five foot snake and have it kill the man? It’s not God’s nature, God is giving the man opportunity. We can see God is only giving to Pharaoh, what Pharaoh is giving to God’s children; “give and it shall be given”.
Their lesson is for us as well, there are times when we see the Power of God protecting us, then we assume the same Power gives us the right to attack others. Not so, when we attack others, we become the thing we hate the most. The children would see both God’s love and His wrath, the choice of which one they accepted was theirs, the result, God’s. This also proves how God will repay, vengeance is still His.
The taskmasters used the slavery mentality of the Hebrew children against them by applying more work in an attempt to control them (Ex 5:13-14). The slavery mentality runs to seeking the taskmaster for mercy, before it runs to the deliverer for wisdom. When the event doesn’t please us, we often rebuke the devil, but we should be running to our Deliverer to ascertain the purpose of the event. The weapons of our Warfare are mighty through God, not mighty through strife, envy, division, or the self-nature. When we blame the devil for events when they don’t please us, it’s a sign we are still under a slavery mentality, or worldly minded. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the devil, it got both of them nowhere with God.
The Egyptians did appoint officers from among the Hebrews, not as taskmasters, but as overseers. It was the officers with the children of Israel who went to Pharaoh seeking mercy before they went to God, or to the man of God (Ex 5:15-19). These were not Egyptians, but Hebrews, yet running to gain mercy from Pharaoh, before going to God is always a mistake. This shows us there was a division between the “officers”, and the “taskmasters”. The Taskmasters were Egyptian, the Officers were appointed Hebrews. When Pharaoh denied the officers, they ran to Moses. Who did they fear the most? When they faced Pharaoh, they begged, yet when they faced Moses they complained and demanded (Ex 5:20-23). “Good work, now we’re in for it, we were better before you came here”. The test was on, the tares were flying around like flies.
The slavery mentality had everything backward, but God still said He would deliver them with a “strong hand” (Ex 6:1). God was excusing their slavery mentality while they were in Egypt, but will He after they are delivered? No, deliverance calls for respect toward God, thus they will be expected to act as a free people. The same is true with us, after we are taken from under the hand of the devil, we are suppose to act Godly, rather than devilish.
Moses would be the first to know God as Jehovah, thus Abraham knew God as Almighty God, as his Shield and Promise Bearer. Abraham didn’t know God as Jehovah, rather he named places “Jehovah”. Abraham didn’t need a Deliverer, the titles “Almighty God”, and “Jehovah” both mean Self-Existent One, but Jehovah is the title used in reference to Deliverance, but it was also the Name used by the Jews in reference to God’s Covenant (Ex 6:3 & Gen 17:1). If so, why didn’t Abraham call God “Jehovah”? Ahh, Jehovah brings a Law. The name Jesus means “Jehovah’s Salvation”, or “Salvation of Jehovah”, Jesus brought us a Law as well, the New Covenant is far better than the one God gave.
It’s important to remember Abraham didn’t call God Jehovah-Jireh, he called the various places Jehovah, this is evident when we recall how he named the place of sacrifice Jehovah-Jireh, in reference to God’s provision (Gen 22:14). God based His deliverance on the promise to Abraham, but Abraham didn’t need deliverance; therefore, the extension of Almighty God as Deliverer became Jehovah to Moses, the Authority changed position from Provider to the position of the Deliverer Who Provided A Way From Egypt, yet it’s still One God. In our case the Name of Jesus is fully sufficient, we don’t cast out devils in the Name of Jehovah, neither do we lay hands on people in the Name of Almighty God, the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are granted in the Name of Jesus for the Body of Christ, the only organization on earth with the authority of God.
It’s the same problem we can run into with “Another Comforter, New Man, Greater He, Spirit, Spirit of Christ, Word In Us, Holy Spirit, Christ In Us”, all speak of the Spirit in us, but each relates to some function the Spirit is doing at the moment. As Another Comforter He is our Armor Bearer, as the Word He is dividing and separating, as the New Man he is bringing the Holiness and Righteousness of God, each with a position of authority or power for the moment. If we get mixed up we will assume we have a “meeting” going on inside, when really it’s the activity of the Spirit as a result of being Born Again.
God will show Pharaoh Signs and Wonders, with the Plagues being the Wonders, but does it mean the Signs and Wonders follow the Believer are Plagues? Hardly, the type is predicated by the purpose, we’re under a different set of circumstances. Here the signs and wonders point to Judgment, the signs and wonders for the Believer point to Salvation.
The rod of Aaron turning into a serpent will be the first Sign, but it’s not a Wonder. The water being turned into blood will be the second sign; yet the first wonder will be the first Plague; thus we will see more signs than wonders in the deliverance. These signs and wonders have two purposes, first is to give the children confidence in the delivering power of God, second is to give Pharaoh a chance to see the power of God.
After the children enter the wilderness, they began to rebel based on their unbelief. God will then make another Covenant with them to get them into the Promise Land, but He will also make a contract with them based on the Covenant. When they break (breach) the contract they will remain in the wilderness forty years, but the breaking of the contract did not break the Covenant. The next generation did enter the Promised Land, along with two men from the original group, thus the Covenant was not broken, although the contract was. The Wicked break the contract of Mercy, but it doesn’t stop us from entering the Covenant.
The Law of Moses came to pass in the wilderness, but it came as a result of the people demanding for a man to stand between them and God. It may not sound fair, but the entire nation was present, as a nation they were delivered based on the promise to Abraham, thus they represented the people of the nation. The Law of Moses did not come from the Covenant made with Abraham, it’s different, showing why Abraham didn’t keep the sabbath day. The Law of Moses was based on the Ten Commandments, Abraham didn’t need to be told the same things these children did. We know God told Abraham to leave the house of his father, yet we find a Commandment telling these people to honor their mother and father. Neither do we find circumcision in the Ten Commandments, thus God presented two Covenants, in so doing He was showing He has Covenants for people based on their position. We have the New Covenant based in the Blood of Jesus, our Covenant is so New, it was never before. However, we find like terms, but with different meanings, those who receive the Abrahamic Covenant must be circumcised of the flesh, or they are thieves. Those of the New must be circumcised at heart, or they are rebels. There are many other terms found in both the Old and New Covenants, but with different meanings. The New Covenant is not an extension of the Old, the Old Covenant was inclusive, as we know the “token” or sign for the Covenant made with Abraham was circumcision of the flesh, but the token (sign) for the Law of Moses was keeping the sabbath day. Does it mean if one keeps the sabbath day, they have completed the Law of Moses? No, not at all, it means if they keep the sabbath day, they have taken on the Law of Moses as their judge and guide, thus they must keep all the deeds of the Law. The sabbath day is the Fifth Commandment, it also links the Law of Moses to the Ten Commandments. The Law of Moses came from a spiritual source, but to a people who lacked the Spirit; it’s not from Whom the Law came, but to whom it was directed.
For someone who is seeking self-righteousness the deeds under the Law of Moses fit them, but the Law of Moses never promised anyone heaven, or life after death, it did promise a way of life on the earth until death. The Law of the Spirit promises us Life, so we may have it More abundantly, here on earth and in heaven.
The Law of Moses comes into play when one violates anyone of the Ten Commandments, but we will find since it’s for the people who came from Abraham, it will also speak of circumcision (Lev 12:3). The Law of Moses defines the law of sin and death, thus it has both blessing and cursing, yet we will find there is more emphasis on the cursing than the blessing, thus the Law of Moses has an incentive, do or die. None of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shall try”, or, “Thou shall give it thy best shot”, they do say, “Thou shall”, there is no second chance. If one breaks one of the Commandments, they have broken them all for all time. Paul made this clear in Romans 7, although when he as Saul he wanted to do good for God, he found the Commandment “Thou shall not covet” falling against him. Why? He wanted to be as righteous as God, Moses will be a friend, but even Moses didn’t hold the Righteousness of God. The deed was an act of self-righteousness, which in the mind was fine, but it had to be conducted through the fall nature of the flesh, making it an act to Covet the Righteousness of God. By using the flesh they also end using the fall nature, which ends in covetousness. The only solution is death, but in our case we can impute the flesh dead on the Cross of Jesus, to gain the Spirit. The only problem is no one can have the Spirit until they are dead, but they must have a like righteousness of God to obtain the Spirit which is of God. What to do? Jesus did it for us, the Spirit of Holiness declared Jesus the Son of God by the Power of the Resurrection. We in turn obtain the same Spirit by the efforts of Jesus, making the Faith of Jesus an important issue. By the Cross and Resurrection we can proclaim we live, the life we now live we live is by the Faith of the Son of God, who loves us and gave Himself for us (Gal 2:20). By the foundation we can enter the Resurrection by obtaining the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. The Process brings us from the Cross of death to the Glorified state of the Resurrection. Self-righteousness is an outward act, the Righteousness of Christ in us is an inward act. The flesh is not a consideration for us, it’s there, we see it, we know it, we battle it, but that Born of the Spirit is still Spirit, meaning our souls are formed by the Spirit to become Spiritual in nature.
Man has a propensity to honor the works of his hands, the wonders of man, are still based on man. The Seven Wonders of the World comprise what man terms, “the greatest feats of ancient technology, architecture and art as seen by Greek and Roman authors”. The list has changed slightly since it first appeared in a poem by Antipater of Sidon in the Greek Anthology (130 BC). He praises the Pyramids of Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes, and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, all forms of idols by the hands of man.
The engineer Philo of Byzantium (146 BC) is said to have written the work entitled Peri ton hepta theamaton (Concerning the Seven Wonders of the World), although it may actually date from the Roman Empire. In his enumeration he listed the Walls of Babylon, which various later writers have listed as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Other authors who described the seven wonders were Herodotus (5th century BC), Diodorus, Strabo and Pliny the Elder (all 1st century AD).
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Greek legends tell two stories of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; one says they were built by the Assyrian Queen Semiramis (Sammuramat, 810-805 BC). The other, which is supported by the Bible, which most agree to, shows how Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens to remind his wife, a Mede, of her mountainous homeland. Robert Koldewey, the excavator identified the arched substructure of what may have been a terraced garden as a reproduction of the area of Mede. Set in a corner of the palace were fortifications towering over the famous Ishtar Gate (decorated with blue-enameled reliefs of bulls and dragons) was a 7 meter high (23 ft) wall on which trees had presumably been planted, creating what would have been a majestic view visible to anyone entering on the Processional Way, a view similar to what the wife of Nebuchadnezzar would see in her mountainous homeland.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in Ionia, has given its name to all subsequent tomb monuments. Mausolus, satrap of Caria, was honored with this tomb by his queen, Artemisia (350 BC). The architects Satyros and Pythios designed a temple-like marble tomb with an Ionic colonnade on a high base surrounded by lions; the roof was a 24-step pyramid on the peak of which stood a chariot. The culptors created the frieze, depicting Amazons battling heroes, which is now in the British Museum. The site on which the mausoleum stood was excavated in 1857; the medieval castle at Bodrum, Turkey, contains many fragments from it.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The next “wonder” is the idol Zeus found in the temple at Olympia. Amazing how man will wonder at his own wonders. The idol of Zeus was chryselephantine; made of gold and ivory. Athenian sculptor Phidias (who also designed the statue of Athena in the Parthenon) made the seated figure (436-432 BC) in a special workshop behind the temple. Clearly it was the product of the hand of man, not the mind of God. The figure sat on an elaborate throne covered with ebony, glass, and gemstone inlays as well as sculptures and paintings of Greek myths and legends. It held a scepter with an eagle in its left hand and a Nike (victory goddess) in its right. The lost statue is known from coins and archaeological evidence.
The Colossus of Rhodes
After defeating Demetrius Poliorcetes in 305 BC, the citizens of Rhodes used the booty to erect a thank offering to their divine patron Helios. Chares of Lindos, a pupil of Lysippus, built (292-280 BC) a bronze statue of the nude young god wearing a sun-ray crown and looking out to sea. Many stories exaggerate the size of the statue; it must, however, have been approximately 100 feet high on a base of white marble, thus larger than any other statue. It stood beside, not over, the harbor. Although reinforced with stone and iron, the Colossus broke at the knees, falling in an earthquake 60 years later. It remained a wonder until the Arab invasion (AD 653), when it was broken up and sold for scrap metal. Nothing of it remains except very dubious copies. Although these things were not in Egypt, we find the same natural mind of man moves on in time, as lost man still seeks some idol, whether wood, paper, or flesh and blood.
The Pyramids of Egypt
The pyramids of Egypt are located in the deserts of Giza and Saqqara outside Cairo, they were already rather old before when the other six wonders were built. The Pyramids have been a mystery to modern man, only because modern man must make up his own mysteries. The Pyramids were man’s attempt to make gods out of men. The tradition of such monumental tombs for the pharaohs began with the step pyramid of Zoser, like most things the building itself wasn’t evil, it was the lustful intent and prideful motivation making it evil. The pyramid of Zoser was supposedly designed by the engineer Imhotep, this pyramid gave the impression of a stone hill 60 meters (197 ft) high. Imhotep made a mark in the “gods” of Egypt as well, he was found to be a priest in some of the later diggings. Successive pharaohs copied and enlarged the form, adding limestone facings. The largest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), which is about 147 meters (482 ft) high). Khafre (Chephren), Menkaure (Mykerinos) and others built less impressive pyramids; all by the hand of man. All of us have heard, or read about the Great Pyramid, the fables have impressed man to the point where man has formed all sorts of tales, including the one about the Pyramids being the product of visitors from space, but history shows the workmanship was done by the hand of slaves.
The Pharos of Alexandria
The Pharos of Alexandria became the prototype for ancient lighthouses. Situated on Pharos island at the end of the harbor of the new city, the structure was planned by Ptolemy I of Egypt (284 BC) and completed by his successor in about 280 BC. It’s architect Sostratus of Cnidus dedicated it to the “savior gods” on behalf of navigators. Models show a rectangular, tiered tower 122 meters (400 ft) high, in which fires of resinous wood or oil were kept burning. They were reflected by metal mirrors supposedly designed by Archimedes, thus making them visible for nearly 50 kilometers (about 30 miles), a considerable distance for antiquity. The 15th-century fort of Qait Bay now stands in the ruins of the Pharos.
The Temple Of Artemis (Diana)
This temple was the same one from which Alexander the coppersmith made his fame, he was the same man who caused Paul much trouble. The Artemision, or Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus has a base measuring 377 x 180 feet, the roofless colonnaded interior housed a primitive statue of Artemis. The columns of the porch carried reliefs of mythical characters and inscriptions recording donations by King Croesus (560-546 BC) of Lydia. The original Artemision was burned in the rebellion of 356 BC, then rebuilt on a higher base and decorated by Scopas and Apelles. The temple was finally destroyed by the Goths in AD 263. Roman copies of the bizarre, mummylike statue survive.
There we have man’s seven wonders, look at how many are dictated to idols, as well as how many have either fallen apart, or are falling apart. The remaining Pyramids are in such bad shape, they have to keep people from touching them. God has Wonders, one of those is the New Man, the wonder of Wonders. God’s Wonders set man free, man’s wonders place man in bondage to the fall nature. Moses knew who built the pyramids and cities, yet he wasn’t impressed by the “wonders of Pharaoh”, but he was impressed by the “wonders of God”.
In order for the Hebrews to partake of the Passover they had to be circumcised (Ex 12:44-48), but the act of circumcision didn’t happen again until the children were ready to leave the wilderness to enter the Promised Land (Joshua 5:5). According to Exodus 12:44-48 the circumcision pertained to “the ordinance of the Passover” (Ex 12:43). Later in Leviticus 12:3 the requirement of a male being circumcised on the eighth day links the Law to the Abrahamic Covenant. This proves the act of circumcision didn’t bring Belief, it was the token for the Covenant with Abraham, the token or sign of a Covenant merely means one has a right to enter the Covenant, it doesn’t mean they have entered the Covenant. The token for the Law of Moses was keeping the sabbath day, which means they had to keep the sabbath day in order to enter the Law for the next week, thus the token could not produce the result. In our case we are “sealed” by the Holy Spirit, but we can also grieve the Holy Spirit by Whom we are sealed, the New Birth moves the Seal to Residence.
The Ten Commandments come after the people displayed their unbelief; their murmuring, complaining, challenging the people of God, plus tempting God are all fruits of their unbelief. The result was the Ten Commandments, which they admitted they violated, which produced the Law of Moses as a barrier between them and God. God will give them signs so they can believe, but God will not believe for them, or force them to believe. Their signs of unbelief were obvious to everyone, but them. Therefore, the Ten Commandments were a list of all the things the people violated, as matters keeping God from them. God wanted them to see the exposure, so they could repent, allowing Him to be among them. When they saw the exposure they demanded for a man to stand between them and God, but why? So they could continue doing what they were doing. God wasn’t asking for a change in natures, but a change in attitude, they had the ability to repent, they could make the choice to believe, since belief is based on choice.
The Ten Commandments are a written conscience, the finger of God writing on the stone hard hearts of mankind. Well maybe stone is all they had to write on? Not hardly, Moses also wrote the five books of the Pentateuch. The stones were reflective, their hearts became hard, a hard heart is void of belief, meaning they lacked a foundation for faith.
One keeps the Law of Moses because they have broken one or more of the Ten Commandments, yet the keeping of the Law becomes an admission of breaking the Ten Commandments. These are “commandments”, not “suggestions”: no where do we read of “God’s Ten Suggestions”, but to whom are they directed? Why doesn’t Paul, or the other writers of the New Testament tell us to keep them? Ahh, Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:19). What are the “least commandments”? Why not say “the commandments”, or “the ten commandments”? Jesus went on to say, “You have heard it said of them of old time, Thou shall not kill” (Matt 5:21). Of them of old time? Wasn’t it God who told Moses? Did Jesus forget, or what? Jesus didn’t go over the Ten again, rather He pointed to the Old, but introduced the Commandments of Mercy. They are not “least” as inferior, but the very least we can do as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Paul tells us the Ten Commandments are against us, then he tells us they are nailed to the Cross (Col 2:13-16); thus we have the Spirit as our conscience.
God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, Moses gave them to the people, thus Jesus doesn’t say, “The Father”, but “of them of old time”, a very interesting statement. It shows to whom they were given and why. Jesus began the Commandment teaching with “blessed”, then continued with the same theme some nine times (Matt 5:3-11). These lease Commandments also involved the teaching on the “workers of Iniquity” (Matt 7:21-23), a subject we are beginning to understand completely. Later God will define the term Iniquity for us as having the ability to do something, but not doing it, it is often defined as Unjust, Unrighteous, or Failing to do a law. Jesus will define it as unequal, as did the Father in Ezekiel 18:24-29. Sin is a transgression, or doing something we’re not suppose to, although Iniquity leads to sin, it begins by being unequal. One can do all sorts of Acts, yet fail to do the Will of the Father, which is Mercy. One does not need to be Born Again to apply Mercy, or believe, they do need the Spirit to produce Living Water. The first step is the Cross, we ask God to forgive us, which is predicated on us forgiving. If someone received God’s Mercy forgiving them, they are mandated to apply the same Mercy toward others. It’s the point Jesus makes in Matthew 7:21-23, the “Lord, Lord” people did many things in the Name of Jesus, showing they had Authority, but they also failed at the Will of the Father. The “man of sin” moves from the Iniquities to sin, thus iniquity will lead to sin. This is clearer when Paul says the iniquity was at work now, but will manifest as a sin later (II Thess 2:7 & 2:3). Iniquity is not the failure to do something we can’t do, it’s when we work at not something we are suppose to do, which is equally important as what we are doing. We come boldly to the throne of Grace to Obtain Mercy and Find Grace in the time of need (Heb 4:16), thus in order to Find Grace we must Obtain Mercy; this is a procedure and principle.
Since the Commandments came from God, they have a power built in, just as the Law of Moses does. Since they are of the Nation, but not the Nation they are a Principality, or within a nation (Col 1:16 & 2:15). Both the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments came from God, but it doesn’t mean God is subject to them, it’s not so much from whom the Law came, but to whom it was directed. The Law of Moses was not directed to Moses, it was directed to come from Moses.
God already told Abraham how the children would be delivered, but the motivation came from the groanings of the children, thus the action came from the request of the children, the means by the promise. It’s evident the children had to ask, although God knew they would. Jesus said our Father already knows what we have need of before we ask, thus the asking couples us to the knowledge of God, promoting an action on our part.
God came to Abraham with the Covenant, but the cries of the children invoked the contract, which became the Covenant God will make with these people through Moses. In our case, the Father and Holy Ghost moved for us based on the promise to Jesus, but the Spirit in us is motivated by the faith of Jesus based on the Resurrection, thus the New Covenant is based on the Blood of Jesus. We accept it, we didn’t create it.
There is much said about the word Confession, some Godly, some not. To make a Godly confession one must have the attitude of what they confess, or walk in what they Confess, thus it becomes word and action combined. It is not “speak it, and you will believe it”, it’s “as I believe, so have I spoken” (Ps 116:10 & II Cor 4:13). One can talk about many things, yet walk in none, thus the mere speaking of something is not a Confession, rather the words Confession and Profession are the same, showing one walks in what they Believe. The word Confess means to agree with the Word, the word Agree means to walk together as One. Confession is not God agreeing with us, nor is it God agreeing with our words, rather it’s when our words and actions agree with God. Moses didn’t have the Word in him, he carried the Ten Commandments in his hands. Moses heard from God, but walked in his Profession as a deliverer, thus he agreed with the Word spoken to him. Elijah walked in the office of prophet, but it doesn’t mean he had the Word in him. Elevating people higher than God has, is very dangerous, we honor the people of God, we don’t worship them.
In the beginning the words of Moses were not in line with his calling; God said “you will”, and Moses said, “I don’t know”. Moses fought the calling, made excuses attempting to avoid the call, but God gave Moses a sign of what happens when we reject the calling. When Moses put his hand under his coat, it became leprous. A sign of the rejection in his heart, but when he saw the plague he knew his calling went further than him alone. He placed his hand back under his coat and it was healed, thus God brought the plague but He also removed it, a sign to Moses of the purpose of the deliverance of God. God allowed the children to enter bondage (leprous), but God was going to deliver them (healed). Moses had his sign, although we don’t serve a multiple God, we find God has multiple purposes. The sign to Moses was how God would finish what He started, it was also a sign of what happens when God says, “you can”, and we say, “no I can’t”.
Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, but they hearkened not, for they carried a spirit (attitude) of anguish because of their bondage (slavery mentality – Ex 6:9). God didn’t give up, rather we see the leprous condition was the “spirit of anguish”, which needed to be removed; anguish also means Impatience, they were getting impatience, or desired a “fast food type of deliverance”. Some of us are the same, we need to recall the sister of faith is patience. The word “spirit” doesn’t mean they had a devil, it points to their attitude as a result of their condition. This one area shows the term “spirit” has various meanings, if can mean the Spirit of God, an unclean spirit, or the attitude of the person. Here it reflects to their slavery mentality, coupled with their fear of rejection producing an attitude of failure and disappointment, which manifested in anger; causing impatient behavior, just as Moses needed to be healed at the bush, the children need to be healed before they can leave.
Our wilderness is the same way, we can fall into the “spirit of anguish”, or walk with the Spirit of Christ. Did God provide the balm to heal them? Yes, they saw the delivering Power of God, but did they receive the healing? We will find God will complete His goal by bringing the people out of Egypt, but it will take something on their part to get them out of the Wilderness.
Knowing how they will act, one must wonder Why would God still deliver them? The same question could be asked of any of us. God delivered these people based on the promise to Abraham, we are delivered based on the actions and prayers of Jesus.
Some might ask, “If Jesus is God the Son, why did He pray?”. Jesus prayed for us from His position as the Son of man, He brought power to those prayers as the Son of God, enforced them as God the Son, three positions none of us, or any human has ever been capable of holding on their own, thus the command, “Ye must be Born Again”. We can’t form our own path, then demand for God to follow us. We are told to Follow Jesus yet we can’t Follow Jesus, until we Pick Up Our cross. We can’t Pick Up Our cross, until we Deny the Self. Yet, denying the self isn’t the finish of the race, it’s the beginning.
Moses is now told to speak to Pharaoh on behalf of the children, thus Moses stood as God’s representative; therefore, in the position he was truly a “god to Pharaoh” (Ex 6:11). When we speak to the Pharaohs, the children of Pharaoh, or the children of God, we must always remember we are speaking on behalf of God, not in place of God. Moses didn’t think he was God, he knew he represented God. It is important, we don’t mean to be redundant, but we can see how someone might become paranoid over the term “I shall make you a god”, when we have those words being used at the Fall by the serpent. It was not the making of a “god”, but who had the authority, coupled with purpose. When we seek a position in the Body we have to ask ourselves, “why?”, is it because the position holds “honor and glory” before men? Or is it because we are driven inside to serve God?
How Pharaoh viewed God was based on how Moses presented Him; we find this in the world today, how people view God is based on the representation of the people of God. Most of us have no idea the damage we can do when we speak from our own self-based mindset, then call it “of God”, nor do we know the great help we can be when we speak for God as an oracle. Don’t forget, the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets (I Cor 14:32). Adding, we find some religious orders who claim “God”, yet kill, rob, lie and destroy, the enemy using people to slander God is nothing new. In some cases the enemy uses religion to slander God, but in the case of the Body the enemy planted Tares to stop, hinder, or divide the Body to make it less effective. Nonetheless God has seen it all before the foundation of the world, the Record (Plan) still has our success in Jesus.
We can tell Moses was not seeking the “god” position, since he continues to look at his limitations, again he uses the “uncircumcised lips” excuse (Ex 6:12). God reminds Moses, it’s not for the sake of Moses, but for the people’s sake, based on the promise. Moses had to reach beyond his limitations, by putting his trust in God (Ex 6:14-27). Moses again falls back to his uncircumcised lips excuse one more time (Ex 6:30). God then tells Moses, “See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet” (Ex 7:1).
The “uncircumcised lips” excuse can fall on any of us, we want a position, or a ministry, one day God calls us, yet we get scared. We know there is a responsibility to the ministry, but we tell God, “I’m not worthy”. It may seem like humbleness, but in truth it’s a lack of faith in God; we are saying, “God you don’t know me, I’m not ready, I can’t do it”. The truth is we don’t know ourselves, or what God can do with us; do we think God is so dumb He doesn’t know whom He called? When we are completely unworthy God picked us for the Kingdom, He also has called, if He has called, He will equip. In many cases we have a problem with ourselves, or in believing in God. God is not making up the plans for the position or the ministry when He calls us, the plans were complete from the foundation of the world waiting for our acceptance. God knows whom He calls, and why He calls them. Moses is yet wondering, “why the other person didn’t take the job?”. Moses was being prepared for the position from the second he broke the womb of his mother; some of us forget our past was known by God before the foundation of the world, it doesn’t mean we minister through our past, it means we understand the world is the world, one has to leave it to be free of it.
Although the Father said He would bring another prophet like Moses, it doesn’t mean Jesus came as Moses, it means Moses spoke a Law which was not before, thus Jesus will speak of one which was not before. Since Moses was carnal, his words invoking his Law became carnal for the doer who was also carnal. On the other hand, Jesus who is heavenly spoke the Law based in the Rhema, for those who would receive and walk in the Spirit (Jn 6:63). It’s different from the Office of Prophet, some of us give a word then think we’re a Prophet, but a Prophet in the office delivers doctrine and direction (Acts 15:32). Therefore, we find both Jesus and Moses did bring Doctrine and Direction, but they also brought Laws.
The Office of Prophet and prophecy in the realm of edification, comfort and exhortation are different. Paul says he wishes we all would prophesy, then he tells us not all are Prophets, go figure? Two different things, in the realm of the Manifestation of the Spirit is for those one on one endeavors, or small groups, but it’s not the same as the Office of Prophet. The person in the Office is called, appointed and anointed by the Holy Ghost (Acts 13:1-3), giving a word here and there does not make one a Prophet, going about calling our self one isn’t going to make it happen either.
Moses’ anointing gave him authority, he saw how Pharaoh made threats, but could do nothing to him. God also said Aaron would be a prophet unto Moses, which means Aaron would speak for Moses. This evidence of God being involved in this matter should have been all Moses needed to complete the task. We will see where Aaron speaks, as well as where Moses speaks, but when Moses spoke, it was mainly through Aaron.
Moses mixed the seeing with the hearing, then faith came in the knowledge of the power behind the calling. God wasn’t counting on Moses to produce the power, rather God wanted a man to speak on God’s behalf, God is fully able to take uncircumcised lips, change their purpose to bring words of deliverance. Moses made his commitment, the commitment will open the door for the ability, allowing him to stand in the responsibility.
The ability and position will remain with Moses into the wilderness, thus the calling started at the Mount, manifested in Egypt, but it didn’t end there. In essence, God tells Moses “look”, Moses tells God, “Oh yea, You look”. This is the same element of doubt we can run into, we see, we yell “Oh God look”, but God tells us “No, you look, I’m here”, then we say, “Give me a sign”, God says, “look in your heart”.
The Law of Moses didn’t come until the children rebelled by refusing to believe God, the same is true with the sabbath day; therefore, the Law was given to those who have a propensity to fall into one or more of the following categories: lawless, disobedient, ungodly, sinners, unholy, profane, murderers of fathers, murderers of mothers, man slayers, whoremongers, defilers of the self (being defiled by the self), defilers of mankind, menstealers, liars, perjured persons and the like (I Tim 1:9-10). If we fall into one of the above listed categories, or have a nature more prone to do those things, thus we do the Law of Moses, if we do the Law we are saying we still retain the fallen nature, sounds simple enough. “Well I never did any of those things”, it’s not the doing, but the propensity to do, making one eligible for the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was designed for those called of God, yet were under the natural fallen nature of man. Once we impute the nature dead, we have completed the purpose of the Law, allowing us to engage in another Law for those who have passed the first death. How did we do it? By imputing the old nature and flesh dead on the Cross of Jesus. When Paul said he was a new man in Christ, it’s exactly what he meant, anything in the past was dead on the Cross. We must take on the same posture, or we will allow the past to haunt us continually.
The Law of Moses came into being based on the Mercy of God, not because of the goodness of man. God allowing man to hold a type of self-righteousness enabled man to maintain within the confines of the Law, but it was still in reference to a right standing in face of the Commandments. From Genesis we know God finished the works on the Sixth Day, then the earth was ready to be destroyed (Gen 2:1). To keep the sabbath day means we understand we are one step from destruction, hardly “the rest of God”. On the other hand, the Law of the Spirit demands a humbleness of mind, removing us from the wrath of God by keeping us in Life, Jesus gave us rest for our souls (I Thess 1:10 & Matt 11:29).
The self-righteousness obtained through the Law of Moses had nothing to do with right standing before God, rather it gave them standing before the Law. Being Justified before the Law is different than being Justified by God. The Law of Moses became a mediator between man and the Commandments, it also stood between God and man; therefore, in Romans chapter 7 Paul talks about the condition of natural man. Even when natural man wants to serve God, there stands the law of sin and death in the flesh preventing it. The Law was Good, those doing it were not. The Law of Moses was not based on Blessing, rather it was based on the Violation; thus there is more emphasis on cursing, than on blessing. This is clear when we read, “if a man breaks the sabbath day, he shall die”. True, if a man kept the Law they were blessed, but the incentive was the other side of the coin, break it and die. The premise was still, “in dying you shall die”, but in the New it’s in Living you shall have Abundant Life. Two completely different premises, based in two completely different laws.
The Law of Moses could not grant man a Life above the cursed soul life man held on the earth, it couldn’t grant man eternal life, since it wasn’t designed to. One of the strongholds the Pharisees had was reading about Life, then assuming they had it. Some people think by reading about Grace, they have it (Jn 5:39). Because you can define it, doesn’t mean you have it. The Sign of Grace is the Seal of the Holy Spirit, not intellect. The Pharisees also equated righteousness to their own, problems common to Pharisees. The Law of Moses depends on will power, which is the use of the mind over the flesh to preserve the flesh, remaining one step from destruction. The Law of the Spirit allows us to put off the old man, not merely control him, then we obtain a new nature prone to do good.
Understanding why God rested on the Seventh Day should tell us why the sabbath day was to remain holy, also as the token in the Law of Moses. The work was done, why fret, why worry, why fall into unbelief. The reason they had to keep the sabbath day was the result of their unbelief, thus they kept the day, but never entered the Rest of God (Heb 4:6). The sabbath day ended one week, but began another, thus the keeping started the process all over again, never ending, never gaining. The use of self-righteousness was temporal, the second it was applied, it’s became usefulness, or complete in the area applied. Therefore, we find the keeping of the Law of Moses is not of faith, it never reached beyond the Now.
The Law of Moses became known as “the books”, referring to the first five books of the Bible, thus in the end all those subject to the Law of Moses, are judged by the Law, meaning the Judgment is based on Mercy, not Grace (Dan 7:10 & Rev 20:12). We judge ourselves lest we be judged, our faith and hope lay in the Rapture (I Cor 11:31). This division between laws was so important Paul told us if anyone comes to us teaching us to do any deed of the Law of Moses to gain God’s favor, let the person be accursed. When the Galatians were about to engage in keeping days (Law of Moses) and circumcision of the flesh to gain the Abrahamic Covenant, Paul warned them they were also about to fall from Grace (Gal 5:4). The Law of Moses was of Moses, it’s why it’s called the “Law of Moses”, it is not of Christ, nor does it involve the Spirit. Christ allows us to claim death, yet live, the Law of Moses is unto death. If we keep the Law of Moses we do so by self-righteousness, making Christ of no effect for us (Gal 5:4). The Righteousness of Jesus is proven, it’s the very scepter to the Kingdom. The faith of Jesus is proven, He sits at the right hand side of Majesty on High.
How can Paul say some had “bewitched” the Galatians by teaching them to do the Law of Moses? Does Paul mean the Law of Moses is for witches? Hardly, if one is natural, yet they attempt to do the Law of the Spirit, it would be witchcraft, since they lack the basis. However, if one is spiritual in nature, or has the Spirit then attempts to do a Law provided for the carnal minded, it’s witchcraft, since it pertains to a different realm. The Law of the Spirit cannot be applied to the world, the Law of Moses cannot not be applied beyond the Cross. In essence Paul was showing the Galatians how the Law was the schoolmaster, but it’s nailed to the Cross, it didn’t pass through the Cross. To go back to the Law, would be saying the Cross is ineffective, not real wise. Therefore, attempting to keep the old nature, yet claim the spiritual Life in Christ negates, “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the Cross” (Col 2:14).
Some want to avoid the phrase “fall from Grace”, presuming Paul isn’t talking to those who have Grace, but how can one fall, if they don’t have what they are falling from? Paul also said, “Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified before you” (Gal 3:1), with, “having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect in the flesh” (Gal 3:3), adding, “Christ is become of no effect for you, whosoever of you (who) are justified by the Law, ye are fallen from Grace” (Gal 5:4), with, “you did run well, who did hinder you, wherein you should not obey the truth” (Gal 5:7). Clearly he is talking to people who have the Spirit, but were about to turn and walk in a direction the Spirit was not going. We also have, “looking diligently lest any man fail (fall) of the Grace of God” (Heb 12:15). We have to get real and honest about Grace, or we will twist it into something it’s not, over confidence will produce a fable, removing our confidence in God (Jude 4).
The Jews demanded for one follow the Law of Moses before they could enter the temple, or the various synagogues. Which was correct under the Law, so was Paul a “man pleaser”? No, to the Jew he became a Jew, to the Gentile he became a Gentile, but he was not a sinner to the sinner. The first call of the Gospel was to the Jews, then the Gentiles (Acts 1:8). No Jew would accept another Jew with a doctrine, if they refused to keep the Law. Paul shows the Jew came out of the Law by faith, the Gentile came around the Law through faith. Paul and the other Jews who were converted kept certain points of the Law to gain entry into synagogues to preach Jesus, they didn’t keep the points to impress God, or seek favor from God. The Judaizers said, “you see Paul keeps points of the Law before the Jews, so he is saying we must all keep the Law before God”. Traditions and false doctrine run hand in hand, we begin a tradition just between us, we don’t consider it doctrine, it’s just something we want to do, yet we have no verse to back it up. The next generation picks it up as a “tradition of the elders”, they will twist a couple of verses to give it some validity, but usually the verses are against the tradition, not for it. The next generation takes the same tradition, but calls it Doctrine, saying if we don’t do it, we’re not holy. The traditions of man still make the Word to no effect.
The Law of Moses has traditions as well, but the Pharisees and others changed them into traditions of men. There was no Scripture allowing Corban, or “it is a gift” (Matt 15:3-5), rather it was a tradition of men, but the tradition transgressed the Commandment, “honor your father and mother” (Matt 15:4). What danger is there? “In vain they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt 15:9). If we teach the traditions of men as doctrine, me might as well bark at moon, since our worship will be in vain. It’s substantially dangerous, we can begin with a great worship service, but then make the entire thing vain by teaching the traditions of men as doctrine. Far better, yea necessary to have “what does the Scripture say”.
We must keep the Law of Moses in its proper place, as we must also keep in mind how the Law of Moses is not evil in any sense of the word. The Law of Moses is Good, it has to be, it came from God. “Man, now I’m messed up, if it’s good, why not do it?”. It’s not from whom it came, but to whom it was directed. Murderers don’t make laws governing murder, they are the subject to the laws. God doesn’t rest on the Sabbath day as man does, it’s evident from the activity in the tabernacle on the Sabbath, rather God’s rest is found in His foreknowledge of the plan. We are told to enter the Rest of God, so what does it mean? We know the end is in the plan, our belief and faith is in God to bring about what He promised us, sparing us from the wrath to come.
The children questioned the plan of God, as they questioned the ability of God, thus the sabbath day was a required time for reflection on God. God had to tell them to take one day out of seven to think on Him, while considering their ways. On the same note, the cloud by day and the fire by night didn’t take the Sabbath day off. The manna did cease, not because the manna honored the sabbath, but to keep the children from violating the sabbath. We know if the children took too much manna, it would turn rotten, or become wormy, but why? Their greed, the fallen nature of man, but the nature was not the source of the Law, it was the purpose, a formulated conscience for man. Let’s face it if the Law was based on the righteousness of the people, then Abraham would have been the first to have it. Abraham never kept the sabbath, neither did Jacob, Israel, Joseph, or the children during the entire 400 years of bondage.
It’s never from whom the Law came, regardless of the Law, but to whom it was directed telling the story. If we are flesh minded, then by all means do the Law of Moses, but know this, you will also be judged according to the Law. If we are Spirit minded, then we do the Law of the Spirit, there is no wrath of God in the Law of the Spirit. We judge ourselves, so we won’t be condemned with the world (I Cor 11:31-32). The lesson in the Law of Moses is not how the children were blessed, rather it was showing God’s Mercy, as God extended it to the children based on His Covenant with Abraham. The lesson shows the children were not deserving of Mercy, but God gave it based on the pleas of Moses. This preview for us shows once God’s Mercy is loosed from heaven on us, we can also apply Mercy to the unmerciful. God’s Mercy endures forever, but this is the Season of Grace. During our Season God’s efforts center on one thing, for all to come to the saving knowledge of the Gospel, so none be lost. One can be a unbeliever today, but a repentant saint tomorrow. However, Grace is for a Season, it’s the point. When Grace reaches it’s end at the Rapture, then comes the Night for the Judgment of God. It’s so apparent, God still blessed the children, they had the manna, the fire by night, the cloud by day, the tabernacle, bitter water turned sweet, yet Jude tells us God destroyed those who believed not (Jude 5). Being blessed wasn’t the point, rather it was believing in God.
God was ready to destroy all the children, except for Moses, thus the Law of Moses was good considering the alternative. It was provided by God, but based on the request of Moses, thus it was given to Moses, then Moses gave it to the children to preserve them. The Law of Moses was then provided instead of God’s justice; therefore, the Jew today, like the Jews during the earthly ministry, see no difference between God’s Mercy and God’s Justice. The Law of the Spirit was not provided as an alternative to destruction, rather it was granted to Bless us with the Grace of God, not only removing us from the wrath of God, but giving us an element wherein we are Born of the Spirit in us, making us Spirit by nature. God is Spirit, everything produces after its own kind. Therefore, we who are under the Law of the Spirit, are the product of God’s Love, which makes us among other things cheerful givers.
Paul told us before Esau or Jacob had done either good or evil, God hated one and loved the other. What? God hate! How can this be? For those who fall under “God so loved the world” it is hard to conceive, because God is dealing with us through His Love and Grace. However, there is another side of God directed to those who reject His love, or fail to receive the purpose of why they accepted the Cross to begin with. Proverbs tells us there are six things God hates, yea the seventh is an abomination (Prov 6:16-19). God hates lying lips, so do lips lie? Or the person connected to them? God hates a proud look, so does the face produce the look? Or the person connected to the face? If we’re under God’s Love, it does seem difficult to conceive of God hating, but God hates the ways of the Wicked day and night, if one connects to those ways, then God is not pleased with them. According to their ways God will form them, some into vessels of honor, some into the footstool of Jesus, who will become the ones who “bruise” the Heel of the Lord.
Jesus is the Word, but He began the earthly ministry as the Son of man to bring the Mercy of the Father, as the Son of God He brought Grace through the Resurrection. So, was the Resurrection before the Cross or after? After, thus the Spirit is based on being raised from the dead, something the Law of Moses could never produce. The Law of Moses was not designed to grant us life after death, the Resurrection is so designed. At the judgment we find some must pass the Books, but it still doesn’t grant them Life, they still must find their names in the Book of Life (Rev 20:12 & 20:15).
Before there can be a Resurrection, there must be a death. We are granted the Spirit based on principle. We accept the death of Jesus in our place, then God gives us His token when we are Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. Beginning the Justification, thus we are justified by faith, but is it the measure of faith? Or the Faith of Christ? We are Justified by the Blood of Jesus (Rom 5:9), by the faith of Christ (Gal 2:16), by Christ (Gal 2:17), by the Grace of God (Titus 3:7), it is God who Justifies (Rom 8:3). We are Being Justified as we are being Washed, so we can be glorified with Jesus. The Report says so, the Witness is bringing it to pass. There is the Plan, but there is also the Report for those in the Kingdom, the Report has made the declaration, the Witness is bringing it to pass.
Jesus went to the Cross as the Son of man, thus when He returns for the Judgment it’s as the Son of man; meaning the judgment is based on Mercy. Therefore, the Parable shows some operated in mercy, they visited those in prison, gave water, along with other attributes of mercy (Matt 25:31-46), if you have done it to the least, you are considered brethren of Jesus (Matt 25:40).
The Son of God is connected to the Resurrection and Grace, those who are raised by the same Spirit are free of the Judgment, because they are sons of God. The New Birth has many attributes and rewards, it is far better than the Law of Moses. Being preserved, and being saved are much different.
Mercy and Justice are not the same, they have different results, thus we rightly divide the Word. God’s Justice is separating the Precious from the Vile. John saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration all dressed in White, yet the same John saw Jesus in his Revelation, with a much different presentation, so what happened? Rightly divide the Word (Jesus), the Jesus we associate with is the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus, the Judgment Jesus is the one seen in the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:12-16): same Word, but rightly divided.
Jesus on the Mount was seen as Jesus the Son of God, which was declared by the Father, “This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him” (Matt 17:5). Standing with Jesus on the mount was Moses representing the Law, and Elijah representing the Prophets, the Law and Prophets testify of Jesus, they are not Jesus. The Father didn’t say, “hear ye them”, or “hear ye Him, or them, or whatever”, it was clearly “hear ye Him”. For Pharaoh it was hear ye Moses, but Pharaoh refused, suffering the result.
Jesus as the Son of man went to the Cross, yet is seen as the Son of man among the seven golden candlesticks. Jesus is not one of the seven bowls, He is the Light keeping the other lights shinning. The Spirit of Holiness declared Jesus the Son of God by the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4), it doesn’t mean Jesus wasn’t the Son of God prior, it points to positional authority. The earthly ministry established the Father’s Mercy on earth, the Resurrection linked heaven and earth, producing the means for us to be sons of God by the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. We must be sons of men by granting mercy, but it takes a death and Resurrection power by the Spirit in us to become a “son of God” (Born Again – Rom 8).
The children will keep the sabbath day, but failed to find the rest of God (Heb 3:16). Keeping the day doesn’t give one Rest, the saving of the Soul gives us Rest for our Souls (Jere 6:16 & Matt 11:29). They couldn’t enter in because of their unbelief, not because they failed to keep the Law (Heb 3:18-19). Their unbelief produced the Law, yet the Law is holy, but it defines sin, it’s the doer of the Law who is not holy (Rom 7:7). It’s not from Whom it came, but to whom it was given (did we say it already?). It doesn’t matter what comes from God, it’s nonetheless holy; God’s wrath is holy, we simply are not assigned to face it, thus one can presume since God’s wrath is holy, why not partake of it? Not something we consider, simply because it’s holy, doesn’t mean it holds the True Holiness of God (Eph 4:24). The Tabernacle will show us three types of holiness, connecting to the saying, “holy, holy, holy” (Isa 6:3 & Rev 4:8). The New Man is created after God’s True Holiness and Righteousness (Eph 4:24), thus by the New Man we have God’s True Holiness unto Salvation. The phrase, “holy of holies” denotes more than one type of holy, the holy of holies was holier than the holy place, the holy place was holier than the courtyard, yet all three were holy.
In order to understand the importance of the plagues, we have to travel back to the Fall of man. Neither Adam or Eve were cursed before the fall, neither were they cursed by God, rather their punishment came as a result of their actions, God merely told them what they caused. God doesn’t curse us, we curse ourselves; Proverbs tells us “the curse causeless does not come” (Prov 26:2), thus the curse just doesn’t fall, it’s drawn to the “cause”, yet we find the Law of Moses shows the “Lord” will bring this or that in reference to the curse, but the Cause is the person bringing the curse on their self, the Lord allowing it by the Law. This defines the curse, the person sets their own self to be cursed, then the Law applies it. The Lord brought the Law based on the people, thus the power in the Law is given by the Lord. It doesn’t mean the Lord personally walks around putting the curse on people, it means since He inserted the Authority and Power into the Law, it’s based on Him. How can this be? The Law has two powers, blessing and cursing, if it can’t apply the blessing, it applies the opposite. Darkness and light are the same principle, in God there is no darkness at all (I Jn 1:5), thus for God to bring complete darkness, He must remove Himself. The same with the Law, remove the blessing the curse comes.
We will also find the first mention of sickness is based on these plagues in Egypt, the only other element before this time was a weakness of eyes. We can’t assume sickness was part of the curse of the fall, simply because we have no basis for the assumption, but we do have a basis to see sickness is found in the curse of the Law, yet the Law came after these plagues. Therefore, the plagues will be the first time man will experience these ills on the masses. We can’t comprehend how they felt, we see sickness day in and day out, we see plagues all over the world, but until these plagues surfaced the masses had not seen anything like them. Does it mean God brought evil? Not at all, it means God brought signs, once those signs manifested we find the devil took them, then twisted their purpose attacking man with sickness and disease. What was the basis? The gods of Egypt, each plague is a result of some god Pharaoh established over the children.
In the curse of the Law we read, “moreover He will bring upon thee the diseases of Egypt, which thou was afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee” (Deut 28:60). The local was Egypt, representative of the world, yet it also shows the first time these diseases occurred was at this time/ therefore, it doesn’t say the diseases of the Fall. If there were plagues of sickness and disease prior, they would have mentioned them, but they didn’t, because there were none.
God never intended for us to be subject to these “ills”, whether we like it or not, the truth remains By His stripes you were healed (I Pet 2:24). So, does it merely pertain to the physical body? No, it goes much further, finding the cause and purpose of something is far more Godly, then attacking someone because they are sick. So, if we believe in the healing stripes, does it mean we will no longer be sick? Not hardly, but even if we’re not healed, we still believe it. What if God said, “go to a doctor”? Do we tell Him, “not so Lord, I’m a person of faith”? Obedience is still obedience, belief is belief, faith must please God. Looking for the evidence to see if we believe, is not the same as believing regardless of the evidence. For the most part we end stuck between two things, what God said, and what we see. It’s not easy to take the Word spoken, over the evidence we are facing, but believing is not easy, faith harder, but both are rewarding.
God through Moses added by saying, “also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law” (Deut 28:61). Clearly sickness and disease were spelled out for the first time in the Law of Moses under the Curse, proven by the plagues on Egypt. Once the plagues came, then sickness and disease had a foothold on Egypt. No where in the Blessing of the Law, or any Blessing do we find, “you shall be sick and full of disease, this is a blessing of the Lord”. It sounds foolish, but some of us carry close thoughts, imaginations coming against the knowledge of God must be cast down. Again it doesn’t mean we never get sick, after all the “prayer of faith” is based on one being sick, yet the just live by faith. If we were never to get sick, then the Scripture would read, “by His stripes you can’t get sick”, but it doesn’t. For some reason when we get sick we feel guilty, then we attempt to hide it. Or, worse we play it, attempting to get all the mileage we can from our self-pity. Both of those seem to put our mind on the problem, not the solution. We never exalt the pollution, we seek the solution.
The point of course is seeing how sickness defined becomes an issue for the first time in the Bible in reference to the Law of Moses. We can’t run to the “maybe it was before, just not written about”, since it remove the importance God is making here. If we are under an authority advocating any point of the Law of Moses, we are subject to the ills defined in the Law as well. We know there are two tithes, one under the Law of Moses, and one not. What happens if we pick the one under the Law? We are under the Law, whether we know it or not, we have placed ourselves right in the path of “the plagues of Egypt”. If we hold the Ten Commandments over people, we connected ourselves to the Law as well, since one is incorporated into the other. The Ten Commandments are Good, the Law of Moses is Good, the people they were sent to are not.
The Law of Moses was not the character of either Moses or God, it was the symbol of the disobedience of the people, thus the Law called for obedience through mind power, not faith. Since the Law of Moses was not of faith, it held no future hope, rather it was based in the now. It shows self-righteousness is a constant effort, one cannot let up for one second. This is found in the Tithe under the Law of Moses, as well as the sabbath day, miss one sabbath day, and it’s all for naught, give nine percent rather than ten, all your tithing under the Law ends in a curse.
We recall how the works of Abraham’s faith were obedience motivated, thus the children refused to obey without the threat of destruction. They had faith, they simply refused to use it, they had opportunity to believe, but they refused to belief, the result was their unbelief. They wanted to be pleased, far different from wanting to please the Lord. For some in the kingdom the mere joy of pleasing the Lord is incentive, but others are like the children in the wilderness, they obey for the self-benefit alone.
Since the Law of Moses was based in obedience without the call of faith, the doer could never be of faith in the doing. Did it call for belief? Yes, what was written became the past example, they did believe if they didn’t do the points of the Law, they would be cursed. James tells us even the devils believe there is One God (James 2:19), but it doesn’t mean they are of Faith. Don’t forget Jesus called Judas a devil, thus the term goes much further than the fallen winged cherubs (Jn 6:70).
The mechanics of the Law were designed for those who were not of faith, thus anyone who did the Law fell into the defined mechanics. We know anything not done in faith is sin (Rom 14:23), thus the doer of the Law was proclaiming their sin, rather than proclaiming the forgiveness of sin. In all this we know Moses had to believe in God, but the power of his faith to endure the wilderness came from desiring to know the Ways of God.
The Cross began the Day, making us a New Creature in Christ, known as the New Man in us, who is created (or formed same Greek word) after God’s true holiness and righteousness (Eph 4:24). There are two different creation Seasons, one for the Night, one for the Day. Although God brought the Day with the Greater Light, neither had effect until Jesus came. When Jesus came the Creation of the Day began, both the Greater Light and Lesser Light are based in Jesus. The Greater Light for the Day in the Name of the Lord unto Mercy, Grace, with Forgiveness of all sin, transgression and iniquity, the blessing of the Day the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Then comes the Night as the Lesser Light finishes the remaining aspect (Remnant) of the Cross, the time where by no means shall God clear the guilty of their iniquity (Ex 34:6-7).
With the Cross came Salvation and Judgment, but not at the same time, nor in the same Season. We are of the Day, the Night comes when no man can work. The “work” then becomes the proclaiming of Salvation, not Judgment. When we finally get the Seasons right, the fears and cares of this world will not effect us again, we will be Free and able to walk in the Joy of the Lord with an honest holy fear of God keeping us Equal.
When the Faith of Jesus was manifested, the Street to heaven was open. Man’s measure of faith is sufficient for earthly things, but it couldn’t bring the Promise, or get us into heaven (Heb 11:39). Moses had faith in God regarding earthly things, we know the children had faith to cross the Red Sea, but it was the last time we find “faith” recorded until the next generation take Jericho (Heb 11:29-30). The door to the wilderness started with the Passover, interestingly enough it was by faith, since the destroyer was all around them. They had their first concept of the blood being a barrier between them and death, the words spoken became the foundation for their belief, giving them the foundation for faith, although short timed it was nonetheless knowing the blood was a barrier between them and death (Heb 11:28). Our Passover is Jesus, His Blood is the barrier between us and the Second Death. The Passover Moses kept was a type and shadow of the Cross, but it couldn’t provide the same benefit as the Cross.
In all this, one thing is very evident; God knew these children would be ungrateful, demanding and unbelieving, yet He delivered them from Egypt as He said. Why then, do we who have the Spirit, think God is not able to deliver us? Listening to the wrong voice? Could be, faith comes from hearing, but the hearing must be based in Spirit and Life (Jn 6:63).
The purpose of the wilderness is to rid us of Egypt, the slavery mentality, by instilling in us the mind of Christ. The wilderness for us exposes the things not conducive to our walk, we then tell them to Go, trusting in God to remove them. At the same time God is instilling Mercy, Faith and Hope. However, in the wilderness we also find what God exposes will often retaliate to defend itself. When the children’s unbelief was exposed, their anger rose up to defend them, one ruler of darkness defending another is not victory, it’s proof of the exposure.
We can’t just say the things these children did are history, or not applicable now, for surely they do apply to our walk. Paul said, “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” (I Cor 10:6). The nature of man has been the nature of man since the fall, man is more intellectual now, but he is also more deceptive and cunning.
These children needed to be rid of the past, more important they had to be free of their slavery mentality. The slavery mentality attempts to get around the law, while not violating the letter of the law. Two groups of rebellious minds hold to the slavery mentality, the first group sets out to violate the law, knowing it’s a violation, yet they still hold a slavery mentality, others look for some loophole or some method to work around the law, while not violating the letter of the law. Laban was a type and shadow of one who hears from God (in the dream), yet works to find the loophole, as he did when he came after Jacob. Saul will be another, only in his case he was given specific orders, then he changed them to fit his own determination to appease the people, yet claimed he had done all the Lord told him to do. The prophet Samuel equated Saul’s false obedience to rebellion and iniquity (I Sam 15:20-26). The sabbath law proves the point; God told the people their cows were not allowed to violate the sabbath. Who ever saw a cow resting on the sabbath, or looking to see if the sun was setting? Who ever saw a cow eat pork? The slavery mentality uses the cow to plow the ground, then claims, “I’m not violating the sabbath, I’m just following this cow”. The same was true with the “stranger” in the land, the stranger was not allowed to violate the sabbath either. The Jew would hire the stranger to plow, then say, “I’m not plowing, the Gentile is”. Other aspects of the Law show us to whom it was sent, “You shall not curse a deaf man behind his back, or place a stumbling stone in the path of a blind man”. If one does these things, or has the propensity to do them the Law of Moses is designed for them, since the Law of Moses defines how natural fallen man is subject to the spirit lusting to envy. The envy wants the Blessing, but wants it solely for self-based reasons in order to consume it on the lust (James 4:1-4).
The children carried a slavery mentality, for the most part so did we when we came out of the world (Egypt). Whether we were directly under the hand of some taskmaster, or under the hand of the spirit lusting to envy, the master of all taskmasters, our rebellious mentality marked our character. Jesus provided the Spirit of Truth to change our character and nature into Christ, so we could have the mind of Christ; thereby knowing the Spirit is changing our nature as we become Spiritual (Jn 3:6 & I Jn 4:1-4).
The Character of Jesus is not the personality of Jesus, or the physical appearance of Jesus, but what made Jesus. The title “Christ”, shows Jesus is The Christ, Christ was not His last name, but His Character. The Spirit of Christ in us will change our personality to fit the character, then the true personality can surface without the masks of falseness, or pride. We were all under the hand of the spirit of disobedience (unbelief), but our repentance was a Vow to enter Continual Belief, yet if we really study our confession we will find many areas where our mouths produced “I don’t believe it”. “Well, I just don’t think it could have happened”, or we will use the unbelief of others to justify our unbelief, yet the unbelief of others, even scholars never negates our unbelief. Using the words of an unbeliever to justify our unbelief ends with us “hung by the tongue”, not something we desire.
All Things are of God, we believe All Things, thus if it’s not a Thing, it’s not of God, or not worthy of being considered. What would be something not a Thing? A fable. We judge the saying, if it’s worthy of belief, we accept it; however accepting it as truth, and joining to it are different. We believe there is a devil, but we don’t invite him to lunch. If the saying lacks consideration, it becomes moot, not worth considering, cast away as another lacking fable. This is a difficult area, one defining the difference between “confessing Jesus is come in the flesh” or not confessing Him. We Confess Jesus by having the Greater He in us, proving it by a display of Christ in us, thus we Walk in what we Believe. We never speak to make ourselves believe, rather as we believe, so have we spoken. There is a vast difference between speaking from belief, and speaking based on habit.
Man’s fears often turn into gods, whether those gods are mental, or physical. A person can fear a thought, just as much as they can fear a train running over them. In order to appease his fears, man will make gods of the fears, making him the god of his gods. When man worships his gods, he is in fact worshipping himself, since he made the gods; giving the cause for the curse. Pharaoh is about to get the result of his workings, but Praise ye the Lord, when we came to Jesus all things became New, even the concept of reaping what we sowed in the world is nailed to the Cross. However, we can’t hold to the old gods, then claim a newness in Christ. The process of making us Innocent removes tares, obstacles, strongholds and barriers keeping us from enjoying the fullness of the Spirit. Guess where it’s done? The Wilderness.
God isn’t out to punish us, He is out to save us. Something in us is exposed, then we attempt to hide it again. It keeps coming up, we keep pushing it down, since it seems to remain, we tend to think we’re evil, nasty people, then we punish ourselves. God will keep exposing the lusts in these people so the lust can be dealt with, but they kept blaming Moses and God, while denying the lusts. God can’t deal with it, until we recognize it for what it is, a lust in us. No one put it there, we retained it. The children hid under the illusion of denial by using deception, which soon ruled their minds.
As long as the children of Israel were under bondage in Egypt they couldn’t represent God; therefore, we find two bodies of water, they crossed one to get into the wilderness, another to enter the Promised Land, the place between was their place of training and discipleship. The deliverance from Egypt was the beginning, not the finish. With this in mind, it becomes easier to see why God was so precise with the wording in the Law of Moses. If God is omnipresent, if the Law of Moses is a blessing, if God knew about the Law of Moses from the foundation of the world, as He knew the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world, why didn’t He give the Law to Abraham? Because Abraham believed God. Well, why not give it to Jacob? Because even fearful Jacob believed God more than these children. The slavery mentality from Egypt was not at issue until this point in time, the children had to know Egypt is not good, it’s not a blessing, it’s not a place of peace, it’s not the benefactor, it’s ways, are not God’s ways. The saving of our souls is the primary purpose for our faith (I Pet 1:9), but without discernment, we will call Ego the anointing, or we will call the Greed the need.
The first Commandment was not make gods out of people, God made Moses a god before Pharaoh, but Moses didn’t make himself a god, nor did he make Aaron one. Mentor worship is an excuse not to be used; we place a human above us assuming they were so holy, we could never reach their place of holiness, allowing us to deny the calling. On the same note we find the Whacko places their self as a god over the people of God. Pharaoh assumed he was the god of gods, his statement of, “Who is the Lord, who I should obey” (Ex 5:2), makes more sense when we consider the mindset of the man. Pharaoh felt the gods would do as he commanded, thus he also thought the God of Moses would obey him. When things turned on him, he went into battle based on his presumption of being the god who could defeat the God of Moses. Each plague on Egypt proved the ineffectiveness of the gods of Egypt by proving the effectiveness of God.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAGUES ON THE GODS OF PHARAOH
NILE TURNED TO BLOOD – EX 7:14-25:
KHUM – GUARDIAN OF THE NILE
HAPI – SPIRIT OF THE NILE
OSIRIS – BLOOD STREAM OF THE NILE.
FROGS – EX 8:1-15:
HEQT- FORM OF A FROG AND THE GOD OF RESURRECTION.
GNATS (MOSQUITOES) – EX 8:16-19:
TAMMUZ- HEALING OR LIFE.
FLIES – EX 8:20-32:
TAMMUZ OR BAAL.
PLAGUE ON CATTLE – EX 9:1-7:
HATHOR – MOTHER-GODDESS; FORM A COW.
APIS – OR THE BULL OF THE PAGAN GOD PATH; SYMBOL OF FERTILITY.
MNEVIS – SACRED BULL OF HELIOPOLIS.
BOILS – EX 9:8-12:
IMHOTEP – GOD OF MEDICINE.
HAIL – EX 9:13-35:
NUT – SKY GODDESS
ISIS – GODDESS OF LIFE.
SETH – PROTECTOR OF CROPS.
LOCUSTS – EX 10:1-20:
ISIS – GODDESS OF LIFE
SETH – PROTECTOR OF CROPS; PRIESTHOOD OF PHARAOH; (LOCUSTS REPRESENT RELIGIOUS CONCEIT AND PRIDE).
DARKNESS EX 10:21-29:
RE, ATEN, ATUM, HORUS – SUN GODS OF SORTS.
DEATH OF FIRSTBORN – EX 11:1-12:36:
THE DEITY OF PHARAOH – ORIRIS, GIVER OF LIFE.
Paul understood he still had weaknesses, thus they didn’t go away because of the Cross, but they did become known to Paul as ineffective by the nature of Christ. He didn’t attempt to elevate them, hide them, or use them as a supposed strength. Rather he took authority over them by keeping them weak, thereby allowing the strength of Christ to be his strength. The biggest weakness of all is the flesh, the flesh has feelings, it governs us by seeking the feeling. Man uses pride because he likes the feeling which pride produces, just as man likes the feeling of being superior, so he dominates, manipulates, or uses statements to belittle others, just to exalt himself. Man likes the praises of man, so he does things to get the feeling, just as he likes the praises he heaps on himself. Man also makes his gods so he can control them. Those are areas where the weak flesh becomes the god of the soul, thus the Cross is the place to impute the flesh dead, so we can live in Christ. These children did not have our advantage, but they did have one like unto us. Pharaoh couldn’t cross the Sea, there was no place in the wilderness for Pharaoh, just as there is no place in our wilderness for the devil. Jesus destroyed (made ineffective) the devil by the Cross, thus the Cross is a doorway, one wherein we enter, but the devil cannot. The only way the devil can activate himself in our lives, is when we give him place (opportunity).
The children faced themselves in the wilderness, not Pharaoh. We must be able to see our wilderness experiences are for us, not against us. God is doing a great and wonderful work, but the flesh considers it horrid. It’s suppose to, it is becoming completely ineffective in our walk of faith.
We can see how each plague, sign or wonder exposed the ineffectiveness of the gods of Egypt. On the same note, Pharaoh was never allowed to speak to God, he spoke to Moses, who spoke to God. Moses will be rejected by Pharaoh more than once, but he will not stop the course on seeing the children set free. Our job is to speak as the Oracles of God, thus we speak with the expectation of someone believing, but it doesn’t mean we can make them believe, nor does it mean we hit the “pit of self-pity” if they don’t believe. Our job is to preach, not believe for them, if they reject us, we “shake the dust off our feet”. The metaphoric phrase “shake the dust off” holds two meanings, we don’t hold any ill-feelings, we don’t allow anger, rejection, self-pity, or any other emotion to enter in because of the rejection. Second is the metaphor Dust means flesh, shake the flesh off our feet, keep going in the Spirit. Discern, don’t burn.
The fear of rejection will cause us to bend the rules to get man’s approval, or discard the purpose of our calling to gain approval, either of which makes us compromise our position with the flesh, very dangerous. Moses never compromised with Pharaoh, it was God’s way, or no way. Moses found the purpose was to provide Pharaoh enough of God to make a decision. Moses was not required to tell Pharaoh how the water turned to blood, or where the boils came from. Isaiah was also told, “Go and tell this people, Hear you indeed but understand not; and see you indeed but perceive not” (Isa 6:9). Jeremiah was told, “be not dismayed at their faces” (Jere 1:17). These are warnings to the prophets; they were to speak, but they weren’t to expect the voices of praise to come from the people. They heard the voices of rejection, yet they were not to allow those voices to interfere with their course. However, Jeremiah almost slipped into the trap, thus God told him to seek the Precious (Jere 15:19). There are many events where we have to search for the Precious.
When Moses and Aaron started the deliverance, Moses was 80 years old, Aaron was 83 years old; it’s never too late to begin, nor is it too late to enter the work of the Lord (Ex 7:7). This little side note is interesting, the two men lead different lives, yet they were related. Moses spent 40 years as an Egyptian, 40 more in training in Midian, then 40 in the wilderness. He served God, yet he never got to see the Promised Land. He knew about it, since he mentions names of places in the Promised Land, but his ministry didn’t lead him there. Aaron would be the first priest under the Law of Moses, he spent most of his life as a captive, no special priestly training, no time in the Pharaoh’s place of educational refinement, no degree in religion, no doctoral work to prove him worthy of the office, just a call from God. How dare he take on such an important task? The man must be crazy, or anointed, you pick which.
The first sign will also show us the children of Israel were not free of all the plagues, yet it was not God who produced the plagues on the children. The plagues God brought were on the Egyptians, the magicians of Pharaoh then cast plagues on the children, but there came a time when God would place a separation between the children of God and the house of Pharaoh. Aaron cast his rod before Pharaoh, it became a serpent, but Pharaoh had his sorcerers (magicians) cast their rods down, their rods became serpents (Ex 7:8-11). Pharaoh had his New Age, the only thing new about the New Age is our fear of it. In fact, the only power the New Age has, is what we gave it through our fear of it.
Moses will experience some mighty things, all of which are Supernatural, or things regarding the natural. Supernatural is still natural, limiting it to the natural realm. The supernatural has limits to its power, the deeds of Pharaoh’s sorcerers will show there comes a place for the limit of evil, while God’s supernatural power continues on. A counterfeit is a rough, unauthorized copy, lacking the power and authority of the original. We are always in a better position when we know we’re in the Name of Jesus; we are a people who have the supernatural ability in God, plus the spiritual ability of God.
Why did Pharaoh even try? He presumed he was the god of gods, if the Lord God of Moses wanted a fight, well bless God, Pharaoh was ready, or was he? God fought this battle on the turf of Pharaoh, with weapons Pharaoh could understand; however, not with Pharaoh’s weapons. Pharaoh was about as spiritual as a bagel, yet God is Spirit, He is fully able to make His point in a way the natural mind of Pharaoh could grasp; showing the plagues were all supernatural, not spiritual. The same is true with us, we war in a natural war zone, but we fight with spiritual weapons, we never fight flesh and blood, either do we fight with the natural weapons of man. These plagues also show us judgment is real, God is fully able to bring plagues to prove His might. Some might say “it doesn’t sound like a Good God to me”, but if we rightly divide the Word we can see the Love of God in the Day, yet the Wrath of God in the Night, is God equal? God will do what God will do, a good servant doesn’t question the Master, they obey. Paul made this clear in Romans by showing God will have mercy, on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion (Rom 9:15). For the Scripture says unto Pharaoh, “Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, so I might show My power in thee, and My Name might be declared throughout the earth” (Rom 9:17). Was God’s Name declared: Certainly, Rahab heard of the Acts of God, she rejected her people for the people of God. There are those who Hear of our Acts, even if we don’t know they have heard. Our actions have force and effect in people we don’t even know.
After Moses hears, “speak to Pharaoh”, he then hears, “Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you” (Ex 7:4). This wasn’t to discourage Moses, but to encourage him. Jesus knew those in His own home town would reject Him, but He nonetheless preached with the expectation of them receiving. Did He know they wouldn’t receive? Yes, but God’s desire and God’s reality are often different. In any case none of those who rejected Jesus could ever say, “well gee, we were never given the opportunity”. There are times when God will send us to carnal junction, or the place of rejection. Before we get there we tend to insert our own expectations, as did Jonah, presuming things God never told us. In Jonah’s case it was “they’re going to kill me”, in some of us it’s, “they will believe, and fall on their face I just know it”; when we get there they attack, yell, call us everything but a preacher. We get frustrated, yet it happened to Jesus, but He knew the purpose was Opportunity for the hearer. He shook the dust off, going on to the next place, as we should.
Aaron’s rod swallowed the serpents of Pharaoh, this is a type and shadow of how we tread on serpents. The word Serpent means Malicious, we overcome malicious words by rendering good for evil. The word Malicious means an intent to do harm, it’s the basis for the word Slander. The title Satan means The Slanderer, slander is not always a lie, rather it’s seldom based on a lie. Libel is an outright lie, but Slander can be based on a fact, but presented to do someone harm, or presented with the specific intent to harm their reputation. It may contain some information, but leaves out enough to cause the hearer to draw the wrong conclusion. In some legal circles Libel is printed, slander spoken, but the meaning of Slander found in the Bible refers to the character of Satan. Whether it’s a fact or not doesn’t matter, if it’s said with the intent to do harm to the person or their reputation it’s slander. Discernment desires to know how to deal with a person or situation, slander could care less, as long as it hurts someone. A classic example of slander is when Peter told the Lord, “be it far from You, Lord: this shall not be” (Matt 16:22). This was in response to Jesus telling the disciples about the Cross and Resurrection which was to come. The words of Peter were based on Jewish idioms meaning, “have pity on Yourself, make God stop it”. In response Jesus said, “get you behind Me Satan”, or “Get you behind Me, Slanderer”, so how was it slander? Who would be harmed, certainly not Jesus, Peter assumed why go through it? Things were just fine they way they were, yet the entire purpose was based on the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. To “natural Peter” it seemed like the right thing to say at the moment, but he slandered God’s Plan, in so doing he slandered God. In the Hebrew the word Satan is actually a title of a position, according to the Hebrews, Satan is an adversary of humans, not God, thus Satan is more akin to the spirit of man, with an intent to destroy mankind. Another way to view this struggle between Pharaoh and Moses is the intent, Pharaoh was attempting to promote, or hold to his ideology by using the children of God against God; whereas God through Moses was using His Power to free the children. Two completely different intents, with two completely different results.
God will harden Pharaoh’s heart, but it started with Pharaoh having a hard heart, as the man rejected the obvious signs, his heart grew harder (Ex 7:14). The first plague of the Water being turned into Blood should have warned Pharaoh, but his own pride blinded him. Later at a wedding Jesus will turn water into wine, later yet He will proclaim how His Blood is the New Testament. We take Wine or Grape Juice as a symbol of the Blood of Jesus, but here in the first plague we find some interesting elements. Water represents Mercy, the Blood represents a sacrifice, the first plague pointed to Pharaoh’s complete lack of Mercy in reference to the children being able to sacrifice unto God. Pharaoh is bringing all these things on himself; this will be evident in the last plague, when the first born of Egypt are slain.
This is an area helping define metaphors, the Water couldn’t mean the Spirit, since it’s not an issue here, neither is Grace, but we know there is no remission without the shedding of blood (Heb 9:22 & Lev 17:11). The Covenant called for the sprinkling of blood, they wanted to sacrifice animals, meaning they knew the blood stood for the Covenant. This of course was based on Abraham’s sacrifice, which had the animals cut in half, wit the blood between the halves. However, they had no idea what Born Again meant, at this point in time it was still the Abrahamic Covenant.
Although Pharaoh didn’t know it, he was building the faith of Moses. Pharaoh is a prime example of how a vessel of dishonor can hone the vessels of honor. Moses worked harder as his faith grew with each experience; yet Moses could have said, “Aaron, look, he has more power than we, let’s get out of here”, or “Aaron, New Age, find the door”; but Moses knew for Whom he worked, he also knew he had to do battle in the manner God desired. Each time Pharaoh said, “No”, Moses saw another miracle, yet while the faith of Moses grew, the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart also grew. The difference? Moses was looking for God, Pharaoh was looking to stop God. Moses could have joined in Pharaoh’s attack, or seek God, he did the latter, winning the battle.
Pharaoh was raised for a purpose, on the surface it appeared anything but good, but nonetheless Pharaoh did acts to complete the will of God, although his acts were evil, the result was still good for the people of God. The people saw how the kings of the world are overcome by the power of God, at times it’s something we forget (Rom 9:17-19).
Pharaoh’s character is representative of the spirit of disobedience, as it uses force and manipulation to control. The Egypt (worldly) mindset crossed the water with the children giving us a type of the Wiles of the devil; although Pharaoh was destroyed as a result of the Water. The Wiles of the devil are the methods of his operation, it is not the devil, but how he operates through the spirit of man. We war against using the wiles of the devil, as we war against being overcome by them, as we war against reacting to them in a natural manner, or using them as our form of warfare. At times it’s seems just as easy to attack anger with anger, but it’s still using a wile of the enemy against the enemy.
The spirit of man can enter the kingdom, it may become the spirit of antichrist, setting itself against the Spirit of Truth. It will turn into the he in the world hindering us from reaching the Christ Character. James tells us, “do you think the Scripture says in vain, The spirit dwelling in us lust to envy?”. We studied this phrase and found it to mean the old man, the same spirit of man producing deception. Although James shows the spirit is ineffective, we also know the ineffective spirit remains with the flesh. The Wicked make the choice to use the spirit lusting to envy to their advantage, thus when we were in the world we were subject to it, but the Wicked use it, much different. The spirit of man was the problem in Corinth, they had the Spirit, but remained carnal, allowing strive and envy to guide them (I Cor 3:3). Since they had the Spirit, they were without excuse, yet they produced the signs of carnal thinking, by their strife, division and envy. They set Gates in the way, yet gates are not offensive weapons, they are defensive; unless of course you take it off the hinges and beat someone half to death. However, the gates of hell Jesus referred to were like unto the gates in the wall around the city of Jerusalem (Matt 16:18). Although we know the gates of hell hold death, they also Separate, Divide, or Hinder. There is a Godly division, but there is also an ungodly one. Paul asked the Corinthians “Is Christ divided?” (I Cor 1:13). Ungodly division brings contentions and strife, usually leading to heresy (I Cor 1:11, I Cor 11:18-19, II Cor 12:20 & James 3:14). Two Godly elements remove the gates of hell, Unity of the Faith with the Unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3 & 4:13). There is of course a Godly separation (James 1:21 & Heb 4:12), here we see examples of both, God is separating His children from Egypt, but Pharaoh is attempting to separate the people from God; guess who wins?
God was giving the children opportunity to see how ineffective the bondage was, as well as defining why they didn’t need to suffer under the slavery mentality. God knew the slavery mentality of the oppressed can turn during the moment of freedom to become the mentality of the oppressor. Therefore, we can leave Egypt, yet turn and become the oppressor. Peter told us to not to use constraint when feeding the flock of God (I Pet 5:1-2), thus one can, or why warn us not to? We are also told not to use our Freedom as a covering of maliciousness (I Pet 2:16), which would associate us with those who have a reprobate mind (Rom 1:28-29), which means it’s possible, although not very probable.
There are the Acts of God, there are the Ways of God, the Acts will happen, but the Ways only come when we are Born Again, as the Holy Ghost teaches us by comparing spiritual to spiritual (I Cor 2:13). The Acts are Good, the Ways are Good, the two should be one in order to maintain with God. We can do the Acts, yet never enter the Ways, or we can put so much study on the Ways we reject the Acts, never obtaining the Ways. God is Equal, He expects us to balance the Ways with the Acts, do the things of God by walking in the Spirit.
The time element between the first encounter between Moses and Pharaoh, until the departure from Egypt would take forty days. The chain of events are as follows: day one, Moses talks to the people, the next day he talks to Pharaoh; on the 3rd day the rod of Aaron turns into a serpent; the 4th day the water is turned into blood for seven days (Ex 7:25); the 12th day brings the frogs, the 13th day the lice; the 14th day brings the flies; the 15th day the flies stop; on the 16th day the promise for the hail: the 17th day the hail falls; on the 18th day the boils break out; on the 20th day the locusts come for two days; on the 22nd day darkness falls for three days: on the 25th day the darkness ends: on the 26th day Pharaoh makes his final statement, which will also be the first day of the Hebrew New Year; on the 35th day they pick a lamb for the Passover; on the 39th day they have Passover; on the 40th day they leave. God is Equal, they saw the miracles during the forty days in Egypt, they had the evidence of God delivering them from Egypt, then God asked them to believe Him through the forty days of the wilderness in order for them to possess the Promised Land. However, their unbelief led to iniquity, as they failed to believe God, making the forty days turn into forty years (Ex 34:9 & Numb 14:33).
Not only were they to travel the wilderness, but they were to sacrifice and praise the Lord for His deliverance. The premise was to go three days into the wilderness then sacrifice, did they? Exodus 15:22-24 shows they were three days into the wilderness when they began to complain about the water. Answer the question? The longer we complain and murmur, the longer we remain in the wilderness of God.
The wilderness was the place for an attitude change, from oppression to gladness of heart, from slavery mentality to being free; however, the children made the choice to murmur and complain. They failed to mix the Word given with Faith, but wait, we may have hit on something here. They crossed the Red Sea by faith, so what was their attitude then? Singing and Dancing; faith must entail an attitude conducive to being a blessing. What was the motivation for crossing? The death of Pharaoh, it was a faith based in desperation, a type of faith avoiding the immediately danger, “Oh God forgive me this time, same me, I won’t do it again”, next day, “Oh God forgive me this time, save me, I won’t do it again”. This type of faith is nonetheless faith, but it fails to mix with the Word, in the case of the children they failed to mix the Word with faith. We can hear, yet not apply the words to our faith, in some cases it’s because the foundation of faith is missing.
Lusts are deceptive, they rarely appear as they are, the lust of pride may surface as self-pity, just to get attention. The Spirit (Word) in us “discerns spirits” so we can minister to the real problem becomes what is behind the masks (I Cor 12:7-11). Since the New Man is the Word in us (James 1:27), it stands if we mix our faith with the New Man we win.
They failed to praise God for His benefits; because of their unbelief, they ended with the Law of Moses. The curse came because they failed to serve the Lord with joy and gladness of Heart for the abundance of all things (Deut 28:47). The phrase All Things means All Things, good, bad or indifferent.
On the other side the symbol of Aaron’s rod (serpent) devouring the serpents of Pharaoh, which should have told Pharaoh this is a “no win situation”; but a hard heart can’t see beyond the hardness, really, a hard heart only sees what it wants to see while it only hears what it wants to hear.
The day after the serpent scene, God tells Moses and Aaron, Go back and meet Pharaoh at the water’s edge. It will be at the water’s edge where Aaron’s rod will turn the water to blood (Ex 7:15-21). First came the Word, then the serpent, now Water and Blood. Turning the Water to Wine will be the first miracle Jesus will do, the Wine being an example of the New Covenant pointing to the Blood of Jesus. However, here it’s water to blood, not water to wine, connect this to the bitter water three days into the wilderness. Here we find the water into blood, in the wilderness it will be bitter water, but for two different purposes. Here it was to show Pharaoh how he turned the Mercy God into wickedness; however, in the wilderness we find two things taking place. First the children held to the old ways feeling the plagues had returned, yet they were delivered. Sound familiar? Yes, some of us see a bug then run off yelling, “the curse, the curse”. The water remained as blood until Pharaoh admitted the Power was of God, in the wilderness it took a Tree to make the water sweet. The children’s minds were on the past, not the future.
Pharaoh’s magicians copied God with their enchantments, causing the water to turn to blood throughout all of Egypt, which included the places where the Hebrews were living (Ex 7:22-24). The magicians of Pharaoh wouldn’t curse Pharaoh, thus the evidence shows the plagues were placed on Pharaoh’s house, then Pharaoh had his magicians place the plagues on the Hebrews; however, the magicians of Pharaoh would shortly find the limit to their evil supernatural power, while God’s power keeps going.
Next Aaron is told to Stretch forth his hand to bring the plague of the frogs (Ex 8:5). Here it gets interesting, in Exodus 8:6 it says only the hand of Aaron was stretched forth. In Exodus 8:16 it’s, “stretch out your rod”, but in Exodus 8:17 we find Aaron stretched forth his hand and rod. So, was Aaron being rebellious? After all it was “hand and rod”, but Aaron only stretched forth his hand, then it was “rod”, then he stretched forth his hand and rod. No he wasn’t being rebellious, if he stretched forth the rod, he would have to do so with his hand. God never said, “stretch forth your rod with your feet”.
The magicians of Pharaoh think they can twist the judgment of God by putting it back on God’s people, they used their enchantments causing the entire land of Egypt to be covered with frogs (Ex 8:7). Up to this time their attitude is, “So what, here’s back at you”; however, in all the copycat maneuvers the magicians of Pharaoh could never stop one plague, or produce their own, rather they merely copied what God produced.
Next Aaron will stretch out his rod as the dust became lice, but when the magicians attempted it, they failed, saying, “It’s the finger of God” (Ex 8:16-19). When they copied the plagues it was “Aaron”, but when their power reached a limit, they gave God the credit, only because they could no longer copy the sign. This is not only a sign of their defeat, but shows the power of God enduring well past the time when witchcraft reaches its limit. For us this is a great sign, there are times when it looks like the devil is just copying us, but if we endure he will reach his limit, yet we’ll just be getting started.
God will now put the division between His people and the house of Pharaoh (Ex 8:24). It was time to show Pharaoh as well as the children there is a division between Egypt and God. Although there were copies, Pharaoh reached the height of their power, yet the power of God was just beginning. When they knew it was the “finger of God”, it should have been enough evidence to yield, but will they? We know Pharaoh won’t, but what about the children? Will they now firm up their belief unto faith?
The children would “see” many things before, and during the wilderness, each one the Lord is allowing or providing as a means to build their belief and faith. Joshua and Caleb are symbols of those who endure bringing forth fruit, but the first time we hear of Joshua will be in Exodus 17:9 after the departure, the first time we read about Caleb is in Numbers 13:6 (Ex 17:9, Numb 13:6 & Mark 4:20). What importance is this? Both Joshua and Caleb remained silent in the Egypt testing, they become examples of those who submit; on the other hand we find the other children complaining with the attitude of “it’s to hard, we can’t do it”, the same attitude will carry over into the wilderness. In our case, when the root is coming forth we will face all those golden calves we brought with us from Egypt, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts for other things. If we endure, the blade will come forth as we become little children, knowing our sins are forgiven, then onto young men where we have victory over the Wicked (Mark 4:18-20 & I Jn 4:1-5). The Blade stage begins to produce the fruit, not the seed or root (Mark 4:28). It’s when the Blade comes up when we see the Tares from Egypt in ourselves and others. We can go crazy assuming we are some evil creature, or we can rejoice knowing the tares are being destroyed by the Spirit of Truth: the latter is better, more productive and beneficial to both the Lord and us.
Pharaoh knew his gods were failing him, but as most ego infested kings, he also felt he was higher than his own gods, or at least felt he was equal to God. However, Pharaoh reached a point where he knew only the God of Moses could stop the plagues. Pharaoh knew his magicians could only copy the plagues, neither could they stop them, or bring them. Like all New Age workers, they copy something to a point, but they can’t stop it. Only after Pharaoh’s magicians failed to copy the later plagues, did Pharaoh think he had sinned. Would he limit the sin to the immediate plague? Yes, showing his repentance was to escape the danger, not to atone for his sin. He gives us a look at “self-repentance”, he was remorseful, but only because it wasn’t going his way. Repenting to avoid danger, or repenting because things are not going the way we want is not true repentance, self-repentance is short lived, usually soon forgotten.
Pharaoh now says, Moses can make a sacrifice, but like all Pharaohs, he will limit the sacrifice and place rules and regulations on the method and time, thus Pharaoh is still wanting to control the event in some manner. Policy and rules are different, Policy is something we live to, rules are something we make others live to.
Pharaoh knew the Hebrews wanted to sacrifice sheep, but killing sheep was an abomination to Egypt. Pharaoh tells Moses to leave the flocks but go and sacrifice, sacrifice what? Daisies? (Ex 8:25-26). Pharaoh gave in for the moment, but removed the elements for the sacrifice. Moses entreated the Lord and the flies stopped, but as soon as the flies stopped, so did the promise from Pharaoh (Ex 8:28-32). Clearly the evidence of Self-repentance, as soon as the danger passes, so does the repentance.
The entire premise is for Pharaoh to “let God’s people go”, so they can serve the Lord, but Pharaoh didn’t want to lose his control over God’s people, neither did he want to lose control over his control. Who were they serving at this time? Pharaoh, thus Pharaoh refused to give up what he felt was his, yet in truth God will show Pharaoh owns nothing. Could Pharaoh stop the Exodus? Not at all, the devil couldn’t stop us from coming to Jesus either. Pharaoh not being able to enter the Wilderness shows us the devil cannot cross the “Cross barrier” of the kingdom, thus he planted Tares when we were in his realm. The problem isn’t the devil, it’s the flesh with those wiles and tares of the devil.
The children couldn’t sacrifice while in Egypt, as a sign to us, no one can truly give God the Glory while they remain in Egypt. If God is “all powerful” why not hit Pharaoh with a bolt of lightning and get it over with? God’s plan, our self-determinations of what God should, or shouldn’t do are much different from what God is doing. God was showing His people His power, giving them incentive to believe when their discipleship begins in the wilderness. God never takes us into a wilderness unless He first shows us His power. Unfortunately some of us confuse the source of the power and say, “look at the power I have”. Do those statements mean we are fitted for destruction? Not at all, it means there is yet a cleaning to take place; God desires for us to become vessels of Mercy (honor). How do we know? We enter places of cleaning like the wilderness; if God didn’t care, He wouldn’t bring us to a place to clean us.
The vessels of dishonor are “fitted” for destruction, the word Fitted in Romans 9:22 is the Greek Katartizo meaning To adjust, or To put something in its appropriate position, or to Arrange as a Potter would form clay for its use. It doesn’t mean to “create”, rather it means to form, it holds the concept of forming based on what the product allows. If the clay is hard by refusing water, it is limited for use, leaving the Potter no choice but to form it by it’s own hardness. It seems strange for Paul would equate the vessels of dishonor to those within the Body, yet use Pharaoh as example, since Pharaoh was not called of God, or was he? This evil man was sitting as Pharaoh simply because God allowed him the position, thus God was still in control, He still had a plan going beyond the man. Did God make Pharaoh evil? No, Pharaoh did, but God used the wickedness of Pharaoh to show the children the delivering power of God. Pharaoh was still related to Abraham, it may be Paul’s point.
We can see God doing something benevolent for the children, yet at the same time the unbelief of Pharaoh is turning to rage, as he challenges God, yet in the challenge Pharaoh’s heart became harder, thus the children had a living example of what happens when you challenge God. We also have the example, it’s good to know these things as we keep them in mind when we find ourselves in an event we don’t like.
Pharaoh became an example of what not to do when confronted by God, it’s an example we can’t ignore. If we take this back to the time Joseph we find many things, first God could have stopped the drought which caused Jacob to enter Egypt in the first place, but He didn’t. God could have warned Jacob about the drought many years prior, but He didn’t. Perhaps Jacob’s faith wasn’t strong enough? No, it had nothing to do with Jacob’s faith, it had to do with the plan of God. God could have warned Joseph in a dream to keep his mouth closed regarding the dreams, but He didn’t. God could have caused Joseph to be saved by Reuben, but He didn’t. God did save Egypt through Joseph, only to destroy it through Moses. Wow, sounds like a waste of time. Not at all, the purpose became apparent in the wilderness. Joseph kept the Lord in his heart, thus God was with him. Pharaoh kept Pharaoh in his heart, God was against him. Both Joseph and Pharaoh were leaders, both were raised by God, yet for different purposes.
God gives Choice to the heathen as well as His called, the plague of the hail mixed with fire proves it. The Egyptians who feared the Lord could remove their cattle and servants from the field, but as we will see those who looked to Pharaoh as their god, left their cattle in the open, causing their cattle to die (Ex 9:1-3 & 9:6). These cattle provided milk and cheese, staples to the Egyptian diet. The cattle belonging to the children of Israel were spared from the plague, as the Division and Separation was still in place and becoming obvious (Ex 9:6). This example shows how God can operate with His called while they are yet in Egypt. This fits with Romans 8:28, where we read, “And we know all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are called according to His purpose”. When we were in the world, we were nonetheless Called according to God’s purpose, thus those whom God has predestinated, He also called; the purpose of the Predestination is for us to be Conformed (not created) into the Image of His Son (Rom 8:29-30). The Predestination is the Record, the Witness on earth is bringing the Record into our lives, thus It’s the Conforming process we call Justification, the Just still live by Faith (Heb 10:38-39).
Before the hail falls, the house of Pharaoh will suffer the plague of boils (Ex 9:9-12). The hail will come from heaven, but the boils from within the flesh. God exposes the evil within before He is forced to bring hail on our heads from above. The boils are a type and shadow of the tares the enemy planted while we were in the world. Those hurts, pains, ego based concepts, seeds of control, or unbelief must be removed from the inside out. It’s when we see them as unwanted boils we gain the incentive to be free of them, prior we assumed they were treasures, or talents.
God will warn Pharaoh through Moses, by saying, “for this cause have I raised you up, for to show in you My power; and My Name may be declared throughout all the earth” (Ex 9:16 & Rom 9:17). We reviewed this prior, seeing Pharaoh was a sign of God’s Power as a vessel of dishonor, but here we find the man was told, thus he rejected the warning. This man who considered himself the god of gods is told he was nothing, God raised him to show God’s power over the Pharaoh’s of the world. For most of us considering the evidence we would fall on our face, begging for mercy, but not Pharaoh, his pride enforced his stiff neck rebellion, causing him to refuse to submit.
The flies, lice and frogs were all signs of things to come, disease is purposed to remain in the world (Rev 6:8-9). Having a few boils in our time really doesn’t seem like such a “big deal”, but to Pharaoh’s house this was something unheard of. The combination of the boils with the hail would cause Pharaoh to say, “I have sinned this time”; which means he didn’t think he had sinned prior (Ex 9:27). This is another example of self-repentance, the pride of Pharaoh refused to bow to God. Although Pharaoh knew the combination of boils and hail proved his people were wicked, while also proving the Lord is righteous (Ex 9:27), yet Pharaoh still failed to bring the “fruit of repentance” (Ex 9:28-29). Pharaoh only admitted his sin to stop the plague, not to turn from his wicked nature.
Both Judas and Peter repented, the difference between the two is great. Judas was remorseful because the event didn’t turn out the way he wanted, Peter was deeply remorseful because he failed the Lord. Judas wanted to use the Lord to get what he wanted, Peter wanted to protect the Lord, but was unaware of his weakness. As far as Peter was concerned he had no weakness, but when his weakness was exposed, he discovered he was not who he thought he was, yet after the discovery he almost went the other way, by giving up. Judas set out to accomplish something, and did, except it didn’t turn out the way he wanted. Peter on the other hand set out to do something, and couldn’t, because he was weak. Most of our wilderness experiences are to destroy over confidence, or in some cases to gain Godly confidence. Pharaoh is a classic example of someone who will not admit their weakness, rather they are delusional about their strength. The Pharaoh mindset will admit failure, but only to gain an upper hand. They are deceptive, cunning and manipulative; when Pharaoh voiced his sin, he assumed he would be free of any further plagues, yet he sinned the more (Ex 9:34-35). Pharaoh’s self-repentance shows us the danger in simply mouthing the words to avoid the danger of the moment, while never making the decision to turn from the source of the sin. This example goes all the back to the fall, we are drawn away by our own lust, yet saying, “it was the serpent” isn’t going to remove the lust, it will enforce it. We must face it, admit it, allow the New Man to bring up the root, then we can rejoice in the freedom.
God sends Moses to bring the locusts, we also find the connection between the hand and rod as the difference between being in the hand of God, and having Him bring the rod of correction. Moses is told to stretch out his hand, but Moses stretched forth the rod (Ex 10:12-13). It’s not the hand or the rod, but to whom they are connected, and to whom they are pointed makes the difference. When we humble ourselves under God’s hand we won’t face the Rod of Correction in His hand. Before the locusts devour the land, God will send Moses and Aaron again to Pharaoh asking, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me” (Ex 10:1-3). At the time Pharaoh is told the locusts will appear the next day (Ex 10:4), the servants of Pharaoh begin to see the handwriting, as they tell Pharaoh to let the people go, but Pharaoh’s heart is hardened the more (Ex 10:7). The next day the locusts came devouring the land; locusts are a symbol of religious pride, or religious conceit, Pharaoh had a religion, with him as his own god (Ex 10:8-15). John the Baptist came eating Locusts, does it mean he kept getting those little legs stuck in his teeth? Or does it mean he came to expose religiously conceit? He also came eating Honey (a metaphor for prophecy), thus John the Baptist was known as a Prophet. Pharaoh rejected the words of the prophet losing the prophet’s reward. The Pharisees rejected John’s words, but knew the people considered John a prophet (Mark 11:32). When the righteous person or the prophet tells us to repent, we better listen or we will miss the reward.
The locusts devoured everything the hail missed, there wasn’t one green thing left, again Pharaoh tells Moses, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you” (Ex 10:15-16). Pharaoh is still rejecting the truth of the Lord being God over all, as he assumes Moses has control over God. Simply admitting there is One God is not enough, we must reject the old gods of Egypt as well, then receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Here Pharaoh says “your God”, thus he refuses to receive God. Pharaoh’s repentance is based in his displeasure of the events, yet he admitted sin, but admitting sin is not all repentance calls for, one must humble their self, then set themselves against the cause of sin, as they continue to repent toward the Kingdom before their repentance has fruit.
The next plague is the darkness for three days, but in this we find a mystery. The darkness could be Felt, yet the children of Israel had Light (Ex 10:21-23). This darkness was sin causing a blindness to the eyes on Egypt. The phrase, “dwellings of the children of Israel” is a metaphor for their bodies; therefore, this isn’t a great Egyptian power shortage, this is the result of the darkness in the world, the blindness keeping man from seeing the Light. The Fall produced death, the Law of Moses defines sin, the plagues introduced sickness, disease and darkness, thus the Law of Moses defined the law of sin and death, since it defined sin, it then applied death to the violation. The Law of the Spirit incorporates Life (Body of Christ or Living Soul) with Life More Abundantly (Blood, and Quickening Spirit) to avoid the second death.
One could do the entire Law of Moses, live a good life on earth, yet still face death; therefore, Jesus told the Pharisees they would die in their sins. Jesus wasn’t belittling the Pharisees, He was making a statement of fact. The Light and Life of Jesus changed many things, from the Light would come Truth, Life, Love, Faith and Mercy, from the Life would come Grace and the Spirit, plus many other things. When we accepted the Cross our old existence ended, behold all things became New. When we were Born Again we gained the ability to become a Newness in Christ. We are the children of Day, the Greater Light; darkness is eradicated by the Light. John said, Jesus is the Light, yet the Light came among His own, but they received Him not, yet as many as did receive Him, He gave them the Power to become sons of God (Jn 1:9-12). Power? What Power? We are Born Again from Power on High, the same Power which started on the Day of Pentecost.
The three days also gives us some outstanding metaphoric content, Jesus took on the sins of times past, times present and times future, it’s also a symbol of the three days Jesus was in the grave when He descended to take captivity captive, when He obtained the keys of death and hell, thus making the devil ineffective (Heb 2:14, Ps 22 & Ex 10:21-26).
Pharaoh again gives in a little by telling Moses, go and sacrifice, but he still wants Moses to leave the flocks, but if they leave the flocks, what would they sacrifice? (Ex 10:24). When Moses says, “No”, Pharaoh says, “Get you from me, take heed to yourself, see my face no more; for in the day when you see my face you shall die” (Ex 10:28). Pharaoh assumes “I made an offer, it was rejected”, but he sealed his own doom, now Moses knows the time of deliverance is at hand (Ex 10:29). The last plague is the death to the firstborn male of all the house of Pharaoh, based on this plague God will ask Israel to consecrate the firstborn male unto Him (Ex 11:6 & 13:1-2). God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but what must be, must be. The sign is the greatest display of power over the house of Pharaoh, simply because Pharaoh considered himself a god over Egypt, meaning his firstborn was to continue the reign as another god.
The First cup of the Passover will be handed to Moses, as God places a difference between the Egyptians and Israel (Ex 11:7). We also know they took Passover before they left Egypt, thus to these people it was not a “farewell dinner”, but an acknowledgment of God’s power and protection. The Last Passover was taken before Jesus was crucified, the meal ended Passover for the Christian, but opened Communion for those who receive the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. Passover was not taken in order to communicate with God, it was taken as a sign of protection from the death passing over. Our Communion is to Remember what Jesus did in defeating death, by granting us Life.
Up to this time the Hebrews didn’t have feast days, thus Moses will be given a type of a New Beginning. This Beginning will be in addition to the Covenant with Abraham, rather than New in and of itself. This type of newness is different than the Newness of the New Birth, or the New Covenant, thus the New Covenant is not an extension of the Old, it’s completely New.
The Ten Commandments were not an extension of the Abrahamic Covenant, they were the beginning of the Covenant made with Moses. Therefore, circumcision was not included in the Ten Commandments, but the sabbath day was, indicating the division between the Ten Commandments and the Abrahamic Covenant. However, the sabbath day became the token for the Law of Moses, making the connection between the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. Therefore, Abraham was never required to keep the sabbath, since he was not subject to the Law of Moses. If someone in the Body wants to keep the day, fine, they keep it between them and the Lord, but don’t expect special treatment from God for keeping it. If one keeps the day assuming they are special above the rest of the Body, they error, just as not keeping the day doesn’t make them any holier, they too are to keep it between them and the Lord. Keeping the day in and of itself means little, why one keeps it means much. If the person keeps the day, or not they are not to make it doctrine, nor are they to expect special treatment, above all they never make others keep the day as a requirement (Rom 14:6).
There were some things incorporated into the Law, the tithe of Jacob was one, not the tithes of Abraham. The paradox regarding the Law of Moses and the Abrahamic Covenant is based on the national connection, thus in order to be “of Abraham” one had to be circumcised of the flesh, in order to be associated with the Nation Israel, one had to accept the Law of Moses; thereby connecting the two Covenants. How about the Covenant of Noah? It was world wide, rather than directed to a single nation, it was also before Abram was separated to be Abraham.
For us under the New we have different tokens, water baptism is one, the Seal of the Holy Spirit another included with the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, along with the Body and Blood of Jesus. Jesus never told us to keep the Law of Moses, but He did say, “This Cup is the New Testament (Covenant) in My Blood” (Luke 22:20). The Blood of Jesus is the New Testament, the Body is the place between places. We are of the Body on earth, but the purposed Bride in heaven. We are not of the Old, but the Old does hold clues and knowledge for our understanding of the New. Knowing the Old, and doing it are far different.
God now begins a new work with the children, a New Work is not something God just thought up, it’s something in the heavenly blueprint from the beginning. This opens the concept of Progression, thus the Plan was unfolding. Although God rested from the works of Judgment, the works for Redemption were still unfolding. For these people it was a New Law with a priesthood defined in the order for them. It would also be the beginning of their calendar, their first month would be marked by the Passover. Today we use a calendar with the term “AD” a Latin reference standing for “The Year Of Our Lord”, denoting our New Season as the Godly separation from the Days before the Birth of Jesus (BC – Before Christ). Adam’s fall marked the beginning of Time for human beings, which means the time when man began to age. The First coming of Jesus marks another beginning of Time for the sons of men to walk in the Mercy of God, then the Resurrection of Jesus becomes an addition to the time marking the ability to complete the prophecy, “Let us make man in our image”.
Israel still keeps the Moses calendar, but the Gentile world keeps the AD calendar. What importance does this have? Some Gentile says they don’t believe in Jesus, yet whenever they write the year they are saying, “In the Year of our Lord”. When they tell us the year of their birth, they are recognizing the Year of our Lord. Whenever they make plans or use the number of a year, they are using the Year of our Lord. Whether they admit it or not, or whether they like it or not doesn’t matter, they are still dependent on our Lord for their timing. Of course the Jew still uses their colander, going back to Adam.
This will mark the end of the Season of Sin and Death from Adam to Moses, by opening the Season of the Law of Moses defining Sin and Death until Christ came to open the kingdom of heaven to bring us Life. The time will change in respect to the definition of sin and death, not in respect to sin causing death, rather the Law of Moses defines sin as well as the consequence of sin, it doesn’t do away with it. However, in order for the children to enter this New step, they must leave Egypt behind. If they fail to leave Egypt behind, the mindset of Egypt will not only hinder them, it will destroy them. The Law of Moses is a blessing considering the alternative, but nonetheless it came based on the unbelief of the children; whereas, the Law of the Spirit came based on the Faith of Jesus. For this reason Jesus is our Passover, making us Free from the second death.
They were still in Egypt when God gave them the beginning of months, their calendar began with the first month of the beginning of months. It is interesting the beginning of months came after the plagues, not before (Ex 12:1-2). The first feast will be the Passover, the sign of deliverance, again Jesus is our Passover, but the Power (Dunamis) of Deliverance is found in the Spirit through our personal Pentecost experience (I Cor 5:7 & Acts 1:7-8).
The time began the first day of the first month, but the Passover will be 14 days later, they will not leave until the next day, or the 15th day of the first month. However, we can’t forget these dates didn’t come until after the plagues, thus we can’t presume the plagues only lasted a few days. As noted, the Scriptures lay out the time element for the various plagues, in so doing the time element tells us God is equal.
Some of the symbols of the Passover meal were to remember their bondage: when Jesus opened Communion He said it was for Remembrance. These people had to remember their bondage, as well as what bondage felt like. For the future generations it was still to remember how the Lord delivered their forefathers by the hand of God, not the will power of man (Ex 12:3-27). In our case it’s to remember how the Lord placed us in the Body as He sees fit, what we have done, or have not done in reference to the Body, then to remember His Blood is the New Covenant, the place of Newness in Spiritual Liberty.
The meal was not a means to enter some self-pity for the bondage, but to recall what it felt like to be in bondage. It wasn’t just keeping Passover but the blood of the Passover itself keeping the Destroyer away (Ex 12:27). The Destroyer still moved among the Egyptians, but honored the blood of the slain lamb. When we get to the wilderness we will see how the Lord kept telling the children to remember how the Lord delivered them. To the carnal mind it sounds as if God is seeking some pride in the effort, but it’s not the case at all, rather it was to bring the children’s remembrance regarding the ability of God, thus building their belief in the face of the wilderness experiences. God was still delivering them in the wilderness, but instead of delivering them from Pharaoh, He was delivering them from their old mentality. The same is true with us, we must remember our wildernesses are delivering us, thus we Remember what Jesus did for us, not what we did for Jesus.
The Passover holds many types and shadows, the sign of the Trinity, and the Cross are two. God’s instructions went beyond the time, becoming signs for us. The children placed the blood on the upper door post and both sides; thereby making the ground below holy (Ex 12:7). Jesus said, He is the Door, no man enters, except he be lead by the Porter (the Holy Ghost – Jn 10:1-5). Thomas knew there were Nails, not simply a Nail in the hands of Jesus. If the Cross was one piece of wood, as some contend, then God, Who knows all things before they were things, would have made sure the blood on the door during this Passover would have been only on the top of the door. Surely He would have stopped the placement on the sides, but He didn’t. Not only did He allow it, He commanded the placement of the blood in the shape of a Cross with a crosspiece. The placement was important, if Jesus is “the Door”, as well as our “Passover”, then this door is a symbol of the Cross.
History gives us many shapes of the various crosses used by the Romans, but the same History shows the uses of the crosses. There was a reason for the “T” shaped design, as compared to the upright stake. There were also crosses upside down, and some shaped like a “X”, each type was used for different reasons. The single stake was placed outside of a village or town with the malefactor on it, with a sign stating the violation. The warning was for those who entered the village or town, but death on the single stake was very slow. Rather than a sign saying “no speeding”, they hung a speeder on a stake, it would take days for them to die, making the impression on the would be violator.
The “T” shaped design brought a quicker death, but a much more painful one as the Scriptures describe, it was used for political malefactors. Jesus was accused of being the King of the Jews, a political crime, not a crime of passion, or a crime against society. On the T shaped Cross the person’s hands were not palm out, but palm in (against the wooden cross piece). The nail was more like a railroad spike, it was driven through the back of the wrist (called the carpus, or into the carpals), the only place able to hold the weight of the body. There are eight bones in this area forming the wrist, this is interesting, considering the number eight is the number of new beginnings, thus Jesus granted us a New Beginning. When the person’s legs could no longer hold the person up, or if they were broken, the shoulders would dislocate causing the bones would slam against the wind pipe, thus choking the person to death. This death was prophetically foretold in Psalm 22, long before the Cross was in actual use. If the Cross was a single stake, there would be no reason to break the person’s legs, thus by telling us the two malefactors had their legs broken, and the Roman guard was going to break the legs of Jesus, we are being told the Cross was T shaped. Moses’ Passover had a lamb leg which was broken off, but not one bone of Jesus was broken. The Body of Jesus will be broken, but His physical Body of flesh had no broken bones, there is no division of His Body until the time appointed. What about all the divisions in the Body now? They are still in the Body, they can say, “we are not of the Body”, or even say, “They are not of the Body”, but it doesn’t make it so. If they were water baptized in the Name of Jesus, they are in the Body, whether we like it or not.
God knew the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, all these events point to the moment. Why would some tend to change the shape of the Cross to begin with? Perhaps they think by having some special revelation outside the Bible they can feel special, or hold some area where they think they are the only ones with the Truth, or simply the spirit of man forming another fable. The lust of wanting to be the special over the special is the motivation of cult systems, as well as the drive of the Whacko. They have to have the one Revelation placing them in their minds over the rest of the Body, or some Act separating them from the rest of the Body, making them greater than the total. It’s pride, ego and arrogance; the motivation is envy, coming from the spirit lusting to envy, thus it always involves fables, self-righteousness, or pride. Detection and Clarity keeps us from attempting to begin a “New Body of Christ”, rather we know the Body will be broken, our goal is be among the Wheat.
Once the death passed over, then the children could go out. Jesus said, once we Know His voice, we will not know the voice of the Stranger, neither will we follow it (Jn 10:4-5). Death Passed Over the people, but we pass from death to life. We accept the Body of Jesus to obtain Mercy and forgiveness of sins, but the Blood of Jesus covers the Door, bringing us Grace with the remission of sin, as well as the spiritual character and nature of Christ. John makes entry into heaven by the Spirit taking him through the Door, Jesus told us to look for the Time of Doors. The symbol of death passing over is just the opposite for us, we are above the second death, rather than having it pass over our heads. It’s still appointed unto all men once to die, then comes the Judgment, it’s the second death we avoid (Rev 20:6).
The actual number of people who left Egypt is up for grabs, but we do find some very interesting information. In Exodus 12:37 we read, “about six hundred thousand on foot were the men, beside the children”. Generally speaking the women and children were not counted, thus when we read the genelogy of Mary we find the records used the names of the men. Strangely enough we also find the Holy Ghost did use the names of women in both the genelogy listings in Matthew and Luke. The insertion of the women by the Holy Ghost opened the door to “there is neither male or female in Christ”.
The Book of Numbers gives us some additional information on this group leaving Egypt. When we get to Numbers we will find the number of men after one year in the Wilderness was 603,550, one could figure most were married, plus adding the children, but two million is on the high side. Nonetheless we find the number here is confirmed for us, then recorded in the Book of Numbers to remove any confusion. Really two million isn’t many in the overall picture, we found there were more Hebrews than Egyptians. There are cities in the world with many more people, in a much smaller area.
The method of the Jewish day is from sunset to sunset, not midnight to midnight, thus when Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples at night, then went to the Cross the next morning it was still one Jewish day, not two. Moses and the children will keep the Passover on one day, leave on the next. The day they leave will later become the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but that is later (Ex 12:31-41).
Each Season has a position and condition, where one stands, determines their right standing in the Season. The Law gives one standing by self-righteousness, the Law of the Spirit gives standing by God’s Righteousness. The Law of the Spirit makes us the Firstfruits of the Spirit, yet our Season has Times and Timings. The feast days were not for Moses, although Moses will write about them. John’s account shows the feast days are appointed to be signs regarding Jesus. To Moses the first Passover was by faith, but all Passovers after the first one related to an event in the past, but to the Father it pointed to the Son on the Cross which was future at this time. The very day Jesus goes to the Cross was a Passover day, not by chance, but determined before the foundation of the world. The Passover began in Egypt, was recorded and kept in the wilderness, then kept well beyond by many generations, yet it still points to Jesus as our Passover.
The Testimony of Jesus speaks Of Jesus, the Testimony of Jesus is found in the Law, Prophets and Psalms as the Shadow of things to come; the history of the Jews testifies for or against the children of God, regardless of the season (Jn 5:39-41 & Luke 24:44). The Law Of Moses actually shows mankind can’t make it without the Cross, but once we receive the Cross, Body and Blood of Jesus, we are able to confess Jesus as He confessed the Father. The Law of Moses is the Body Of Moses, the Prophets were seen as the Body Of Elijah, these Two Witnesses stood by the Lord of the whole earth, but the Father said, “Hear ye Him” (Matt 17:1-6 & Zech 4:14). We can’t discern the Body of Christ, while holding the Body of Moses, it’s one too many bodies.
The Passover itself is not a Sabbath day, since it takes labor to kill the lamb. The day after became the high sabbath day, beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The weekly sabbath is according to the Commandment; however, the Ten Commandments made no provision for Feast Days, yet the Law does. The Weekly sabbath always fell on a Saturday regardless of the date, the Feast Days always fell on a date, regardless of the day. This is vital when we look at the week of the Cross, as we see the various days as they are given in the Gospel.
The Passover meal today is somewhat different from the one Moses kept, or from the one Jesus and the disciples kept, but it nonetheless holds the knowledge of God. Moses had one cup, the cup of deliverance, when Jesus held Passover His table had four cups, the cup of deliverance, the cup of separation, which Luke talks about, then the Elijah Cup, which Jesus took, saying it held His Blood of the New Covenant, then the fourth cup of God’s wrath which Jesus took in the Garden, later in the Book of Revelation at the very end it’s seen being poured out. The wine in the cup was mixed with water, Paul told Timothy to take a “little wine” for his stomach sake, and his often infirmities (I Tim 5:23). The word for wine in the reference means water mixed with wine, the word for stomach means the gullet, or the area producing wind to make sounds through the voice box. Adding how the verse joins with “lay hands suddenly on no man” gives us a clue to the reference. Timothy was a troubled pastor who lay hands on some whom he felt had the ability to teach, but all they taught was doing the Law. Timothy left it easier to run, then to stay and correct the problem. Therefore, we find Paul telling him why we don’t lay hands suddenly on someone to ordain them into helps or eldership, rather it’s better to consider both Mercy and Grace as we look for the signs of the calling, as the Apostles did (Acts 6:3). Of course this was in reference to deacons, bishops and elders, not the Offices of the Lord. The Offices are appointed by the Holy Ghost on behalf of Jesus (Acts 13:1-3 & Eph 4:10-11). Leadership then confirms, they don’t appoint.
The warning to Timothy was “lay hands suddenly on no one”, it was not “watch out who lays hands on you”, thus Paul told Timothy we have not been given the spirit of fear, the phrase, “watch out who lays hands on you” is based in fear, making it the complete opposite of the teaching. If we are above all things, then we are above them, we tread on serpents and scorpions and “over the power of the enemy: and nothing shall be any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). It’s far better to watch who we lay hands on, rather than twist the verse introducing fear.
The Passover lamb was not by mistake either, the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world. This Passover for Moses should have been a sign to the religious rulers during the earthly ministry. However, envy blinds one to the truth. The lamb bone is still used in the meal, not the same bone, but a broken bone from a lamb, showing a sacrifice given, then the bitter herbs relating to the bondage. Remembering bondage can produce one of two attitudes, one is never to keep others in bondage, knowing we were once in bondage, the other is the demonic one, keeping others in bondage because we were in bondage. The bitter herbs were to remind the children what it was like in Egypt, thus they were never to hold anyone in bondage. For us the Cross reminds us we were of the world trapped in darkness, yet God forgave us, thus we refuse to impute sins on people (II Cor 5:19-20).
The bread was called Matzo bread, a thin bread with holes poked through it, which was also striped so it would bake fast. There are two types of Matzo, one is more “holy” than the other. In either case the time element from the water touching the flour until the bread is baked could be no longer than 7 minutes. The ordinary Matzo was watched by the Rabbi during the cooking stage, the other Matzo was watched by Rabbis from the growth in the field, until it was baked. We are the Bread (I Cor 10:17), we were watched by the Holy Ghost as we were being prepared to become members of the Body of Christ. However, on the Cross we see the Body of Jesus, holes in His wrists by the nails, holes in His scalp from the thorns, His body carrying the stripes, by which we are healed, thus the Body of Jesus is the true and living Matzo. Jesus said He was not the Manna, but He said He was the bread (Jn 6:48-59).
The Cross is the ultimate self-less act of all time, the Son of man had full authority to say “no” at any point in time, yet He stood, endured, as His faith reached beyond the pain to the joy of seeing us come to the saving knowledge of the Gospel. Moses on the other hand was looking for protection from death, while seeking to be released from Egypt. Wanting to leave, and being able to, are different. The same was true for us, we might have the desire to leave the world, but how? If there is no route of escape, how can we? The Cross is the Door, behold Jesus stands at the Door and knocks, if any man answer, He will come in and Sup with them (Rev 3:20). Yet there is the Door of David no man can open (Rev 3:7). Oh, it’s the Time of Doors, not the Time of Door (Matt 24:33).
The symbols in the modern Passover meal point to the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, thereby promoting the Faith of Jesus, although the Jew holding the meal hasn’t a clue to the significance. Since the elements changed, does it mean Tradition took over? Don’t forget there is a Godly Tradition as well, in this case it shows the progression to the Body of Jesus until the Door is closed to open the Night.
Each cup is representative of something, the First Cup is the cup represents God desiring to be with His people, it was taken in Egypt by Moses. The Cup of Separation is seen in Luke, it’s taken before the bread (Luke 22:17-19), for us the Cup is our water baptism, our token of separation. Leaving the bitter herbs, egg and such, which we do not partake of. The only two elements for us are the bread and wine as the third cup, thus Communion for us is something we do after we enter the kingdom, which leaves the Jewish Passover in the principality of the Law of Moses. We also have many baptisms in the Doctrine of Baptisms, but they are One in position and purpose. Water baptism identifies us with the death and resurrection of Jesus, it doesn’t produce it. The baptism with the Holy Ghost grants us the Gift (Spirit – Acts 2:4, 10:45, 11:15-16, 15:8 et al). We do water baptisms as part of our duties as members of the Body, Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Ghost and Fire. There is also the baptism of service, it also has a cup (Matt 20:22). According to Paul the children were “baptized unto Moses” (I Cor 10:2). So did Moses do “sand baptism”? No, it’s the same context as the “Baptism of John”, as an identification to the process. John’s baptism was in his name, by an authority granted him. John’s baptism stopped when John was imprisoned, it became ineffective at the Cross (Acts 19:1-6). The noun for Baptism refers to be immersed, but immersed in what? The water or the purpose? One can swim the channel being immersed with water for days, does it mean they are baptized? No, one has to immerse their self in the purpose of their baptism. Being immersed in water is a sign, or token, as a type of signature as we give our vow. The water didn’t save us God did, the water doesn’t clean us inwardly, since we didn’t drink it. The verb for baptism means to Identify with, the children identified with Moses through the Law of Moses, they did not identify the Body, or Christ, or the Rock, they saw the water come from the Rock, but they were not the Rock.
It is said water baptism and communion are ordinances, things we should do, but no commandment telling us to. It is partly correct, if we are the candidate it is our freewill offering, but if we are the ones doing the baptizing we are under Commandment (Matt 28:19-20). During the Communion Jesus never said, “If you desire take thereof”, He said, “take, eat”, then “drink all of it”, which would be Commandment by definition, or something wherein there is no choice, we are required to do it. Although we also find in Communion we do have the choice not to take it, thus we do find the choice is ours, but in not taking we admit we are unworthy, which means we really don’t think the Body and Blood are important. The “unworthy” state is not having a sin, rather it means we really don’t see the importance of remembering what Jesus did.
We have two elements in Communion after our entry and position to partake of, we take the Bread (Luke 22:19), representing the Body. Paul said we are the Bread (I Cor 10:17), yet the Bread is not the New Covenant, Jesus said His Blood was (Matt 26:28 & Mark 14:24). When we take of the Cup it’s the Third Cup, or Elijah Cup, indicating our association with Christ as the purpose (Luke 22:20). The same cup was also termed the Messiah Cup as it held the represented Blood of Christ as the New Covenant. So, why don’t we still take the Second Cup? The disciples took it before Pentecost, but it was the Passover meal, the change took place to Communion, meaning we have One Cup for the Believer, representing the Mercy (Water) of the Father, and the Blood (Wine) of Jesus. Jesus came by both Water and Blood, Water for the Mercy, Blood for the New Covenant. The Living Waters come from the Spirit in us, showing words of mercy empowered by Grace (Jn 7:38-39). The washing of the Water by the Word, shows the Word using Mercy to wash us with, the Water is not the Word, but “by the Word” the water is applied (Eph 5:26).
How about the Fourth Cup? “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God” (Rev 14:10), but how do we know this is the Cup Jesus took in the Garden? The Name Gethsemane means Winepress, or a Place of pressure to extract the oil, it’s more of a condition than a location. In the Book of Revelation we read, “and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great Winepress of the wrath of God” (Rev 14:19 & Jere 25:15-17). The fourth cup came after we received the Third Cup of Remission, thus we are spared the wrath of God to come (I Thess 1:10). For Moses it was one cup, the cup taken in Egypt for deliverance, for us it’s based on being delivered, while being spared the fourth cup of God’s wrath. The Third Cup is for the children of the Day, the Fourth for the Night.
The “death of the firstborn” is not to be confused with the phrase “dead in Christ”, the “dead in Christ” are defined by Paul to include those who can confess “I am crucified with Christ” which denotes a death, but adding “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who Loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20). This connects to, “confessing Jesus is come in the flesh” (I Jn 4:1-4), by Grace (Gal 2:21). Those who “sleep in Jesus” are a different group, they sleep through the Night, or better “soul sleep”, but the Dead in Christ are hardly asleep, they cry out to the Lord from under the Altar of God. Those who soul sleep are among the “rest of the dead” who live not again until after Jacob’s Trouble, but the dead in Christ are those who are Partakers of the First Resurrection (Rev 20:5-6). Those who are “Dead in Christ” will not rob those who “Sleep in Jesus” of their reward. The difference? There are those who do the Law of faith without knowing it, they walk in Mercy, but for one reason or another, not their fault they have not received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, they cannot leave the planet, but they are stood up as their works of mercy are judged (Matt 25:31-46, I Thess 4:13, 4:5-7). In Romans Paul denotes two types in the Body, those who walk after the Spirit, and those who walk after the flesh (Rom 8:1). The Corinthians and Romans being examples of those who walk after the flesh. In First Thessalonians he denotes three groups, the Dead in Christ, those who Sleep in Jesus, and the Drunken who go into the Night (Rom 8:1-5 & I Thess 4:5-7). The goal is to be a child of the Day, let us not sleep as some, but awake, but whether we sleep or awake, we should live together with Jesus (I Thess 4:8-11). It doesn’t give us the right to reject the Spirit, it simply means there are some who walk in Mercy, yet are ignorant of the Gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:2).
The First Resurrection is of course the Resurrection of Jesus, the Rapture is not another resurrection, it completes the First Resurrection, thus the same Spirit who raised Jesus shall raise us. Paul knew he would make one Resurrection or the other (Ph’l 3:10-11); thus in Philippians Paul used two different words for Resurrection, one relating to the Resurrection of Jesus meaning a power from within, denoting the same Spirit who raised Jesus will raise the dead in Christ. The other word means a power from without, pointing to the resurrection unto life. His hope was to be a partaker of the First Resurrection, but if he was among those who sleep in Jesus, he knew his reward was waiting with Jesus (Ph’l 3:10-11, I Thess 4:13, 4:17 & 5:5-7). The Passover points to the Cross, but the Cross points to the Grave, the Grave to the Resurrection, the Resurrection secures us in Grace.
When Jesus was on the Cross He said, “Father forgive them”, He did not say, “My Blood forgives you”, or “I forgive you”, yet John says, “the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleans us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn 1:7), then adds, “all unrighteousness is sin” (I Jn 5:17). The Cross is the place where we obtain the Father’s Mercy, the Resurrection the place of the Son’s (Word) Grace. We must have both to be Equal, anyone who denies either the Father or the Son is antichrist (I Jn 3:22-23). Jesus is The Christ, but we are Christian, in order to be a Christian one must be crucified with Christ. The division shows the Bread and Cup, two things, much like the Rock and Church. Jesus didn’t dip the Bread into the Wine, or pour the Wine over the Bread, they were two separate items, yet joined. This is not against the Intinction (dipping the wafer into the wine), only showing how Jesus did it, and why. The Body is not the New Covenant, the Blood is, yet Jesus will build His Church from the Body, showing they are united, yet separated. The Intinction began because of using one cup, while not wanting fifty people or more to partake of the one cup.
The Passover Dinner for today’s Jew begins with the Betsa, a hard boiled egg roasted in an oven to commemorate the offering made by those who entered the Temple in Jerusalem; however, the symbol shows us the Seed of God forming our souls through the Fire of God’s affliction. It’s obvious this was added, since the Passover for Moses didn’t have the Tabernacle or the Temple, neither were they in Jerusalem.
Next they had the Maror or bitter vegetable, often horseradish, reminding them of the bitter life in Egypt; however, it shows us the bitterness when one falls from Grace. We are told to Look diligently lest any man fail of (fall from) Grace; lest any Root of Bitterness springing up trouble you, thereby many be defiled (Heb 12:15). We know, Without faith it’s impossible to please God; for he who comes to God must believe God is, then hold their faith in God being a Rewarder of those who Diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6).
Next is the Charoset, which is a thick paste of grated apples, with a little wine added to moisten it. To the Jew it represents the mortar the children used to make the bricks, to us it shows we must have the Fruit of the Spirit by the Blood of Jesus.
Next is the Karpas, or a green vegetable, which is eaten to represent the Talmud (collections of Jewish traditions), but to us it shows the Growth of the Seed of God as the Word of God engrafting to our souls, making the Two One. Again this has to be something added, since the Talmud was not in existence in the days of Moses.
The Jew uses Matzo Bread, which to us represents the Bread of Life, Who was pierced for us. The Haggada is a small book containing the entire service for the Passover; however, to us it points to the Little Book of Prophecy John was given, which made his mouth sweet, but his belly bitter (Rev 10:10).
During the Passover they wait for Elijah, but Moses wasn’t waiting for Elijah, he was waiting for the call to leave Egypt. Jesus said, Elijah came before the Cross; indicating the Elijah message came through John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Lord. We can’t wait for someone, if Jesus said the element has come. We are not told to wait for Elijah, we are told to follow Jesus. Elijah was a prophet, yet Jesus said there was no man greater than John the Baptist, which means John was greater than David, Moses, or Elijah, yet the least in the kingdom is greater than John (Matt 11:11). Why then do we want to follow after Elijah? Neither Elijah or John the Baptist were Born Again, or in the Body of Christ. Yet, the message came through John, thus it had to do with Preparation for the kingdom, not the Possession of it.
Wait, is there another message of Elijah? Yes, the message by God to the people, Come out of her My children, be not a partaker of her sins, which points to the Night and the Everlasting Gospel pertaining to Judgment, not Salvation (Rev 18:4 & 14:6). The first Elijah message shows it was spoken to prepare the way for Jesus for the Day. Elijah representing the prophets was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses who represented the Law, but Jesus was there as well, who did the Father tell us to listen to? Jesus; the Law and Prophets speak of Jesus, they don’t take His place.
The mystery is found in the meaning of the name of Elijah, which is; “My God is Jehovah”, yet Jehovah is broken down into “Jesus Saves”, and “Judgment”, which again points to Rightly Dividing the Word (Logos). To review, the wording “rightly dividing” in the phrase “rightly dividing the word” in II Timothy 2:15 (the only place the Greek appears) means to Stand up the Word then Cut it in half, without completing dividing it asunder. We can’t divide the Word from side to side, or at an angle, it would not Separate the Day from the Night. Rightly dividing simply means keep the things of the Day in the Day, and the things of the Night in the Night. We are children of the Day, we are not children of the Night; nor purposed for the Night (I Thess 5:5).
The Jew knows, “The Lord, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and the house of slavery”. This is more important to the Jew than, “I am the Lord who created the world” or “I Am He who forgives sins”. The Taanit B’chorim refers to the Firstborn Son with the Hebrew wording Taanit B’chorim meaning, The Fast Of The Firstborn. The day before the Passover the firstborn male will fast, this has two meanings to the Jew, the Firstborn sons of the Jews being spared during that night, next it’s to remember the firstborn of Egypt died the same night. To us we see the death here did come in the Night, thus the Passover relates to the Night, Communion to the Day.
Today the Sabbath preceding the Passover is called, Shabbat Ha-gadol or The Great Sabbath, to us this is Jesus, our Great Sabbath. To the Jew it means the defiance of the Hebrews as they sacrificed a Lamb in the face of the Egyptians. This is important to us, since the Lamb was sacrificed while the children were still in Egypt, Jesus was sacrificed outside of the Gate for us while we were still in the world. The importance indicates the Door provided from the Cross is the one wherein Jesus is on one side, we on the other, Jesus knocks, we open, then Jesus comes to us, then leads us through the Door by the Holy Ghost into the Kingdom.
Today, the Jews have two calendars, one is the sacred calendar, the other is the civil. The first month of the sacred is the seventh month of the civil, but the seventh month of the civil is the first month of the sacred. Why two? The bondage, and other factors in history caused one to be used to correlate with the dates and times of the world, yet the other is to preserve their history, both are based on the Jewish year, not the method used by the rest of the world (excluding the Oriental calendar) bringing up a point. The Jews use a year conducive to the time of Adam, according to their history, time begins with Adam, they can trace the years back to the first time “age” became a factor with Adam. We as Gentiles have a split system, BC and AD, with the BC meaning Before Christ, and the AD from Latin standing for “In the year of our Lord”.
Here in Exodus the first month is called Abib which means To March, as in “marching out of Egypt”, or as in “Marching to the Promised Land”, since the move entails a marching from, as well as a marching to (Ex 13:4). Today we call the first month Nisan, it was first noted as Nisan in Nehemiah 2:1. The first month of the civil calendar (which came much later), as the seventh month of the sacred is called Tishri meaning Grain, which is another definition for Abib. The Passover is kept each year on the same date in the month of Abib, during their Generation, which will last until they look upon Him they have pierced. If one rejects the Law of the Spirit, they are under the Law of Moses, if they reject the Law of Moses, they are subject to the Season which ran from Adam to Moses. Paul told the Corinthians to pray their works get them through the fire, but he also called them carnal, get the hint? If we are carnal our works will be judged, if we are spiritual we cease from our works, as we judge ourselves at the Table of the Lord. The table of the Lord is just for those in the Body of Christ, we have much to remember, if we consider all the Lord has done, it becomes our foundation for belief, often a humbling experience. The Body is the place of separation from the world, the safe place where the anointing protects us, but the Blood is the New Testament, the place where our souls are becoming spiritual in nature.
Following are the Jewish months, as they appear in both calendars:
NAME OF MONTH: TISHRI
CORRESPONDS WITH: Sept-Oct
# OF DAYS: 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 1st
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 7th
NAME OF MONTH: HESHVAN
CORRESPONDS WITH: Oct-Nov
# OF DAYS: 29 or 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 2nd
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 8th
NAME OF MONTH: CHISLEV
CORRESPONDS WITH: Nov-Dec
# OF DAYS: 29 or 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 3rd
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 9th
NAME OF MONTH: TEBETH
CORRESPONDS WITH: Dec-Jan
# OF DAYS: 29
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 4th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 10th
NAME OF MONTH: SHEBAT
CORRESPONDS WITH: Jan-Feb
# OF DAYS: 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 5th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 11th
NAME OF MONTH: ADAR
CORRESPONDS WITH: Feb-Mar
# OF DAYS:29 or 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 6th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 12th
NAME OF MONTH: NISAN
CORRESPONDS WITH: Mar-Apr
# OF DAYS: 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 7th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 1st
NAME OF MONTH: IYAR
CORRESPONDS WITH: Apr-May
# OF DAYS: 29
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 8th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 2nd
NAME OF MONTH: SIVAN
CORRESPONDS WITH: May-June
# OF DAYS: 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 9th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 3rd
NAME OF MONTH: TAMMUZ
CORRESPONDS WITH: June-July
# OF DAYS: 29
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 10th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 4th
NAME OF MONTH: AB
CORRESPONDS WITH: July-Aug
# OF DAYS: 30
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 11th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 5th
*NAME OF MONTH: ELUL
CORRESPONDS WITH: Aug-Sept
# OF DAYS: 29
MONTH OF CIVIL YEAR: 12th
MONTH OF SACRED YEAR: 6th
Since their year, shorter than the AD year, has 354 days, thus about every three years (seven times in 19 years) they add an extra 29-day-month known as VEADAR, between ADAR and NISAN.
When the children left Egypt, they went by the way of the Red Sea. After they took their first step the Lord brought the pillar of fire and the cloud, not before (Ex 13:19-22). Up to this time the children didn’t have to do a thing but follow Moses. This is a symbol to us, until the Blade comes forth, we do nothing more than put our hearts on learning of Jesus. What symbol is the Red Sea to us? Our water baptism, the Token of our commitment to leave Egypt behind, as we go where the Lord would have us go, in order for us to find the Path to Follow Jesus by the Spirit. If the Faith of Jesus blazed the path, what is it going to take to “follow” it? Faith, but without the New Man we lack “guidance”, the New Man is fully able to apply our measure of faith allowing us to follow Jesus.
Then comes the time when we are taken into the Wilderness by the Spirit (Matt 4:1). Into the wilderness? Are you crazy? No, God still does some of His greatest works in the wilderness. Jesus was taken into the Wilderness by the Spirit to defeat the devil, we’re taken into the Wilderness by the Spirit to defeat the works of the devil.
We use the term “Red Sea” simply because the map makers did, as did the Bible to give us a reference. The Hebrew word for Red is Cuwph (Soof) meaning Flags, Red, or Weeds, it was used by many Jewish and Early church scribes to mean “of the sea from the straits to the Gulf of Akaba”, yet they also agree the origin of the word is a mystery. The word Sea is the Hebrew Yam also translated as South, Westward, Nile, it was assigned to a place in the Temple Court, which is also know as the Court of the Gentiles; giving us the metaphor Sea for the Gentiles.
The scholar Gesenius, with others take exception to the modern interpretation of the Hebrew wording, noting terms like “Rush Sea” or “Reed Sea” all seem to be Jewish interpretations coming from the German, or Latin Scripus Sirpus, rather than the Egyptian or early Jewish thinking. The Red Sea was known by many various names in the past, such as the “the weedy sea” (Ps 106:7, 9, & 136:13). There is also Jablonski Opuscc and the Michaelis Supplement indicating the place was known by the Egyptians as the “Sea of Weed”, later as the “Rush Growing Out Of The Nile”; therefore, there are many names attributed to the body of water, we use Red Sea for simple identification. Someone could get legalistic regarding the name, forgetting what happened. The children crossed by faith, Pharaoh and his men died attempting to cross.
There are at least two views on the Crossing, one has been confirmed, the other has not. One view presumes the children crossed at a place called The Reeds, where the water was about three inches deep. The presumption is the Sea didn’t divide, rather the children tiptoed across three inches of water; however, it also produced a premise showing a miracle. If the water was only three inches deep, how did Pharaoh and his men drown? What caused the wheels to fall of Pharaoh’s chariots? Flat sharks?
The established view pointed to a place where the water was deep, an area near one of the branches of the Red Sea. Of late a French satellite has discovered a path, yes these satellites can detect places where large groups of people marched several hundred years ago. This satellite showed a route more conducive to the Bible account, at the point of crossing they also discovered an earthen bridge about thirty to fifty feet under the water, thus the water could part, exposing the bridge, causing Pharaoh to assume it was a natural crossing. The Red Sea is still a very dangerous place to navigate, it has many reefs causing ships to run aground.
Since the crossing is a point of controversy we could run all around attempting to prove they passed at this point or another, missing the point of their crossing. We know some other information we will get to shortly helping narrow the search, but there will be someone who thinks they either flew over the water, swam under it, or tiptoed through it. Oh well, the point remains faith was able to get them to the other side.
Being spared the plagues gave the children a sign of God’s protection, but now they are asked to believe in the protection in the face of death. There comes a time to believe in what we say we believe. God proved His love for them, all wilderness are for us to prove our love for God.
The Lord had the children camp in the area of Pihahiroth, Migdol and Baalzephon (Ex 14:1-2). This was not by chance, nor was it because God was tired, or didn’t want to travel any further. The name Pihahiroth means The Mouth Of The Gorge, the name Migdol means The Tower, the name Baalzephon means Baal The Destroyer, we get the word Typhoon from part of this word. Typhoon also means the Destroyer; therefore, this place will be the difference between the pit (gorges), the Tower of God, and the destroyer, thus it will become the place of division for a decision, three points, run, stand, or hide. Pharaoh will have his decision at this place, as will Moses and the children.
We made our decision as we Passed by the Cross, the destroyer could not follow, since he was made ineffective. Yet, he still tosses darts at us, but God has given us His armor to protect us. On the other hand it becomes obvious, if the devil is ineffective, then our problems seem to be the golden calves we keep making. When the children cross the Red Sea, Pharaoh as a sign representing the devil will no longer be their problem, the works of the devil in their hearts will be their problem. The events and circumstances won’t be problems, their approach to the events through their unbelief will be the problem.
Pharaoh knew his free labor force was about to leave Egypt, meaning his people would now have to become the labor. When the children were encamped, they were preparing to leave Egypt, the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart decided “if I can’t have them, neither can God”, he set his heart on killing the children (Ex 14:5). He was still under the false impression the people were his (jealousy), when God said they were His. Jealousy is the fear of losing something or someone we think we possess, envy is the desire to have something someone else has, but we either lack the authority, or refuse to walk the same path to get it. Envy was the driving force of the religious leaders when they put Jesus on the Cross (Matt 27:18), thus they were run by the spirit lusting to envy (I Cor 2:8 & Eph 2:2). The evil envious nature is a driving force of the spirit of man (spirit of disobedience), it attempts to fill a lust, which can’t be filled. Pharaoh began by Jealousy, assuming the people were his, now it’s envy, wanting what God has proven is His.
Not only did the children of Israel provide the labor for Pharaoh, but many of them had the skills as well: when the labor and skill is removed, the nation falls. As soon as the children see the taskmasters coming after them, they turn against their Deliverer (Moses) saying, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (Ex 14:11). They hadn’t even crossed the Water, yet they were already speaking from the slavery mentality assuming Death was upon them. The Passover at this time was behind them, they felt they were spared one death to see another. Although their comments were off base, how many times have we panicked in the face of adversity? We yelled at the darkness hoping the devil will believe us, or perhaps we might believe us. Belief is still a Now confidence based on past information, here the Now is facing them, they needed to remember the past deliverance in order to put away their fearful thoughts.
Does their statement mean no Jew died in Egypt? Or there were no graves for the Hebrews? Not at all, it shows no Jew died in Egypt, except for natural causes, thereby confirming disease and sickness came with the plagues. This also shows how God gave Moses the purpose in the battle plan before each battle, but God didn’t give Moses all the battle plan at once, nor did Moses know the outcome of each event, or the details, thus each step was building the faith of Moses. At least Moses knew who the enemy was; some of us are fighting the wrong entity, we are sent to destroy the works of the devil, not enhance them. The children thought Moses was their enemy, yet days prior they were shouting, “Oh save us man of God”. The fallen nature of man is hypocritical, one day it’s, “Have mercy on me thou Son of David”, the next it’s “Crucify Him”.
At the mouth of the crossing the decision for the children would be at hand, they could cast off the works of the devil to grab the works of God before the cross, or face the issues after they cross, regardless, they were going to face their own unbelief and golden calves. The crossing was a faith issue, the Book of Hebrews shows this was the last “faith” experience the children would be accredited for until Jericho (Heb 11:29-30). After the decision comes, then they find the faith by looking at Moses. The children would see the Sea divide, cross on dry land, giving them an experience; however, they sill had to see something in order to gain the belief, so they could have faith, nonetheless their faith was desperation faith considering Pharaoh was close behind (Ex 14:21-23)
Pharaoh being a vessel of dishonor, just couldn’t give up what he thought belonged to him. In the midst of the Sea, the wheels fell off his chariots. Their hate, bitterness and blindness caused them to keep driving their chariots, instead of jumping off and running to safety. Some of us are driving chariots without wheels, we need to run to safety in the arms of Jesus (Ex 14:24). Pride also keeps us in bondage to chariots without wheels, or under heavy burdens (Ex 14:25). The Lord saved Israel that day, but Pharaoh was destroyed by the water, yet God didn’t push Pharaoh into the water, rather He allowed Pharaoh to destroy himself. Metaphorically we can see how Paul by the Holy Ghost made the connection to mercy. The vessel of dishonor rejected mercy (water), it was his own bitter water overcoming him which finally destroyed him.
Although the children were Saved from Egypt, the Lord would still destroy those who believed not (Ex 14:30-31 & Jude 5). Our water baptism is a sign (token) of being saved from the world, as we become part of the Body by God’s mercy (Water), but Grace (Blood) is where the saving of the soul takes place by the Spirit. Our faith in God to complete the good work is a continual position regardless of the event, circumstance or personal failures. A vessel of dishonor continually rejects the premise of giving Mercy after making entry, it does not relate to one who falls from time to time.
The children feared Pharaoh, and the works of Pharaoh, our fears of darkness give the works of the devil power. Why do we think the devil goes about As a roaring lion? To bring peace? Hardly, it’s to scare the socks off us, then he uses our own fear against us. Faith on the other hand defuses fear, leaving the devil as a toothless kitty cat. This fear of Pharaoh will remain with these children, later the works will manifest in their confessions of unbelief, then become visible by them making the famed golden calf.
The route could be somewhat confusing, but some of us get confused over the word “sabbath”. We find the first use of the word “sabbath” in Exodus 16:23, but in the verse Moses relates the keeping of the Sabbath was something God had commanded, yet no where prior to then do we find such a command. Also the only place prior to Exodus 16:23 where we find the word “rest” in reference to Moses and the children is in a fearful statement by Pharaoh (Ex 5:5). So, where did the sabbath come into being? On the night of the Passover they took rest as God moved through the land. The sabbath according to the Fifth Commandment is on the seventh day, or last day of the week, reflective of the end of the works of God, but what works did God end in Genesis? Salvation or Judgment? Yikes, the sabbath is to reflect on the Judgment of God, not His Salvation. This is evident on the first Passover, their first “sabbath” came when the angel of death moved through the land of Egypt judging Pharaoh. God rested on the Seventh day, knowing all the works of the Night were done, no man can stop them, but during our Season mankind has the opportunity to avoid the Judgment. Clearly the weekly sabbath came to remind them of the night death came, reflecting on how God spared them. Both the death of the first born, with the completed works were a reminder for keeping the sabbath, thus they kept the day, but never entered the Rest of God. The Rest of God is based in belief, but the belief is based in “God Is”. At times the Justification seems tough, rough or upside down, but the New Man is still working out the Report for our benefit, allowing us to Rest knowing God is doing a good work.
The Book of Hebrews splits the hairs between a “sabbath day”, and the “Rest of God”, just as it does between the “tithe under the Law”, and the “tithes of the cheerful giver”. These people being natural had to have the priest take tithe, but what means would the priest use? A baseball bat? Nay, no baseball back then. Six elders holding them down so they could take their wallet? No, Paul saw and divided the tithes not only in the Book of Hebrews, but in II Corinthians. God gave based on His love, did He get a return? Yes, was the return His motive? No, love was. Paul tells us a Cheerful giver is loved by God, which also means a Cheerful Giver gives based on love. Then Paul lays out two premises separating the priest taking tithes, and the priest under the New receiving tithes. Under the Old the priest under the Law used two elements, necessity, which means a promise of a return for the giving being greater than the gift given; second is grudgingly which means twisting the arm, or tugging at the compassion, or pulling at the heart of the person until they turn loose of their money. The same is true with the sabbath, it became the token of the Law because it forced the person to think on the time when death was “three spots of blood” away. The only thing between them and death was the Blood.
The confusion over the route can be solved as well, if Mount Sinai is in the same place now as it was then, than it was near the Red Sea, right in the path of the Exodus after the children crossed the Sea. Following the procedure we find the children camped before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea against Baal-zephon, which means there was no route of escape by land, thus telling us the only one place this could have been. After crossing the Red Sea they traveled for three days until they reached the wilderness of Shur, where they found no water (Ex 15:22). From there they came to Marah (Ex 15:24); then into the wilderness of Sin (Ex 16:1), which is between Elim and Sinai, which also means they traveled north then around the tip of the water, then back into the same area they left, only on the other side of the mount. Then came the Manna (Ex 16:15), then we read of the “sabbath” (Ex 16:23), then the fight with Amalek in Rephidim, which is again in the same area they came from before they crossed the Sea (Ex 17:18).
It would be three months before Moses would go up to Sinai to obtain the Ten Commandments (Ex 19:1). All this shows the plan of God, they were trapped by Pharaoh, no where to run, but God made a way, where no man could. God then took them back around again, but why? Confidence builders, often the Lord takes us back to places where we thought we were near defeat, just to show us how the Lord delivered us, proving our growth has made us overcomers. They are confidence builders, if we receive them; unfortunately these children did not.
God allowed them to take the silver and gold to make the Tabernacle, as stupid as the golden calf was, they never used the silver and gold to make the calf, rather they used their “earrings”, which were a sign of their bondage in Egypt. It doesn’t mean earrings are evil, it means these people were identified as slaves by their earrings. The golden calf was a means for them to control their leader, something they were attempting to do from the beginning. They were circumcised, thus they had the mark of the Covenant God made with Abraham, but they lacked the same belief as Abraham. Their prosperity turned into “things sacrificed unto devils”, as they mixed the things of the Lord with the cup of devils.
Paul will use the day after they made the golden calf as his lesson on the carnal thinking of the Corinthians, a little later we will see why. The same pride and rebellion was able to sneak into their history as well. While in Egypt, Pharaoh was their problem, but when they entered the wilderness, their own selfish, self-centered minds generated the problem. God did mighty signs for them, yet they held their unbelief. The “deliverance” was Good News, but they believed not. Two things are obvious, the ability to believe and the ability to apply mercy are still within the realm of a person, even a natural minded person.
God is able to work together all things for Good to them who love Him, to them who are the called according to His purpose, as evidenced by Abraham and Joseph. For us the purpose is to be formed into the image of God’s Son, not for some self-pleasure, or mountain top to mountain top mind game, but to complete the purpose of our existence (Rom 8:28-29). The confidence of faith knows God limited Romans 8:28-29 to two groups of people, first and foremost is the group of those who Love God, next it’s to those who are called according to God’s purpose. Not all are called, but Many are, out of the Many few are chosen, since few make the choice to be chosen. Regardless of the event there is a Good (Precious) for those who Love God, and those called according to His purpose, so what is His Purpose? The Greek word for Purpose in Romans is Prothesis, meaning purpose, but it also means Shewbread, it is not the Greek Protithemai meaning Purpose as in setting forth something. What possible connection does the Shewbread have with God’s Purpose? The Bread is the Body, the metaphor Body is not the manna, which was, and was not, rather it points to the Shewbread. The Shewbread was much different from the Manna, the command for the Manna came from heaven, but it grew out of the ground, it’s purpose ended when the wilderness ended. The Shewbread however had an outward display in the Holy Place on the right hand side, as a type and shadow of the Body of Christ. Even a vessel of dishonor has purpose, they show how God applies Mercy to the vessels of honor. God is not going to force anyone to accept Jesus, or the Spirit, it’s up to the person. The Corinthians prove the point, they had the Spirit, but were yet carnal. Paul could teach them about the Spirituals, but he couldn’t make them become spiritual. Our clues are here, what does the bondage and deliverance show us? While we were in Egypt, God worked out many things for our Good, although we didn’t know it. The events may have ended sour, even appear tragic, but the purpose was to drive us to the Cross, a Good result to what appeared to be a bad event. The verse has one other clue, it doesn’t say immediately, thus the good may not be found until we understand the event. There can be tons of Good in an event along with some evil, yet we can put our minds on the evil causing us to miss the Good. If we seek the Precious, we will find it, if we seek the evil, it will overcome us, whatever we seek we find.
It was once said, if seven hundred people were all told “six hundred and ninety nine of you will be healed”, all seven hundred would think they were the one who would miss it. It’s a sign of slavery mentality coupled with the fear of rejection. The first thing the children said when they ran into their first test in the wilderness was “God is”, but they added, “going to kill us” hardly belief. The same attitude can overcome us in the process of Justification (saving of the soul), we can presume God is going to run over us with a steamroller, or put us in an event to punish us, embarrass us, or belittle us, but God is a Rewarder for those who diligently seek Him. Fear of rejection, or the slavery mentality will twist the purpose of God in our minds, causing us to miss the Precious.
God’s purpose for these people in the wilderness was Good, yet they saw it as evil, death, hunger and destruction. The Good was before them throughout their wilderness experience, but they failed to see it. Their eyes were blinded by their own unbelief, but they had the Law of Moses, the Tabernacle, the Cloud, the Fire, the Manna and many other things, including health and protection as signs for them to believe. Even if a good event happened, they forgot it when the next affliction came.
We must take into consideration how these people had not tasted freedom their entire lives, to them having God tell them what to do through Moses, was the same as Pharaoh ordering them about. For years they heard how Pharaoh was not only a god, but their protector, now here comes Moses telling them God is come to free them as their protector. Slavery mentality prevents some of us from receiving discipleship, rather we presume because someone is instructing us, we are being controlled. We don’t like the instruction, so we form our excuse to run, tossing away our God granted discipleship. The Whacko does control, there is a difference between instruction and controlling. Those who control leave no choice, they make slaves out of people, whereas instruction allows the person to learn by making errors as well as avoiding errors. Jesus told Peter how Satan wanted to sift (punch a hole) him, yet Jesus allowed it, but added, “when you are converted” (Luke 22:32). Judas was allowed to make his error as well, thus Jesus never controlled anyone, but He did instruct them.
Nonetheless the children’s faith reached to the other side of the sea, thus they saw the Red Sea part, but much of their motivation was the sound of the wheels of Pharaoh’s chariots behind them. Their Hope was on the next shore, but it’s where they left their faith. They needed to project the same Hope to the other border of the wilderness, then allow their faith to pull them there. Hope is ahead, but when we use “faith of desperation” we are more concerned about the danger, than the hope. The children feared Pharaoh was going to overtake them, yet when safety was secure, their faith vanished.
The children also failed to see Pharaoh’s methods and God’s methods were not the same, neither were the purposes the same, but it didn’t matter, they wanted to be “free” according to their own thoughts. Of course their thoughts were tainted by Egypt, their minds full of strongholds, but they still wanted what they considered the “freedom” God promised. To them Freedom was void of responsibility, they rejected the authority over them, causing them to rebel. Some of us think the “perfect law of liberty” is doing what we want, when we want. Freedom means we are not under bondage to the things of darkness, or the rules and regulations applied to natural people, but it doesn’t mean we have no responsibilities, nor does it mean we are not a people under Authority.
They needed to be trained, thus God gave them a leader by placing the mental of leadership on one person. They were looking all over for someone to teach them, but in the manner they wanted to be taught, yet God had the most productive way. Imagine what would have happened if God allowed them to teach each other? Unfortunately it can happen when we allow a novice to teach, or we run about seeking a teacher with itching ears (loves to be praised). Novices are sprouts, they are not yet Blades, when we allow our old carnal mind to define what we think God should do, or what we think God will do, we get into trouble. When God doesn’t perform to our carnal expectations, we get mad, frustrated, or confused. These people heard the premise was to travel three days into the wilderness for the purpose of giving a sacrifice unto the Lord, but they never considered what the sacrifice would entail. When they were three days into the wilderness they found “bitter water”; instead of giving a sacrifice of praise to God, they entered bitterness, and murmured against Moses (Ex 15:22-23). Two types of water, the Mercy of God, and the bitter water, they saw death, rather than Opportunity. However, the opportunity was there, but their carnal thinking and faulty expectations caused them to miss it.
These were the same people who cried unto God to set them free, yet when it came time for them to consider what real freedom was, they attacked the same hand setting them free. They wanted freedom, but they didn’t know how to handle it. They lacked belief; without belief they lacked a foundation for faith. Instead of seeing themselves as disciples, they wanted to be lords.
When the Word came to better them, they failed to mix the Word spoken with Faith, and lost the Promise. The Word comes to better us, but if we think the Word will cause us harm, we will attack it, murmur about it, or complain. If it doesn’t please the flesh, or boast about us, or perform for us, we get mad. The elements are products of the old man: God is perfecting us, but we don’t like the way He is doing it. Why? The old man doesn’t mind freedom, as long as he can be master. However, true freedom will never come until we put off the old man, then put on the New. If we are serious about Salvation, we will face the wilderness with Joy and Gladness of heart.
INTO THE WILDERNESS
Here is the place of testing, the place where we find belief and faith join in the Now. We will find out if we love religion, or God. Do we love what God will do for us? Do we jump for joy because God did something we wanted, or do we jump for joy when we’re being persecuted for the Word’s sake? Anyone can “witness” about what they think are the good things God does for them, but few witness about their “wilderness”, yet God does some of His best work there.
Jesus proved His love for the Father more than once, one of those times was in the Wilderness. Jesus was taken into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil, by the experience we know Jesus defeated the devil, later by His death and Resurrection He destroyed (made ineffective) the devil (Heb 2:14). When Jesus faced the temptation of the devil He never said, “Oh yeah, well I’m the Son of God jerk, and you’re going to get it”, or “You’re coming against the Anointing of God, you’re on thin ice”. No, Jesus merely said, “It is written”, allowing the Scriptures to speak for Him. Why? Why not use New Words? After all, didn’t Jesus bring Fresh Words from the Father? Why use the Scriptures written in the Law? Why not use some New Testament words? The New Testament bars the devil from entrance, the Law judges, thus it found the devil guilty. The devil tempted Jesus, but Jesus was never tempted, rather He was able to send a test back to the devil.
This reminds us of the remarks in Jude where Michael doesn’t bring a railing accusation against the devil, but merely said, “the Lord rebuke you”. Why? Was it because prior to the devil being the devil Michael and the cherub who covers were contemporaries? Could be, or could it be because the angels know what the Lord has done, is done. For us to presume the devil is effective is the same as saying Jesus failed. “Wow, I never thought of that”. The old man will say, “Has Jesus really made the devil ineffective?”, “ah gee I don’t know, I think so, maybe not”. The dragon gave his authority, power and seat to the Beast of the Sea (world), the world has been used by them ever since, as were we when we were in the world. The only way the devil can do a thing to a child of God, is when the child gives the devil place (opportunity), yet if we can give place to the devil, we can also remove it (Eph 4:27).
The wilderness has several areas of training and testing, not all those in the Wilderness are always subject to a testing, as was the case with John the Baptist. John the Baptist started his ministry in the wilderness, but it doesn’t mean the wilderness was all sand, rather the Jordan river ran right through the wilderness. The Preparation came in the wilderness, John’s baptism unto repentance came in the wilderness, Jesus was baptized in the wilderness, the purpose of John’s baptism was the people should believe, yet it came in the wilderness, thus Egypt was not the beginning, the beginning came in the wilderness.
Where did the Spirit take Jesus to be tempted of the devil? Into the Wilderness. Therefore, we find the Wilderness is more than a place of exposure, although it is the first place we are exposed. It’s the preparation place, the place where we gain clarity, where we are able to define the enemy, the wiles of the enemy, as we gain victory. It’s the place where we as sacrifices are prepared and readied for service. If we are serious about this, we enter the wilderness of God after we receive the Spirit. All these events relate to us, Paul told the Corinthians the same events related to them, thus if Paul felt the wilderness experiences were appropriate for the Corinthians, surely they are appropriate for us.
The deliverance in Egypt took forty days, the trip across the wilderness was planned to take forty days; however, the children began to breach the contract three days into the wilderness, ending on the back side of the Mount, rather than the Jordan. The same is true with us, if we wander in our Wilderness, we will find ourselves right back where we started, until we submit by allowing the purpose to become reality.
God presented His half of the Covenant, then proved His faithfulness. Now He is asking the children to prove their love, this last aspect was their Contract to enter the Covenant. They weren’t asked to do anything above what they couldn’t do, yet they rebelled, murmured, and complained. Why? God wasn’t doing it their way. Paul said we are Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, but he also said we can grieve the same Holy Spirit by corrupt communication, or by using the wiles of the devil. There is one devil, but many wiles in his forms of operating: those wiles need to be identified and defeated.
Since Grace was not an issue for these people, and since Jesus entered the Wilderness as the Son of man, we find the Wilderness is a Mercy issue. God’s Mercy endures forever, His Grace but for a season. The kingdom of heaven is akin to the wilderness, as a place of Mercy, the Kingdom of God is the place of Grace. We are in the kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of God is in us. These children had the power to apply Mercy, or apply bitterness, they had the ability to believe, or fall into unbelief.
Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, but He gained the victory. When the wilderness of Jesus ended He already preached on the New Birth, talked to the woman at the well, and did many things, but it was only after His Wilderness wherein He proclaimed, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me”. The same is true in our case. We can do many things, but until we secure our Wilderness, we will not know the Power of the Spirit of the Lord for us. The phrase, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me”, is a hope for all of us. This precedent is set for those of the Day, if we have the Spirit, we have the Anointing. The Anointing came, then the Spirit, for some reason we want to reverse it. If we reverse it, then we wonder if we do have the anointing, entering unbelief. However, if we know the process was to destroy the yoke of bondage, then anoint us, then grant us the Spirit, we can see if we have the Spirit we have the Anointing. Yet, there are various anointings, the second we entered the Body the Unction over the Body protected us, it’s why it’s called the “Body of Christ (Anointed)”. When we were Born Again the anointing unto salvation entered us: when we accepted the call of the office, the anointing for the office covered us as a mental. When the New Man manifests another anointing begins to operate, when we gather together another anointing begins to manifest. The Holy Ghost will fill us with the anointing to deal with the masses, thus for the most part it’s not finding the anointing, but accepting it by allowing it to operate.
If God told these people they were to travel across the wilderness, and do so in forty days, why did they spend forty years there? Didn’t God know they would rebel? Or maybe God changed His mind: No, God didn’t change His mind, the children changed paths. One path went right through the wilderness to the Promised Land, the other wandered around the wilderness without direction. Each path had a specific course, when they failed to enter God’s path, they received the condition and position of the wandering path their unbelief produced. Therefore, God gave them the purpose of the path they confessed, but He didn’t change His mind. If we’ve been in this for twenty years, yet we are still carnal; we need to check our path. God’s path was recognizable by belief, their path of wandering by unbelief.
Although God knew they would rebel from the foundation of the world, it didn’t stop Him from presenting the plan as if they would obey. God is still Alpha and Omega, He can’t change, thus the Covenant with Abraham had contracts. It was up to the children to enter God’s purpose (the contract), or fall into the hands of their own self-based purpose. Now wait, I recall when Moses was on the mount the Lord “turned from the evil He was about to do”. Where do we think it stands in conjunction with the Book of James where we are told God cannot do evil? Surely a conflict, right? No, not at all, the “evil” God was about to do was to harm the children based on what they had done to Him, in the Book of James it refers to God not having the intent to do evil. It’s one thing for evil to return to the person who sent it, another for God to create it. We also have to understand when God repents, it means He is either sorry for what He must do, or He causes a turn. “So, if He turns, then He changes His mind”. No, causing a turn is different from turning. As we will see God spare Moses, thus the children turned to run to Moses as they were speared with Moses. In this case we find the Plan God desired was presented, then rejected, yet we will find God producing another path which was designed from the foundation of the world as well.
We also find two sides of God, one is His Mercy, the other His Justice, by His Mercy He intervenes in the time of man according to the Plan. In our Season God is not seeking Justice, rather it’s Salvation; however, both God’s Mercy and Justice were applicable back then (Ex 32:10-12). “So, then if God can change from Justice to Mercy, then He changes His mind”. No, it means both are there, God applies the Mercy to Moses, along with those who stood with Moses, but His Justice still fell on those who attacked, rejected or failed to belief, thus both were accomplished, Mercy to them He will show Mercy to, Justice to them who did evil to Him or His.
Jude 5 points out how the children were delivered from Egypt, but God destroyed them who believed not. His Justice was there, but His Mercy was also there. Therefore, we will find when the children gather to Moses, they receive the Mercy applied to Moses, but if they remain with the attacker, they receive the Justice applied to the attacker. The same is true with us, when we gather to Jesus we are protected, thus the Body of Christ has the Unction to protect it. God didn’t change, the people either changed positions to have the mercy applied, or remained in the danger finding the Justice of God applied.
The trouble in the wilderness was not the devil, or Pharaoh, it was the unbelief of the children manifested through their old slavery mentality. The wilderness is designed for the people of God, but it doesn’t mean the Wicked are not spies in the Body, rather it means they run around the wilderness like Balaam, or fit among the rebellious like Korah. They crossed over like the rest of us, but rejected the purpose, as they retain the authority of Egypt as the he in the world; rather than have the Greater He.
We also know when Jesus entered His wilderness the devil was there waiting for Him, so will we find the devil waiting for us? No, Jesus defeated the devil in the wilderness, but we will face the old man, he is like his father the devil. The Waster can do nothing but destroy, it’s all he knows, yet in the wilderness he is ineffective. He calls us friend, says he is our comforter in the hard times, he pats us on the back, but he is only looking for as soft spot to insert his darts.
There are areas of cleaning in the saving of the soul, thus the wilderness will be the place where the washing takes place. Before Paul taught the Corinthians about the Separating Veil (Yoke), or Communion, or the Spirituals, or the Commandments of the Lord, he warned them about their carnal condition (I Cor 3:1-3). He then compared their carnal attitude to the wilderness experiences of these unbelieving children, who had the Fire by night, the Cloud by day, a leader who walked with God, who even displayed the Glory of the Lord in a visible form, a people who saw God provide day by day, a people who saw the Power of God, yet they were a people who called God a liar, rebelled, made the golden calve, rejecting the purpose of their calling. If we remain carnal, we will not understand spiritual matters, they could be falling around like stars, yet we will call them foolish.
This is the wilderness, not Study Hall. God has His study hall, a place where the Holy Ghost brings us clarity of the Scriptures, but without our wilderness, we will impose a self-induced study hall, allowing the old man to become our theologian, ending with a bunch of religious self-based mental conclusions. The wilderness is a must, yet we find some who run from it like a rabbit on fire. We should enjoy it, it is for us.
When these children first entered the Wilderness there were no Scriptures, Moses was the first scribe. It would be vital for Moses to be exceedingly truthful in everything he wrote. Being the basis is more important than anything else, think about being judged by these books if they were in error? God wouldn’t, to prove the truth of these documents God established two witnesses. Daniel was told by an angel how the “books” would be the basis upon which the Jew would be judged, the Holy Ghost confirmed it with John in the Book of Revelation (Dan 7:10 & Rev 20:12). The confirmation keeps us from forming an imagination thinking Moses “may have” been in error, then adding our conclusions as to what we think Moses should have said. If Moses said there were 600,000 men, then there were 600,000. “Well I don’t see how they could get that many in the wilderness”. You weren’t there, Moses was. When we begin natural reasoning, or start to deny what is written, we will enter the wilderness of deceit and unbelief, not a nice place to be.
Mysteries in the Bible are like an onion skin, each layer is still an onion, it doesn’t jump to an apple, or banana. There are some easy to grasp, for instance when we read in Acts how people believed, we can also figure they were baptized in water, even if the verse doesn’t say it. Why? Water baptism was something the disciples were commanded to do, even Peter thought it necessary after Cornelius was baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:47-48). However, it’s as far as we can take it. We can’t assume water baptism brings the Spirit, since Peter’s experience with Cornelius shows it’s not the case (Acts 10:44-48). We can’t make the Token the actual experience, since circumcision of the flesh didn’t bring the Covenant, it was a token regarding the covenant. The sabbath day did not produce the Law, it was a token concerning the Law. Our water baptism did not save us, God did, our water baptism is our token, not God’s. Jesus will not baptize us in water, we don’t baptize people with the Holy Ghost. Authorities are important, doing something outside the authority is rebellion and witchcraft. Jesus gave us the authority to baptize people in water after they make their confession of belief; however, He never said we could baptize anyone with the Holy Ghost, which baptism brings the Spirit (Acts 11:15-17).
Let’s continue on in the wilderness, as we think about ours. The wilderness for these children, and the wilderness of Jesus had different conclusions. Jesus entered by the Spirit, maintained in faith then exited at the appointed time. Our wildernesses prove our belief and faith are God based, as the Spirit is setting us free. We said we had faith, but do we? The wilderness will prove it. What attitude caused the children to enter unbelief, when the signs of belief were all around them? Did the unbelief produce the attitude? Or did the attitude produce the unbelief? It had to be the attitude, since belief is a based on a decision. Their Attitude interpreted the events for them, yet even if the event was Good, all they saw was evil. They could have made the choice to believe, if they did then the Precious would have been obvious.
When the children left Egypt, they took their lusts along with their other belongings (I Cor 10:6). From their lusts came idol worship, the golden calf was merely an outward expression of the idol of the self within (I Cor 10:7). They ate God’s provision, they drank from the Rock, they had the cloud, fire and an angel, yet they entered idol worship and committed fornication (I Cor 10:7-8). They tempted Christ (the anointing) with serpent’s tongues, they were then destroyed by serpents (I Cor 10:9). Hold it, they tempted Christ? Christ to them was the Anointing on their leadership, which was proven to them in the fire and cloud, which is the point Paul makes to the Corinthians. They were a group set apart, as the Body is set apart, thus there was an anointing of Mercy for them, if they received it. However, they challenged the man of God, they complained about the provision, they wanted more than God gave them, they were displeased with God, causing God to be displeased with them, yet they were Saved from Egypt (Jude 5 & I Cor 10:9-10). They assumed since God loved them, God would be their servant. They sought Things, but rejected the call to Believe. They wanted the Prosperity, but didn’t want the testing of their faith. We know God called them “holy”, was God blind? No, anyone is holy when God deals with them as children, the children in the wilderness prove the premise.
Idolatry takes on many forms, the Prophets tell us we can have idols in the mind. Really, all physical idols begin in the mind of man, thus idols are either formed from a creation, or are the creation. Say what? Yes, look at Egypt the cat was an idol, Paul says some worship the creation more than the Creator. One can make a human being an idol, termed Mentor, or Hero Worship. They place the person on a high pastel, whatever the person says is more Scripture than the Scripture. The Whacko draws on the lust in people, allowing or tricking people into placing them on a pastel, “you know he doesn’t drive here, he is transported by the Spirit”, foolishness. Idol worship begins when man desires to dominate or control his god, the lust in the person allows other people to worship them, as did Pharaoh. The foolishness of idol worship is the creation forming something from a creation, then calling it the Creator.
Physical idols provide man a means to touch, see or control his gods, there are other idols, man can make his theology, traditions, even the “things of God” can be made idols. The Law of Moses was a guide, it was not “God”, but there are some, even the Pharisees who made it a god. The anointing is real, it’s mandatory, but we can make it an idol by elevating it higher than God has. All things, even the things of God are under the feet of Jesus, there is nothing higher. We can even make gods out of saints, thereby placing them in a high position, proclaiming we can never reach their position. Ahh, the golden calf. Before we reach the plans for the tabernacle we have to jump ahead to the golden calf for discernment. The people were told they shall have “no other gods”, then they were told “no idols”, thus the two relate, yet are different. The Judges were also called “gods”, Moses was a “god to Pharaoh”, but they are not God, neither did man make them gods. All of us have our favorite man or woman of God, but we are not to elevate, or exalt them above measure. Moses was on the mount forty days and nights, when the children saw Moses delayed, they wanted “gods” to lead them (Ex 32:1). The golden calf wasn’t to replace God, it was to replace Moses (Ex 32:1-2). The people of God are to be honored, not worshiped; they were like us until God used them, Moses is an example, as was Paul. What made them Godly was not their education, position, training, or discipleship, it was God anointing them. At times it gets away from us, when it does we tend to make idols out of flesh and blood. When our idol falls, so do we.
Perhaps our favorite person of God doesn’t even know we made them an idol, but we will travel around the world just to say we heard them, when our hope could be preaching in our own neighborhood. We seek the celebrity complex, we want to associate with the celebrity status, we want to toss their name around so we feel important, which was the error of the Corinthians, “I am baptized by Paul”, “well I was baptized by Apollos” (I Cor 1:10-17). The fear of rejection wants to attach to someone we think is successful to gain our validity, but our validity is in Christ.
None of the errors of the past gives the Body an excuse for a lack of Power, nor does it provide us with an excuse to remain in a powerless position, rather we find these people refused the God granted means, thus God was not pleased with many of them. Knowledge is a to obtain what God has already given us, but we know we can reject the given knowledge (Hosea 4:6). It may sound silly, but the Cross was nearly 2,000 years ago, yet it became effective for us when we received it. We gained a knowledge of the Cross, then received it, yet it has been established for years. The Holy Ghost doesn’t have birthdays, He doesn’t get older, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8), the Spirit is no different; age is only a factor when death is the issue.
We have the means to win this, all the rewards and warnings are written for us, thus we work out our own salvation by fear and trembling (Ph’l 2:12). No one, not Paul, John or our brothers and sisters in Christ are going to work out our salvation for us, we must enter by allowing the Spirit to expose and clean us. What then is our work? To believe (Jn 6:29). Is it all there is? No, from belief we can deny the self, then pick up our cross daily, put our faith in God allowing the Spirit to take us on the path of the Faith of Jesus to the result.
There is the Cross, Grave and Resurrection, we can’t stop at any, we must receive the path to enjoy the trip. Will we make mistakes? Yes, part of our learning is making mistakes, so we won’t make them again. We war against “spiritual wickedness” this is not a wicked spirit, rather the word “wickedness” is the Greek Poneria, meaning Wicked or Iniquity, thus Spiritual Wickedness is the failure to be Spiritual when one has the ability. Would the Corinthians fit this? Yes, they had the Spirit, were fully capable of being spiritual, but they were yet carnal, based on their own doing (I Cor 3:1). Therefore, we find Paul equating them to the children in the wilderness, as he also equated them to the Law (I Cor 14:34). Paul did not “praise” them, he knew they had divisions and strife among them (I Cor 11:18). Spiritual things to the carnal mind are still foolishness, they will fail to respect the spiritual, in most cases they will mock it. Once we have the Spirit, it still isn’t the finish, it’s only the beginning to becoming spiritual.
We find the types and shadows in the wilderness, as Moses lifted up the serpent on the staff, so must the Son of man be lifted (Jn 3:14). They had the Rock bringing forth the water (I Cor 10:4), they were healthy, had the manna (Ps 105:37), yet they complained and murmured in their tents (Ps 106:25). Jesus said He would build His Church on the Rock, the Rock is Christ (the Body); however not all churches are in the Church, only those who are Spiritual are of the Church (Luke 8:13 & Matt 16:18).
Moses was a man who loved God and obeyed, yet he made mistakes, but when the thoughts of giving up entered, he went to the Lord. None of us are free of questioning, “is this God, or what?”, nor are we free of, “I give up”, something Timothy did, but all of us have the opportunity to go to God in order to find an answer, all of us have the position to say, No to discouragement, by saying Yes to faith.
There are valleys and places of learning wherein we are exposed, but when we are down, we know Jesus is waiting to hear from us. Paul received the lesson, when the carnal Corinthians came as messengers of Satan, he went to Lord (II Cor 12:9). Grace is sufficient, it always is. Three times the thorn came to Paul, three times he had to talk to the Corinthians; Paul knew the devices of Satan, the Corinthians did not, they demanded a sign of Christ speaking through Paul (II Cor 12:7, 13:1 & II Cor 11:3). The Corinthians allowed the self-transformed to enter, they listened to the false doctrines, some of them became ministers of Satan with their false accusations. Although the Corinthians knew Paul, they saw what the man stood for, they listened to false brethren, then attacked Paul. Paul told them, “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the Faith”, and “Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the Power which the Lord has given me to edification, and not to destruction” (II Cor 2:11, 11:13-15, 12:24, 12:7-9, 12:14, 13:1-2, 13:5 & 13:10). Our “thorns in the flesh” are carnal people who think they are spiritual, they attack based on envy, or consider our spiritual stand foolishness. However, did Paul see a purpose for the thorn? Yes, he wouldn’t be exalted above measure, by who? Jesus? Not hardly. Himself? No, what does it leave? Oh yeah, people elevating or exalting him above the measure God had applied. This wasn’t merely exalting him, but exalting him above measure, much different. The children in the wilderness were a thorn in the side of Moses, like Paul, Moses had to endure. In the case of Moses it was enduring by the Mercy of God, in Paul’s case he found Grace sufficient.
As soon as they entered the wilderness, Moses sang the song of Moses, declaring The Lord is his strength: the Song of Moses is based on deliverance (Ex 15:9). As soon as the seed of deliverance was planted, joy came, Miriam the sister of Moses, also known as a prophetess, took a timbrel in hand, as she led the women in song and dance (Ex 15:20-21). This song of Moses was prior to the Law, John shows the Remnant sing the song of Moses (Rev 5:9, 14:3 & 15:3). Is this a lesson? Yes, here they are singing and dancing, Miriam is running all over the platform, yet in three days it will all be gone. The lesson? Emotionalism for the moment, does not build faith for the endurance. This same emotional state takes us from one meeting to another just to get the feeling for the moment. As soon as we get back to the parking lot, the feeling is gone, and we’re off to another meeting. There is a Joy based on the moment, it is not a Joy based on enthusiasm (zeal with lasting effects), it’s short lived at best, it’s the emotions being stimulated, not the soul being encouraged.
Three days into the wilderness their emotions went the other way, they found bitterness (Ex 15:22-23). This is a type of water, but what did it point to? Them, they were pleased with God’s Mercy when it made them feel good, now comes the test after the victory. The dancing stopped, the singing stopped, the timbrel was put away, then out came the murmuring and complaining: proven when they murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” (Ex 15:24). The unsaved soul will murmur against the people of God, yet deny their murmuring is also against God; whereas, this experience shows when we murmur against the appointed leaders, we are murmuring against God. The children maintained the same slavery mentality, looking for some man to save them, rather than seeking God. They saw the Sea parted, why not say, “stand back and watch the Lord’s deliverance”? Moved by what the saw, the same emotionalism for the moment, the event dictated their reaction, rather than belief and faith governing a response.
The evidence behind them proved God was able, but when it came down to the “now”, they failed. Abraham believed God, thus his covenant was based on his continual belief. In order for this group to enter into the promise of the covenant, they had to display the same type of belief. If they failed at belief, they would be presented with their own unbelief; however, Moses will remind God, how God knew what type of people these were before He delivered them, thus even Moses knew God had a plan in all this.
Faith being a Now confidence projected to a future hope, belief being a Now confidence based on past information, shows us how important the Now is. Faith must connect to Belief in “God Is” to be effective, thus if we hold unbelief, there is no connection, our faith will be short lived, or ineffective (Heb 11:6). The unbelief of the children attacked their faith, thus before faith could generate, it was deflated. Some of us work day and night on our faith, but forget about our belief.
One month later they entered the Wilderness Of Sin, when we fail to believe, we will enter the wilderness of sin as well (Ex 16:1). When they looked about, they didn’t repent, but murmured against Moses and Aaron (Ex 16:1-2). They had a choice to believe God was with them, or believe in their unbelief, they picked the latter. They blamed Moses, rather than thanking God, like Adam who said, it was “the woman You gave me”; their unbelief said, “It was the prophet You gave us”. They assumed God brought them into the wilderness to die, thus their own minds twisted the truth into a lie (Ex 16:3). This step of unbelief brought the Manna and the Sabbath rules (Ex 16:4-6). The Manna was a miracle, but one can’t equate the Manna to the Bread of Life. Why? Jesus said, “your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead”, with “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:48-49). If Jesus would have said, “I am the manna”, then we would have a basis, but He used two different words, giving us a separation. The Manna was not to show them Life, it was to show them how God can provide, thus it was just another teaching of God to give them a basis to establish belief.
The Sabbath was not a result of their good works, but a result of their murmuring, again God was teaching them (Ex 16:5-8). When it came time for the Sabbath day Moses said, “Tomorrow is the Rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord” (Ex 16:23). Why didn’t he said, “Tomorrow is the Sabbath”? Two different words, the Hebrew word for Rest is Shabbathon a noun meaning a Sacred time, it was used for the Day of atonement (Lev 16:31), the Feast of Trumpets (Lev 23:24), the first and eighth day of Tabernacles (Lev 23:39). This word pointed to a Feast, a time of Joy, showing all this was in the hand of God if they received it. The word for Sabbath is the Hebrew Shabbath meaning Intermission, thus the Sabbath Day was an Intermission, a time to mediate on what God has done, the promise and how they were acting. The trouble with the sabbath day was once it’s done, it’s done, it all begins again, showing they failed to believe. The children were told to take a day to consider how close were they to the word “Finished”. Our sabbath is Jesus, we reflect on His Ways, as we allow the New Man to bring us into the Image of God’s Son so we can be sons of God.
Each time they murmured, complained, denied or rebelled, the Lord placed more of the Law on them. Next would come the quail, this is not the great quail hunt, but it still came as a result of their unbelief (Ex 16:12-13). Wait, if God can’t be tempted, why did He give them the quail based on their tempting Him? A mystery? Perhaps, but in the next lesson we will find God was merely proving them so they could see their own folly. The provision became the exposure, but for here we want to see how the provision, or prosperity isn’t a sign of holiness. God sent then prosperity, but they weren’t satisfied, thus God exposed their greed, while giving them their need. If we think the Law of Moses was some great reward based on the holiness of these people we miss the point. Their holiness was based on God dealing with them, not their works, surely not on their faith. Therefore, the New Man being created (or formed same Greek word) after God’s True Holiness made us Holy the second we were Born Again. If we have God’s “True Holiness” within, surely we have the greatest of all holiness.
God sent quail one morning, then the manna: the word Manna means “what’s it” or “what is it?”. Instead of saying, “Thank You Oh Lord for meeting our need”, they retort with “What is this stuff?”. They set their own expectations in the place of God’s will, when God failed to meet their expectation they rebelled. They wanted the deliverance, but they wanted to control the method. They never considered they were the ones who failed to meet God’s expectation. They refused to break away from the slavery mentality, their unbelief was magnifying their pride, yet they had freedom in hand. Their experience is our lesson, not our excuse (Jude 5).
They refused to move without some man telling them exactly what to do: they had ears, but refused to hear (Ex 16:20). The people journeyed further into the wilderness to a place called Rephidim, which means “JAH (Jehovah) has cured”, which is a past tense phrase, an indicator to the children God had cured them, if they receive it; however, they started chiding against Moses (Ex 17:2). Moses was told to travel to Horeb, where he would find the Rock. There Moses would smite the Rock with the Rod, causing water to come forth (Ex 17:5-6). Moses called the place Massah and Meribah; Massah means Testing, Meribah means Strife, but Horeb means Desolate. Wait, isn’t this Horeb also called Sinai? Yes, same mountain two purposes. The word Chide is the Hebrew Riyb meaning to Strive with words, or to bring a law suit by accusation.
Attitude in the testing is important, the context of “faith with works” in James is coupled to asking and receiving the Wisdom of God so we can deal with events and people in a Godly manner. James tells us to pray for God’s Wisdom by “faith”, then he pointed to the “prayer of faith”, so, if we pray for God’s Wisdom by Faith as well pray the Prayer of Faith, as we allow Patience to have her perfect work, do you think it connects to “the works of faith”? Yes, we find we “have not because we ask not”, or we ask to consume the answer on a “lust”, thus lacking faith in the asking is based on asking to enhance the spirit lusting to envy. If we ask for the Wisdom of God, what is our motive? Just so we won’t have to contend with people? Or do we desire to apply God’s Wisdom as an addition to the Witness? It better be the latter, in order for it to be by faith.
When the children received their fill of water, they found Amalek coming to fight them (Ex 17:9). Moses stood for the children again, raising his hands unto the Lord (Ex 17:11); however, every time his hands slipped, the children started to lose the battle (Ex 17:12). As long as our hands are raised to the Lord, we win, but there are times when we need help in order to stand. Raising our hands is a sign of being humble, humbleness destroys pride. In the world the sign of raising ones hands means, “I give up”, but to the Lord it means “I praise Thee”. Paul tells us to lift holy hands onto the Lord, thus holy hands are connected to a servant who desires to serve. Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses holding up his hands, needless to say, the Hebrews won the battle (Ex 17:12-16).
Amalek is still a symbol to the Jew; however, they missed the point. To the Jew the phrase Forgive your enemies is a false statement used by hypocritical Christians. The Jew hears the words of the Christian, but compares those words to actions, some Jews may be blinded to the Gospel, but they are not blind to the hypocrisy in others. To the Jew, Amalek’s action produced the Commandment, “Blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven; you shall not forget it” (Deut 25:19). To the Jew this means, Never forget your enemies; however, the context shows we are to blot out the name of the person, but not forget the event, thus we forgive the person but remember the “it”.
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro came to the wilderness to see Moses, when Jethro heard of God’s deliverance he said, “Blessed be the Lord Who has delivered you” (Ex 18:10). This connects to “Remember Amalek”, thus it’s the Deliverance we remember. We tend to count the stripes from the last battle, but ignore the victory.
Jethro didn’t say, blessed be the Lord who is delivering you, rather he saw the event as past tense, although they were far from entering the Promised Land; therefore, Jethro proclaims two things. First the deliverance from Egypt and Amalek, next he is speaking in faith, calling things as a not to Moses, as a were from God’s standpoint. Jethro didn’t make up the basis for his faith, he knew the evidence, then joined to it. He could have said, “cursed are these idiots God stuck you with”; however, Jethro’s words were centered on blessing not cursing.
Jethro was a sign to the children of what God desired, but they failed to hear the warning as they continued to charge God foolishly. Jethro came in faith, but the children stood in unbelief; therefore, finding the other element of Jethro’s venture was to encourage Moses. Jethro will suggest the concept of the “judges”, who were suppose to hold the same attitude as Moses and Jethro. This is very important, there were 600,000 plus people there, God sent one from the outside to encourage Moses. We know Joshua was a minister to Moses, but Joshua was still a subordinate, whereas Moses would consider Jethro an equal (being a priest, and his father-in-law). God won’t forget us when we are stuck in the midst of the murmuring and complaining people, He will send someone to encourage us.
Jethro also acted as a healer by bringing Zipporah, the wife of Moses, with the children of Moses. There are times where the wilderness becomes the place where families are healed (Ex 18:2). This is another example of the purpose of the wilderness, the Restoration process. On the other hand, Jesus tells us to love less our family, but this has to do with priority, if we love our family members more than God, we will compromise, or even hide our faith. Family is important, Jesus more so.
Jethro suggested for Moses to set up judges (gods) over the thousands, over the hundreds and over the fifties (Ex 18:21). This system allowed the smaller matters to be handled on a local level, the larger on a higher level, then on up the appeal process until they reached Moses. Jethro didn’t tell Moses, “Now look man, this is from God so do it”, rather he told Moses to confirm it with God. Moses will find it’s wise to hear suggestions, wiser to take them before the Lord for confirmation.
If these Judges were to Judge, how are they to Judge? When Moses goes to the Mount the “judgments” will be given to him. They begin in Exodus 21:1 unto Exodus 23:19, thus God called them “the judgments” (Ex 21:1). The judges were then representatives of Moses, Moses a representative of God. The judgments gave the judges written guidelines, yet it still took compassion to enforce the judgments righteously.
In the third month the children came to the wilderness of Sinai, where they camped about the Mount (Ex 19:1-2). Moses went up the Mount to find God, then God came to him in a thick cloud (Ex 19:9). This would be a preview of the Mount of Transfiguration where the Body of Moses and Elijah (Body of Prophets) would stand with Jehovah of the whole earth. The three disciples, Peter, John and James would be overshadowed by a cloud, as they hear the Father say, “This is My Son, Hear ye Him” (Luke 9:29-35). Jesus appointed the Seventy after the Mount of Transfiguration, as a sign (Luke 10:1). Moses went to the Mount to find God in order to determine if the words of Jethro were of God, Jesus as Jehovah came down the Mount to appoint the Seventy. Moses went up the Mount to hear from God, Jesus as Jehovah would say, “But I say unto you”; Moses would say “this is what God says”, Jesus said “this is what I say”.
We find Paul’s comments regarding Hagar as a type and shadow of Sinai, what does Hagar have to do with a Mountain God was on? Paul jumped from Abraham to Mount Sinai, yet held to Hagar as the mother of manipulation (Gal 4:24-26). He also added Jerusalem of the earth into the equation, yet we know Jerusalem didn’t come into the picture until after the children left the wilderness. Three areas, jumping one to the other, with the concept of Hagar in all. Hagar was not the product of manipulation, Ishmael was, but Hagar was the Egyptian bondwoman, the mother of manipulation. Ishmael was not like his father Abraham, he was like his mother the Egyptian, it’s the point. The Children were given the Law, since their attitude was not like their father Abraham, but like Egypt. Jerusalem of the earth is still in bondage, yet it has the glory of the Sun (Jacob, the nation as Israel). New Jerusalem is Above, the Mother of us all, New Jerusalem is Free.
The meaning of the name “Jerusalem” is “JAH’s Peace”, we have the Gospel of Peace, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, thus true Peace is found in heavenly things, not earthly. Jerusalem of the earth is adopted, Jerusalem in heaven is not. Jerusalem of the earth is in bondage, Jerusalem of heaven is free. Jerusalem of the earth is related to Judgment, New Jerusalem of heaven to Salvation. Jerusalem of the earth is important, Jerusalem of heaven more so.
We are to be as our Father, Merciful and Holy, we do by being Christ like, but how? By efforts of religion? Not hardly, by allowing the New Man to form us into a son of God? Correct, it’s not easy, yet not hard, we allowed the old man to form us for all those years. “Not so, I’ve been a Christian all my life”. What? “Oh sure, I’m not Jewish, so I must be a Christian”. No, if you’re not Jewish, you’re a Gentile, it still doesn’t mean you are a Christian. If one did the Law of Moses it didn’t mean they were Hebrew either. We know the Covenant cut with Abraham is partly included into the one God cut with Moses, thus Paul shows two covenants. One was cut as a result of the unbelief of the people (Hagar), the other cut based on the faith of Jesus, which one do we want (Gal 4:24-25)? Is it of bondage, or of freedom? We are learning why it’s better to connect to the New, rather than seek self-righteousness under the Old.
The Ten Commandments were not, “Thou shall try”, nor were they, “try, try again”, there was no “oops”. When one does the Law of Moses, or they think they hold the Ten Commandments they failed in the very first act. “How?”. Wanting the same righteousness as God, yet attempting it by self-righteousness through the flesh, it still causes the Commandment “thou shall not covet” to fall against them. The Law of Moses was based on the failure of the children to believe, it was not based on their faith or belief. There are some who say they do the Law of Moses to please God, but faith pleases God, the Law of Moses is not of faith. Moses was a friend of God, but the Law didn’t make Moses a friend.
Having the Law of Moses didn’t make them Moses, being circumcised of the flesh didn’t make them Abraham, but having the New Man makes us Like Christ (Christian). We saw how Paul said these people were “baptized unto” Moses (I Cor 10:2); the word Unto is the Greek Els meaning a motion or direction, baptism as an identification, they identified with Moses by the Law. Paul will use the same premise when talking about the Body, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body” (12:13). This shows the Spirit of God, as the complete Report identified us with the Body before we accepted the position (I Cor 2:11-12). If Jesus never gave us His Body, there would be none, if Jesus didn’t give us authority to water baptize, there would be none. The purpose for being in the Body is to be Born Again so we can identify with the Spirit of God, rather than remain carnal.
We are not copies of the physical Jesus, if it were the case then all of us would be sinless from birth, or all look alike. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, then the Word made it possible for us to be Born Again by having the Word in us (Jn 1:1-8). However, let us view our beginning, “in the beginning was the old man, the old man was, he wasn’t like God at all” (Rom 7). Paul said, Jesus was made (not created) the Son of Man by the seed of David, but declared the Son of God according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4). We are declared sons of men by Mercy (forgiveness of sins), declared sons of God by the Spirit (Rom 8:14). We enter the process begins for us as sons of men, the goal is to become a son of God by the Spirit. Without the Spirit in us there is no Manifestation of the Spirit, without the Holy Ghost we can’t call Jesus Lord (I Cor 12:3 & 12:11).
How does the Resurrection fit here? God wanted to be with His children, He told Moses to prepare for the Third Day (Ex 19:9-11). We can see this points to the Resurrection, but these children had no idea what the third day means. The only way “God can be with us” is to be “in us”, which takes the Power of the Resurrection. No one is going to be Resurrected until they first die, we have the advantage of imputing death by the Cross of Jesus, yet live by the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, we can “believe” God raised Jesus from the dead, but it’s much more than an intellectual view. In order to Believe God raised Jesus from the Dead, we need the same Spirit of Holiness as our heart (Rom 10:9-10).
Anyone can mouth the words “I believe in Jesus”, until they are faced with the test. The same is true with the statement, “No one can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Ghost”. It doesn’t mean they can’t say, “Jesus is Lord”, even the devils admit there is One God. It means, one must have the Spirit birthed in them by the Holy Ghost in order for Jesus to be their Lord. How about calling Jesus their Savior? Yes and No, they don’t need the Spirit in them to be saved from the world, but they do need the Spirit to enter the saving of their soul. These people didn’t have the Spirit (Jn 7:39), yet God delivered (saved) them. “Wait, I think I see something here, when God delivers (saves) us from the world, it’s so we can enter the salvation of our souls without the interference of the world, or the devil”. Correct, we still war against the flesh, but it doesn’t mean we have to follow the flesh. Even thoughts we know are not right can no longer condemn us, because we walk by the Spirit, not the flesh. The condemnation comes when someone minds the flesh, and not the Spirit (Rom 8:1).
The children were told God wanted to be among them, then Moses told the people to Be Ready for the third day (Ex 19:15). The people should have repented, but they didn’t think repentance was necessary. On the morning of the third day there were thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud, the people in the camp trembled in fear (Ex 19:16). Why? Was God going to kill them? God wanted to be among them, so why fear? Preparation, they failed to prepare for the Third Day. We prepare by denying the self, and picking up our cross, two factors relating to death, then we gain the Spirit unto Life.
The Lord came down to the top of Mount Sinai, there talked to Moses, saying, “Go down, charge the people” (Ex 19:20-21). What does it mean? Was God going to collect a love offering (charge)? How much was it going to cost them to have God visit? Wonder if the ATM is open? The word “charge” is the Hebrew Awd meaning among other things To restore, or give warning, it could mean “to do again”. What did they need to “do again”? The answer is in the Book of Hebrews in chapter 11; Abel is the first human recorded to have faith, not Adam (Heb 11:4). Then Enoch, then Noah, then Abraham, then Sara, all of whom died in faith, not having seen the promises (Heb 11:4-13). From Adam to Abraham there were only 3 people recorded to have displayed faith. Then we see Isaac, Jacob, then Joseph, all of which were before the children were taken captive (Heb 11:20-22). Then comes Moses, then we see, “by Faith they passed through the Red Sea”, yet not another word of faith until the walls of Jericho fall (Heb 11:29-30). They had the evidence, they had faith; it wasn’t a matter of not having faith, they had it when they crossed the Red Sea. “Hold it, I got something here, you mean if we accepted Jesus it was by faith, thus we have the faith it takes now”. Right, oh so right.
God still desires to be among His people, none of us can say we have kept the Ten Commandments. For the most part, none of us can say we kept just one. However, it appears it was either do the Ten Commandments or enter faith. Ahh, faith pleases God, they needed to affirm their belief to enter faith. They had to have faith, or keep the Ten Commandments, the choice was in their hands, yet they decided neither would be their method, they were going to have a man stand between them and God, thereby producing the Law of Moses. God was ready to come among the people, it was the people who failed to Prepare for their God. Here is a very interesting aspect of God, He didn’t demand for the children to come to Him, He was willing to come among them. Were they Born Again? No, did they have the Spirit? No, they were flesh and blood, yet God would leave the decision to them, if they wanted God with them, fine He would be there, if not, He wouldn’t. This is God we’re speaking of, the Creator of all things, He was willing to submit to the desires of the people when it came to His presence among them. Of course we know He would not submit to something not in line with His nature, but being among His people was His desire. Later He would come among His people in the form of Jesus, yet, they would reject Him again.
However, before God could go among the people, the priests had to come before God to receive the Commandments (Ex 19:23-24). What priests? Was Moses appointing priests before the Tabernacle was built? They had priests back in Egypt, how else were they going to sacrifice? The priests were not new, the duties under the Law of Moses would be. Nonetheless, the priests had to Prepare as well. The priests had to “sanctify themselves” which calls for acts by the person, which is a form of self-righteousness (Ex 19:22). How about us? We are Sanctified by the Holy Ghost (Rom 15:16), through Jesus the Father has Sanctified us (Jn 10:36); we are Sanctified in Christ Jesus (I Cor 1:2), to be Sanctified means Separated to be Made Holy. In our case we have the added advantage of the washing of the water by the Word, with the cleaning of the Blood of Jesus from all unrighteousness. The process for us is found in the New Man, again we see it’s a Process. God was ready, but were the people? God was ready, but were the priests?
THE COMMANDMENTS
It’s generally accepted the Ten Commandments begin the “covenant with Israel”, but what about the Covenant with Abraham? Ahh, a mystery, not really, where did Israel come from? Jacob, who came after the Abrahamic Covenant. Abraham’s Covenant was not for the Jew, it was for the Hebrews, but when the token became incorporated into the Law it then applied to the Jew. Noah’s Token was a sign from God, Abraham’s was a sign from Abraham, the Token for the Law of Moses will be a sign from the people. The evidence of Noah’s Covenant is the rainbow, which is still around, but it was God who placed the rainbow in the sky, not Noah. The token for Abraham’s Covenant was circumcision of the flesh of a male who is eight days old, the Law of Moses called for keeping the sabbath day continually, both are tokens in the hands of man. Our Covenant calls for our token of water baptism; the circumcision of our hearts, with the seal of the Holy Spirit on God’s part based on the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Jesus builds the Church, we cast the Net and build the Body. Do we always catch the good fish? No, Jude told us we catch both the good and bad, on the good we make a difference, with the bad, beware (Jude 22-23). Do we toss the bad back? No, they have a right to the opportunity (Jude 22-24).
What about the Token under Abraham’s Covenant, was it by permission? At eight days old? Not hardly? Whether the child wanted to receive the mark or not didn’t matter, at eight days old it came by the hand of the priest (Luke 2:21-22). Was it by permission of the child’s parents? Yes, but what else were they going to do? What about us? By permission based on God’s invitation, but our consent is required, we ask, then receive.
To these people they had little choice; they could say, “I’m no longer a Jew”, but the mark was with them. How about us? We connect to the Spirit, not the other way around. In Jude we find the phrase, “having not the Spirit” (Jude 19), which is an idiom meaning, “not able to hold to the Spirit”. This applies to the Wicked, it doesn’t mean Jesus left them, it means they left (divorced) Him (Jude 18-19). The same could be said for Judas, Jesus never left Judas, it was Judas who left Jesus. Jesus lost none, except the son of perdition (Jn 17:12). This He said in reference to Judas, but Paul said the son of perdition was yet to be revealed (II Thess 2:3). It’s a position filled by the Wicked, the drunk who go into the Night (I Thess 5:3-7).
What has it to do with these people? Where were they going? Were they going to break off from being a Hebrew to start a new nation in the wilderness? No, they were surrounded by nations who didn’t what them, yet Egypt was behind them, but God was with them. They were stuck in the Wilderness, it was either get with the program or die. In our case the wilderness is God separating us from the old man and his deeds, unto the Spirit and Character of Christ.
Don’t you love controversy? Several things are obvious regarding the Ten Commandments, in Exodus 20:2-17 we have the Commandments listed, if we take the time to number them, we will find something very interesting. The Ten Commandments begin with 1) Thou shall have no other gods before Me. Simple enough, we know this doesn’t refer to idols of stone, rather it means people God has ordained, thus Mentor worship is a direct violation of this Commandment. The next Commandment is 2) Thou shall not make unto thee any graven images, covering the making of idols by the hand of man. Many place the next Commandment with this one, for a reason we will see in a minute, but since it begins with “Thou shall not” it behooves us to keep it separate, thus it becomes the next in line; 3) Thou shall not bow down thyself to them. Recalling Abram’s father we can see one can make an idol, yet not bow to it, here we find two points, don’t make them and don’t bow (submit) to them. Next comes 4) Thou shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, this is not using the Name, but taking it. If we receive the Name, we receive what it stands for as well. Next is 5) Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy, this would seem like a “do” Commandment, but we also find “thou shall not do any work” (v. 20:10). This is the last of the Commandments in reference to man’s relationship with God, the sabbath became the link or token connecting the Law of Moses to the Ten Commandments. This is clear since the token of the sabbath is included in the Ten Commandments, but there is no mention of circumcision, two different Covenants, showing why Abraham never had to keep the sabbath day, it didn’t pertain to his Covenant with God.
Next comes 6) “honor thy father and mother”, Paul tells us this was the first Commandment with promise (Eph 6:2). Interesting, since all the others pertained to man’s relationship with God. Could this be a Commandment linking both tablets together? Could it be, their Father was God, their Mother Zion (Joseph’s dream), the purpose of leaving Egypt was to obtain the Promised Land. In our case, our Mother is New Jerusalem, but our Father is still God. We bring this up since the next commandments read, 7) Thou shall not kill (murder), 8) Thou shall not commit adultery, 9) Thou shall not steal, 10) Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor, 11) Thou shall not covet. There we have it, if we list them all, we end with Eleven, not Ten. We find many linking “Thou shall make unto thee any graven image”, with “thou shall not bow down thyself to them” as one commandment, but there are two “thou shall not” phrases, dividing them. Honor thy mother and father is a do, indicating why Paul saw it as unto life, since the rest were “thou shall not” indicating unto death.
Now we have another area, the Sabbath; after 300 AD the Fifth Commandment regarding the Sabbath was removed, oh my, what to do? Since the Ten Commandments are linked to the Law of Moses one has to ask, What were Christians doing with them to begin with? The so-called Gentile Ten Commandments are different, thereby bringing about the “controversy”. If one holds to the Sabbath, they think the removal of the Sabbath is the key issue for the latter days, or producing the coming of the antichrist, rather than seeing in First John there were antichrists in John’s day. If we hold ourselves above the rest of the Body based on our theology, we are slandering the brothers, not wise. Paul cleared this issue, showing the removal of the sabbath day had nothing to do with being antichrist (Rom 14:5-6). In Romans 14:6 Paul said, “he who regards the day, regards it unto the Lord, he who regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it”. Simply, if one wants to keep the sabbath, or if they don’t it’s between them and the Lord, it not between them and their neighbor, nor are they to make it doctrine. When it’s between us and the Lord, it stays there, we don’t make it mandatory on others, we don’t make it doctrine, we don’t think keeping or not keeping makes us any the more or less holy, since it’s between the person and the Lord. Like most things the second we consider ourselves righteous, or holy for doing something we consider above the rest of the Body, we have engaged in legalism.
In some areas the posting of the Ten Commandments has become an issue of late, but which Ten Commandments? Those listed here in Exodus? Or the so-called Protestant Ten Commandments? How about the Nine Jesus gave us regarding Mercy? How about adding, “Ye must be Born Again”, since it was a “must” it was also a Commandment. Why do we demand the Ten, yet avoid the ones Jesus gave? The Ten are a no win situation, they are good, but they never allowed for error, miss one, missed them all for all time. What are we told? “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances against us, which was contrary to us, and took IT out of the way, nailing IT to the His Cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of Them openly, triumphing over them in IT. Let no man therefore judge you in meat or drink, or in respect of a holy day, of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” (Col 2:14-16). Why? They are a shadow of things to come (Col 2:17). Colossians 2:14 calls the Ordinances an IT, the IT is the Law of Moses, which included the Ten Commandments. What do they do? They point out and define sin, they convict the person of sin, bringing the result which is death. Our freedom came when we agreed with the Law, then imputed ourselves dead on the Cross of Jesus, so we can be free of the Ordinances against us. Thereby making way for us to have the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the Dead, in order for us to have the Spirit.
Since we’re using the Bible regarding the Ten Commandments we are nonetheless faced with eleven, not ten, yet in the “Thou” area there are only Ten. One Commandment is not “Thou shall not”, is “honor thy father and mother”, this Commandment becomes the link, or hinge connecting the two stones, one side regarded man’s relationship with God, the other man’s relationship with man. The honor part is really left up to interpretation, it doesn’t say “thou shall”, thus it’s an ordinance. In truth Paul quoted Deuteronomy 5:16; however he made changes when he used this Commandment. What change the Commandment? How dare he? If Jesus said, “you have heard of them of old time, but I say unto you”, what is Paul doing taking us to the Commandments? If Paul said doing the Law of Moses was witchcraft for a Christian, what is he doing advocating the basis for the Law? If the Ten Commandments are against us and nailed to the Cross, what is Paul doing? (Col 2:14-18). He’s not, as we will see shortly. In Exodus 34:28 the Hebrew word for Commandment is different from the Hebrew word used in other places. The Hebrew word Peh is often used, meaning Breath, or The mouth, pointing to the source. In Exodus the Hebrew word is Dadar meaning A word, or the matter spoken, thus God isn’t “speaking directly” to these people, He is sending a message written on stone. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by Every Word proceeding from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Here Moses received a Proceeding Word from God, the children could have said, “wait, our father Abraham didn’t keep the sabbath, you speak falsely bearded one”. Even these children who failed to believe understood the Proceeding Word concept.
If there are Ten, yet we see Eleven, do we think God knew it? Yes, God didn’t run down the mountain after Moses with an eraser. If anyone removes the Sabbath Day commandment, they also remove the Document from being connected to the Law of Moses, in its place one could put “honor thy father and mother”, then have Ten. If they connect the 2nd and 3rd Commandments, leaving the Sabbath in, they would still have Ten, but in either case they have to manipulate the “thou shall not” area to make it fit, but if we see these Ten Commandments are the basis for the Law of Moses, and “honor thy father and mother” is the hinge between the two tablets, then we can rest in the Scriptures, knowing they are correct, we can also see why Paul used the “hinge” connecting the Mercy of the Father, with the Grace found in New Jerusalem, as he said this is a mystery regarding Christ and the Church (Eph 5:32). The biggest hypocrite of all time is the person in the congregation who says, “I love you brother”, but belittles his kids, or ridicules his wife. Or the sister who says, “I love the Body of Christ”, yet hates her husband, or belittles her children. The same authority we have to love one another, is the authority the husband has to love his wife. The same authority we have to submit to one another is the same one for the wives to submit to their husbands. However, misuse of the authority causes rebellion and a short life; also misunderstanding what Submit means causes strife.
There is something missing from the Ten Commandments, where is Circumcision? The Token or sign was given to Abraham as a sign to be kept by his generations after him. If it was a Commandment to Abraham, surely it had to be listed. After all circumcision was the token to enter the Covenant, so where is it? These people were circumcised before they entered the wilderness, but it didn’t help their belief any. Keeping the sabbath day didn’t prevent them from making the golden calf. The Law Of Moses was not a factor until they were well into the Wilderness, the Abrahamic Covenant was long before they entered Egypt. One would think circumcision would be number one, but these Commandments do not relate to the Abrahamic Covenant, they are the foundation for the Law of Moses. The Abrahamic Covenant came from God, just as the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses, but to whom were they given? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness, the children in the wilderness failed to believe God, He gave them the Law of Moses.
The Sabbath Day is among the Commandments, but was Abraham required to keep it? Was he required to keep the Passover? Or any holiday, even Pentecost? What is going on here? Does all this reflect to the failure to enter the “Rest of God” (Heb 4:1-10)? Could be, since these children kept the day, but failed to enter the Rest of God. Why did God rest on the Seventh Day? Was He exhausted from working six days straight? Was He so tried He simply couldn’t get up? Was there a ball game on heavenly cable, He didn’t want to miss? Or perhaps, just perhaps He knew all things were in place for the judgment meaning the plan was complete in His eye. Entering the Rest of God is not the same as keeping the sabbath day, as the Book of Hebrews points out.
We find this same God telling Jeremiah, “For I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices” (Jere 7:22). What? He most certainly did, but wait “the day”? The Law didn’t come before they left Egypt, or even on the third day at the bitter water hole, it came much later. In Jeremiah we also read, “but this thing I commanded them, saying Obey My voice, and I will be your God” (Jere 7:23). There it is, God’s desire for them was to obey, yet they didn’t, causing the Law to be added. Paul put it this way, “knowing this, the Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless, etc.” (I Tim 1:9-11). If we are the Righteousness of God, the Law of Moses is not made for us.
One would think the Abrahamic Covenant would be incorporated into the Ten Commandments, but it wasn’t, yet the Token was incorporated into the Law. These people were given Two Covenants, each had a position, thus the people were required to keep both. The shadow really helps us in the Gospel, there is the kingdom of heaven based on God’s Mercy for the “sons of men”, then the Kingdom of God based on God’s Grace for the “sons of God”, they become incorporated as One.
The Abrahamic and Moses Covenants became incorporated as well, thus if one seeks the Abrahamic Covenant, yet they are not circumcised on the eight day, or if they don’t keep the sabbath day, they are a thief and a witch (Gal 3:1-3).
Since the Cross and Resurrection no one is lawfully a son of God unless they have the Spirit. When the earthly ministry of Jesus began it was based on Mercy in His position as the Son of man. About half way through Jesus began to speak on spiritual matters yet to come, since it was prior to Pentecost the disciples were yet carnal, thus they were told not to speak about Jesus being the Christ (of Grace). They had no understanding of the Spirit, the Cross, or the Resurrection (Mark 9:32). Spiritual matters are foolishness to the natural mind, thus God reveals things to us by the Spirit (I Cor 2:9-10 & 2:13-14). Until the disciples were endowed with Power from on High they were not allowed to speak of those things pertaining to the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, but they were allowed to speak regarding the things of Mercy; freely they received, freely they gave.
However, the Spirit was not given until Jesus was glorified by the Resurrection (Jn 7:38-39). Jesus wasn’t keeping His position as the Christ of Grace secret, rather the disciples lacked position, authority and knowledge regarding those matters, until the Day of Pentecost, when they were endued with Power from on High. Therefore, we find the Rock was in place, the Church was not until the Spirit was given. Jesus never said the Body was the New Covenant, rather He said the New Covenant was based in His Blood (Matt 26:28, Mark 14:24 & Luke 22:20). The Body is the place between, the Rock will be broken, but the Church will never be.
Therefore, under the Shadow the males had to be marked with the Token of the Abrahamic Covenant one time, but in order to keep the Covenant of Moses they had to keep the Sabbath Day weekly as their token. The first time they failed to keep the sabbath day, they were no longer protected by the Law of Moses. They could pay tithe every day, make offerings every ten minutes, but they had to keep the sabbath day for any of it to count, or they were “stealing” the blessing. Therefore, we receive tithes, we never take them, we have no Commandment giving us the authority to take tithes from anyone.
God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, they were not bad, evil, or out of place, yet they have a Power, becoming a Principality (a place within the nation, as a beginning), but they are also nailed to the Cross, so does it mean the Father gave, then the Son destroyed? (Col 2:13-15). Not at all, it shows progression. A principality is a place, not a personage, the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments have a realm where their authority is effective, but they are only effective in their realm. Take them to a realm where they lack Authority, and we turn them into evil acts of witchcraft (Gal 3:1-3 & Jude 4). Any time we remove something from the realm God has placed it, we have committed a very dangerous act. Grace will not work in the world, any attempt to make the world act as if it has Grace turns Grace into lasciviousness (Jude 4).
The Sabbath Day is the obvious connection between the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments. What else does it mean? If you accept the Ten Commandments, you also accept the Law of Moses. If you accept the Commandments Jesus gave on the Mount, you are accepting the Mercy of the Father, if you accept the Spirit you are subject to the Law of the Spirit. Different realms with Laws for the realms, yet One God. Clearly it’s not from whom the Law came, but to what realm and people it was directed to.
God’s side of the contract was to deliver the children out of Egypt into the Promised Land, but the people had to make their commitment as well. Entering the wilderness is a type and shadow of entering the kingdom of heaven; entering the Promised Land a type of entering the Kingdom of God. We enter the kingdom of heaven as members of the Body, but God is the one who accepts us into the Kingdom of God. Simon of Samaria is the prime example, he believed in the signs and was water baptized, but his heart was not right before God, causing him to be rejected when it came to the Holy Ghost giving him the seed (Acts 8:9-24). Yet, all he had to do was pray, but instead he attempted to get others to pray for him.
The “rest” these people were looking for was the Promised Land, the day was a token, or a reminder of the issue, but they never entered God’s rest, they never believed in the purpose of God, thus there remains a Rest for (our souls) the people of God, it’s found in the Kingdom of God (Matt 11:28-29, Heb 4:3 & 4:9). Those who enter the Rest of God, cease from their own works (self-righteousness), but it doesn’t mean they don’t work, rather they stop engaging in the dead acts of self-righteous deeds (Heb 4:10). The key element to entering the Rest of God is still Belief.
There was a time of “preparation” for the children, a time to Tarry in order to take care of matters before Moses came down from the mount. However, they failed to prepare or repent, when Moses reached the foot of the mount, he spoke to the people. The first thing he spoke were the Commandments, the people had a fit, “what are we going to do?”. Moses brought clarity then advised the people, “Fear Not: for God is come to prove you, and His fear may be before your faces, that you sin not” (Ex 20:20). Prove what? Honest reflection on who they were, their failure to do any of the Commandments, or allow God to train them in how to walk upright by obedience. Ahh, admit the wrong, be honest and obedient. However, rather they wanted someone to stand between them and God, the someone ended being the Law of Moses.
The people didn’t see the premise, God wasn’t condemning them for violating the Commandments, rather He was looking for honesty. In Luke we read about, “good ground” in Luke 8:8, the word Good means Good, but in Luke 8:15 where we find the phrase “good ground”, the word Good means Honest. Good ground is honest, it knows it’s weaknesses, failures and shortcomings, it admits them so it can receive the Seed.
What did these Commandments say? Did they violate the Commandments? Yes, the evidence before them was exposure, but it was suppose to be. Rather than submit, or make a decision to believe, then obey, they demanded for Moses to stand between them and God, thus making a god out of Moses. Did they make images? The golden calf. Did they show Mercy? No, they complained and murmured on a daily basis. Did they take the name of God in vain? More than once, the saying, “God has brought us here to kill us” is taking the name (authority) in vain. Did they remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy? No, if they did the rules regarding the Manna would not be in place. If they kept the day holy, the Manna could grow on the sabbath, yet they wouldn’t touch it, thus if they were not filled with covetousness the Manna won’t become wormy. Did they commit adultery? Yes, they held to the mindset of Pharaoh, yet claimed to be of God. Their failure to repent when exposure came, caused the Law of Moses to become the barrier between them and God. The Law of Moses then became a connection to the Commandments, the key element linking the Commandments and Law to the people was keeping the sabbath day.
Moses came down the hill to the people, but when Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, He took the people with Him. Moses brought the Commandments from God to the people, but Jesus took the people to the Commandments. The Sermon on the Mount did not do away with the Law of Moses, rather it opened the Door toward one receiving direct Mercy from the Father. It’s so interesting when Jesus says, “you have heard of them of old time”, but wasn’t it God who gave Moses the Commandments? Yes, but it was Moses who gave the Law to the people. The Law of Moses was such a barrier, the name of God wasn’t attached to it, rather God gave it to Moses, then Moses gave it to the people, thus it was named after the man the people placed between them and God.
When the people left Egypt the only requirements were the Passover meal, with the Consecration of the Firstborn, their own unbelief added the other laws, all of which pointed out their sin, which made the Law and Commandments the handwriting against them. We now know these people were to maintain the same faith they held when they crossed the Red Sea, but why? Faith would have freed them from the Law, since the belief of Abraham paid their way out of Egypt, it was going to take their belief to get them past the Law into the Rest of God. Since they failed at belief, faith was out of the picture, proving the Law of Moses is not of faith. Meaning the Law itself never requires faith, it based on obedience, thus it was week to week, or moment to moment.
To better understand the events we begin with the Crossing, as the waters parted the children crossed on dry ground, the word Dry is the Hebrew Charabah, meaning dry land, but it doesn’t mean the land was totally absent of water, nonetheless if anyone has been around a large body of water they know the ground is muddy, the reference here shows a “strong wind” drove off the hindrances before them, meaning the dry wind removed the water and dried the mud. The same is true in our case, the Mighty Wind of the Holy Ghost removes the hindrances before us (Ex 14:21).
Pharaoh took great pride in his mode of transportation, the chariot to him was more than a horse drawn vehicle, it was his mark of power. When Pharaoh attempted to cross the day land the Lord took the wheels off his chariots, yet Pharaoh still was trying to drive the chariot (Ex 14:20-25). The waters returned while Pharaoh and his men were still attempting to cross, he and his men drown, but the Lord saved Israel that day (Ex 14:29). Wow, were they excited? Yes, Moses will sing his first song, but the context shows the joy came from the destruction of Pharaoh (Ex 15:2-5). Jesus warned us about taking joy in our ability to cast out devils, rather we should rejoice because our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). It doesn’t mean He was displeased because they cast out devils, rather He was warning the 70 about taking joy because things under their authority did as they were suppose to. The real joy comes when the authority over us accepts us, thus great faith knows we are a people under authority.
Miriam grabbed her timbrel, the women all followed her as they danced up a storm. Was it wrong? No, Moses’ song wasn’t wrong either, they simply were enjoying the moment, but it was all it was, “a moment”. Emotions and Faith are different, there is a joy in victory, but we can’t leave our faith behind either (Ex 15:19-21). It’s exactly what they will do, they will think this battle was the end of the war, causing them to move from faith and belief into unbelief.
Three days into the wilderness, which was still in the wilderness of Shur, which was more than likely near the place where they crossed. They could find no water, water being a metaphor for Mercy will be displayed in their attitude. When they did find water it was Bitter (Ex 15:22-23). They danced? No? They sang the song of Moses? No? They murmured against Moses, yes (Ex 15:24). Then the Lord told them to Obey and give ear to His Commandments and Statues, which at the time didn’t include the Law of Moses (Jere 7:21-23 & Ex 15:26). God wanted them to obey, yet obedience has variables. One can obey joyfully, or reluctantly, “Okay, okay, I will do it, I hate it, you know I hate it, but I will do, because I’m obedient” Please, don’t trouble yourself. God was looking for a people who would appreciate the gifts in hand, a people with expected anticipation for what God had in the future for them.
The water was bitter, Moses took a tree, tossing it into the water, causing the water to become sweet. What kind of tree was it? Who cares, the symbol shows how the Cross takes away our bitterness by bringing the Sweet Mercy of God to us.
Later God will again make a presentation regarding this matter, but we find some changes. In Exodus 19:5, which is before the Ten Commandments were given, God asked them to Obey His voice again, if they did He would make them a peculiar treasure as a “kingdom of priests” (Ex 19:5-6). Now wait, only the Levities were priests, yet it appears God wanted to make the entire nation priests. Could this be prophecy to the Kingdom yet to come? Yes, this goes beyond the comments God gave Moses, here God is looking past the Shadow to the Image, showing He had plans for the entire Kingdom of God to be both priests and kings (Rev 1:6).
We talked about the metaphors and allegories, the three days relate to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We know we’re suppose to continue to believe after we are baptized (Mark 16:16), we can see by the attitude of these children why continual belief is so vital. This is the second sign of God’s delivering power, the bitter water was changed by the Tree. Yet we find here in Exodus the miracle didn’t change their nature, but the evidence should have been enough for them to change their attitude. So the water changed, and they all praised the Lord, no? So the water changed and they all thanked God, no? They did nothing but consume it on their own lust (Ex 15:27 & James 4:1-4).
They took their journey from Elim, to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. They sang, no? They praised the Lord, no? They murmured against Moses and Aaron (adding Aaron to their list), yes (Ex 16:2). They entered a “God Is” thinking, but the wrong one, they were saying “God is going to kill us”, yet all the evidence was God was saving them. Did they see it? No, which became the “frustration of Moses” (paraphrased). They had all sorts of animals, but they were not red meat eaters, they picked up the ways of the Egyptians. The term “flesh pots” doesn’t mean red meat was boiling, to them “flesh” was fowl, or fish. The word flesh has several meanings, including the flesh of man, so we don’t want to make more of this than it is. We know the Egyptians felt shepherds were an abomination; anyone who raised red meat to eat was an abomination. They substance in Egypt was mainly vegetarian with fowl and fish, the children wanted to see the “good old days” when Pharaoh was meeting their need, but they forgot Pharaoh also kept them in bondage.
God would bring them Manna, but it came based on their murmurings (Ex 16:8). All this is leading to the sabbath day; the first time we find the word Sabbath is here in Exodus chapter 16; however, did the children praise the Lord for His provision? No, the Egyptian attitude coupled with the slavery mentality brought forth more murmuring. The connection between the Manna and the Sabbath day was another indication of God seeking obedience.
Now we find the definition of “flesh” as these people knew it, God said, “At even you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread” (Ex 16:12). What Flesh did He send them? Fast food hamburgers? No, it was quail (Ex 16:13). This is not the Great Quail Hunt, this is the first one, the Great one comes later. Nonetheless we find what the word “flesh” means in reference to these people.
Then the introduction of the Sabbath, with the phrase, “tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake what you will bake today, and seethe what you will seethe; and what remains over lay up to be kept until the morning”, then on the next day Moses said, “Eat today; for today is the sabbath unto the Lord: today you shall not find it in the field” (Ex 16:23-25). This is the introduction to the sabbath day, yet it’s before the Law and the Ten Commandments, but explained in Exodus 16. However, why did it come? Because they obeyed the Lord their God? No, because they needed one day to consider their ways? Partly, but God was still looking for the first steps of obedience.
The keeping of the Manna should have been a clue to their attitude, the people saw this strange thing, then said “Manna” or “what is it?”. Often we do the same, “What is this?”: yet it came from the Lord. They could only gather so much, if they gathered more it would turn wormy, if they attempted to horde some overnight it would turn wormy. Yet, it would keep from Friday through the sabbath. How did the Manna know what to do? The Manna is a wilderness miracle (Ex 16:34-36), it was a reflection of God’s provision, yet it also exposed the disobedience of the children, the Manna will cease when they leave the wilderness.
The Manna had no idea when the sabbath was, thus the conditions were built in by God. The command came from heaven, the Manna from the earth, the Manna obeyed, the children didn’t, it’s the point of the Manna and Sabbath day being related.
Were they successful in tempting God? Sounds like it, they murmured and complained, then God gave them what they wanted. Yet, God cannot be tempted to do evil. Ahh, their evil temptation came, but God was not fooled, He sent back three things, a basis from which they can believe unto obedience, an exposure of their attitude, and a test. The belief part was in knowing God can provide many ways, the one time quail, or the everyday Manna. The exposure was God’s Mercy granted in the face of their lack of it. The “blessing in hand” can mean many things, we must be able to discern, in order to learn. The test was in how they limited themselves to the moment, they forgot what God did yesterday, feared tomorrow, but complained about today. The exposure was obvious, instead of catching some of the quail then raising them for many days of food, they ate the whole bunch in one sitting.
From all this we can see the children were regressing, yet God wanted them to progress. God wasn’t going to force them to obey, it was up to them. There are many things in the Covenant God will not do for us, we are seek the Kingdom, God won’t, He is the Kingdom. We are to put off the old man, we are to study to make ourselves approved, we are to believe, we are to walk in faith, we are to walk in the Spirit, we are to love as Jesus loves us, we are to forgive as God for Christ’s sake forgave us, and many other things based on receiving the ability from God.
God has given us the Authority and Power to accomplish the tasks, but we must apply what God gave us. Here is our example, they had the measure of faith, they used it to cross the Sea. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have what it took, they just failed to apply it.
We can see how all this is leading up to the Ten Commandments and the Law, they came not because of the praises of the people, or the lack thereof, not because of their faith, not because of their joyous attitude, but because of their murmuring and complaining, which was the result of their unbelief, which resulted in their refusal to obey the Lord, their God. It’s vital for us to see Belief is a choice issue, the evidence is before us; we can read a verse and either accept it, or deny it, if we accept it we believe, if we deny it, we fall into unbelief.
Next would be the Water from the Rock, Paul tells us the Rock is Christ. What? How can it be? Jesus in the wilderness? Hold it, the Rock is metaphoric to begin with, as it relates to the Body of Christ, which we are. The Body of Jesus was beaten for us, the Body of Christ is never to be struck (Ex 17:1-7). The people “tempted” the Lord, yet He gave them water (Ex 17:2). We have to gain the clarity here, the people didn’t trick God with their tempting, God didn’t turn a deaf ear to them either; He tested them with their own words. Although they received water from the rock, they didn’t think it was a big deal, they didn’t jump up and down, sign or dance as they did when Pharaoh died. They were more moved by the death of Pharaoh, then the obvious blessings of God.
The place was called “Massah and Meribah” because “they tempted the Lord, saying Is the Lord among us, or not” (Ex 17:7). Ouch! How many of us have said that? God tests us, we never test God, testing God is not wise. God is responding to the children, but He is not fooled by their tempting ways. He is sending Good to them, but they don’t see as good, they made the choice to interpret what God was doing as evil, the foundation for unbelief.
All this is still before the Law and Ten Commandments, it is leading to God grant them the result of their folly. Even today the Jew thinks the Law and Commandments are a “true and rich blessing from God”, but they fail to see to whom they were delivered, or why.
The division of proving comes next, they had the Manna in hand, they had the Water from the Rock, they were in the lap of blessing, until Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. All this is still within months of crossing the Sea, yet God delivered them from Amalek when Moses stood with his arms held up, yet when Moses could no longer hold up his arms the battle went against the children (Ex 17:8-12). Moses sat on a stone, then Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses, as we saw. So what was God showing them? Unity, helping Moses was victory, murmuring and complaining was not.
The children won the battle, and Moses built an altar calling it Jehovah-nissi (The Lord my banner) but why? The Lord doing victory over the enemy, the same excitement the children had at the death of Pharaoh. Where was the altar for God providing the Manna? Or the Water from the Rock? There was none, the Commandments and Law are right around the corner; however, Jethro the priest, the father-in-law of Moses appears on the scene. We’ve talked about this area, but we can see there is a definite regression taking place. Did God know it? Yes, did the children tempt God, Yes. Was it successful? No, the Commandments and Law will prove it.
We reviewed the chain of events to get the right prospective on what is taking place, as well as what the Commandments prove. The children were told to prepare, they washed their clothes, but not their minds. The key was still “Obey My Voice” (Ex 19:5) as the Proceeding Word, but now it’s “keep My Covenant”, they were about to get a Covenant. The sabbath coming before the Law, became the token for the Law, since they were already keeping it. However in the case of Abraham it was not the case, first God gave Abraham the Covenant, then came the Token. The difference shows Abraham received Covenant when he was not circumcised, these people received after they held the token. Therefore, for Abraham it was obedience and belief, for these people it’s to get them to obey. They still had a slavery mentally, yet the ability to be free was in hand.
Now the Commandments, the first was,, “Thou shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex 20:3). What gods? This goes right back to the Fall, these are Commandments given to those under the Fall Nature. However, do we find the natural side? Yes, mentor worship, wanting to be an “angel”, or a self-appointed “god”, some call it the “Jezebel spirit”, really it’s the Jezebel mindset, of a self-appointed leader, one who is their own prophet, or forms their own meaning to doctrines, or have the “special” thing making them better than the rest of the Body, they want to be a god among people.
God said they were not to have any “god” (judge) before them and God, what will they say? “Speak you with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Ex 20:19). They proved the point, they broke the first Commandment within seconds of hearing it.
This defines the term “Body of Moses” showing us the figure next to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration was not Moses the man, but the Body of Moses, or better a representation of the Law. Making Elijah a representation of the Prophets, there stood the Law and Prophets on either side of Jesus, but the Father said, “Hear ye Him”. So what did Peter want? “Let us make three tabernacles” (Matt 17:1-6). After all Peter simply wanted to do something, a little honor couldn’t hurt. What was he doing? Equating the Law and Prophets as equal to Jesus, not real smart. We can turn most anything into an god, theology can be a god, tradition, our own personal agenda can be, and often is.
The next Commandment had to do with idols of stone, or idols in the mind (Ex 20:4). So, did they obey? No, the golden calf proves it. They placed their bellies as an idol as well, “what shall we eat?”. What are we told, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought of itself”; “therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat?”; “For after these things do the Gentiles (outsiders) seek; for your heavenly Father knows you have need of all these things” (Matt 6:31-34). “Well it’s fine for back then, but this is now”, true, but Jesus is the same, it’s still a Kingdom Principle.
We can see how these are lining up with the fall nature, the third Commandment tells them not to bow down to the images, we can see how this connects to the last one, but it’s also different. “I didn’t make it, I just bowed”, or “I didn’t bow, I just made it”. Like telling a cow to keep the sabbath, “I’m keeping the sabbath, my cow is doing the plowing”. The fall nature looks for the loophole every time.
Taking the Name of the Lord in vain, would be the same as taking the Name of Jesus, yet rejecting the Mercy of the Father. It’s the very error the “Lord, Lord” people make, they did the Acts, but worked at avoiding doing the Ways (Matt 7:21-23).
The sabbath day is the token to the Law, here we find it’s incorporated into the Ten Commandments. Showing the connection between the Commandments and Law, yet we find them as the Principality and Power nailed to the Cross (Col 2:13-18).
The hinge is honor thy mother and father, so how does it relate to the Fall? “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Leave? What has it to do with honor? Much, God will say in Joshua 24:3, “I took your father Abraham”, we find the same reference types in many areas (Luke 1:73, 16:24-30, Jn 8:53-56, Acts 7:2 & Rom 4:12). God pointed to our physical parents, but more important to these people He was telling them to Honor Moses and those in leadership, thus the Hinge is the Shoulder, the government order between God and the congregation. The Hinge was important, showing we can honor our leaders, but we don’t make gods out of them. The Commandment, “thou shall not kill”, applies, since they were killing Moses daily with their murmuring and complaining.
The word “kill” means murder, or the taking of a life for some self-based purpose. Adultery is another area, according to the Jews in the time of Jesus no man could commit adultery, only a woman. Also they felt if one had the thought, yet rejected it, they were more holy than the person who never had the thought. Jesus cleared the issue, by giving a Division in the Proceeding Word. If man or woman plans out the evil, thinks up the plan, or attempts to put the plan into action in their minds, they have committed adultery (Matt 5:27).
Then stealing, but steal what? Anything, the power, the calling, money, position, or a prophecy given to another, anything, it was not specific, but what else? The Mercy of God, thus taking the Mercy of God, yet refusing to give it is stealing. Stealing is the unlawful taking, or using of something without granted permission, or taking something and using it in opposition of the authority. One can be using an item saying, “well I didn’t steal it, I’m just using it, so I’m innocent”, yeah right; not so, you are just as guilty as the one who stole it. Paul says we should stop stealing, rather we should work with our hands so we might have to give, so what does it mean (Eph 4:28)? God gives the Seed to the sower, but what if the sower never Sows, rather they eat all the Seed, just as these children ate all the quail, they stole the Seed, since God gave it to be Sown.
Bearing false witness is another area, helping to validate the last verses in Mark, for without them we would never know why Peter had to have three witnesses, yet he still failed to believe Jesus was raised. Mary was one, the two men on the road the other two, in the mouth of two or three witnesses a fact is affirmed. When Peter said, “no” he was calling them false witnesses, but when Peter said, “not so Lord, I will never deny you”, he became a false witness. Have we ever promised God something, yet failed? We violated this Commandment. Thank God for Grace, Amen?
Proverbs 14:25 says, A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies. There are six things the Lord hates, the seventh is an abomination, a proud look, but is a proud look attached to? A proud person. A lying tongue, but what is a tongue attached to? A rose bush? No, to a person who lies. Among those things God hates we find, “A false witness speaking lies” (Prov 6:16-19). The next one is the one falling on anyone who engages in self-righteousness, “Thou shall not covet” (Ex 20:17 & Rom 7:7). This is the motive behind the “spirit lusting to envy”, wanting what others have, yet not willing to pay the price to get it. No human under the fall nature has Right standing before God. None can come boldly to the throne, unless they are Born Again. The act of self-righteousness is attempting to gain standing before the Living God by using the corrupt flesh, which means the person covets the standing, but lacks the ability to gain it.
When the people heard all these things, they feared, since they left their faith at the sea shore (Ex 20:18-21). God wanted to be among them so the very presence of God could heal them, along with their change in attitude, but they lacked belief and faith. They were still thinking, “God is going to kill us”.
We can see how all this points to the fall nature meaning the Commandments and the Law designed for natural fallen man within the realm of the world, which ends at the Cross. The Commandments do not say fallen man will do all these things, it says fallen man has the Potential to do them. Jesus gave us a Way to be removed from the area of the Potential, we gain a New nature and character enabling us to do the Commandments of Mercy and Grace.
Truly all have sinned, coming short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23); there is none righteous, no not one, but running from God doesn’t bring salvation, neither does putting barriers between us and God (Rom 3:10). However, they also had the opportunity to repent, but instead of repenting, they wanted Moses to stand between them and God. This one area shows why the Commandments were written on stone, the words were from God, the stones showed the type of hearts they were sent to. Was faith available? Yes, God spoke, all they had to do was Obey the words. “Well, maybe stone is all they had to write on”. Yes, all five books were written on stone. No, the first five books were written on animal skins, not stones. The stones had a purpose, God could have written them on anything He wanted, including tree bark. The stone displayed the type of heart in the person the Commandments were directed to. You can’t circumcise a heart made of stone, the heart subject to the circumcision not made with hands has to be soft (teachable).
When the people feared, their fear didn’t stop God from talking to Moses, or continuing with the plan, but the plan now called for another Covenant, one for a people who lacked faith, they refused to believe in God. It was in the Plan, but not the Desire. God’s Desire for these people was to spend “40 days” learning, but their murmuring and complaining not only hastened the Desire of God, it produced the Reality of God, ending with the Law of Moses.
From the Commandments to the Judgments, we know God gave Moses the Judgments, something we talked about prior, as they relate to what the Judges will Judge. God then gives them the Seventh Year Sabbath then added the Three Festivals (Ex 23:10-19). Then we read something strange, God will “send an angel” before the people, isn’t God going? (Ex 23:20). Who is “this Angel”? Could it be Michael, the prince of the Jews (Dan 10:21)? Yes, but there is another aspect here as well. The word Angel means A messenger, if one speaks on behalf of God, they are an Angel of God. On the other hand if one speaks from the old nature they are a messenger of Satan. Paul told the Galatians “though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than what we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8), then he told them “but [you] received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus” (Gal 4:14), yet he didn’t rebuke them for it. This Angel carried and protected a Message, later we will find how Michael contended over the “Body of Moses”, the Body of Moses is the Law of Moses, which was birthed in the wilderness.
These people hid under the Green Tree of God’s Mercy, but used the same old excuse, “God loves us” or “God accepts us like we are”, or “God knows my heart”, God knew their heart, yet He still provided their provision. If God doesn’t want to make a change in us, Jesus died in vain. Through God’s love He has provided a means for us to change, in order to be a change. Taking or claiming His Love, yet not fulfilling the purpose of Love is stealing. God so loved the world He gave the Law of Moses, no? God so loved the world He gave the sabbath, no? God so loved the world He gave us Jesus (Jn 3:16). However, with the giving, came the receiving. James tells us even the devils believe in One God; Jesus said Judas was a devil, so the concept of devils goes much further then fallen winged beings, just as the concept of being an angel goes further than Michael.
Prior Moses brought the Ten Commandments to the people, but they said, “Speak you with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Ex 20:19); however, they neither agreed to, or rejected the Commandments. Moses then drew near unto the “thick darkness” where God was (Ex 20:21). What was God doing in the “thick darkness”? Didn’t all this begin by God dividing the Light from the Darkness? First John says there is no Darkness in God, so what is God doing in the darkness? Could it be, the Darkness is representative of what these people were producing? Yes, on God’s side it was Light, on the side facing the people it was darkness, as a reflective indicator of them, yet Moses remained a friend to God.
Moses brings the information back to the people, now they say, “All the words which the Lord has said will we do” (Ex 24:3). This was their agreement to the Covenant. Moses and the young men of the children of Israel then gave sacrifices, but wait, the Tabernacle wasn’t built yet, what did they use? The earthen altar noted back in Exodus 20:22-24. The children again said, “All the Lord has said will we do, and be obedient” (Ex 24:7). The added concept of Obedience confirmed their vow. Something is missing isn’t it? They never said, “we love the Lord, we believe and trust in Him”. Obedience without believe or love often ends in reluctant obedience.
Peter calls us the Elect according to the Foreknowledge (predestination) of God the Father, through Sanctification of the Spirit Unto Obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus (I Pet 1:2). Moses sprinkled the book and people, the Spirit sprinkles us with the Blood of Jesus, yet in both cases we find the word Obedience. Is this the Obedience of God, or our Obedience? Ours of course, thus Faith must entail Obedience, when Faith comes, we must hear and obey in order to enter the Words of Faith.
Peter also told us to take heed to the Milk (more sure Word of prophecy – spoken or written word regarding Jesus) as unto a light shinning in a dark place, until the Day Dawn, and the Day Star arise in our hearts (I Pet 2:2 & II Pet 1:19). Knowing the division of the Day and Night, as well as what the metaphor Star means, opens this passage in II Peter. The promise of being a Star, among the Stars without number must be connected to the Day Dawn, thus the Day Dawn is akin to the New Birth, the “dark place” is within us, thus we all began in Darkness, moving to the Light, to have the Light, in order for the Greater Light to shine through us. Sounds simple enough, but it must be done in our obedience, yet obedience can either be reluctant, or willing.
God doesn’t promise to remove everything all at once; there are times when He removes the tares little by little, until we are increased in the inheritance (Ex 23:30). This shows a progression of the cleaning, rather than a one time, one prayer event. It’s what He wanted to do with these children, but change won’t come unless we desire it.
The children were quick to make verbal promises, but slow to put them into action (Ex 24:1-3). These people Heard, then said they would Obey, but did they? Was their obedience connected to their vows?
All this is still before the famed golden calf experience; Moses received the tables of stone for the people, the word Tables is the Hebrew Iuwach meaning To glisten, or Shine, as a polished rock, but why stone? (Ex 24:12). We just saw why, yet in our case the Ground is soft by belief, meaning God can write on our hearts, rather than pointing to a stone saying it’s our heart.
Later both God and Moses will agree, “these are a stiffnecked people”, thus a stiffnecked person is the result of a hard heart. When Moses gets these Tables it will be on the “seventh day”, in the “sight of the glory of the Lord” was like a “devouring fire” (Ex 24:17). If it’s the seventh day, what is Moses doing carrying them? He made himself subject to the sabbath day, but he was not required to follow the Law, it became his Law given to the people. This one event shows Moses was not subject to the Law, it came from him. The word Devouring is the Hebrew Akal meaning To consume, or To eat up. Moses would be in this mount forty days and nights, he would also receive the plans of the Tabernacle (Ex 24:18). There is forty again, a time Moses would spend on the Mount was the same time Jesus would spend in the wilderness.
If God told them to make the earthen altar, why change now? The earthen altar was to enter into the Covenant, now the preparation and plans for something else was being presented, another Proceeding Word. Here is another paradox, in this Covenant God made plans for the violation, in the Covenant we have, He has made plans for the completion (Ex 20:24 & 25:8). The Tabernacle was another blessing, but it went much further than these people. It was a Shadow of something yet to come, becoming one of the foundations of belief. The Tabernacle was strange at best, one day there it was, then gone, as in a twinkling of an eye. It was portable, it had places of separation, yet it also had places where one would find God.
The first thing Moses hears about is the “gifts for the tent” (Ex 25:1-7). Then the making of the Sanctuary, which would be according to the “pattern of the tabernacle” (Ex 25:9). This Tabernacle being a shadow, doesn’t mean God lives in a tent in heaven, rather it’s a type of something, although it’s not the Something. This Tabernacle will be a place of Separation and Unity pointing to Jesus as the Son of man. In the Book of Revelation Jesus as the Son of man is seen among the Menorah (golden candlestick), He is not the Candlestick, we find the seven churches are. In the Holy of Holies was the Mercy Seat; however we come boldly to the Thorne of Grace to obtain Mercy, and Find Grace. There was no Grace in the Tabernacle, it a symbol of God’s Mercy, yet it also has a shadow reference pointing to the Son of man. It was never destroyed as the Temple was, the plans came during the Day, not the Night, it was portable, it could move anywhere Mercy was needed.
The Tabernacle will be last seen in Shiloh with Eli the priest, since it was, and was not, it becomes a type of the Rapture, but the Temple will be different, representing something different. The Tabernacle could move, the Temple could not, the Tabernacle was a product of the Day, the Temple was permitted by God in the Night. The Temple is a type of Judgment, the Tabernacle a type of Salvation. These people in the wilderness were not privy to Salvation as we know it, but they were saved from Egypt.
What is the Tabernacle of David? David never had the Tabernacle, really he didn’t have the Temple either. What did he have? The ark of the covenant, as the Mercy Seat of God (II Sam 6:14). The place where God dwells is not made of fabric, or wood; we are the Tabernacle, if we are Born Again (Gal 4:6).
The Tabernacle in the wilderness was nonetheless a shadow, it had a Tent structure within the fenced courtyard, thus we find two elements, the courtyard and the tent, within the Tent there were two more elements, the holy place and the holy of holies. The holy place was twice as long as wide, the holy of holies was foursquare, it was as wide as high, and long as wide. The Courtyard was divided from the Tent, but the structure of the Tent was in the courtyard, thus the activities in the Tent were to be separated from those in the courtyard, yet the Tent itself was surrounded by the courtyard. This type and shadow is how we are surrounded by the Unction of the anointing on the Body, yet separated into the Holy Place to conduct our priestly duties.
The tent was always the same, it moved from place to place, but it was the same tent. The courtyard would change depending on where the tent enclosure was set-up, yet, we find a mystery. The tent had the “holy place” and “holy of holies”, giving us at least two holies, but the courtyard was joined by association, yet separated from the outside by the curtain all around it, making it holy. All this shows there is more than one type of Holiness, if there is a Holy of Holies then there are other Holies, here we find three.
Entrance into the courtyard was granted by the sacrifice of the person, regardless of the person. There were guards who inspected the sacrifice, thus the sacrifice was the means of entry, the same with us. However, to make entry into the Holy Place one had to be a priest, then only the High Priest could make entry into the Holiest of All, then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The Holy Place contained the Shewbread, with table upon which the Shewbread rested, the Menorah (golden candlestick), and the Golden Altar of Incense. The Golden Altar of Incense represented all the prayers of the people, it stood just before the entrance to the Holy of Holies. The Menorah had seven cups, three on either side of the one in the center.
Of course we see some obvious differences, the high priest could only enter the holiest of all once a year, but we have boldness and confidence based in Jesus to come boldly to the Throne of Grace (position) to obtain Mercy (condition) and find Grace (ability to maintain) in the time of need (Heb 4:16, Eph 2:8, 2:18 & 3:12). There is no veil facing us, rather Jesus having abolished even the Law and Commandments for to make in Himself the two (holy place and holy of holies) for the New Man, giving us access by the Spirit through the Faith of Jesus (Eph 1:15, 1:18 & 2:12). The holy place was where the priests operated, thus it’s akin to the kingdom of heaven, the holiest of all didn’t have a candlestick, God provided the light therein, thus it’s akin to the Kingdom of God.
The Hebrew word for candlestick is Menorah, we don’t want to confuse the Menorah in the Tabernacle with the one seen every December as the “Hanukkah Menorah”. The Hanukkah has nine bowls, four on each side of the middle stem. It came into existence about 170 years before Christ appeared as the Word made flesh. It was associated with the Feast of Dedication, which is held on December 25th (Jn 10:22). The Feast of Dedication is associated to the Maccabees revolt against the Syrians, when the Maccabees cleaned the temple. The time it takes to make olive oil for the burning is eight days, but they only had enough oil for one day, thus God did a miracle; the one day oil lasted until the New Oil could be applied some nine days later, thus one bowl for each day. In either case the word Menorah means candlestick, whether it belongs to the Hanukkah feast, or Temple. It’s also clear they didn’t use “candles” they used olive oil prepared to burn. The temple Menorah has seven bowls, to the Jew it’s representative of the sabbath, to us it’s our Rest in Jesus.
Not only was the face of Moses a representation of the people placing a veil on their minds when the Law is read, we find the covenant as a veil as well, God placed an 18 inch thick Curtain (Veil) between the holy place and the holy of holies to keep the people from His Mercy Seat. Yet it was God’s Mercy producing the Law, but here we find many barriers, each as a result of the unbelief held by the children.
There is another major difference between the Tabernacle and Temple, when one so much as tossed strange fire into the Tabernacle, they died, but one could defile the Temple, yet not die. What? Didn’t the Pharisees defile the Temple? Didn’t Jesus have to clean it? Did the money changers die? Although Jesus was angry, His anger didn’t control, or instruct Him, as He was angry, but sinned not. The anger of Jesus was against those who used the position God granted them for the purpose of making gain by robbing the people, thus Jesus said sin was being “angry without cause”, He had “cause” (Matt 5:22). Although the Law told the priests to “take” tithes, it didn’t allow them to steal, or make money changing a deceptive method of taking tithes.
God begins with the Ark of the Covenant, which would be placed in the Holy of Holies. There is a difference between “pure gold” and “gold”, pure gold is so pure one can see through it, but gold has other properties giving it the color we know it by. We know the “streets of heaven” are paved with gold, does it mean real gold as we know it, or are we seeing a metaphoric use? The metaphor Gold means Pureness, it doesn’t mean God has gold from the earth in heaven, it means there is no defilement in heaven. The Mercy Seat was “flesh free”, it was to be placed on top of the Ark, with the Two Angels. Each Angel represented something, one the Message of the Day, as the Gospel of Peace, the other the Message of the Night, as the Everlasting Gospel. Although it was a seat, or the place where God placed His Mercy for the people, we find the purpose of the Law was to grant mercy to the people who didn’t deserve it. The Ark of the Covenant was the only piece of furniture in the Holy of Holies, yet it contained three items of great importance. Why would God place the most holy item out of reach of the children? They picked the manna, so why couldn’t they see the Ark which held some of the manna? They knew Aaron’s rod budded, so why couldn’t they see it? They just heard the Ten Commandments, so why not see the stones? Could all this be a sign of their separation from God? Or could God be giving them something “not seen” so they can begin to re-build their belief needed to establish faith. Or, could it be natural man has a propensity to make the things of God, his god?
In the Holy Place the Menorah produced the Light, but it had to be maintained by the priests. In the Holy of Holies God provided the Light. However, the Ark is the Mercy seat, indicating how God’s provision was based in His Mercy, not the mercy of the children. The courtyard was the place of Judgment, the Holy Place the area of priestly service, the Holy of Holies the place where God’s Mercy rested. This is the “Mercy Seat”, not the “Throne of Grace”, these people were not privy to Grace.
The Ark wasn’t very big either, the measurements were two and one half cubits in length, a cubit and a half in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height (Ex 25:10). A cubit is roughly 18 inches showing the Ark was about 45 inches in length, 27 inches in height, and 27 inches in breath. However, physical size didn’t mean much, the same Ark parted the Jordan.
The Tabernacle was an anointed place, it had the three different forms of anointing. The Courtyard had the anointing of Justice, the Holy Place the Unction of protection, the Holiest of All the Anointing of Mercy. Moses had an anointing as well, as did Aaron. Aaron’s was positional, much like the five fold ministry, but the anointing of Moses went further, so much so his face did shine as a result of being in the Presence of God. The same “glow” could have been on the children, if only they would have “received”, rather than “reject”. Moses was in the presence of God on this earth, but think of the Anointing we have by Christ in us? Moses had a glory, but nothing like the glory we have (Rom 8:18)
Even the Pillars used to support the Tent were different from those used to support the curtain around the outside of the Courtyard. This is another example of how God separated the Day from the Night, and His children from the world by using different forms of separation. As soon as one entered the Holy Place they were faced with the Candlestick on the Left, the Shewbread on the Right, the Golden Altar of Incense straight ahead. The sign of the Cross was evident, but the Jew saw it as a symbol of the blood in the three places on the door at the Passover.
The Mercy of God was present in the Courtyard, but all the efforts in the Courtyard were by the hands of man at the direction of God. The efforts in the Holy Place were still at the hands of man, but the symbols were different. Could this be a Type of the New? Yes, we will see this pattern given later in the Book of Revelation as Jesus in the midst of the golden candlestick. Jesus is seen in the midst of the seven bowled candlestick, as He speaks to the seven churches. It has to have a connection, the symbol was here in Exodus as the shadow.
The Shewbread table was overlaid with gold, but the base for all these items was Shittim Wood, the word Shittim means To pierce, thus the Shittim Wood is a type of Jesus on the Cross.
The Law of Moses came from God, but was maintained by man, therein was the fault. The Law of the Spirit is from God, maintained by God through the Spirit, therein is the Glory. The Report is the Father, Word and Holy Ghost, the Witness in us is the Water, Blood and Spirit, thus the Witness is not flesh, natural, or soul.
The manna and the shewbread were different, the manna was found on the ground, but the flour for the shewbread was purchased from the various nations around the wilderness. The flour used was expensive, but the concept shows “many nations”, Jesus never said He was the manna, why not? The manna was a miracle, it surely came from God, but it was also short lived, if misused it became wormy. The manna was only for the wilderness, but the shewbread continues on. Jesus is with us in our wilderness and beyond, He won’t leave us.
The third piece of furniture would be the Golden Candlestick, or Menorah. There have been several discussions regarding the Menorah, was it tall? Short? Table top size? There is no mention of the Menorah being on a table, but some feel it was shorter than a man. There are also those who think the Menorah had floating bowls in each candle position allowing some of the oil to enter in and burn, others say the oil had a wick. According to history the Menorah in the Temple was a floor standing type, but the Temple and the Tabernacle had some major differences, thus one can’t assume since the Temple had something, the Tabernacle must have the same thing. After all the Temple had a large stone in place of the Ark of the Covenant.
The “Incense Altar” was actually the gateway to the Holy of Holies, as incense is a type showing the “prayers of the saints” (Rev 8:4). We understand the Golden Altar of Incense was in the Holy Place, but in the text God jumped from the Menorah to the Tent. Did He forget about the Altar of Incense? Or is He giving us a “plan of Salvation”? Or is it a pattern of Salvation and Judgment? Something to consider, later in the construction of the Tabernacle we will find the order moves from the candlestick to the incense altar. However, does all this mean we actually began in the Holy Place before we came to Jesus? No, it means God’s Mercy reached toward us as it connected to the measure of faith, then the Holy Ghost brought us to the Cross. We then gained entrance based on the Sacrifice of Jesus. Once in the courtyard we grew until we reached the place where we could enter the Holy Place. We grew the more by the Spirit until we became spiritual in nature granting enter with boldness which is really confidence in humbleness.
There were also the various instruments used by the priest, one has to notice the little things are important. The smaller cups and instruments were as carefully designed and made as were the big instruments. God pays attention to details, even if we don’t.
Now to the enclosure, the first thing we see is “ten curtains”, the number Ten points to Testing. Then Five curtains, the number Five points to Grace, thus there is a Testing of Grace connected to the Holy Place. In order to make entry into the Holy Place one had to be a priest assigned to the duties of service. Jesus has made us both kings and priests.
The Curtain to the entrance of the courtyard had palm branches embroidered on it, we know Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the people tossed palm braches before Him. The Palm Branch is a metaphor for Victory, thus entrance into the courtyard is the first step toward Victory. The Curtain before the Holy Place had a big Eye on it, representing the Examining Eye of God. The Curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies had three cherubs embroidered on it, pointing to the Trinity in our case, to the Jew it again reflected to the three areas of blood on the door. The Ark had two angels over the seat, one representing the Day, the other the Night. All these figures were interesting to the children, but they didn’t know the mystery; therefore, these things are written for us.
The Tent itself was called the “tabernacle of the congregation” (Ex 27:21, 28:43, et al), which seems strange, since the congregation couldn’t enter therein. The Tabernacle was a series of Separations, holding a series of steps regarding the presentation of the sacrifice, but it was designed for the People of Congregation, a place where they could see something of God, in order to assist them in their belief. The blood of the sacrifice was never “poured” in the tent enclosure, it was sprinkled. The tent enclosure had pillars connected one to the other, but the roof was a series of skins and curtains.
The Ark would contain a sample of the Manna representing God’s provision, but the Manna came as a result of murmuring didn’t it? This sign showed the people how God provided, even when they didn’t deserve it. The Tables of Stone were also in the Ark, as was Aaron’s Rod. Aaron’s Rod held two signs, first we know about the correction, but it also appeared dead, yet buds of almonds appeared, thus it became a sign of the New Birth, which is also a sign of the Resurrection, the time when death appears to be the case, but Life springs forth.
The separation element set between the Holy Place and Holy of Holies was a Veil (Ex 26:31), the word Veil used here means Separation, thus the Law of Moses, the Commandments and Judgments were all Separating elements between man and God, rather than joining man to God. This is clear when we read, “and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy” (Ex 26:33). Again, if there is a Most Holy, there is a Less Holy and a Lesser Holy, if the Most Holy is Most, it must be Greater, if the Lesser Holy is Less, it must be Lesser. The New Man is created (or formed, same Greek word) after God’s True Holiness and Righteousness (Eph 4:24). Why “True Holiness”, what other kind does God have? It’s a Holiness above the Holiest of All, the very Image the shadow points to.
The covering between the Holy Place and the Courtyard was not called a Veil, it was termed a Hanging (Ex 26:36). On the garment was the all seeing eye of God, it examined the person, not the sacrifice. Once someone gained entry into the courtyard by their sacrifice they were expected to follow the procedures as individuals. The two sons of Aaron will prove this, their folly didn’t do away with the priesthood, it did do away with them.
God then moves to the Courtyard and the Brazen Altar, this Altar was to be made of Brass, not Gold (Ex 27:6). Why Brass? Brass is a sign of Judgment, Gold stood for Purity and Salvation, Silver for Redemption, there was no Gold in the courtyard, even the instruments of the courtyard were made of brass. Although we find both Salvation and Judgment in the Tabernacle we also find a division between them. The same with the Cross of Jesus, it brings us Salvation, yet it also held the same Son of Man who will judge mankind in the end. John makes note of this, although he sees Jesus in the midst of the menorah, he also sees the feet of Jesus like unto “fine brass”, showing the courtyard as the place of Judgment (Rev 1:15).
The larger enclosure was fifty cubits, by one hundred cubits, or two times longer than the width, but the Holy of Holies was four-square, the Holy Place was two times longer than the width. The Holy of Holies was fifteen cubits by fifteen, the Holy Place was fifteen cubits by thirty. Recalling how a cubit is the measurement of a man’s arm from the bend of the elbow to the tip of the finger, generally called, “18 inches”; however, wouldn’t the cubit of a jockey be less than a cubit of a center on a professional basketball team? Yes, thus God used types of measurements to keep us from making the exactness, yet allowing us to know the overall layout. If a cubit was three inches, the measurement for the Holy of Holies would still be foursquare.
The entrance to the courtyard was not the Veil, but a hanging called “the Gate of the Court” (Ex 27:16). The Gate was the place where the Sacrifice was examined, but the place where the sacrifice was killed then offered was in the courtyard. The courtyard area of Tabernacle was enclosed with a fence, making it akin to the sheepfold with only one way in or out. The sacrifices and washings were conducted in the Courtyard as types of our testings of faith and our baptisms. The courtyard is akin to thirty fold, the holy place akin to sixty fold, the holy of holies to one hundred fold, thus we find a type of growth. Each area only had one way in or out, thus there were no “back doors”, nor windows.
It’s one thing to have a Menorah, another to care for it, thus God gave the order of bringing the Light (Ex 27:20). The Oil had to be “beaten” in order to make it pure enough to bring the Light, this is a type of the beatings Jesus took for us. Our sufferings for Jesus is suffering what the flesh demands, while not allowing it to manifest in our lives. The Menorah would be a Testimony, it burned from “evening to morning” (Ex 27:21). Wait, didn’t it burn all the time? No, or how could they move it? In the Temple it burned continually, but not in the wilderness. Nonetheless, the testimony was from evening to morning, Paul said, “the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night”, with “but you, brethren, are not in darkness, so the day should overtake you as a thief” (I Thess 5:2 & 5:4). However, Jesus said to those from Sardis who Failed to repent, “If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief” (Rev 3:3). Clearly this is for those who fail to Watch, rather than those who do Watch and Pray. For those who do Watch, Jesus says “I will confess their name before My Father” (Rev 3:5).
The Brass Basin was also called the Brazen Laver, it was placed between the Brazen Altar and the opening to the Holy Place; the priests would wash their hands and feet in it (Ex 30:19). The purpose was so they “die not”, but does this washing relate to our Water Baptism? One could presume so, but if it’s the case, why only the feet and hands? Didn’t Jesus wash the feet of the disciples? Yes, we know about the Washing of the Water By the Word, thus this Brazen Laver is not akin to our Water Baptism as an act, but it does relate to the Identification. When we gave our token of water baptism it included our vow to walk in Mercy, the purpose of the priesthood was not to represent the people, but to serve God before the people (Ex 28:1). The Basin Laver was an external washing, the feet because they would be on holy ground, the hands because they would handle the things of the Tabernacle. Our water baptism is our token identifying us with the death and resurrection of Jesus, thus the death includes our vow to deny the self, then pick up our cross, the resurrection is our vow to seek the Baptism with the Holy Ghost to have the Spirit, so we can be spiritual in nature. Therefore, both our water baptism and the Brazen Laver held water, but for different purposes.
Next comes the clothes, or garments for the Priests, each item related to something correlating to our Season. The outer garment in the case of the priests protected them in the duties of the office; however, if any priest, including the high priest violated the duties of office they would die, garment or not. Aaron would die in the wilderness the day his garments were removed, but his wrong had nothing to do with his office duties, rather he challenged Moses. In our case we have the New Man inside, but we are also told to put on the New Man, as the Armor of God. The New Man is also known as Another Comforter, the word Comforter means Armor Bearer, or one who walks along beside, thus he is not only holding the Armor, he is the Armor. Although we will not go into great detail here, we can see the shadow has some valid information for us. The Breastplate for Aaron was called “the breastplate of Judgment”, not the Breastplate of Righteousness (Ex 28:15). However, we will find our “Armor of God” is more akin to the Priest’s Garments, than to some Roman soldier. The Roman soldier did have protective garments, but the priest was able to come before God, the Roman soldier was not. Comparing the Armor to the things of the world may give us the impression the Armor is designed for aggression, rather than protection. Two items on the Armor of God would seem to be aggressive in nature, the Sword of the Spirit, but the Sword is the Rhema of God, as we speak Grace to the hearer, thus the Sword is not to kill with, it’s to bring life. The Shield of faith is based in the Faith of Jesus, it has proven itself worthy, it will protect us. The priests also had two types of garments, Aaron’s sons did not wear the same garments as Aaron. Aaron’s son worn white linen clothing under an ankle-length, seamless tunic of white linen, bound at the waist by a long girdle. On their heads they wore white linen hats. The high priest was much different, it’s the high priest garments we view as the type and shadow toward the Armor of God. One part of the garment for the high priest was a piece of pure gold with the wording “HOLINESS TO THE LORD”, this doesn’t say, “You are holy unto the Lord, rather it points to all holiness belonging to the Lord (Ex 28:36). The high priest’s garment, which Aaron wore, and the Priest’s garments which his sons wore, were for “glory and beauty”. The connection goes to the famed Urim and Thummim (Ex 28:30); Urim means Perfection, Thummim means Light, no where can we find them as physical items, rather we find God placed them in the Breastplate of Judgment, not in the person. The garment began with “blue and purple” (Ex 39:1), both are metaphors; blue represents heaven, in this case it shows how the people were separated from heaven. Purple points to royalty, showing how God was looking for “kings”, but found a bunch of self-centered princes. These clothes were all purposed for “service” in the “holy place”, thus the holy place was only for the priests, yet they had to be washed before entry. The Holy of Holies was the most special place, only the high priest could enter therein, then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. Only after he gave his own sacrifice for his sins with much fear and trembling. We recall the Sabbath, as the Rest of the Lord pertained to the Feasts, the Day of Atonement was one of those feasts.
There are words we won’t find in the Bible, but the concepts are clear. For instance, the word Accountable in any form is not in the King James Bible, but here in Exodus the concept is very clear. Another word we won’t find in the King James Bible is “Interesting”, isn’t it Interesting? There are some things we find, which seem like they would be Interesting, for instance, the Anointing Oil found in Exodus 29:7 and following. Won’t it be great to make this Oil, we could have the same Anointing Oil as God desired. After all God did give us the formula (Ex 30:23-26). Of course we find the Purpose was to anoint the Tabernacle, furniture and priests. Maybe we could make it and sell it? However, we then find “whosoever compounds any like it, or whosoever puts any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people” (Ex 30:33). Huh? Not so desirable now, but wait now, David was anointed with Oil. Yes, Olive Oil; this anointing oil was to be made Once and only Once, a type of the Anointed One as Jesus, thus we obtain our Anointing from the Anointed One, we don’t run off ignoring the warning. We use Olive Oil based on the Sermon from the Mount of Olives, representative of God’s Mercy.
Next would come the Golden Altar of Incense, but why wait so long? Isn’t this piece just as important as the Shewbread Table, or the Menorah? (Ex 30:1). It is, the placement in the plan is very important on our path through the Tabernacle. We saw the Courtyard was all brass, relating to Judgment, then we make entry into the Holy Place where the Shewbread, Oil and Light wait for us, but this Golden Altar of Incense was just before one makes entry into the Holy Of Holies. A like figure, or better, the Image from which this figure came is seen again in the Book of Revelation as the place where the Dead in Christ wait for the time when we will meet them in the Air (Rev 6:9). This Altar is a symbol of how the Dead in Christ are in the Third Heaven (Paradise), as the Clouds (Witnesses) waiting for the day when we join them, then all of us will then meet Jesus in the air, where we will forever remain with Him. The churches in the Body were seen as the Menorah, we are the Bread, but the Altar is the point just before entrance into the Holiest of All.
Jesus was received by A Cloud, not Clouds, but He returns with the Clouds, not Cloud, what is the difference? Prior when Jesus ascended, the Holy Ghost had not yet given the Spirit, thus those Jesus took captive from the captivity became The Cloud of Witnesses, but since then many, really so many they can’t be counted, have joined them under the Altar. The Book of Hebrews defines the metaphor “cloud” as Witnesses (Heb 12:1).
All of sudden here in Exodus we see the length of time for Moses to get the plans was forty days and nights, the number forty refers to a wilderness. Nonetheless what we have been reading is not the construction of the Tabernacle, but the plan given to Moses from which it was to be built, but what about those at the bottom of the Mount? Of course, they have been praying for the man of God on the mount, right? Oh, Aaron was holding services, preaching the mercy of God, right? let’s see what was going on.
The people said they would obey the Lord, the Lord was giving Moses the plans, but didn’t God know the people would build the famed Golden Calf? Yes He did, but once they voiced their agreement, He continued with the plan, thus our unbelief stops us, it doesn’t stop God, He moves on. This alone shows God expects us to be where we should be. It’s we who play “catch up” not God, yet God knew we would have to run along behind yelling, “Wait Lord, it wasn’t my fault, it was the Bible teacher you gave me”.
Exodus now gives us the intent behind the Golden Calf, as the people began to wonder, “where is this Moses?”. Their intent is found in the phrase “this Moses, the man brought us up out of the land of Egypt” (Ex 32:1). Wasn’t it God who brought them out? Perhaps they didn’t know, not so, they were told more than once it was the Lord who brought them out (Ex 13:16, 16:6, 18:1 & 20:2). Surely, they were told plain enough, but their unbelief was ruling their minds, they were breaking the Commandments one by one, thus proving the point, the Commandments are against fallen man, not for him.
They knew who brought them out, but they made the choice to reject it, so they could blame Moses. Does this sound like a violation of “you shall have no other gods”? Yes, they run to Aaron to have him make them a “god” to replace Moses. Their reasoning was “this isn’t to replace God, so really it’s not a violation”; however, it was, so much so it sparked God’s wrath. Who did Moses represent? God, so any idol to replace Moses, was the same as making one to represent God, it was still evil. What were they attempting to do? Find the loophole, any method to avoid the Commandment, while saying they were not; it’s not to replace God, it’s not really a human, so what’s the big deal? We will find out.
They didn’t use any of the gold or silver they took from the people of Egypt, they used their golden earrings (Ex 32:3). The Earring each person had was a symbol of their bondage, thus they used the sign of their bondage to make them a new leader. While they were giving worship to this golden calf whom they said brought them out of Egypt, Aaron would said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord” (Ex 32:4-5). They stopped in the middle of worshipping the golden calf so they could prepare for the “feast of the Lord”.
In Paul’s rebuking letter to the Corinthians he uses these people in the wilderness as a lesson (I Cor 10:1-11). One of the examples goes right to the day after they made the calf and engaged in the “feast day of the Lord”, as he writes, “Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (I Cor 11:7). This is the example of mixing the Cup of the Lord, with the cup of devils, a compromise, giving honor to the Lord, and honor to a god. Did the Corinthians have idols of gold? No, they made idols of people, “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos”.
While the people are playing, the Lord is speaking to Moses, then the Lord says, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people” (Ex 32:9). Stiff-necked goes with a hard heart, here we find why God wrote on stone. If we were English teachers, we would cut this statement to pieces; “this people” does not fit with “it is a stiffnecked people”; unless the Lord is giving us a clue to the unsaved soul of man, the fallen nature of man with the degrees in which it operates. Joshua and Moses were under the same fall nature, but they didn’t allow it to run wild, they used their free moral choice by pointing their minds toward God. Because of Joshua we find the people had the same opportunity to believe God.
We have the plural (this people), but then the singular (it is), what is the “it”? The old natural nature of man, the same spirit of man. They were allowing the old man to exercise himself to the maximum. The word “stiff-necked” means one who is proud by nature, but there are degrees as we know: however, the New Covenant does change it, God gives Grace to the Humble, yet He still resists the proud (I Pet 5:5). Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt you in due time (James 4:10 & I Pet 5:6). The Lord will not humble us, give us reason to, yes, but it’s still something we do as part of our side of the Covenant.
These people forgot all the Lord had done, rejecting what the Lord said He would do. They presumed they could “do their own thing”, yet not be held accountable. This is the Concept of Accountability, without seeing the word Accountable in the text. It’s fine to put verses to memory, but if we don’t understand the concept, or how the concept relates to us, we will miss the importance.
These children by making the golden calf, attempted to replace Moses, yet God instilled Moses in the position. They were acting as if they were God, not only did they make gods, they took the Name of God in vain, thus violating all of the Commandments in one day. Since the children said Moses delivered them, we find God telling Moses, “Go, get you down; for your people, which you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves” (Ex 32:7). On the same note, we find Moses telling God, “Lord, why does Your wrath wax hot against Your people, which you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a Mighty hand?” (Ex 32:11). The Lord saw how the children rejected Him, thus He said they were the people of Moses, Moses says they are the people of God. The people are saying the Golden Calf delivered them, thus God spoke from a position of being rejected by the children, yet Moses was standing for the children. Jesus is our intercessor, we have to wonder how many times Jesus had to tell the Father, “Father, they are our people”?
God tells Moses to get out of the way, so the Lord “may consume them” (Ex 32:10). This word Consume is the Hebrew Kalah, but didn’t we see the same word back in Genesis somewhere? It’s the same Hebrew word translated as Finished, in the phrase “Thus the heavens and the earth were Finished, and all the host of them. And on the Seventh Day God ended His work which he had made: and He Rested” (Gen 2:1-2). The purpose for keeping the Sabbath Day is found here, as well as why the Sabbath Day will be the token for the Covenant of the Law of Moses, thus the Law of Moses is one step from being Finished (Consumed). It’s how close they came to being remembered as “those people who were all of sudden consumed in the wilderness”.
During this exchange between God and Moses, God has seen the actions of the children, but Moses is still in the Cloud. He reminds God of the Promise, we can see how Moses knows something about God, but is completely ignorant of what the people are doing. Moses tells God, “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants” (Ex 32:13). It’s not for the sake of these children, but for the sake of the True Servants of God who didn’t need the Ten Commandments or the Law of Moses. God repents, but don’t think God is done yet, this simply means there is postponement for the moment (Ex 32:14). In this case we find Repent in the case of God is to hold back for the moment. God knew the intercession would take place, this is a type of God staying His Wrath while extending His Mercy to the one who sought Mercy. It also shows the power of proper intercession as it displays how true warfare works. In Ephesians Paul lays out the elements to the Armor of God, then the application, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”, then he adds purpose, “as for me, that utterance may be given unto me, so I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel” (Eph 6:18-19). Moses was truly interceding by reaching for God’s Mercy for the people.
Moses will come down the mountain, but he has not seen what the children did, nor has he heard it, rather all he knows is they “have corrupted themselves” (Ex 32:7). To Moses this is “what else is new God?”, but he has yet to see what they did this time. Joshua was the minister to Moses, he waited for the man of God to return, then Joshua heard “the noise of the people”, saying, “There is a noise of war in the camp” (Ex 32:17). Joshua discerned a War, but not the parties, this War was between the people and God. Moses said, “it is not the voice of them who shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them who sing do I hear” (Ex 32:18). This doesn’t mean singing is wrong, it means the type of singing, as well as what it was directed to. As soon as Moses reaches the camp, his anger flared (Ex 32:19). Now Moses knows why God was so upset, he cast the tables of stone, the same ones God Himself wrote on, but why? They had violated them all, they Broke the Covenant Promises in one day. Moses is ready to finish for God, what Moses had God stop, but Aaron moves in and tells Moses, “you know the people are set on mischief” (Ex 32:22). Moses told God, You know these people, why get mad? Now Aaron tells Moses, You know these people why get mad? The mirror just turned, Moses must now deal with them in correctly.
Of course Aaron has to add to the premise by interjecting his self-justification, but in so doing he is also showing he knew it was wrong. Prior the people came to Aaron saying, “make us gods” (Ex 32:1), but now Aaron says, Moses, guess what? I cast those earrings into the fire, and what do you think? this calf came out, not my fault, it was those earrings they gave me (Ex 32:24). The earrings were not evil, the fire wasn’t, it was what they did with them. Aaron did do something right in this, he did make them naked for their shame, but he still bowed to their commands by making the stupid calf.
Moses would stand at “the gate of the camp”, because the Tabernacle was not built yet, the plans were given, but the actual construction had yet to begin. Like Elijah, Moses will say, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Ex 32:26). Sounds like a war, it was, there would be the wounded and dead in this battle. The sons of Levi gathered to Moses, but they were not the only ones. If only the sons of Levi came, where did the other tribes come from who entered the Promised Land? This shows all the sons of Levi gathered, it also shows what God said He would do, He did. God wanted to start over again with Moses, thus all those who joined Moses, became Moses, indicating they identified (baptized) with Moses. Those who didn’t would suffer for not doing so.
God waited, but He still did what He told Moses He would do; therefore, the repenting of God is not being sorry, or not doing something, it’s being sorry for having to do, what must be done. The sons of Levi took swords and killed all those who refused to join with the Lord, a total of three thousand died (Ex 32:28). What God said, came to pass, it would start with Moses by using the Law of Moses as the intercessor.
Moses found in the case of the error simple intercession isn’t going to reverse the outcome, there had to be repentance with remorse by those whom he interceded for, which had to be apparent. He now has to return and seek Pardon; yet he knows he has nothing to show to gain actually Pardon. Moses is willing to have his name Blotted out of the Book, allowing God to Pardon the people; however, it’s not how God doesn’t operates, as He said, “Whosoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book” (Ex 32:33).
This connects to Revelation 3:5, where Jesus said to Sardis, “He who overcomes, the same shall be clothed in White Raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life”. White Raiment, hum, oh wait the Mount of Transfiguration, of course, “His raiment was White as the Light” (Matt 17:2). Rightly Dividing the Word keeps us Watching and Praying not to enter the Hour of Temptation, which Hour shall come upon all the world to try them who dwell on the earth (Matt 26:40-41 & Rev 3:10).
The act of True Pardon couldn’t be granted to these children by Moses, or the Law, or to anyone until Jesus came. The Pardon of one’s sins is the removal of the power and result of the sin, it does not remove the source, only remission can accomplish the removal of the source, thus when Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven (Pardoned)”, the Pharisees had a theological fit, by saying, “Only God can forgive (pardon) sins”. A true statement, only God can Pardon sin(s). Moses will be told about Pardon, but in it’s the context of Atonement under the Law. These people will have Atonement, but it will be restricted to the elements of violating the Commandments, thus the Law of Moses became more than a Veil, it was a Wall, a Hedge, something between man and God, so God could view the deed, without having to view the person. What about David? God would search and find those who sought Him, but the premise was never whether they did the Law or not.
God hasn’t stopped on the road to the Promised Land yet, talk about Longsuffering. God gives them another Covenant, based on the Ten Commandments, showing how the Tabernacle and Moses will be a Separation. Exodus 32:33-35 talks about the “Plague” God placed on the people, it’s a plague when God separates Himself from us. Amen?
Moses spoke to the Lord “face to face”, which means as a friend, but the people remained in their tents never seeing God. Oh they saw the Cloud, the Glory and other things of God, but they never saw God. Moses really begins to intercede, he knows God isn’t going with them, as far as Moses is concerned, If God isn’t going, he’s not going. Then Moses desires to know The Way of the Lord, the Lord then says His Goodness will pass before Moses, then we read, “I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you” (Ex 33:19). This is interesting, the Lord won’t pass, His Goodness will, then the Lord will Proclaim the Name of the Lord. Why not say, “Proclaim My Name”? There is another mystery for us. The next day the Lord passed by and Proclaimed, “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and it will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Ex 34:1-7). God said He would Proclaim the Name, and He did, all we have to do is Divide it Rightly, or it makes no sense whatsoever. How can a Forgiving God, say He won’t Forgive in the same sentence? Verses 6 and 7 are one sentence, the Lord Begins by saying “I will forgive (pardon)”, then says, “Will by no means clear”, two completely opposite premises, unless we divide them between Day and Night. This is the “Name of Jesus”, as well as what it stands for, thus using the Name, and being in it are different. For the children of the Day we find the Name is Merciful, Gracious, Longsuffering, Abundant in Goodness, Truth, Keeping Mercy, Forgiving Iniquity, Forgiving Transgression (Sin); however, for the Night it’s By no means clear the iniquity. Is it fair? The children’s children? Wait, it’s the iniquity, taking us to Matthew 7:21-23, and the workers of iniquity. This area has nothing to do with those who do the law of faith by their acts of mercy by the measure of faith, this has to do with the unpardonable sin, those who receive the Mercy of God, but reject giving it.
There is also a difference between the words Forgiving and Clear. The word Forgiving is the same Hebrew word Moses used when he said, “if You will forgive their sin” (Ex 32:32), which is Pardon, or the removal of the sin in the face of God as God takes the power and accusation out of the sin. This was not done until Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven you”. The word Clear is the Hebrew Naqah meaning To make free from punishment, which is different, Clear means the sin is forgotten, it’s the punishment one is attempting to void. If we understand the differences between the Day and Night the “Name of the Lord” makes sense, pointing to two Seasons, Salvation and Judgment. The same difference as Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and Jesus in the midst of the golden candlestick. This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
God tells Moses “behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation…” (Ex 34:10). The first clue is “all your people”, they are associated (baptized) with Moses. The Covenant points to the possession of the land, and what to do after they get there, thus God hasn’t given up on them, He is still going to see the next generation get to the Promised Land. God will make a provision later to join Himself to the people, but the Law of Moses will remain, until all is fulfilled at the Judgment.
God again goes over many of the things found in the Commandments and Judgments, including the Sabbath Day, which becomes the token for this Covenant. The sabbath will be used immediately, part of the requirement is “you shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day” (Ex 35:3). This means for cooking or heat, if one wants to keep the Sabbath Day holy, they remain in their dwelling, they can’t turn on a light, they can’t microwave, cook, or use fire to heat with in any sense of the word, it’s to inflict pain, knowing they are one step from destruction. I like the New better, don’t you?
Moses comes down from the Mount, simply being exposed to the Name of the Lord being proclaimed caused a glow of glory to fall on his face, he was given Rest (Ex 33:14 & 34:30). However, the people were afraid of the Glory, they wanted it Veiled, it was, by the Law of Moses. The Veil here is a different word, with a different meaning than the Veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Paul used this Veil when speaking to the Corinthians by saying, “and not as Moses, which put a veil over his face; the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of what is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil not taken away in the reading of the Old Testament: which veil is done away in Christ, but even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart” (II Cor 3:13-15). However, if they turn unto the Lord, then the Veil will be removed (II Cor 3:16-17). Excluding the Remnant there are other groups who are either blinded to the Gospel, or the Gospel is hid from them (II Cor 4:3-4). There are various conclusions to the “god of this world”, in the context of Corinthians it could relate to the Law of Moses itself, since Moses was a “god” to Pharaoh, and the Law itself is considered a god, since it rules by Judgments over the people. The phrase could relate to unbelief, or to the fall nature, but it would make them gods, rather than rulers of darkness. However, it is difficult to conceive of it being the devil, since it would mean the devil has the power to keep people from the Gospel, which would negate the “whosoever”; also if the devil is a god, then he was not out of line offering Adam a god status; however, the devil is a prince limited to a principality. The context of the Scriptures indicates it’s the Law of Moses, making the Law of Moses connected to the world, not the Kingdom.
In II Corinthians 4:3-4 we find two different groups denoting those who are Blinded, but there are those to whom the Gospel is “hid”, we should not confuse one into the other. As for the “blinded” we know if they turn to the Lord, the veil will be removed, but to those to whom the Gospel is hid, it’s because they are “lost”. The word for Lost in II Corinthians is the Greek Apollumi meaning to perish, it’s the root word to the Greek Olethros meaning ruin or death. The point being we can’t assume whom the Gospel is hid from, or who is blinded by their own unbelief, or who is blinded for a purpose by God. There are some who hear the Gospel fifty times, but then they hear it one more time and the light goes on, they understand. The Veil was lifted, they were not “lost”. Not to take away from our subject matter, but we find the glory on Moses came from being in the presence of God, yet the children were afraid of it. They wanted a separation between them and God, but the separation had to represent God, as a “god”, much like Moses was a god to Pharaoh. The Veil was in place, the glory was hid from the children, when the Law is read the blindness remains, thus the Law of Moses is the god of this world, so much so it will be the basis they will be judged by.
The old thought of slavery produces only labor and no skill, or skill cannot be obtained from God, is dashed asunder in the building of the Tabernacle. It was time to construct the Tabernacle, it had to be portable, sound and light, yet heavy enough to stand against the desert winds. God filled many of those selected to do the construction with the “spirit of wisdom”, but this is not the “Spirit of the Lord”, nor is it God’s Wisdom, it’s the ability to deal with the construction of the Tabernacle, thus God instilled a vision, gave them ability as skills to make the various items as God wanted them. Didn’t Moses watch over them to make sure they did it right? Moses waited until it was done, then they brought the Tabernacle unto Moses, then he anointed it (Ex 40:9).
The construction was not under the eye of Aaron, or the hand of Moses, but under the hand of Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, directly under him was Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, thus those who did the construction were of Judah and Dan, this is a type and shadow of Helps, the Bishop as the overseer, the Deacon is the doer, without Helps there would be no tabernacle.
The collection began, it went until they had so much, Moses had to tell the people to stop giving (Ex 36:7). They were givers, but they were also complainers and murmurers. When they began construction, they didn’t begin in the same order as God gave the instructions, yet God gave them a vision to show them what to do. Were they still “doing it their way”? No, this shows the mistake of attempting to make a formula out of the things of God. The construction began with the Tent or Tabernacle, since it had to be built in order to have a place to put the Ark, as well as the other items when they were completed.
Bezaleel then made the Ark, then the Shewbread Table, then the Menorah, then the Golden Altar of Incense, again showing God had a plan in the plan, one in which a formula would not fit. Exodus 38:21-31 shows the “sum” of the Tabernacle, or how much gold, silver, brass and other material they used. Afterward came the making of the Priest’s Garments, then we read all this, then guess what, no Urim and Thummim, thus they were not physical items but the Light and Perfection God placed in the breastplate. We also find the priest himself wasn’t holy, the garment was holy, thus if the priest “defiled the garment” they would pay the price, or they could keep the garment holy and live. How? Respecting the office of the priesthood.
The Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month a year later (Ex 40:17 & Numb 1:1). The crossing was suppose to take forty days, but one year later they are still in the wilderness, yet it was all in the plan.
God gave them a glory for the Tabernacle, the presence of the Law, later when Joshua crosses the Jordan he will find the Angel of the Lord who went before them, thus God never did leave them, they turned their backs on Him, yet He nevertheless left His glory with them, He also gave them an angel to guide them.
How can we neglect so great a warning? God loved these people, surely God loves us, but it’s our love for God being tested, not His love for us. While it is yet Today we can ask God to tear down strongholds, destroy the high things in our minds as they exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, for Him to reveal Himself to us by the Spirit. The children were ready to march, God gave them a specific order, now it’s time for us to march to the next lesson, while keeping things in order.
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer – Les3rev9/© 2003
