Tag: idols

Studies

Jeroboam Causes Israel to Sin

Pete

Kings of Israel #5

“Jeroboam Causes Israel to Sin”

Key Verses: 1Ki 12:25-33

Our old man will make us sin if he is not brought under the subjection of Jesus Christ within us.  That is such a simple yet powerful truth and one our story of King Jeroboam will bear out today and, in the weeks ahead as we begin studying the kingship of Jeroboam, the first king over the Northern Kingdom in a divided nation of Israel.   We should always be reminded that the kingdom of God is not outside of us somewhere but instead is within you (Luk 17:21) as are all of these events that God’s Elect are living out.   Jeroboam represents our naturally rebellious and contentious flesh that wars against the doctrines of Christ (Judah).

Before the division of Israel, Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon (1Ki 11:26) meaning Solomon had dominion over his carnal mind and fleshly lusts.  Yet Solomon apostatized, and Israel reaped (and we reap what we have sowed).

1Ki 11:9  And the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

1Ki 11:11  Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

The result of our apostasy is our becoming servants of the old man which consumes us in carnal and lustful passions.

Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

As God’s Elect, we will live through a divided Kingdom fighting wars as our flesh (Israel) wages war against the Word (Judah).  These wars will continue until we are given the fullness when we receive our spiritual bodies.

1Ki 14:30  And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Rebellious flesh is naturally SELF-serving and always seeking to enlarge its borders and make a name for itself.  Out from the dominion of Christ’s doctrines, it does not take long for us to begin worshipping our own gods and perverting judgment.  Jeroboam went right to work doing what flesh does best in using his own hands in building idols and strongholds to expand and protect his kingdom and kingship.

1Ki 12:25  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 

1Ki 12:26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 

1Ki 12:27  If these people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 

1Ki 12:28  Whereupon the king (Jeroboam) took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 

1Ki 12:29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 

1Ki 12:30  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 

1Ki 12:31  And he made a house of high places and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 

1Ki 12:32  And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 

1Ki 12:33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. 

Jeroboam’s focus instantly turned to retain power and control.  It is the opposite of faith when we fear men and do not trust the Lord nor submit to Him working all things in our life.  The laws of warfare are written about our war against our own flesh and lusts that wage war against the ways of God in our hearts and mind.

Deu 20:4  For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Jeroboam, as our old man, is made to be destroyed and will resist dying and submitting every step of the way.

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

1Co 1:18  For the preaching of the cross (dying to self) is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

While these Scriptures say Jeroboam did these things after the “devising of his own heart”, we know that truth is subject to a much greater absolute truth which is this.

Pro 21:1  The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water (your thought life): he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Pro 16:9  A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

It is the Lord who is doing all the causing, even causing Jeroboam and us in our day to commit these besetting sins (Isa 63:17).

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Jeroboam life and actions are innate to all flesh.  His deeds live on in Bible infamy being cited at least 21 times and in 15 of the 18 successor Northern Kingdom kings here being just one example.

2Ki 13:6  Nevertheless they [Israel during Jehoahaz’s reign] did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made [is making] Israel sin, but walked in them; and the wooden image also remained in Samaria.

The life of Jeroboam and his evil deeds are an example of our evil deeds and have been written down for us to learn from and help in our process of overcoming.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world come.

It is impossible for flesh to please God (Rom 8:8) and the Jeroboam spirit will continue to plague Israel all the days in our flesh.  The sins of Jeroboam are our sins that we all are struggling with until we are matured in our judgment and trials.  Now we look some more into what is called “the sins of Jeroboam” for wisdom in identifying these sins and finding ways to overcome them.

Worshipping a false god and creating graven images:  Jeroboam quickly sins against the Lord in violating both the first and second commandments (and others).

Deu 5:6  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Deu 5:7  Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

Deu 5:8  Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

Our flesh will seek to share the glory with the Lord but He is having none of it (1Co 1:29).  Jeroboam will soon be rebuked by a prophet speaking words of fire and his kingdom will not be long-lasting as the next study will cover.

These besetting (persistent) sins are ingrained in all flesh and lead to other sins against the Lord’s commandments.  The old man aka man of sin, cannot subject himself to the ordinances of God and will persistently create a god unto himself until that man of sin is destroyed. Only then will Israel be reunited as One with God.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Jeroboam was a friend of Egypt’s King Shishak (1Ki 11) and these false gods are given birth from our spiritual fornication and adultery with the mindset and ways of this wicked world.  The new man within us cannot commit this sin. If we see this within ourselves we can know it is a manifestation of our old man who is to be reckoned dead instead.

1Jn 5:18  We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

1Jn 5:19  We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

1Jn 5:20  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Calves are nearly full grown cows and in Scripture signify a sacrificed life being laid down in service to the Lord which is the reasonable divine service of God’s people (Rom 12:1).  Jeroboam like all flesh is SELF FOCUSED whose thought life is about preserving his life and kingdom.  This is what leads us to worship our own ideas and self-exaltation (our god, the image to our beast)

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Thankfully, we know our beastly nature will be destroyed and our attempts to preserve the way of the old man will come to naught in due time.  Believe these words of the Lord!

Luk 17:33  Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

The history of Jeroboam also tells us where he placed these golden calves in Israel.

1Ki 12:29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 

1Ki 12:30  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 

Jeroboam wanted dominion over Israel and their exercise of faith which we are commanded not to have over anyone (Rom 14:4, 2Co 1:20).  His plot to keep his subject from going to Jerusalem including placing these two idols in two strategic locations.  Bethel, meaning House of God refers to our worship and was in the southernmost part of Israel.  Dan which means “judge”, is in the far north which is the spiritual direction from which judgment always comes.  How we worship and how we judge are both essential and we have many Scriptures and studies that reveal to us how to worship in truth and how to judge righteously.  If we are in the flesh as is the mind of Jeroboam here is the result.

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Before Christ comes we are worshipping a false god and making a graven image in our self-absorbed delusion that we are in control of our own free will.  Such is the STRONG DELUSION that all men are given which causes us to reject the true love of God as we persist in unrighteous behavior.

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Continuing with Jeroboam’s action in prescribing worship for Israel we read this.

1Ki 12:31  And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 

1Ki 12:32  And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 

1Ki 12:33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. 

While we are not told specifically with whom Jeroboam took counsel with to devise the worship plan for Israel, we do know he was an ally of Shishak the King of Egypt (1Ki 11:40) which tells us Jeroboam is a friend of the world as Egypt symbolizes the world.  We also know there were no longer any true priests left in Israel.

2Ch 11:14  For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD:

Jeroboam kicks out the true priests and replaces them with idolatrous priests not of the tribe of Levi as commanded of the Lord (Num 3:1-6).  Without the priests to be the multitude of counselors, there is no safety (Pro 11:14) and our old man can easily lead us astray and corrupt the pure food and service at the Lord’s table.

Heb 13:16  (JUB) Do not forget to do good and to fellowship (communicate KJV); for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

This act of our old man is another besetting sin that will keep us from worshipping in truth and being saved from our sins.      We are saved from our sins as we are able to walk in the light that is the Body of Christ (Mat 5:14) who are also the kings and priests of the Lord in the making (Rev 5:10).  The light of Christ is also the same as the fire that is saving us and burning up the false images of God we make as carnal men.

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.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

We have many Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments warning us about whom we keep company with and with whom we eat and digest spiritual food. We are to be watchful for those that have not the Truth nor obey the Truth and not be partakers with them.

2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

On the same vein, we are not to idly bring strange priests and those teaching false doctrines into our fellowship and communion.

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

Jeroboam in our exalted strong delusion thinks he is doing God a service by ordaining a feast that appears to closely mimic the Feast of Tabernacles (15th day of 7th month).  This was no doubt done to further the motive in preventing Israel from going up to Jerusalem as the Law of Moses commanded.

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD (in Jerusalem)

Our old man is much more comfortable being isolated from the fiery fire and bright light that is exposing our deeds of darkness in the house of God where judgment now dwells.  Forsaking the assembly and merely warming ourselves by the fire is not enough to burn out our besetting sins. We need to be directly in the fire.

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

The taking of the true communion often in Jerusalem (a type of New Jerusalem, aka the Body of Christ) is how we die daily and Christ grows within us.

1Co 11:26  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

But like orthodox Christianity and carnal men everywhere, Jeroboam is taking the things of God and perverting them; adding too and taking away from the Word; even making up holy days on his own devising.  The three feasts of the Lord in the Old Testament are all shadows of the Lord savings us by the process of judgment (the number three).  The Elect live this out in Spirit now, in our day of the Lord, and all mankind will fulfill those feast days in the Lake of Fire.

The false gods, the perverted priesthood and even the man-made feast days are all an abomination to the Lord and only invite the Lord’s wrath to destroy Jeroboam.

Amo 5:21  I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Amo 5:22  Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

Outwardly there is to be no keeping of days, times or seasons.  It takes judgment to come to be able to approach the Lord in truth and in spirit.  Before then we will be serving up false gods with our keeping of days, times and years as the world does.

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

The Lord is getting our obedience (LOVE) by destroying the Jeroboam mindset that keeps us separated from our brethren and the true doctrines of Christ.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

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

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love (obey is love – 1Jo 5:3) the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

As we look at the remaining 18 kings of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam always seems to be in the picture (2Ki 17:22-23).  That is true because it is these besetting deeply ingrained sins that only our overcome as we are able to lay down our life in service and humility.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

In the next study, we will continue with Jeroboam’s reign as a man of God is sent to rebuke the disobedient king and prophesy of the impending doom and rejection of his idolatrous worship.

1Ki 13:1  And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

1Ki 13:2  And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

1Ki 13:3  And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

 

 

Studies

Learning by Examining Ourselves

Pete

For Our Admonition Part 21

“Learning by Examining Ourselves”

Key Verses:  Jdg 8:18 – 8:28

This series of studies in the life of Gideon is reminding us that entering into the Kingdom of God is a process of many wars and fiery experiences which are teaching us the right ways of God.  We pick up the story with Gideon holding the captured Midianite kings that were found in a spiritual location where SELF was being exalted and promoted (Nobah and Jogbehah) and where our man of sin was dwelling securely (Jdg 8:11).  A discussion between Gideon and the kings takes place ending with their death.

Jdg 8:18  Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. 

Jdg 8:19  And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 

Jdg 8:20  And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth. 

Jdg 8:21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks. 

 This outward event happened for our sake (1Pe 1:12) to show us the benefits of examining ourselves.  The Lord has purposefully ordained our erring and rebellion, represented by these two kings to bring the grace and chastening that is saving us in our day of the Lord (Pro 16:4, Rom 8:20).  We fall down our “seven” times as we are learning righteousness and are shown our error and are chastened of the Lord (Heb 12:8).

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Our old man is manifest in the mindset of these two kings and is an enemy of God.  In our day of the Lord, we are meeting the enemy and he is us (Mat 10:36)!  We will confront our these kings in our day of judgment and Lord willing will learn of the damage they are causing and adapt our walk and ways or spiritual warfare.  After a victory or conquest, it is natural to relax and let one’s guard down but that is exactly the opportunity the adversary is looking for to hit a soft unprepared target.  We must never forget that our carnal mind is always at enmity with the ways of the Lord.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

We are admonished constantly in Scripture to be vigilant in keeping watch and examining ourselves to keep us spiritually healthy.

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

We will see in the end, Gideon falling down and not being wise just after the Midianites are finished.  All of those “take heed” admonishments are given to warn us about issues within ourselves and not just about those outside ourselves.  If we see these things within, we just might have a Midianite king to be hiding out in our heavens.

Mat 16:6  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mar 4:24  And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Learning from our enemies is examining ourselves and our motives and past actions.  That is the lesson from Gideon’s questioning of the Midianite kings.  Gideon asks the kings what kind of men (where they were spiritually) were the men these kings slew when they killed the men of Israel at a placed called Tabor.  We are not given the details of the event being referenced but we can learn more by digging in the Scriptures (Pro 25:2).

Tabor [H8396] comes from a root “tebor” H8406 that means broken or fragile.  Tabor spiritually speaking is where we are made to see our true broken nature and how we have done horrible things in the Name of the Lord.  Christ comes to the brokenhearted (Luk 4:18) and breaks open the fountains of life deep inside of our flesh (Gen 7:11).  When we are drained of self then we can be lifted up and given the land with power.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

These carnal kings within us slay Christ and His Christ as we mix carnal strife and contention with the Truth.  We come to see that we are the Pharisee that has slain Christ and killed His prophets.

1Th 2:14  For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:

1Th 2:15  Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

Tabor is symbolically between the temple and the altar.  It is where babes, the immature dwell, still engaging in two trains of thought – the carnal mind and the ways of the Spirit. It is here in Tabor that we kill Christ and His prophets with our hatred for the commands and ways of the Lord.

Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

An OT witness to us doing spiritual violence and turning back to carnal wisdom are these.

Eze 8:16  And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Eze 8:17  Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

Facing eastward away from the direction the sun (temple) is a symbol of immaturity and our being yet carnal.  Yet that is where we all are at when we first come into the Truth while we await the day of the Lord that is going to suddenly come and burn of the Midianites with fire.  As babes in Christ, we are broken and very fragile and are easily seduced by the carnal darkness that masquerades as light and its ministers as angels of light.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him

Looking behind ourselves in our day of judgment, we are being humbled in seeing how we have opposed the Lord and His work within ourselves and the work of others.  This good work is bringing us to repentance and turning our hearts back to God.  Thus, we are given a zeal like our Lord to cleanse the Temple (Joh 2:19, 1Co 3:16) and put to death these Midianite kings.  These OT shadows speak of this NT spiritual reality (Joh 6:63).

Exo 21:12  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

Hos 5:1  Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

There is something for each of us to focus on as there is always work to be done in the Kingdom of God while we walk in clay.  When we see false doctrines and carnal unbelief in our heavens we are to spare not and show no mercy to these inward enemies but to put them to death.  This extends to our thought life as well as our deeds.  We are not to suffer the woman Jezebel (another shadow of carnality) who is causing us to commit fornication against the Lord and His Christ.

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Deu 20:18  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

We are given further detail that our firstborn mindset, representing the flesh and our yet carnal nature is unable to rise up and slay these kings.

Jdg 8:20  And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

Gideon’s firstborn son Jether, comes from a word by the same name [H3499] that means remnant or residue, speaking of the part of us that is cut off and unable to enter into the Kingdom of God (Gal 4:30).  Being a youth (also Hebrew word for child), he was spiritually immature and not yet given to overcome the Midianites.  Such is the definition of a babe in Christ.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 

Being the firstborn of Gideon is also a symbol for our flesh and the old man who is the rejected anointed and was not designed to inherit the Kingdom of God.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Gideon and all of us are to work out our own salvation. We have to bear our own burden (Gal 6:5) and provide for ourselves (1Ti 5:8) if we are to eat the spiritual nourishment and grow.  While we have a body of Christ to strengthen and encourage and teach us, we still have to tend and keep the garden of Eden in the Kingdom of God within us (Gen 2:15).

Jdg 8:21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks. 

Our carnal mind does not want to die but there comes a time when the trumpet judgments are blowing, the fiery trials are tormenting us when we do seek the death of our old man and the Midianite spirits.

Rev 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

The old man will die along with these carnal kings but only when the Lord has ordained us to overcome.  These kings are the root of a mixed multitude, emotionally driven mindset that is hindering and oppressing Israel in the promised land.  We learn later in verse 8:26 that the kings wore purple raiment symbolizing the mixture of flesh (red, “adam”) with the things of the Spirit (blue).  Yet there is only one master and we either hate Christ or the Midianite kings.  Like Gideon, we are all made willing to lay down the flesh and kill the false prophets we have followed only by looking behind ourselves and seeing the miracles in our own life.  Elijah brought this outward miracle to Israel and thus the liars and false prophets were then taken and killed.

1Ki 18:39  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

1Ki 18:40  And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

Removing the round ornaments on the camel necks symbolizes removing the yoke and bondage to our beastly (camel like) natural state.  Cutting off these ornaments is ridding ourselves of carnal thoughts that have us going up and down reasoning and justifying what seems right to our beastly nature.  This is the epitome of the law for the lawless and self-righteousness that those in Christ are overcoming by judgment.

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;

The word for ornament is H7720 “saharon” comes from a root meaning round and is also translated as round tire in its one other use in Scripture.  These round tires or round ornaments symbolize (Hos 12:10) the lies and distractions of the great harlot, all 200 million of them (Rev 9:16) that keep us focused on fleshly things and not the commandments of the Lord.  There is spiritual freedom in Christ and the Law of faith, yet the Midianite spirits will keep us bound in unbelief.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage

The Lord is always testing and trying our faith.  Immediately after the slaying of the kings, Gideon becomes the object of angel worship.

Jdg 8:22  Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 

Jdg 8:23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. 

Flesh loves to give credit and glory to flesh. We see several examples of this in the new testament involving Paul (Act 14:12), Peter with Cornelius (Act 10:25) and most memorably with the angel in the Book of Revelation who showed John Truth.  The carnal mind wants to bow down to the Lord’s angels (messengers) that bring us into the Truth and who are more mature than us and have been given much overcoming and dominion over their flesh.   The rest of Israel who had witnessed Gideon’s conquest in slaying the two kings were quick to hand dominion and rulership over to a mere man.  God’s people are to not to do this nor receive such adulation that is solely the purview of the Lord.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Our answer Lord willing will be the same as the messenger who helped John in his overcoming.  Gideon gives the mature answer in turning them back to the Lord and His rulership over all things in heaven and on the earth.

Isa 42:8  I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images

The Lord and His Christ hate the spirit of the Nicolaitans that has one lording over another having any dominion over their faith (Rev 2:14-15).  I personally came into this fellowship and it was demanded that I bow down to the man who had shown me such truths.  If any of us ever find us in that situation, know it is not the way of the Lord and such brother or sister is in grievous error and needs strong rebuke and correction.

2Co 1:24  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

But Gideon had not arrived yet and would soon fall down again in pursuing idolatry.

Jdg 8:24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 

Jdg 8:25  And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 

Jdg 8:26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. 

Jdg 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. 

Jdg 8:28  Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. 

The story of Gideon is our story (1Co 3:21).  It is a story of abiding in the fire as it begins to work its work within the Kingdom of God within us.  Gideon is a story about failures and unbelief as much as it is of conquests and victories.  The “mighty man of valor” which Gideon was called upon his initial visitation was no such thing at that time.  Yet this is the way the Lord operates declaring the end from the very beginning (Isa 46:10) and speaking of things that are not as though they already are (Rom 4:17).  Knowledge and successful conquests will puff us up and the Lord will cause us to err from His ways (Isa 63:17) to bring more grace.

Deu 5:8  Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

Deu 17:17  Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

Gideon asks and receives the spoils of war from the men of Israel collecting all these valuables in order to make an ephod.  An ephod was a specially made garment or robe for the priests of Israel as is described in detail in Exodus 28.

Exo 28:4  And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.

Of course, the true ephod is the armor of God (faith) and the garments of salvation (fiery trials) that are given to us by Christ and intricately woven as we endure in the age-abiding fire of judgment (Isa 33:14-15, Rev 3:18).

Golden earrings in the positive symbolize our God-given gift of ears to hear the Word of God (Eze 16:12) which is how we are able to love (obey) God.  In the negative they represent us taking God’s gifts and using them for our own purposes and in establishing our own outward righteousness.  Which is exactly what we do in Spiritual Babylon as we merchandise in the things of God and go after the way of Balaam, Korah and Cain using our outward works to justify ourselves.  There is another famous story of Israel misusing golden earrings in making themselves idols in their impatience in waiting on the Lord and in this case Moses to return from the mount.

Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Gideon’s ephod was a phony covering of self-righteousness that is the carnal mind’s way of exalting itself and running ahead of the Lord in His process of maturing us.  This man-made ephod is very alluring because it looks so beautiful and righteous.

Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

Gideon’s ephod is a molten image of our own beast made with the best our flesh has to offer.  The weight (judgment) of the gold was one thousand and seven hundred shekels representing the perfection of flesh, the process of judgment (10 x 10 x 10) and the completion of that judgment (seven).  Gideon’s nor anyone’s flesh can inherit the Kingdom of God (1Co 15:50) and instead must be destroyed for us to enter.  Thus, more experiences and more judges bringing judgment on the land are needed.

The story of Gideon has taught us the virtue of patience and believing the promises of the Lord despite what we see in the physical and what our own failures will have us believe.  Our growing into the mature man includes us living through the experiences of Gideon.  We will go from fearful to bold and each step the Lord uses for good in teaching us anew and giving Him plenty of opportunities to apply the grace that is, was and will be saving us.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

The story of Gideon is not done.  Judges continues with Gideon’s concubine son Abimelech, being put into judgeship and there is a quick backsliding to Baal.  Such is our story and our walk as it seems 3 steps forward and 2 backwards at times, yet we are getting there little by little.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Questions and comments are always welcome.  You can also email me directly at peterjwilson56@gmail.com

Articles

Observing Days, Times and Years

Pete

The keeping of days and years is a gigantic custom and tradition of the world.  It is only by looking behind ourselves once we have come out of day keeping that we can truly appreciate just how wide and deep is that bondage that has captured the whole world.  We start out in bondage but are delivered as we mature in the faith.

Gal 4:3 Even so, we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 

The Lord made all things, even the lights and celestial objects in the physical heavens for the purposes cited early on in Genesis.

Gen 1:14  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 

Yet the keeping of days, times and seasons is for the world.  The world’s [spiritual Gentiles] attraction of day and timekeeping was given to them to worship awaiting the appearance of Christ to them.

Deu 4:19  NLT And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 

The little flock that is the Israel of God is commanded to not partake of these days and worship any of the world’s gods which include days, months, times and seasons.

Deu 7:5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

Exo 23:32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

Exo 23:33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

The Lord changes not and His commandments include our separation from all the things the world loves as the Lord is separating a people unto Himself.

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you

It is seemingly little matters like keeping of days that truly separate the people of God from those still in the world.  Paul rebukes the Galatians sharply for their acceptance of false gospels and their broadening of the narrow way commanded.

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 

Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 

Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. 

As ambassadors for Christ, we are strangers in a foreign land.  Yet ambassadors cannot do their job if they become entangled in the affairs of the land they have been sent to minister.   We are not winning people to Christ by partaking of the world’s traditions and customs.

2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

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.

Anyone keeping days, months, times and years is either 1) not in the faith and of the world or 2) they are weak in the faith and need time and admonitions to grow and mature.  The absolute sovereignty of God is solid established doctrine so we know everyone is exactly where the Lord has placed them so we are not to condemn anyone for their disobedience in this regard or any work of the Lord.  We all have kept days, months, times and seasons and it is only by the mercy we received that we are able to now correct others in mercy, patience, and long-suffering.

Days, Months, Times and Seasons are Everywhere

Partaking of worldly times keeps us focused on the world and our hearts and minds, not on the treasures in heaven and the cross that we are now carrying daily to our death with Christ.

Luk 9:22  Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

Luk 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Consider just how vast the designation of special days has become in the world today.

Religious holy days:  Nothing holy about any of them be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim or otherwise.  They all represent flesh and not those called of the true living God.

Patriotic Days:  Each country has its own growing set of days.  Shunning them will make people hate you instantly and speak all manner of evil about you.

Special Days: Men and clever marketers have invented numerous days to honor and bring recognition to certain people, groups of people, roles and sexes. This list is endless …Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s day, Arbor Day, Flag day,  Earth Day, Ground Hog Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Civil Rights Day, Emancipation Day, National Day of Prayer,  Grandparents Day, Boss’s Day, ….. with no end ….

Birthdays: This is a big one and one of the harder ones to give up as it is so ingrained into every society. Yet the scriptures are clear and the only examples of birthdays we have resulted in death.

Anniversaries: Marking anniversaries has waxed far beyond just wedding days to include all kinds of markings of annual remembrances.

Standing in the Truth Brings Persecution

The world hates Christ.  You can be sure when one makes a stand on days and times, persecution will come from those we interact with in the world including our families.

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

People will naturally begin to separate from you when you make a stand for Christ on days.  This is a good thing as the church truly is the “Ekklesia” or the called out ones.

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Luk 6:23  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

People will naturally want to know why you do not keep their days and despise their traditions.  You can be sure that when that stand is made against the keeping of days and times,  most will reject and hate (seek to kill you spiritually) for having the audacity to not keep their worldly traditions and to call yourself the son of God. We will then be in very good company in following our Lord.

Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath [did not keep their precious days], but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. 

When I made a firm stand on all days, months, times and seasons, it marked the beginning of my abiding in true fiery trials.  I lost nearly all my relationships with physical family over their vehement opposition to any cessation of keeping days and times.  Yet it’s a small price to pay to be Lord willing be found worthy of His Name.  We must count the costs of following Him and know it will cost us our old way of life.

Luk 9:25  For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

Luk 9:26  For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Being rejected of men and your own household is truly a trial of our faith, but one we must be made able to endure if we are to move on to maturity and be prepared for even greater fiery trials in the Lake of Fire.  Not conforming with the world starts with our rejection of the world’s customs on keeping of days, months, times and years.

Gal 1:10  For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Judging Others and Bearing the Weak

While day keeping is wrong for the people of God, how we deal with others is also part of the narrow way and what the Lord is teaching us in raising us up as Kings and Priests.  Being separated from the world also means we do not judge the world and those in it.  That is for a time and age to come in the future when the world will begin to hear the word of the Lord and are given faith (Joh 12:47).   Those in the faith are not to judge those in the world, our focus is to be on those within the fellowship of faith.

1Co 5:12  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 

1Co 5:13  But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. 

Those within include all in the faith and yet there are different measures of faith and varying degrees of maturity.  All first struggle in understanding God’s requirements of not keeping days and in discovering practical ways of being obedient while not coming across as a clanging gong (1Co 13:1) or ramming our spiritual meat down those not yet prepared to receive it.

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

It is the mature in the faith who learn mercy and longsuffering by tolerating the weak in the faith who still keep days and times.

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 

Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 

Rom 14:3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

The weak are not allowed to bring in disputes about established doctrines but we need to trust the Lord and let Him work His work in our brothers and sisters that He has already ordained.

Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

We should always be ready to answer and teach the truth of the mature and more excellent way of the Lord.  Yet we are learning patience in waiting for others to be brought along by the Lord.

When we understand that the love of God is our obedience and that is what AGAPE or LOVE truly means, then we begin to understand that our obedience on days, times, months and years is actually loving our families that reject Christ at this stage.  Our stand for the truth will be a witness to them in due time.  Our disobedience only serves to keep them in darkness to the Lord’s truth and make it harder for them to see the separation the Lord requires of His people from the world’s ways.  Bottom line we are in this world but not to be of it.

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

When we go along with the world, we lead people astray from the truth of God’s word.  We are teaching them by example that it is okay to serve our God in the same way the world serves its gods.  That is not “love” the way God defines it and neither is it loving our neighbor.

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [We love by obeying God]

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Practical Lessons

The fact we are in this world means we will be continually exposed to these customs and traditions.  This will be especially true for gatherings with our physical families and also in our places of work.  One simply cannot totally escape this exposure, it’s pervasive in our world and society.  We learn the narrow way by making mistakes and then adjusting our approach to stand firm for Christ.

Telling your family you beliefs:  It will take time for your family and relatives that you have contact with to stop communicating with you over days the way the world does.  The happy birthday’s wishes, the cards, the gifts for Christmas and salutations and phone calls for all the other holidays will continue until they learn you are standing firm.  The sooner you make that stand and stick to it, the sooner you will bear the reproach of Christ and also begin to teach them you no longer live by the world’s customs.  You can then start counting it all joy to suffer for His sake.  Your family will not understand at first and will think evil of you for not acknowledging the birthdays, the holidays, the anniversaries that are so precious to the carnally minded.  It is particularly difficult where one spouse believes and the other does not and even more when children are in the house.

Family gatherings over the holidays or around a significant birthday:  These can be tricky yet in some cases, our appearance may be mandated and could give the appearance we are partaking in a holiday or a birthday party.  For example, some visit families around the big holidays because that is the only chance they have to see family.  A narrow way might be for example coming over on Thanksgiving break but not partaking of the big meal which is the biggest part of the worldly custom.  In another example, one may need to go to a gathering of a family where a birthday celebration could be part of the broader overall plan.  If the visit could not be avoided, then one should bear no gifts and leave the gathering temporarily when the festivities of the cake/gifts and the song occur.  We are not under the law and our careful treading is not for our sakes but for the sake of our unbelieving family to not create a stumbling block for them to come to Christ in the future.  The longer we stand on truth the less likely it becomes we will find ourselves in a tricky spot again.

Office birthday parties:  I was not in truth when I worked in office buildings with lots of people.  But nearly half the days there was always a card for someone being circulated or a meeting to have cake and sing the song.  What do you do?  We would have to tell our workers that we do not partake of birthdays and to please do not ask us to sign the cards or come to these ceremonies.  It’s called making a stand and it could cost us our friendships in the world.  Lord willing anyone’s job would not be imperiled yet we can hold nothing back in seeking to obey God.

Any that still struggle with these issues should seek counsel from a more mature brother and sister in navigating the narrow way.  All in Christ have been there and has had to learn to deal with day keeping and our avoidance of it.  We are all here to be helpers of your joy in obeying the Lord.