Obtaining the Promises of God

 Joshua Israel's New Leader

Book of Joshua Chapter 1

Who is this, Joshua?

The name "Joshua" as written can mean "Jehovah is his help" but it can also mean "Jehovah the Savior".

Joshua is sometimes written Jehoshua, and Jehoshuah but in the New Testament we see it written as Jesus.

Act 7:45  Which also our fathers that came after brought in with "Jesus" into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; 

Act 7:46  Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. 

We should not be confused by these things and if we study the context of the Scripture we will not be.

We see the same thing happen in the Book of Hebrews:

Heb 4:8  For if "Jesus" had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 

Joshua did not have it in his power to give rest to the people of God, only the Lord Jesus Christ has this power!

Again look at the context of this Scripture.

This Joshua is the son Nun to distinguish him from any other man name Joshua and there were others.

Joshua as a child was born into the slavery of Egypt and reached the age for military as he traveled to freedom with Moses and all of Israel.

No doubt as a young man He worked in the brick fields of Egypt.

We can believe all these things because it is Joshua, led by the Holy Spirit who has written all these things for us. 

It is Joshua who also wrote the final words of the Book of Deuteronomy after the death of Moses again led by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes, so there are no mistakes in the "Received Text"!

We can say the Book of Joshua was written to the Israelites to teach them their great history and the mistakes they had made.

We also know that All Scripture is written for the Church!

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 

The Book of Joshua shows us how Israel conquered and divided up the land promised to these descendants of Abraham by Isaac and Jacob.

The Book of Joshua shows all readers that God is faithful to keep His promises.

The main purpose to the Book of Joshua is to teach the Doctrines of God to the Israelites and to all readers of this precious book of the Old Testament, which means the New Testament Church.

Some of those Doctrines are:

The Doctrine of Faith.

The Doctrine of the Holiness of God.

The Doctrine of Sin. God will not tolerate evil and wickedness, not forever.

The Doctrine of "Mercy and Grace". Yes, we can see the "Grace" of God in the Old Testament and His "Mercy"!

The Doctrine of the "All Powerful" God of Creation.

The Doctrine of the "All Knowing" God of knowledge.

The Doctrine of the Sovereign Ruler of all Creation.

The Doctrine that states that God places people in certain locations for His Own Purposes!

*****Jos 1:1  Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 

Jos 1:2  Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 

Moses at the age of 120 years old had now been taken out of the picture by God Himself, his purpose complete and God told Joshua to fill in the gap that Moses left behind.

It is our duty to answer the call of God!

Moses was a mighty man of God. How could anyone fill in for him?

Moses had already selected Joshua by the word of God and had already begun his training.

Deu 31:14  And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Deu 31:23  And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee. 

It was Moses that had established Israel as a nation through the guidance of Jehovah making him the father of the nation of Israel.

A band of Egyptian slaves had become the nation that had set back Egypt for many years which they have never really overcome.

It was time for Israel to leave off mourning for what was, and accept what God had planned for the destruction of the sinful nations of Canaan Land

Gen_15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

On a much smaller scale than the worldwide flood, Israel was the hand of God for the destruction of the sin full people of Canaan Land.

They needed a strong leader and God gave them Joshua.

Joshua was now the Commander-in-Chief of the new nation of Israel.

We should understand Moses was a great man of God, but his death did not affect the plan of God.

God simply selects some other human to keep the plan of God moving forward at all times!

If Joshua for some reason rejected the call of God, God would simply have chosen someone else.

When God plan is in action, He will then provide all the tools and materials necessary to keep moving forward in the work God has given all the Church to accomplish.

The "providence" of God is always in His hands, and it does not depend upon any one upon this earth, or anywhere else humans are seeking to run and hide.

*****Jos 1:3  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 

It was the death of Moses that opened the door for Joshua, so we see that it is God who is the giver of life and only He can take a life.

Satan may have had the power of death before the work of the Lord Jesus was completed, but he could not cause death at his will, he needed the permission of God, and he still does today.

Satan answers to God, Jehovah God and he is also condemned to Hell which is why the world is moving so fast toward wicked, immoral corrupted, iniquity.

Some of the promises God made to Abraham were becoming reality.

The walk of Abraham had defined the boundaries of the nation of Israel more than four hundred years prior to the day of Joshua.

Moses had led the children of Israel right up to the shores of the River Jordan, right at the most awkward time of the rainy season, but God had a reason even for this.

It would be Joshua that led the crossing of Jordan!

What were the boundaries that God set aside for the nation of Israel?

*****Jos 1:4  From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 

South: the desert of Negev.

North: Lebanon. Mount Lebanon the tallest mountain of Syria.

East: the Euphrates River.

West the Mediterranean Sea.

To this day, Israel has never possessed all this land and will not until the return of Christ Jesus.

Why? Many of them became cowards.

Many of them refused to obey the Word of God.

The closest that Israel ever came to control of all this land was in the days of King David and King Solomon.

It is at the death of King Solomon when Israel became a divided nation and disappeared from History for a time.

A divided nation cannot stand in this world of sin!

America is more divided today than it has ever been in our brief history and America could disappear from history and it is because of our corrupt, and wicked, and immoral government!

Why is this so true? Because America has booted God out!

Why did Israel begin to show dominance for many years? It was because God was with them until they demanded God to leave.

What was God's promise to Israel?

*****Jos 1:5  There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

What wonderful words given to a new leader.

God promised Joshua that no nation would be able to stand against him.

To us this means as a believer, we will have a full life, a victorious life, if we continue to serve the Lord with all our heart!

We know that as this new nation of Israel moved forward, they would face many obstacles.

We can also say the same thing about them today as much of the world hates them without a reason.

This tiny nation of Israel has met many a foe on the battlefield, all of them trying to erase them as a nation, but God has not allowed this to happen, and the Bible says He will not allow it to happen.

God promises those who love Him a full and victorious life, but we must also move forward claiming victory over the obstacles we face.

We can do this because we are never alone!

With the power of God there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome!

It begins with obedience!

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We have the promise of our Savior that He will never forsake us.

Even on those days we may not feel our Lord God, we have the assurance that He is with us.

Our life is not about feelings, our life is about the promises of God!

This is one of the greatest promises God has given to us, that He will never forsake us!

No matter what trouble, no matter what difficulty, no matter what problem we face, God will never leave us and He will walk with us through these things!

*****Jos 1:6  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 

Joshua had been an eyewitness, as these people had rebelled against Moses many times.

The challenge of Israel was very great to be a conqueror of the many nations of Canaan Land.

They needed a leader who was equipped to manage these times and it was Joshua.

Joshua was God's man!

What was Joshua first task? He was to trust God! He was to be strong and very courageous!

When God calls us, He knows that our task will not be easy. If it was easy, then anyone could do it without God!

The army of God must be strong and courageous. 

When we put on the armor of God we are not dressing for peace, we are dressing for war!

We are to be obedient to the Word of God.

We are to never stop sharing the Word of God.

We are to meditate on God's Word day and night!

The result of obedience to God will always be prosperity and success! This does not mean riches. 

It means all that we put our hands to, that is in the will of God, will prosper!

Again, it takes strength in the Lord and obedience to overcome discouragement!

*****Jos 1:7  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 

God did not place Joshua in this position of leadership to be lord over this people!

They would follow Joshua if he continued to follow the Lord.

Until till the last days of Joshua's life, every day brought a new enemy to defeat.

Every year brought a new enemy.

Every day he had to send the young people of Israel into battle, and he would witness the blood shed of many of them.

These things are hard on any commander. Joshua would need much courage and strength.

No matter where we are on the battlefield of the Lord, we must know that we cannot do these things in our own strength so our relationship with the Lord must be steady and enduring.

We must follow the Word of God not veering to the left or to the right.

The pathway to Heaven remains a narrow path and few will ever find it.

Mat_7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

God will reveal to us the obstacles we will face by teaching us the deep things of God!

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

The key to our prosperity in this world is obedience to all the Word of God!

Again this does not mean riches!

How are we to study the Word of God?

*****Jos 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 

In order for Joshua to succeed as the Commander-in-Chief of Israel, he was to know and obey all the Word of God. (Which is a type of Christ)

This has not changed for every national leader today! They have the same instructions, no matter who they are or where they are located!

We must never turn our backs to the Word of God as we see this world do so today.

If there is a godly leader in this world today, they are noticeably quiet and ashamed of the Word of God, because they are too silent!

God will give us purpose, a sense of achievement and a fulfillment throughout our Christian Life, but only if we obey God by meditating in His Word day and night, throughout our lifetime.

In other words, we should always be doing what God says to do!

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 

This is the key to our success in the plan of God!

Again, we must be strong and courageous in the things of God!

*****Jos 1:9  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 

If God says a thing one time, then it is enough, but when God says things three times then He knows how easy it will be for us to get discouraged when we see what is going on in our world.

We must never let these things keep us from serving the Lord!

We must be strong and courageous as we walk through our Christian Life.

We must know that when God gave these lands to Abraham, all Abraham had was his faith and he had enough faith that he could trust the Word of God is true.

Abraham trusted in the promises of God, and it is no different for us here today.

Now in this day of Joshua more than four hundred years later, Joshua is in position to begin fulfilling some of God's promises to Abraham.

We should know that the land promised to Abraham was indeed the land called Palestine. Palestine is an area and not the name of some country.

We should also know that the land promised to Abraham also refers to the New Heaven. 

Canaan Land is just a symbol of God's Promise.

Rom 4:13  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 

The inheritance that Abraham had so much faith in, refers to the entire world, the New Universe which God is going to recreate in the very end.

It is not this world we live in now that is so full of sin, immorality, and wicked corruptness!

This world that is wasting away, deteriorating, running down, that our world calls "Climate Change". They have seen nothing yet!

2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 

2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 

2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The promise to Abraham refers to the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem, our Heavenly Home!

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

All these things Abraham knew and, on this day, Joshua would begin that journey with Israel as they would cross the River Jordan.

This is where Joshua would derive his courage and his strength!

It was the promises made to Abraham that drove Joshua to be the great man of God that he was, and we should be encouraged just as Joshua was encouraged.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

Joshua told this new nation of Israel, "let us go an obtain the promises of God".

This is exactly what the Church is doing today!

*****Jos 1:10  Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 

Jos 1:11  Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. 

After forty years the long-awaited command came. "prepare the people for we are going to cross the River Jordan".

We should remember that this people of Israel would have been several million people.

There is not an army on the face of the earth that can go from rest to moving forward for war in three days, which shows us how Moses had prepared this army.

This was not just the army but also all their families and livestock.

We should also think about those three days!

Three days to our Lord Jesus was the time of His death to His resurrection.

In three days, this rag tag bunch of slaves would resurrect as the nation of Israel.

We should be able to see the typology of all these things.

What do we know? We know that God had spoken to Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan was to be done at once.

As Israel had been at camp until this command came, they had certainly seen that the River Jordan was running out of its banks at this time of the year.

In our service to the Lord, we had better understand that the natural things must be exhausted before the supernatural is brought in.

At this time we believe the "manna" had ceased and the word "victuals" would mean the food that was natural to their surroundings.

Jos 5:12  And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. 

We also believe that before this command was given, that Joshua had already sent out those spies to Jericho, and they had returned.

On this side of this flooded river was Israel ready for war and on the other side stood the walled city of Jericho, which had to fall for Israel to be successful.

Jericho had already heard of the wars Israel had already fought, and won, and the city was afraid of Israel.

Between them lay a vast expanse of rushing water.

Joshua commanded this people of God "to prepare", then "passover" and then "to possess".

We must understand as a soldier in God's Army, we must always be prepared, and we have that "Heavenly Manna" with us at all times if we are carrying the Word of God.

We must feed on the Lord Jesus Christ; He is our Passover!

No doubt that many of these people had the fear of death for war brings death!

But to the child of God, death has but one meaning and that meaning is New Life.

There would be no possessing of that land until they crossed over the flood waters of the River Jordan.

As Christians we have nothing on this side of Jordan, but the New Heaven, the New Jerusalem lie on the other side.

What lies on the other side will be the treasures of God! 

A share of the inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Still that raging river seemed unsurpassable.

But the Lord will always say:

Jos 3:5  And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. 

When the flood waters of this world are raging, then this is when we need to trust the Lord the most!

Mar_6:50  For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

We must never forget that as we travel in this life, the Lord Jesus Christ will walk before us showing us the way!

We know that God would stop the flow of the River Jordan and several million Israelites would cross the River Jordan on dry land!

Amen

Looking Forward to the Grace of God

 The Offerings of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapter 16

Some fifteen hundred years before the Messiah came, Moses led the nation of Israel, called the Israelites, out of Egypt and a new nation was born.

Jehovah led them to Mount Sinai and then God gave to Moses the first five books of the same Bible we have today.

The Israelites were given the Civil Law, the Moral Law (The Ten Commandments), and the Ceremonial Law, in all 613 commandments.

We should remember that the Lord Jesus taught us that all those 613 laws could be reduced to two laws if we were to be sincere in our love for one another and our love for Him.

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

We should remember these words of Jesus and let them guide us throughout all our lifetime!

We should consider that all these laws expressed the "righteous and the holy Character of Jehovah God"!

Even though these laws contained the standard for righteousness, without which no one could stand before our Holy God, no one could keep all those laws and God knew this and in reality, it was never expected.

These laws were our schoolmaster to teach about the Messiah and God's Grace.

In the end these laws served their purpose, and this purpose was to teach us that we all need Jesus Christ to be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. 

These laws were intended to reveal our sin and bring this entire world to the knowledge of guiltiness before a Righteous and Holy God.

Jas 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 

Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 

Even though the Law spoke primarily to this new nation of Israel, it also bore this message to the entire world and especially the Church.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 

We must never be confused. The Law never offered salvation to anyone! 

The Ten Commandments of Moses and those other 603 laws only offered condemnation and damnation!

We might ask ourselves, why then as New Testament Christians, would we study this old book of the Old Testament.

The pure fact is, we can find the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament and we find that in the Book of Leviticus, that all those worship services revolved around the Lord Jesus Christ and how He sacrificed Himself for us.

The greatest lesson of the Old Testament is that it teaches us the character, the love, and the Grace, of our Holy God!

We know that the Book of Leviticus is so named after the tribe of Levi who were the priests for the nation of Israel, just as every child of God is to be a priest and member of the Church after our salvation.

The sacrificial system in this great book points to our Savior and would fulfill every picture through His death on the cross on Mount Calvary.

When the Tabernacle was prepared, according to the Word of God, God began explaining how the worship by these Jews would lead them to the Messiah.

The first seven chapters of Leviticus will teach us about these things.

1) The burnt offerings gave prayers and praise to God the Father.

2) The meat-offering was a pleasing aroma to God the Father as are our prayers.

3) The peace offering demonstrated fellowship through sharing a meal. 

Salvation is all about our renewed fellowship with our Heavenly Father and with each other. Every child of God will one sit at the table with Jesus Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

4) The sin offering was all about the atonement for our sins. The Lord Jesus atoned for all our sin on Mount Calvary!

5) The trespass-offering was about providing compensation for our trespasses against our Holy God. 

We have nothing of value to offer God for our sin. He sent His Son to do this for us!

Gen 22:8  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

6) All animals were required to be without blemish as was our Savior.

2Co_5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Why? God never enjoyed the slaughter of animals!

Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

God does not take any pleasure in the slaughter of animals!

We must understand that our Holy God required a blood sacrifice, but it was never about those animals.

It was always about the Messiah!

This place called earth was created for humanity. In fact this entire universe was created for humans to show us the glory of Jehovah God.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 

Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 

Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 

Heb 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 

You see, there must be a forgiveness of our sin though we are not worthy of forgiveness!

There must then be a reconciliation to God, for our trespasses which we do not deserve!

Finally, we begin to see a picture of God's Grace.

So let us begin:

*****Lev 16:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; 

Lev 16:2  And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not "at all times" into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 

We must understand that no one can approach our Holy God but according to His rules!

Someday into the future, God will show His wrath to this world, but He has provided a way to avoid seeing His wrath.

All people and even some angels will face the "Judgment" of God!

This is why we need to be reconciled to our Holy God before our death comes, and none of us have any idea when that day will be!

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

You see, it is only Jesus Christ who fulfilled God's holy requirement!

Sin has separated us from God, and it began with Adam and Eve!

Yes, we all have a sin nature! Even that newborn babe!

We learned from the Book of Romans that our Holy God forbids us to continue in sin and He provided the only means of reconciliation and this by His Son, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many are still looking for a messiah, but there could be no one else who could fulfill God's own requirements as was the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of all Scripture!

John said Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh!

We see, in a very harsh manner, Aaron had seen that there is a wrong way to approach God and we should all be aware.

Aaron's two sons tried to approach God through self-righteousness, but we have no righteousness of our own and God killed them instantly.

Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

There is only one way to become righteous in the eyes of God and it is by the "Grace" of God!

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Rom 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 

There was only one time each year that the High Priest (Aaron) could enter the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was located, but these two sons of Aaron felt they could enter the Holy of Holies at any time, and it cost them their lives.

We must be able to see that Aaron the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

The Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the day of Atonement, and it is by His death that our sins are forgiven.

This is such an important day that God would never allow it to be abused by those who did not take it seriously!

There is a right way to approach God and there is a wrong way, but we have no righteousness of our own! No one did until the Messiah came!

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 

Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

*****Lev 16:3  Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. 

Lev 16:4  He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 

Lev 16:5  And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 

Lev 16:6  And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. 

Lev 16:7  And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 

Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 

In the Old Testament there was a specific preparation to be observed by the High Priest.

Today, the Holy Spirit prepares every Pastor and every child of God, in the study of the Word of God and Prayer after our salvation.

We also know that the High Priest of the Old Testament were to be a symbol, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that when it came time the Lord Jesus Christ did not back away from His role as High Priest to the Church.

In this passage we see these sacrifices pertain only to the High Priests of the nation of Israel.

1) He had to be prepared to offer the right sacrifices! Any deviation could cost him his life!

A young bull for the Sin Offering.

A ram for a Burnt Offering.

We know the Lord Jesus had no sin and did not have to make a sacrifice for Himself. 

It was the Day of Atonement that our Lord Jesus was sacrificed upon that cruel cross!

2) He had to wash himself and he had to wear the right clothing. Note washing never sanctified anyone. It was only a picture of the regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

He had to remove the beautiful clothing of the High Priest and put on a special clothing, and it is the High Priest where we first see britches in the Bible and there was a specific reason for this.

This white linen clothing represents the righteousness of our Savior!

All the Jews wore robes!

The Hight Priest was never to have the appearance of sin and when the High Priest climbed the stairs to the Altar of Sacrifice then we see a robe could reveal a little too much and nakedness was considered a very great sin since the time of Adam and Eve's sin and their sin was covered by the sacrifice of a lamb.

Today, God tells each of us to never have even the appearance of doing evil.

This clothing of the High Priest was made of linen and symbolized righteousness. 

To stand by God each priest had to project sinless righteousness!

Linen was made from the flax plant, but it can also be made from hemp. 

Maybe, this is the true reason God gave us the hemp plant and not for the drug effect.

3) He had to prepare the right sacrifices for the people!

He had to get two male goats for the Sin Offering and a ram for the Burnt Offering.

One goat to be sacrificed.

The other goat would be taken deep into the wilderness to be set free.

This is a picture of our sin being removed from us forever.

Mic 7:19  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

4) Aaron had to be prepared to offer sacrifices for himself and his household.

He had to offer a bull for his own Sin Offering.

Note: Christ our High Priest had no sin and did not have to make an offering for Himself.

Heb 9:7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

Heb 7:27  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 

Heb 7:28  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

5) Aaron had to always be prepared to offer the right sacrifice for the people. The casting of the lot insured that man did not choose so the results would have to be the choice of Jehovah.

Pro 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

The lot was always resorted to by the Jewish Priest with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a method of ascertaining the divine will, and in serious cases, of doubt.

Hence it was also the method used to determine chances or preferences, or to decide a debate. 

The decision by lot was often resorted to among the Jews, but always with the strictest reference to the interposition of God.

The High Priests had to always be ready to present that chosen scapegoat to the Lord!

The High Priest was to be a symbol or a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Two goats were used in the Sin Offering because no single picture can fully demonstrate what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us!

**The goat that was sacrificed symbolized the sacrifice of Christ, the ransom price He paid to set us free from sin.

**The goat that was set free was sent alive bearing the sins of the people, symbolized the removal and the taking away of sin, no more visible to our Holy God. 

We know the Lord Jesus took all our sin to Hell the place designed for sin and the father of all sin the Devil.

This is a picture of what our Savior has done for us! 

He paid our Sin Debt that we could not pay and has made us free from sin forever!

We must understand that the Lord Jesus Christ was our Substitute!

Jesus Christ died for my sins, so I do not have to die for them myself!

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

This was the only way we can obtain the "Righteousness" that is required to stand before God the Father.

He bore all our sins, all the sins of everyone who has ever lived in this entire world!

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 

1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 

The doctrine of "Substitution" is important in that through the Lord Jesus Christ's death, the righteous demands of our Heavenly Father have been met!

This was a legal transaction, which means, it was God's own requirement to deal with the sin problem of all humanity in this wicked world.

It is by this action of our Savior, that we have been redeemed and are now the servants of God!

1Co 7:23  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 

1Co 7:24  Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 

Since we are bought by the blood of Jesus, then we are truly His slaves!

Slaves to the world is a terrible thing, but being a slave to our Savior is a wonderful thing!

We have been removed from the curse of this world!

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 

Gal 3:14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

What was the blessing of Abraham?

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

We are bought by the blood of the sacrifice of our Savior and now have hope!

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 

1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

1Th_1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

We have become a special possession of our Savior!

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

This is why the true Christian is so noticeable to this world and why the world hates us so much!

We that believe have been reconciled to God!

The barrier that was once between us and our God, has been removed!

Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 

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

These are all things we can learn from the Book of Leviticus and the books of the Old Testament.

It was humanity that moved away from God, and it is still happening!

It is humanity that needs to be reconciled to God to renew our fellowship with our Holy God and then God will heal our lands.

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

As Christians we are the people of God. 

The one thing God expected from the Jews and now expects from the Church is for us to represent Him accurately to the world.

We cannot do this if we refuse the study of the Word of God including the study of the Old Testament!

Amen

God Chooses A Deliverer

 A Deliverer To Lead

Book of Exodus Chapters 3 and 4

We should understand that when God wants someone to step up and lead His people, He will make His will known to that person and even to those that need to be delivered or led to freedom.

We should also understand that when God selects us to do something then He will empower us to do that thing!

When Moses defended that Israelite to the death of that Egyptian, he thought no one had seen him.

God knew He was going to choose Moses, so this thing had to be made known.

God will not allow the sin of His leaders to remain hidden from the public!

This thing ended the first 40 years of Moses life as a prince in Pharaoh's court.

Moses went to the Midianites because they were in fact distant kin to the Israelites, and he felt he would be welcomed there and he was, and it was at this time he found himself a Gentile Bride.

Great typology can be seen in the life of Moses.

After learning much about the military and the ins and outs of government, Moses next spends 40 years as a Shepherd with his Gentile Bride.

We can see that God had His hand upon Moses all the days of His life.

We should also understand that we may never know the process God uses to select people for specific uses.

All Christians have been called by the Lord Jesus Christ as we learned from Matthew Chapter 28.

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

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

We are told how we are to live after we are saved:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

Tit 2:15  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 

But God does call others for specific special purposes such as the Apostles, including the Apostle Paul, and here we see Moses, but there are many more.

Moses had lived the life of a prince until he became a murderer.

We should understand that YHWH, Jehovah, the I Am of the Bible, does not need anyone's help to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

He allows His creation, the humans to serve for Heavenly rewards.

Moses would spend the next forty years leading a rebellious nation to become a legitimate nation called Israel.

God has had His hand upon Israel since that day.

*****Exo 3:1  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 

It is this Moses, who was called to be the Deliverer of Israel, and yet not a word was said to him until he was 80 years old.

Mount Horeb is actually a chain of mountains with Mount Sinai being called the Mount of God.

God had been watching Moses and placing him in certain positions to learn how to lead a nation.

God uses this method with most of those He calls.

It is a shame that what we get to choose as leaders here in America, they are most all career politicians who know nothing about how real people live.

They make laws that they excuse themselves from following.

It was refreshing to see a man such a Donald Trump come out to lead our nation for those years he did, and we need more like him, but the water of the political swamp is so deep it is hard to overcome.

Moses had been in God's training camp for 80 years and it was time to put him to work, but remember God will not force anyone to do what He ask of them.

We learn many things here of the workings of Jehovah God.

Moses married a gentile woman who had dark skin and there was nothing wrong with that.

The color of the skin is never mentioned in the Bible in a negative fashion.

The 613 commandments had not been given to Israel at this time.

We did see Jochebed and Amram the parents of Moses had married both descendants of Levi which would soon be a commandment of God for reasons that God will state for us as they lived in the Promised Land.

Moses had left the riches of Egypt to live the poor life and he was happy with his new life.

Moses had left a throne behind to walk as a shepherd.

Again we see the typology in the Scriptures as the Lord Jesus Christ left the wonders of Heaven to walk as the true Shepherd here upon Earth.

What does a shepherd do?

They see that the sheep have food and water.

They guide the sheep to safety.

They seek and save any lost sheep.

They protect the sheep even willing to give their life for the sheep.

They keep the sheep separated from the goats.

We should know that God's call does not come to any particular profession.

God seeks particular hearts, hearts that are willing to serve.

It takes a particular people to be servants of the Almighty God!

It takes people of great "faith" to succeed in the army of God!

*****Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 

Exo 3:3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 

It would be a great sight to see an object in flames and yet no burning was occurring.

This should bring to mind those three Jewish boys and Jesus, walking in the flames of that oven that belonged to Nebuchadnezzar.

It should also bring to mind that those in Hell will burn for eternity, but Hell's flames cannot consume them, but they will feel the pain of those flames.

As we read this passage, we should note that this Angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself.

In this verse it says, "the angel of the Lord".

When Moses observed this great thing, he knew that he needed to take a closer look.

If Moses had just passed on by, with no concern for this thing, God would have chosen someone else to lead the Children of Israel away from bondage to Egypt.

*****Exo 3:4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.  

Now if we read this verse carefully, we will begin to see that it was the Almighty God who was speaking from that burning bush.

What is the first thing we need to do when God calls out to us? We need to respond.

Moses was seeing a portion of the Shekinah Glory of God.

We will notice that once the Lord began speaking, He had much to say to Moses.

This message was urgent because the Lord called Moses’ name twice.

There are only ten places in the Bible where we see this double calling.

Where we see the title Lord written in all capital letters, we know that we are speaking of Jehovah the God of the Bible! (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit)

*****Exo 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 

Moses was approaching a place of Holiness.

Moses was approaching the perfect God and our perfect God considers all His creation to be evil at this time.

Holiness belongs to God alone!

Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 

It is from God's Holiness where we get God's "Goodness"!

Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 

This is also a place where the Muslim mock Jehovah by taking their shoes off to do a mocking prayer to Allah or the Prophet Mohammed.

The Muslim Allah and Jehovah are not the same God. Allah can mean multiple gods and it does.

There is only one God, and His name is Jehovah who to Israel is (Yahweh)!

We can only be made perfect by the "Grace" of God, Jehovah through the Lord Jesus Christ!

We begin to be "Holy" once we are a home for the Holy Spirit!

We cannot be servants of God unless we are called of God, realizing that we are filthy sinners and repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

We cannot even repent until we are filled with the Holy Spirit, because we will not understand the Word of God.

Jehovah said let's be clear about this Moses!

*****Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 

We had better understand that when we are in the presence of God, we had better be respectful.

God is my friend, but He is not my chummy friend!

God is my Heavenly Father, but He is not just "the man upstairs"! 

I must be respectful, humble, and reverent.

God has a sense of humor, but He can never be the center of my jokes!

God is my Heavenly Father, but He cannot be my grandfather. God does not have any grandchildren!

We make a serious mistake when we always seek the arm of God when we should be seeking the face of God.

Luk 12:29  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 

Luk 12:30  For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 

Luk 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

We serve the only God who can truly fulfill His promises!

God would say this same thing to us today. "I am the God of Abraham".

Rom_4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Rom_4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Those who have the "faith" as of Abraham are those who are saved by "Grace"!

We serve a God who knows all things that go on in this world!

*****Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 

Exo 3:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

Exo 3:9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 

Exo 3:10  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 

Can you just imagine the prayers going up from God's people just in a place called Afghanistan today?

Add to that all Christians in North Korea, China, Iran and the many other places where good Christians are doing their best just to survive the cruelty of this world and their corrupt governments.

God hears their cries, and He will not hold back very much longer.

We should be calling out to God also! Maybe not just for ourselves but also for them!

God was deeply concerned about the suffering of these people and at this time a Deliverer could lead them to safety by the hand of God.

Note: This is the very first time in the Bible that Jehovah called these children of Israel, "His people".

Jehovah has been connected to Israel ever since that day! 

So has the Christian, if you can see that all these things are written for those who love the true Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was God's intention to deliver Israel from bondage just as it is God's intention to deliver all those held by Satan in bondage.

We have to want to be delivered!

We must make our voices to be heard in Heaven!

Note: "I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians".

We should understand that God is able!

God is able to do everything He has said He would do!

God has the physical power to do as He wishes in this world that He has created by Jesus Christ!

Where would the nation of Israel dwell? In the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

These people were so wickedly evil and immoral that God decided they did not need to live.

Our world is approaching this type of wickedness today and God will do the same thing!

We will read further of this Promised Land and know that we also are promised a land much better that any land of this earth!

Since God had claimed these descendants of Abraham, He certainly would not allow them to be oppressed for very long.

Moses knew this Pharaoh very well for he had once called him grandfather.

In my words Jehovah said, "look Moses just be my voice and I will do all the work it will take to redeem my people"

How can we miss the typology of Jesus Christ here?

After making many excuses, Moses says when they ask me for your name, what should I tell them?

*****Exo 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 

Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Were these people ignorant of God?

We could ask this same question today and the answer is that yes, most people are ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the only sin that cannot be forgiven.

God did not come down to deliver these people because they were all believers.

God came down to deliver them because He made a promise to Abraham!

Many of them remembered Abraham, but they did not remember the Almighty God!

These people had lived in Egypt and understood the many gods of Egypt and to Moses, at this time he knew he needed a name to tell them.

God settles things really quick for Moses.

At this time Moses did not believe he would be accepted, nor did he believe some new god would be accepted.

We can just imagine the anger of Jehovah, but Jehovah does what Jehovah wants to do anytime Jehovah wants to do it!

We might ask ourselves just why would such a God as our God Jehovah want to deliver anyone on this earth?

What does this name "I Am" mean? Jehovah is saying, I am the true God who is beyond the reach of human intellect, and I cannot be contained by my own creation!

For our own benefit, why would we want a God who will not reveal Himself.

Jehovah says this is just who I Am!

Jehovah is independent of His creation.

Jehovah is absolute, He is complete in Himself.

Jehovah says "I Am" eternal and I can make you eternal also!

Jehovah says "I Am" unchangeable for there is no need for Me to change everything I do is perfect.

Jehovah says "I Am" life!

Jehovah is the One God who seeks to have a personal relationship with us, caring for us, and providing for us.

Moses continues with his excuses.

*****Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Excuses are said to be pleas that are offered to be free of guilt or to seek a pardon because of some fault we think we have.

Moses made every excuse he could think of to try to avoid what the Almighty God had told him to do.

The thing we must realize is that the Lord God Jehovah, will not ask us to do things that He will not equip us to do!

Excuses are in fact rebellion!

What did Moses mean?

I try to teach a Sunday School Class and I can relate to these words Moses used here, for I definitely am not an eloquent speaker.

I believe this is the reason the Holy Spirit works in me to prepare a lesson every week.

I am not at ease when I stand before any size group of people, but I know I do not stand alone.

Without God's help, I could not stand before my class every week.

Moses felt some of these same things and he was standing for a moment in the Throne Room of God.

I am not sure, but I believe Moses is the only man in the Bible that did not fall on his face in fear as they stood before God.

We must understand we should be very careful in the way we approach the Living God!

What God required was not a man who was an eloquent speaker. 

God requires men who will speak the unchanging truth of the Word of God!

Remember God had already shown Moses how He had control over the human body by turning Moses's hand to a leprous hand.

Leprosy will spread all over the body eating away at the flesh.

Leprosy is a type of sin in the Bible and leprosy will eat away at the flesh until it causes death.

God had told Moses how He also had control over our environment.

So God said to Moses, "who made you"?

*****Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 

If we cannot understand that Jehovah God is our Creator, we will never get very far with Him!

God has reasons for everything He does!

It is true all of our sicknesses come because of the curse which comes by sin!

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 

Gen 3:18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Many things happen to our bodies because of this and many from other man-made remedies.

It is also true that God can heal anybody from any sickness or any deformity at any time if He so desires.

Ask Isaiah: 

Isa 35:5  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

Isa 35:6  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 

Ask Jeremiah:

Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 

Ask Ezekiel:

Eze 33:22  Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. 

Eze 3:26  And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. 

Eze 3:27  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

One preacher said when we want to serve the Lord "just get out of His way".

Just agree that the Lord can do all things and then put Him to the test and agree to serve.

*****Exo 4:12  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. 

If I can get out of the Lord's way on Sunday morning, then He will be my mouth and He will do the same for every teacher and preacher who preaches the truth of God.

When we make excuses, we are being irreverent and ungrateful to our Holy God!

You see the Lord offers opportunities!

Opportunities to build treasures in Heaven.

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

God is always looking for those with a servant's heart.

God is always looking for those who are teachable.

God is always looking for those who make themselves available.

As Christians we are already filled with the Holy Spirit.

Moses did not have this option, but if Moses chose to obey, God the Holy Spirit would be with him all the days of his life.

We know how Moses chose and we know that Moses became one of the greatest characters in the Old Testament.

We know that by the power of God, Moses led the Children of Israel out of Bondage and took them on their journey to the Promised Land.

Exo 14:21  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 

Exo 14:22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

You see Moses had to have "faith"!

Heb 11:29  By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 

Before these things could be true, we see Moses beg Jehovah and the Lord relented and gave Aaron to be the spokesperson and Moses as a type of God.

Exo 4:13  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. 

Exo 4:14  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 

Exo 4:15  And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 

Exo 4:16  And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. 

God will have His way and it would pay for us to less like Moses when the Lord calls us to be His servant!

God looked into the heart of Moses and knew He had selected the right person!

It was Moses who had to believe God!

Amen

Marriage Must Begin With the Love of God

 Finding A Wife for Isaac

Book of Genesis Chapters 24 Through 26

The one thing Abraham realized and we to are to realize is, that it is just a great thing to be involved in the plan of God.

It is a great thing to be in the family of God and being left upon this earth to do the work He has assigned to us.

We must make the will of God for us to be our own will!

We should understand that God takes these little things that are so important in life and with them, teaches us the great mysteries of the Bible and the truth of His Word.

A marriage is of great concern to our Heavenly Father. 

A marriage that follows the Biblical design will be a lasting marriage and also teaches us the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ to His Church.

Yes, the Church belongs to Jesus Christ. 

It astounds me that so many so-called churches have removed the Lord Jesus Christ and are no longer a part of God's Church and no longer married to the Lord Jesus Christ though they still claim to be and their members who have rejected the Word of God.

They reject the truth of Jesus.

They reject that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

They reject the truth of the Scriptures allowing man's law to take priority.

They reject the Virgin birth.

They reject the Cross.

Yet they claim to know the way to Heaven.

God cares who we marry and to marry is one of the great decisions we make in our lifetime.

A good marriage will be filled with love, joy, and peace just as our relationship with our Savior will be.

A marriage will be between one man and one woman and God decided their sex at birth.

A marriage to the wrong person will only bring heartache!

It was time for Isaac to get married.

*****Gen 24:1  And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 

Gen 24:2  And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 

Gen 24:3  And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 

Gen 24:4  But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

In the day of Abraham it was common for the parents to arrange the marriage of their children.

Abraham was 140 years old and Isaac was now 40 years old and mature.

Sarah, Isaac's mother had been dead for 3 years and Isaac still mourned for his mother.

We should understand that God has a time for us to think about marriage!

God is not involved but only in part, in the marriage of unbelievers.

Remember unbelievers do not know the Word of God nor do they respect the Word of God.

They are best described as those people who lived in the day of Noah before the flood destroyed them.

No doubt that Abraham had discussed these things of marriage with his son Isaac.

Abraham was insisting that Isaac would not marry a maid of the Canaanites.

We already know the Canaanites worshiped false gods and had wicked and immoral beliefs.

God had already destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and three more cities of the plain, and there had been no survivors.

It is probable that the remaining Canaanites did not realize why such a thing would happen and brushed it off as something natural.

This still happens today!

The world does not see the acts of God nor the miracles of God and brush them off as accidents or blame them on nature or other people, such as this Climate Change hoax that is blamed on humanity rather than the promises of God.

Certainly, the climate is changing and if people are worried about heat, they had better learn how to avoid Hell!

God has said things will get worse and we see it in plagues, in the climate, in wickedness, corruption, and immorality and the wickedness in high places.

We know Jehovah is righteous and it is the right thing to do to destroy unrighteousness, but only God has this knowledge to do so.

The Canaanites were a cursed people.

Gen 9:25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 

Abraham would never have chosen a daughter of the Canaanites!

To Abraham there was only one choice for Isaac this wife was to be chosen from Abraham's home country, the descendants of Noah's son Shem.

We used to have a tradition to swear an oath by laying our hand on the Holy Bible.

In the day of Abraham and oath was sworn by a hand upon the thigh.

It was a sacred thing and was not to be broken.

In our father’s day a handshake was as good as an oath!

Today you have to sign your name a hundred times just to get a loan.

As we follow the journey of this eldest servant, we will see another lesson in typology.

We will see this eldest servant as the Holy Spirit.

Isaac as the Messiah.

Abraham as Jehovah.

Rebekah as the Church, the gentile bride of Christ.

Abraham said to his servant that Jehovah would send His angel to guide him.

Abraham knew if his son was in the lineage to the Messiah, then Jehovah would be involved in his marriage!

One thing we should clearly understand, it is better not to marry than to enter into a bad marriage!

As Abraham instructed his servant, if the woman does not come willingly then Isaac will not marry her.

2Co 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Remember to be saved we must willingly give ourselves to the truth of God and repent from the ways of the world.

Believers should marry true believers or not marry at all!

*****Gen 24:10  And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 

Notice just as the Holy Spirit is God, just as God the Father and God the Son, this eldest servant had control of all the goods of Abraham.

The journey to Mesopotamia was as much as a 500-mile trip and it would take a lot of supplies to go and return from such a trip. 

It is the will of God that we marry a true believer, and we may have trouble finding one. It may take some time and we must be prepared for the journey.

If we are to find our soul mate, we must trust the Word of God and the Will of God and that He will lead us to that person who He has chosen for us.

In reality, it would be wise to not even date someone who does not meet these qualifications given by the Lord.

This servant came to the end of his journey, and he prayed for guidance.

*****Gen 24:11  And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. 

Gen 24:12  And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 

We must always pray for the guidance of the Lord!

I fail in this myself and usually just dart off on my own.

What is God's promise?

Psa 32:8  I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. 

What is our prayer?

Psa 119:133  Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 

Psa 25:4  Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 

What should I clearly understand? The promises of God.

Psa 23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

And why not pray for good speed, remembering we must understand that God's timing is the best timing!

And why not pray before for specific things before we meet anyone who might be that perfect mate!

*****Gen 24:14  And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. 

This servant prayed to God for a sign.

We make huge mistakes when we do not pray before we choose a mate.

If God is not involved with us before our marriage, how do we expect to have a good marriage?

Notice how specific this prayer was.

This precious lady would be the one God had chosen for Isaac.

This precious lady would approach this servant of Abraham and ask him if he wanted a drink of water.

This precious lady would then draw water for his camels. This was in itself no easy task. A camel can easily drink 20 to 30 of more gallons of water and there were 10 camels.

It would be almost impossible to find a precious soul willing to do these things for a stranger, but nothing is too hard for God.

Her name was Rebekah, which means "she could ensnare you with her beauty".

*****Gen 24:15  And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

Rebekah was one who, when she walked into the room, you could not take your eyes off of her.

Not just her beauty but her work ethic and friendliness.

Even before this servant said Amen, his prayer was answered!

Rebekah was God's choice to be the bride of Isaac!

I believe when we are men of sincere prayer, God will provide that soul mate for life.

It is not our custom today to send someone else to find us a wife, we must do this ourselves, but God must be involved!

We should still listen to our parents if they are godly parents.

We still need God and we still need prayer and God does not mind providing a wife for godly men!

Gen 2:18  And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 

Pro 18:22  Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. 

Ecc 4:9  Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 

Ecc 4:10  For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 

Ecc 4:11  Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 

Ecc 4:12  And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

1Pe 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. 

And Rebekah was certainly beautiful.

*****Gen 24:16  And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 

What is a virgin according to the Bible, a lady that has never been with a man in a sexual encounter!

Even though Rebekah was very fair to look upon, she did not stand still and allow this man she had just met to just gaze upon her.

Many today blessed with beauty take advantage of it in not so godly ways.

It is also very true, that beauty is only skin deep, and inner beauty is more important than outer beauty.

Being humble, courteous, with a charitable disposition will make us more pleasant to the eyes of those watching us and there is always someone watching us including the Lord.

These are the things that bring a reward from our Heavenly Father.

Mat 10:41  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 

Mat 10:42  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Not part of our lesson but verse 21

Gen 24:21  And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. 

Notice this servant was amazed at the things he was seeing as he had prayed.

As this servant questioned Rebekah, he found that she was from the family that Abraham had sent him seeking a wife for Isaac.

He then bowed his head and worshiped again amazed at the ways of God.

The only thing he did not know then was "if she were willing".

Like the Holy Spirit this servant showed Rebekah some of the treasures of choosing the truth of God.

Gen 24:22  And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; 

We also see the secular side of this family.

Gen 24:30  And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. 

It is the lust of the eyes that got the attention of Laban, Rebekah's brother.

This servant of Abraham knew God had prospered his journey and it was not time to linger. 

*****Gen 24:56  And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. 

When our prayers our answered such as this one from Abraham's servant it was not time to linger with unbelievers.

It was very clear, that God was involved in the things going on with this marriage of Rebekah to Isaac.

When we accept the gift of salvation then we must understand this is a new life, a living life.

We live in a dyeing world, but Heaven is a place of Glory.

The servant showed Rebekah and her family the riches of Abraham.

Gen 24:53  And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. 

When we give our dead life to the Living Savior, we obtain a new life!

Heb 10:18  Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. 

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 

Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 

We begin to prosper as we begin our journey with the Lord.

We must give ourselves willingly.

*****Gen 24:57  And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. 

Gen 24:58  And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

What are some great lessons we can learn from this simple story of seeking a wife for Isaac?

We must saturate our work for the Lord with prayer.

We must wait on the Lord for direction.

We must praise our Heavenly Father.

If we see Rebekah as that lost soul, then we must imagine her as someone who hears the Gospel.

She had to realize there was a great father reaching out to her.

He had only one son, His only begotten son and He was well beloved.

He was in search of a Gentile Bride amongst all of the world.

She would be the bride of His dear Son, forever and forever.

She was not worthy of such blessings.

This in typology is the way God calls us all.

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

*****Gen 24:59  And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. 

Gen 24:60  And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. 

What we see is that the journey home has begun.

As Rebekah has willingly given herself to Isaac even at a distance, she has consented to be his wife.

Each of us who have given ourselves to the Lord are now on our journey home.

Rebekah, a Gentile Bride, espoused to God's chosen son Isaac.

From Isaac would one day come the Messiah.

Rebekah, thou art also our sister!

Now that she was going to be a wife they prayed along the lines of God's blessings.

She would certainly be the mother of millions as every "Born Again" child of God adds to this number.

Without a doubt many of her seed will possess the gate of those who hate them as Israel entered into Canaan Land and forward into the Millennial Kingdom.

What had God promised Abraham?

Gen 22:16  And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 

Gen 22:17  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 

Gen 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

*****Gen 24:61  And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. 

As the bride to be began her journey, the servant began his journey home.

You see as we are the Bride of Christ, the Holy Spirit will lead us to Jesus.

It may not always be a pleasant trip because we live in the world of our enemies, but we have no excuse for not enjoying it.

After all we are not going to Canaan Land, but we are going to Heaven, the true Promised Land.

The same land that Abraham was seeking and never found because he knew it was not of this earth.

Those who think Heaven will be upon this earth are wrong and foolish to believe that God would say He is giving us the best and then stop short of doing so.

1Co_2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

As Rebekah rode upon a camel, we ride upon the "Grace" of God.

2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2Co_13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

The Holy Spirit will only lead us to the Bridegroom!

Joh_15:26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

*****Gen 24:62  And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. 

Gen 24:63  And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 

Lahairoi means "the well of the Living God".

Jesus said 

Joh_Psa_42:2  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

If we are not craving the water from the Living God, then we had better check our salvation.

Psa_84:2  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Psa_42:2  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Isaac was dwelling near this well at this time waiting upon his wife to be and the Lord Jesus Christ is that well of "Living Water" and He will soon be coming to take us home to present His Bride to His heavenly Father.

Where is the best place to meditate? Near the well of Living Water.

What did Jesus teach the Samaritan woman?

Joh_4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Isaac could not have known the camels would be returning on this day.

Isaac was alone, still mourning the death of his mother who loved him so much. 

Isaac had been the only begotten son of Abraham and Sarah.

Isaac was the promised son!

Jesus said:

Mat_6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

On this day, this field in the evening time, near the well of Living Water, was the place where Isaac felt closest to the Lord.

We all need a place where we can meditate on our relationship with our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

No doubt one of the thoughts of Isaac was this wife his father had sent for and we can be sure he prayed over this matter and lo and behold to Isaac his prayer was answered.

Rebekah knew this thing also.

*****Gen 24:64  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 

Gen 24:65  For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. 

In those days it would have been unmannerly for Rebekah to remain seated when she saw Isaac walking. There was no exception even made for a woman. 

Rebekah would not even wait until the camel she was riding came to rest, but she lighted off the camel. She simply jumped off the camel which is taller than a horse in her excitement.

She quickly recovered her composure and covered herself with a veil.

I ask myself what will I be like when I first see Jesus?

Will I lose my composure as did Rebekah?

Will I regain my composure and show respect?

Will I fall on my face before the glory of the Living God?

In reality, I believe I will be in great fear until the Lord says, "peace be with you".

To be honest I believe the Lord God of this Universe will be waiting with open arms.

If we cannot be excited about going to Heaven, then something is wrong with us!

If we cannot be excited about being saved, then maybe we are not thinking right.

When we recover, we will remember we stand before a Holy God, who has loved us into His Own Home, and we will forever be welcome in His House!

Heaven will be a happy place, not solemn and gloomy!

Isaac wanted to know all the details of the journey of his bride.

Jesus will want to hear us describe our journey to Him for He will be just as excited as we will be.

*****Gen 24:66  And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. 

Gen 24:67  And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. 

The Holy Spirit would not have saved all these details if they were not important!

It is love that filled the tent of Isaac.

It will be love that will fill the Temple of God in Heaven.

God will never love us less then He loves us now and he cannot love us more because He has that true love.

We are not lured into Heaven. Heaven is a place desired by both parties.

The Lord Jesus went back to Heaven to build us a mansion in His Father's House.

This is the truth of salvation!

Joh 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 

Joh 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 

Jesus has given us the instructions on how to get to Heaven.

Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 

With the love of his wife, Isaac was comforted from the death of his mother Sarah.

As we live upon this earth there may be many of our loved ones who have gone on before us.

When we see all those in Heaven it will be a great comfort to see them again and then knowing we will never be separated from them again.

There will also be some that we loved who will not be there and we will be comforted by our Savior for those we will never see again.

Those who are married in a Christian home have a little taste of the relationship of the Bride of Christ to the Bridegroom Christ Himself, but we that know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior will experience the greatest life that exist when we get to Heaven.

I love you Jesus!

It has been worth every mile of the trip.

Amen.

The Construction Of The Temple Of Solomon

The Construction Of The Temple

Text; 1 Kings 5:1-7:51; 2 Chronicles 2:1-4:22

Focus: 2 Chronicles 2:1, 3-5; 3:1-10; 4:1, 2, 6-8, 19-22


Solomon's Temple was built in 960BC and we should understand that the Temple had a specific purpose.

Most of the world may disagree but the truth is that Jehovah God made this world we live in and it is our Creator who has established all the rules of life!

When God made Adam, God told him that the results of not obeying His rules would result in death. Not the death of the body but the eternal death of the soul!

Adam disobeyed and sin, death, and disease entered our world!

In spite of this our God still loved all His creation and God had mercy on His people.

God had already made a plan of salvation even before He sent His Son Jesus.

God provided a way to atone for sin so that all people could still remain close to God!

God allowed the blood of a perfectly healthy animal to temporarily take the place of the sinners life. Note this was only temporary until the true sacrifice was to come.

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

It is by the blood of Jesus that the final sacrifice was made!

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Since these things are true and they are, then it ought to be a fearful thing to not acknowledge the sacrifice that was offered by God Himself!

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Temple took seven years to build and this place of worship was to be a quiet place to worship so with that theme, all materials were manufactured in other places, and then delivered and assembled on the threshing floor of Ornan in the place that was purchased by King David.

The truth is that the Temple was the most holy sight on this planet until it was destroyed by Titus in 70AD.

Now the most holy sight on this planet is the the believer, the Holy Ghost filled Body of Christ!

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Let's begin:

2Ch 2:1  And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.

The duty of building the Temple was reserved for Solomon even before he was born of King David and Bathsheba.

God told Moses.

Deu 12:5  But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
Deu 12:6  And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
Deu 12:7  And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.

God told David.

2Sa 7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Solomon realized that to build the Temple was his purpose in life and as soon as Solomon became King of Israel, he committed himself to the work.

And just as Solomon had this purpose, this is the same purpose for each believer to build upon the House of the Lord!

Since the time of Seth the third born son of Adam, certain men have called upon the name of the Lord.

Gen 4:26  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

The Temple that Solomon built was the first time a specific building had been set aside to worship in the name of the Lord!

We would be foolish not to see the hand of God in all these things because God Himself had a purpose for the Temple.

Solomon was also determined to build his own house but the building of the Temple was to come first.

Just as Solomon we as Christians we need to keep our priorities in order. As the "living temples" of God we will never be able to properly build our own homes and families until we have determined to be a living house of God.

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

So Solomon gathered his work force together to build the Temple and if our minds are right with God we can see that God is in fact using this time of Grace to gather His own work force together to build His temples!

*****2Ch 2:2  And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.
2Ch 2:3  And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me.

This verse is also important because we can see that Solomon first gathered Gentiles to build God's Temple.

2Ch 2:17  And Solomon numbered "all the strangers" that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.

And, What is God doing today?

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

God is using Gentiles to build His Church!

The Temple that was to be built was to be a solid structure and as permanent as man could make it.

The materials were to be durable to last as long as humanly possible.

The Temple was to be built by experienced builders as directed by the King.

How does God build His Temples?

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

God uses permanent materials that will last through eternity!

God uses Holy Ghost experienced builders directed by God Himself!

This is the purpose of our own King Jesus!

Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world", that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

And we must dedicate our own temple to the Lord!

*****2Ch 2:4  Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

Notice this house that was built in the name of the Lord and it was not built to live in.

This House Was Built To Worship The Lord In!

Jesus said these words:

Mar 11:17  And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Woe to us all when we make our own temple a den of thieves which robs God rather than a temple of worship in the name of the Lord and a house of prayer.

The Church can only survive in this world because we serve a Great Big God!

*****2Ch 2:5  And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.

Psa 145:3  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Our God is great, so to the Christian we are very aware that God is in control of not only our lives but God also has absolute control of the happenings in our world.

We all know that there are many bad things that happen in our world and God does not do bad things but God does allow them to happen when He could stop them if He so wanted to!

God has a plan in place and He will not allow anything to alter that plan!

It is also a fact that our world would destroy itself if God allowed it to!

The Lord Jesus Christ is to be our example in everything in life and the Lord Jesus Christ never ignored God. Jesus Christ always lifted up His Father that is in Heaven!

We need to be more like Jesus and we need to seek the Lord daily for we serve a Great Big God!

Act 17:26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, "and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation";
Act 17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Act 17:28  "For in him we live, and move, and have our being"; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

So Solomon began to build the House of the Lord.

*****2Ch 3:1  Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

The location of the Temple was very important.

1) Where do we first see Mount Moriah?

Gen 22:2  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Mount Moriah was the same place where Abraham was sent to sacrifice his promised son Isaac by his wife Sarah.

What was the truth of that sacrifice?

Gen 22:8  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Abraham and Isaac both went up to Mount Moriah and they both returned because God's plan for God to provide "Himself" to be that sacrificial Lamb!

Gen 22:14  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

Jehovahjireh means "Jehovah will see to it". In other words our salvation was a personal thing to God and He would handle this thing Himself and not allow any human to be that sacrificial lamb!

2) Next it was this same location where the Lord met with King David

2Sa 24:18  And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
2Sa 24:19  And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
2Sa 24:20  And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
2Sa 24:21  And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
2Sa 24:22  And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
2Sa 24:23  All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
2Sa 24:24  And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
2Sa 24:25  And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

3) David had realized that this was the very place where the Temple would be built and King David began then setting aside some the materials that would be needed.

Notice David also used Gentiles and not Jews to prepare the stones for the house of God!

1Ch 21:18  Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

1Ch 22:1  Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
1Ch 22:2  And David commanded to gather together "the strangers" that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

What did the Apostle Paul preach to the early Church?

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Gentile and Jew alike will one day live together in the House the God Built!

Joh 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

The time to build was also important.

*****2Ch 3:2  And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
2Ch 3:3  Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

It had taken Solomon 4 years to gather all the material his father David had provided and other things that he knew would be needed and to make the arrangements for the Temple construction.

We should immediately see that as wise as Solomon was, Solomon was still instructed in how to build the Temple of God.

Solomon had a set of plans and specifications that had been provided by his father King David who had received these instructions himself by the Holy Spirit!

God still uses this same method today. Every temple is to be built according to the direction of the Holy Spirit!

About 35 acres of land had to be prepared.

A water supply had to be provided such as the Pool of Siloam.

And we should know that no matter what the deceivers of our world try to tell us, it would be this Temple as built by Solomon that would set the standard for all places of worship in the ancient world!

Every foreign government wanted a part of this Temple.

Every army considered the artifacts of the Temple to be the greatest spoils of any war.

Many nations including Rome and even the Muslim made it their own goal to build things to try to surpass the Glory of the House of God and as none could do so, they then strived to destroy the House of God which they finally did in 70AD and the Muslim world will still rise up in war, if there is any attempt to rebuild God's Temple.

God had a great purpose for allowing the Temple to be built.

God had a great purpose in allowing the Temple to be destroyed.

God has a great purpose for the Temple will be rebuilt again one day!

In reality the main structure of Temple of Solomon was about twice the size of the Tabernacle of Moses.

There were many other great structures in that day including the pyramids but we should remember that the pyramids were only tombs for the dead.

The Temple of God was built for all those who are seeking eternal life!

*****2Ch 3:4  And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

This porch later called Solomon's porch was on the East side of the Temple.

This porch faced the Courtyard of the Gentiles and was a place that the Lord Jesus used to teach His disciples.

Joh 10:23  And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

Here is what Josephus wrote about Solomon's porch:

"there is a porch without the Temple, overlooking a deep valley, supported by walls of 400 cubits, made of four square stone, very white, the length of each stone was 20 cubits, and the breadth 6 cubits; the work of King Solomon, who first rounded the whole Temple."

Even the porch of the House of God was a magnificent place!

And even the porch of the House of God is to be a place of safety!

And even the porch of Solomon's Temple faced the courtyard of the Gentiles!

*****2Ch 3:5  And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.
2Ch 3:6  And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
2Ch 3:7  He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.

The lumber material was not found in Israel so it had to come from somewhere else and the best wood came from the forest of Lebanon.

Since that time of the Temple, the forest of Lebanon became a victim of greed and irresponsibility!

Many nations including Rome harvested the forest of Lebanon.

During the time of the Muslim and the Ottoman Empire these wonderful forest practically disappeared!

Today these forest are almost all gone. The world we live do not want to claim Jehovah but this world sure does crave the things that Jehovah provides!

But even this marvelous wood with it's beautiful carvings and was then covered with gold.

Remember Gold suggest the deity and the glory of God!

Those precious jewels were remind us of the New Jerusalem.

Rev 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Rev 21:20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

Those cherubim are a marvelous subject in the Bible. The first time we see them is in the Book of Genesis.

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

We know that Adam once walked with the God in the cool of the day, but after sin entered into the world there has since been only one way to approach God and that is through "Faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We know that Enoch walk with God by "Faith" even after the Cherubim were placed by the Lord at the garden of Eden.

Those Cherubim were actually placed at the Garden by the Lord, so it could be said that those Cherubims were not just keeping the way to the place to walk with God "but to actually show the only way to approach the throne of God".

In the Holy of Holies, the Cherubim hovered over the "Mercy Seat" which we know represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our "Mercy Seat"!

Exo 25:18  And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exo 25:19  And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

It is very possible to consider that these Cherubims are more an emblem of the Godhead than they are of angels.

We know that an emblem is only a representation of the real thing!

Act 17:29  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

It is the Cherubim that will lead us to the Holy of Holies!

*****2Ch 3:8  And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
2Ch 3:9  And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. 2Ch 3:10  And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.

The Holy of Holies was four square.

God is building a new Holy of Holies:

Joh 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Rev 21:16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

All believers will one day live with God in His new Holy of Holies!

Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Which is the New Jerusalem!

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

We already know that the material for the Temple was manufactured in other places and assembled on sight without the sound of the hammer.

1Ki 6:7  And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. 

So Those nails would have been wooden pegs.

And here again we see that those two Cherubim over shadowed the "Mercy Seat"!

These two Cherubim were colossal, reaching from wall to wall inside the Holy of Holies.

The combined wing spread of these two cherubim was 20 cubits or at least 30 feet and they completely covered with gold.

Then there was the veil.

*****2Ch 3:14  And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

It was the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant rested.

It was the veil that separated a holy God from sinful people.

Once a year only the High Priests could go beyond that veil.

But because Jesus became that perfect sacrifice for all of our sin that veil no longer exists!

When Jesus died that veil was ripped into by God Himself and we can now go boldly into the throne room of God Himself!

Then

Mat 27:50  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Now

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Then came the altar.

*****2Ch 4:1  Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.

God required the children of Israel to regularly sacrifice a perfect animal whether they be lambs, goats, doves or bulls for their sins but remember, this was a yearly thing.

It was "the blood" of that animal that justified the people before God and their relationship with Him was restored for one more year!

But now we have have the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, and no more sacrifice of animals is required!

Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

At the Temple people would lay their hand on the head of that animal, symbolically putting his sins onto the animal and that animal would die in his place.

Now we know that Jesus was the Lamb of God who carried the burden of all our sin.

Today, in this time of "Grace" we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice!

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

And there is still one other sacrifice that we must make after being accepted into God's family!

Heb 13:16  But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Heb 13:17  Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

We cannot live to ourselves, we must be bright and shining lights for Jesus Christ!

And then there was the sea.

*****2Ch 4:2  Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

This was the great bronze basin where the priests would wash themselves.

This basin in Solomon's Temple would have held more than 10,000 gallons of water.

BUT, today it is each believer who is to be God's priest:

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Who are washed in the blood of Jesus:

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

And then the ten lavers:

*****2Ch 4:6  He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

These lavers were intended to wash those sacrificed animals.

The priest must be washed.

The people must be washed.

The sacrificed must be washed.

The child of God must be washed!

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The number 10 represents perfected universality!

The ten commandments contain God moral laws.

The tenth is the tithe which all belongs to God.

The ten lavers were to wash the sacrifice but they also represent those that are justified and those that will be sanctified!

To be washed is to become the New Man.

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Then there was the ten candlesticks.

*****2Ch 4:7  And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.

These ten candlesticks reflect on the perfect light in the Holy of Holies.

Today it is Jesus Christ who is the light of the world!

Joh 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Jesus Christ is the Light to the world as well as the Light of the world!

It is only the light of Jesus that can open the eyes of the blind so they can see the truth of God!

Psa 40:7  Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psa 40:8  I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

It is only the Word of God that can teach us of His magnificent light!

Then there was the 10 tables.

*****2Ch 4:8  He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.

These tables were intended to hold the bread that was made for the Temple priests.

But today we have the complete bread of life, His name is Jesus Christ!

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

It is impossible to see the construction of the Temple and not see the construction of the Born Again child of God!

And then there are all the remaining vessels for the house of God.

*****2Ch 4:19  And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set;
2Ch 4:20  Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold;
2Ch 4:21  And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold;
2Ch 4:22  And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

We should never forget the purpose of the Church is to make disciples who will then carry the "Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

Isaiah said it like this:

Isa 60:17  For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.

People from all walks of life who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and who come into the church, will be changed for the better!

And the exactors were for the tribute to be collected which would be righteousness!

Not only would the Church be peaceable and righteous but the Church is to administer peace and righteousness to all this world!

And what would happen in our world if the Church would do it's job?

Isa 60:18  Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

The Temple was destroyed because it was not doing it's job.

It should be obvious to us that the Church up to this point has also not done it's job, in this time of "Grace"!

But this does not mean we are to stop trying!

Questions?

Let's Pray!