Bereansearching Bible Studies

Introduction

This is an excerpt from a longer exposition on the Book of Esther to present another hidden spiritual gem that might easily be missed when reading the Bible somewhat casually.

Mordecai (as well as Esther) was not only a Jew, but a Benjamite, just like King Saul

Esther 2:5, “[Now] in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name [was] Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;  Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.“ And we know that king Saul was also a Benjamite (from the tribe of Benjamin) as we read in 1 Samuel 9:21, “And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? So we know that they are related, being both from the tribe of Benjamin. (Note: King Saul lived in about 1100 BC and Moredecai and Esther in about 500 BC.)

Although the meaning of “Mordecai” is not clear, but it is said to mean “little man”, which is interesting because Mordecai’s warning that saved the kingdom was not remembered.  Doesn’t this sound somewhat similar to what we read in Ecclesiastes 9:13-17, “This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: [There was] a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise [men are] heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.“

Looking Closer at Mordecai

As indicated above, we do know that as a Benjaminite, Mordecai was of the tribe of Benjamin (the only full brother of Joseph), whose name means “son of my right hand.”  When Moses gave a blessing to the sons of Jacob/Israel, this is how he blessed Benjamin in Deuteronomy 33:12, “[And] of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; [and the LORD] shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.”  Jair means “He Enlightens“: “Shimei*” means “renowned” or “famous“: and “Kish” means “power” (also “bow” or “snare”…like the river Kishon). We know that a man named Kish was also the father of the first king of Israel, king Saul.  1 Samuel 9:1&2, “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.”  The only progeny of king Saul to have been recorded as not having been killed off was Mephibosheth (king Saul’s grandson through Jonathan). Please see this exposition of Mephibosheth.

Is there a King Saul/Jonathan/Mephibosheth Connection to Mordecai (and Esther)?

It should also be noted that the genealogy provides some additional information that could be pertinent to any study of Mordecai, so let us look a bit closer.  The genealogy makes it clear that Mordecai was at least indirectly related (a kinsman) to king Saul.  As mentioned above, a man named Kish was the father of king Saul, who was also a Benjamite (perhaps ironically, so too was the Saul in the New Testament who later became known as Paul).  While king Saul was an outwardly handsome man, of great stature, and a king after the people’s heart, he was faithless and not a king after God’s own heart as was King David.  Nonetheless, God did show compassion and grace toward a remnant of that line by the hand of King David.  This was true for Mephibosheth (a grandson of Saul through Jonathan) who we read about in 2 Samuel 9:13, “So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.” We also know that Mephibosheth had a least one son in David’s day, because we read that he had a young son named Micha in 2 Samuel 9:12 “And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name [was] Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba [were] servants unto Mephibosheth.“

While it remains unclear if Mordecai (and hence also Esther) are descended from Kish apart from King Saul, or through King Saul via Jonathan and then Mephibosheth (NOTE: The detailed lineages/decendents down from Mephibosheth are also listed to the end of the 1 Chronicles, Chapters 8 & 9 and do not provide any evidence of a direct connection from king Saul down to Mordecai or Esther). 

However, if descended from Kish through Saul/Jonathan/Mephibosheth/Micha, and perhaps a later unlisted descendent who was also named Kish (again meaning “power” (also “bow” or “snare”…like the river Kishon), then both Mordecai and Esther would also be viewed as having:

1) A “royal lineage” through the failed house of king Saul (and only due to the promised covenant between David (a type of Jesus Christ) and Jonathan (whom David loved and Jonathan loved David).

2) And, been beneficiaries of the eternal covenant established between the house of David and Jonathan, Saul’s son, that would ensure Jonathan’s seed continued “forever” as we read in 1 Samuel 20:42 “And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.”

This genealogical connection would then be particularly noteworthy, and yes, even amazingly ironic, when we consider that king Saul disobeyed God’s command to utterly destroy the Amalekites, as we read in 1Samuel 15:2&3, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” King Saul disobeyed God by capturing, but not killing, Agag, “Agag the king of the Amalekites“1 Samuel 15:8.

The following is the discourse between king Saul and Samuel, who, as a prophet of God, condemned king Saul for that disobedience. In 1 Samuel 15:20-23, we read, “And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.”  It is therefore most interesting that had king Saul been obedient to God’s command, the book of Esther might not have needed to be written, because the adversary, Haman, who sought to destroy Mordecai and all of his people (the Jews), was none other than a descendent of king Agag (who aged Samuel hewed in pieces in 1 Samuel 15:33)!

Haman’s Ancestry Goes Back to King Agag, and Amalek, and hence Esau

Esther 3:1, “After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that [were] with him.

Haman’s Genealogy: Haman was a direct descendent of king Agag, hence Amalek, hence Esau.  Let us see what God has to say about each of these individuals that make up the ancestry of Haman:

Esau: (Please see more about Esau in the Parable of the Prodigal Son)

Genesis 36:1, “Now these [are] the generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.”

Malachi 1:2&3, “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? [Was] not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,  And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.“

In Obadiah 1:8-10, “Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty [men], O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.“

Romans 9:13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.“

Amalek:

Genesis 36:12, “¶And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau‘s wife.“

We also can find that, in Exodus 17:8-13,  Joshua fought against Amalek under the inspiration of Moses, who arms were supported by Aaron and Hur, and that Joshua (who’s very name is the same as Jesus) slew the Amalekites with the sword. The Amalekites were evidently not completely destroyed, however, and at the end of this war Moses was ordered to write in a document, as a reminder, that the Lord would one day blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven as we read in Exodus 17:14-16, “¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.  And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi:  For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.“

The reader should also note that another translation of the original Hebrew for the beginning word “Because” in Exodus 17:16 claims that it is “Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of the LORD,” and therefore “the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.” If so, then this is another clear indicator that the Book of Esther is intended to provide us with insights on the spiritual battle ongoing until Judgment Day of the devil against God as it is typified by Haman against Mordecai (and hence also King Ahaseurus).

God reiterates His command in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, “¶ Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;  How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, [even] all [that were] feeble behind thee, when thou [wast] faint and weary; and he feared not God.  Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance to possess it, [that] thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget[it].“

In that context it should be remembered that it was the Edomites who would not let the Israelites pass and threatened to kill them if they even set foot inside of Edom.  See 

Numbers 20:14-21, “¶And remember that “Esau is Edom” as we read four times in Genesis 36 (verses 1, 8, 19, 43).  Note that with regard to “Edom“, God has nothing good to say in the Bible, in fact, the last time that Edom is mentioned in the Bible, in Malachi 1:4, we read, “Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.”

Amalek was the first enemy that Israel encountered after the crossing of the Red Sea as we read in 1 Samuel 15:2&3, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.“

1 Samuel 15:18, “And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.“

King Agag:

1 Samuel 15:32&33,  “Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.  And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.“

It is also interesting to note that in the parable of Balaam versus Israel (where Balak, the king of Moab, sought to hire Balaam to curse Israel), God made Balaam prophesy that Israel (and its ultimate King, Jesus Christ) would be exalted above king Agag as we read Numbers 24:7, “He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed [shall be] in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.”  However, Balaam was forced by God to curse the line of Amalek as we read in Numbers 24:20, “ And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek [was] the first of the nations (the first of the  nations to confront returning Israel); but his latter end [shall be] that he perish for ever.” (NOTE: There are several references to the slaying of the Amalekites, with some, at times, escaping. It is not clear how Haman’s family escaped, but obviously they did.  In 1 Samuel 30:17 we find, “And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.” and in 1 Chronicles 4:43, “And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.“)

Mordecai and Esther, as Benjamites (the same as King Saul), Fulfilled God’s Command that King Saul Disobeyed

So is it not most interesting, yes, even Amazing, that in the book of Esther, the descendants, or at least relatives, of king Saul  would thus have fulfilled the earlier command of God, which king Saul had failed to do, in putting out the name of Amalek forever, as typified by the hanging of Haman and his ten sons as we read in Exodus 17:14-16, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.” It was therefore clearly all foreordained by God to play out and be recorded exactly as it occurred in Esther!

(NOTE: There is some additional irony to be found in the Bible with regard to the Amalekites and King Saul, the son of Kish, according to 2 Samuel 1:13, it was was none other than “the son of a stranger, an Amalekite” who looted king Saul’s crown and who evidently falsely claimed to David that he had dealt the final lethal blow to king Saul, after king Saul had been wounded in battle by Philistine archers (even though the wounded king Saul is recorded in two places in the Bible as having taken his own life by falling on his sword, see both 1 Samuel 31:1-6 and 1Chronicles 10:4). The full account regarding that Amalekite begins in 2 Samuel 1:1 where we read that, “Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;” and ends with David putting that Amalekite to death 2 Samuel 1:16, “And David said unto him, Thy blood [be] upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed.” The same account is also brought up later by King David in 2 Samuel 4:10, “When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who [thought] that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:”).  

It is also clear that no matter how many times the Amalekites were “slaughtered” at various times in the Bible, that, nonetheless, somehow Haman survived (and Haman was a descendent of king Agag, who ruled the Amalekites in the time of king Saul and king Agag was killed by Samuel).  It seems clear however, that even though the last reference to the slaughter of the Amalekites, which occurred during the reign of  Judah’s King Hezekiah (where we are told that 500 men from the tribe of Simon “smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped)” that some Amalekites continued to live on until the time of Esther.  Given that there are no further mentions of the Amalekites or Agagites beyond the Book of Esther, that therefore the death of Haman and his ten sons marked the final end of the line for the Amalekites.

Conclusion

Mordecai, and the people of Mordecai which includes Esther, not only saw Haman hanged, but also all of his progeny, his ten sons, who were killed on the predetermined day (predetermined via the casting of lots/pur) at the end of the year. Thus, whether or not Mordecai and Esther are direct descendants of king Saul, they were both nonetheless of the tribe of Benjamin, and used by God to fulfill God’s original command to king Saul, to wipe out the Amalekites, and their king, Agag…by bringing an end to Haman’s line, who descended from king Agag.

The Book of Esther is About Deliverance and Salvation Through Jesus Christ

It is indisputable that the Book of Esther is indeed about the miraculous physical deliverance of the Jews of national Israel (the physical descendants of the patriarchs from the first, Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and David).  However, it is more importantly about the miraculous eternal deliverance of the true “Jews”, the body of believers, the church of Jesus Christ (those who are of the faith of Abraham, which include a remnant of both National Israel and the Gentile nations – – Romans 2:28–29; Romans 4:13–16; Galatians 3:26–29).   Because the Book of Esther has both an earthly/historical meaning and a heavenly/eternal meaning, it is an “Historical Parable“, which involves significant use of “allegories” and “types“. 

The Book of Esther Reveals God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan Through Jesus Christ…From Beginning to End and Forever

Perhaps the most important of God’s purposes for the Book of Esther was to convey (albeit in a concealed manner) most, if not all, of the key elements of God’s magnificent salvation plan in one short (ten chapter) account.  The messages of the Book of Esther is the same Gospel message that can be found everywhere else in the Bible as it focuses on the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ. The only difference is that, each time Jesus is found in the Bible, we can learn more about Him and God’s Gospel plan through Him (which glorifies God in the process).  However, to truly “see” Jesus (to believe with our hearts and not just our minds), we must have our “spiritual eyes” opened by God.  Given that this can be the case, then another purpose for God having provided us with the Book of Esther is that it will edify and strengthen the faith of the saints (the elect of God, the believers).

Perhaps just as significantly, the Book of Esther is also a book of Prophesy, because it culminates with a picture of Judgment Day at the end of creation, and the eternity in Heaven that will follow for all who are counted among the people of Jesus (where Esther is a “Type” for the Church, and Mordecai is a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ) … and the eternal death and destruction in Hell for all those who are not. The unbelievers will be destroyed for being in league with the devil, for which both Haman and his progenitor, King Agag, also serve as spiritual “Types”

Introduction

The following is excerpted from a much longer exposition on the Book of Jonah. It is presented here as a separate study to show how we can find amazing hidden spiritual insights from geographical names and locations in the Bible, which might otherwise be easily overlooked.

Jonah was from a village named Gath-hepher, located very close to Nazareth

If we take a look for a moment at 2 Kings 14:25, we are provided some information pertaining to Jonah, which is not in the book of Jonah. It is important because there we learn that Jonah’s abode, or home, was in a small village called “Gathhepher”; “He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which [was] of Gathhepher.” 

Gathhepher is a primary clue from at least two distinct vantage points.  First, if we look in the back of our Bibles at the ancient map of National Israel, we will find, to our utter amazement, that the village of Gathhepher from the Old Testament is located no more than two north of Nazareth from the New Testament (Gathhepher is now known as the village of Mashhad, which can even be considered a suburb of the city of Nazareth today). 

To assure ourselves that this is indeed the case, we have only to search it out in God’s word.  From Joshua 19:13, we learn that this town (also referred to as Gittahhepher) was within the borders of the land given to the tribe of Zebulun, “And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittahhepher (in the original Hebrew this is the same as “Gath-hepher”, and, which translated, means either “well of the winepress” or “winepress of digging” or “winepress of shame” https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Gath-hepher.html), to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah;” Joshua 19:16,  assures us that this village is within Zebulun, “This [is] the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.“

From Matthew 4:12-15 (and Isaiah 9:1), we learn that the land of Zebulun (Zabulon in Greek) is identified as being within the region of Galilee, “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he (Jesus) departed into Galilee;  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias (“Isaiah” in Greek, see Isaiah 9:1) the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles (nations);”

Please also note that when we take a close look at Isaiah 8:11-22, and then Isaiah 9:1 (which Matthew 4:12-15 just pointed us to) and then the verse closely following (Isaiah 9:2), we can gain some additional insights to show us that Jesus is the Christ, and that “Great Prophet”, Whom the people in Jesus’s day were not expecting to have come from Galilee nor would see that Jesus would be the Means of Salvation to all the world (gentiles) and not just the Jews only (of which a remnant would still be saved).

Isaiah 8:11-22, “For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,¹² Say ye not, A confederacy, to all [them] to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.¹³ Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.¹⁴ And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (See also Romans 9:30-33) ¹⁵ And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.¹⁶ Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.¹⁷ And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.¹⁸ Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.¹⁹ And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?²⁰ To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.²¹ And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.²² And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimnessof anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.”  Then Isaiah 9:1 reads, “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.”  The dimness and darkness surrounded the nation of Israel (“both houses of Israel” and “the inhabitants of Jerusalem”). However, in the very next verse (Isaiah 9:2) we read, “The people that walked in darknesshave seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”  Those people are the Gentiles! 

Which leads us to John 9:5, where Jesus announces, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” after which he immediately healed a blind man, “born blind”.  Then we read later in John 9:39,”And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

Getting back to the issue of Galilee…From this Bible study we can see that Jonah was the son of Amittai who was from Gath-Hepher, which is in the land that was given as part of the inheritance by Joshua to the tribe of Zebulun, which is in the region known as Galilee.  Isn’t that astounding?  Both Jonah and Jesus are Galileans!  God raised up the great prophet, Jonah, from the exact same neighborhood as the ultimate “Prophet”, Jesus Christ (except that Jonah lived about 800 years earlier than Jesus).  (NOTE: The reader should also be aware that another prophet of God, Nahum, was evidently, like both Jonah and Jesus, also from Galilee, as Capernaum (which is located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee) in Hebrew means “village of Nahum“… Please see the study on the book of Nahum: ). At a minimum, one has to seriously question why the chief priests and Pharisees would have so ardently declared, “Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet,” given that the prophet of God, Jonah (and likely also Nahum), could clearly be identified with the region known as Galilee. As we go on, we will see that these locational correlations between Jonah and Jesus are far more than just coincidence, but, for the moment, it might be profitable to take a slight detour to review another aspect of this geographical information.

The “Winepress of Shame”?

From our geographical study of Gath-hepher we have found the unequivocal similarity between Jonah and Jesus based on the fact that both were “prophets” from Galilee.  However, there is one other aspect denoted by Gath-hepher that we must consider.  Gath-Hepher is a compound word that is generally thought to mean, “well of the winepress.”  In the Hebrew, Gath means “Winepress.”  The word hepher, while sometimes translated dig, pit, or well, also means “shame” or “reproach” https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Gath-hepher.html”  Amazingly, when we search the Bible, we can again see how this focuses our attention on Jesus.  Let’s look at the winepress first.

“Winepress”

“Gath” (גַּת, gat or gittah^H1660) is translated as “winepress” in Lamentations 1:15, “The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty [men] in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, [as] in a winepress ^H1660 (gath/gittah).” 

For further insight on the spiritual role of the “winepress” in scripture let’s look at these Bible verses:

Isaiah 63:1-6, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat (winepress, גַּת (gaṯ) ^H1660 )? I (Jesus) have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and [there was] none to help; and I wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.“ 

In Joel 3:13, we read, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press (גַּת (gaṯ)) ^H1660 is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.” And in Revelation 14:19, “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.”  

Psalm 58:10, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.“

In Revelation 19:13, we see this picture of Jesus, “And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.“ And just a few verses later in Revelation 19:15, we read “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Moreover, in Isaiah 34:6, “The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.“

Clearly the “winepress” refers to God’s wrath that must be brought to bear in judgment for sin.  Jesus, as the believers’ atoning sacrifice, first had to endure that wrath and suffer the shame of God’s reproach for their sins.  But for those who remain dead in trespasses and sins, they will be tread down in the winepress of God’s wrath by Jesus as their Judge.

“Shame”

It should be noted here that if we look closely at the word “hepher” (חָפַר(ḥāp̄ar) ^H2658) in the original Hebrew we find the following:

1. The verb חפר (hapar) means to dig, both in order to unearth something and to bury something. Hence this verb may be used both to describe (1) a quest for something wanted, and (2) a quest to obscure or cover-up something unwanted.
2. The latter usage appears to have evolved into its own verb, namely חפר(haper), to be ashamed, again both because (1) something secret was exposed or (2) something embarrassing is sought to be covered.

In both instances, we can clearly see that, from a Godly/Spiritual standpoint, the “something” that is to be both exposed or covered is SIN! Jesus bears the exposed sins of the believers, he bears our shame, He became “sin for us” as we read in 2 Corinthians 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.”  Also in Isaiah 53:5&6, “But he [was] wounded for ourtransgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And our sin is covered in the robes of Jesus Christ’s righteousness as we read in Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the eternal Israel (the eternal Church), is the Bride adorned in the robes of Christ’s righteousness.

Psalms 69 gives us a glimpse of the shame and reproach Jesus had to suffer.  However, we are also reminded how, on Judgment Day, Jesus will return as the Judge who pours out God’s judgment on the unsaved for whose sins He did not pay in the winepress of God’s wrath.  We read of this in Isaiah 47:3&4, “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet [thee as] a man, As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” and in Daniel 12:2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.“

But thank God Almighty that all believers can joyously proclaim what we read in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.“!

Today’s Application: Are You Ready?

            The Bible makes it clear that if God was willing to put Jesus Christ into the Winepress of Shame and endure the wrath of God in Hell to save a people for Himself, how much more would He be willing to send the wicked who reject Him to Hell for their sins (please see Romans 8:32). Isaiah 63:3&4 makes clear that Jesus will also be the Judge and Executioner of all those who remain opposed to Him (the unbelievers) when Judgment Day Comes, “I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.”

Jesus is the ONLY Way of escape from the just penalty for our sins. All other ways that man can devise will lead only to Hell.  Have you made peace with God through Jesus Christ? Please pray to God for mercy through Jesus Christ and He will show you mercy and grant you His Most Gracious Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ.

Introduction

This is an excerpt from a much longer exposition of both Judges Chapters 4 & 5, entitled, “The Battle of Armageddon: The Earthly Version Already Happened!“. Given that most people will likely find it hard to wade through such a very long and involved Bible Study, I pray that this shorter excerpt will be a blessing to many.

Judges Chapter 5 is God’s Commentary on Judges Chapter 4

Let us move ahead to Chapter 5 to test the validity of this exposition and interpretation of Judges chapter 4.  In Judges chapter 5, we read of the song of Deborah and Barak.  In that song, giving praise to God for “the avenging of Israel,” it is possible to derive some very significant spiritual insights (and there is no doubt that every verse can yield such spiritual insights , but these are the ones developed thus far).

Some Selected Very Significant Verses In Judges, Chapter 5

#1… in Judges 5:12, 

we read, “Awake, awake, (עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 Deborah: awake, awake, (עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 utter a song: arise, (קוּם (qûm)) ^H6965 Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.“    We need to take a close look a the underlined phrases in this verse.

#1A: “Awake, awake”

The repetition of the words Awake, awake (two times) is worthy of note.  It reminds us of what we find three times in Isaiah (with the first having the word awake three times):

Isaiah 51:9, “Awake, awake,(עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake,(עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. [Art] thou not it that hath cut Rahab, [and] wounded the dragon?”

Isaiah 51:17, “Awake, awake,(עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, [and] wrung [them] out.“

Isaiah 52:1, “Awake, awake;(עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.“

Psalm 7:6 is particularly noteworthy as it involves the use of both “awake” and “arise” in the same verse, but, most importantly, the words are found within a verse that is entirely focusing on Judgment Day! ” Arise,קוּם (qûm) ^H6965 O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake (עוּר (ʿûr))^H5782 for me [to] the judgment [that] thou hast commanded.” 

Psalm 9:19&10, harmonize with the above, “Arise, קוּם (qûm) ^H6965 O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves [to be but] men. Selah.”

These awakenings are pointing to the resurrection of the saints (the holy city adorned in beautiful garments as a bride for her Husband, Jesus) because of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, but also clearly pointing to Judgment Day when Jesus will arise from His Throne in Heaven and come down from Heaven to destroy all of His, and the believers’, enemies.  Jesus is the arm of the LORD Who destroyed Egypt (Rahab) wounded the dragon, the devil (Sisera in this historical account). In Isaiah 51:17, God is referring to the earthly Jerusalem, while in Isaiah 52:1, God is referring to the Jerusalem and Zion which are the true eternal Church (typified by Deborah in this historical account).

Regarding that Judgment, we read in Psalm 9:7-10, “But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.“

#1B: Leading “Captivity Captive”

The key phrase is “lead thy captivity captive.”  This phraseology describes the action of Jesus, through His Atoning Sacrifice, plundering the devil’s prison house of hell and freeing the captives/prisoners and the restoring of God’s elect to their former estate.  It refers to the action of God in bringing His people back, or delivering them, from the bondage and oppression into which He had earlier placed them for their transgressions of His law in Adam and through time (see Jeremiah 29:14, Jeremiah 30:3, Jeremiah 32:44, all of Jeremiah 33, Ezekiel 39:25, Amos 9:14, and Zephaniah 3:20).  The phraseology describes the ultimate restoration of the fellowship mankind initially had with God in the Garden of Eden; the significant difference being that this restored fellowship is more intimate and can never be lost again.

The specific phraseology of “lead thy captivity captive” is found in only two other places in the whole Bible. 

In Psalms 68:18, “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, [for] the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell [among them].” and in

Ephesians 4:8, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.“

In Psalm 68 it is a Messianic prophecy pointing to Jesus, and in Ephesians it is a specific statement about the Lord Jesus Christ referring back to Psalm 68!  Jesus Is the Only means whereby the Elect of God are delivered from the bondage to sin and oppression of Satan and finally and fully restored into fellowship with God at the end of time!

There can therefore be absolutely no doubt that God, using this phraseology, specifically established Barak as a pre-figurement of Jesus Christ, and what Jesus will do to the oppressor (the devil) and his host (the unsaved) when Jesus returns on Judgment Day!

And looking back at Psalms 68:18, notice how the verse just before it reads in Psalm 68:17 “The chariots of God [are] twenty thousand, [even] thousands of angels: the Lord [is] among them, [as in] Sinai, in the holy [place].

Note how this is also consistent with what we read in Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;”  In Psalm 146:7, we read of God, “Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:“

And to what prison is the Bible is referring? It is the prison house of the devil (“Lucifer” in Isaiah 14:12) due to the fall of Adam, as we read 14:17, “[That] made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; [that] opened not the house of his prisoners? And remember that Jesus made clear in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and thegates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

#2… is Judges 5:19, The Valley of Meggido Represents Armageddon and Judgment Day

God makes it clear in Judges 5:19 that the battle in chapter 4 is to be linked with the valley of Megiddo, and therefore there is no question of its relationship to the Battle of Armageddon, “The kings came [and] fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.” if we compare this to what we find in Revelation 16:16, which describes Judgment Day, “¶And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.“

Another link between Armageddon and Judgment Day, when Jesus returns as Judge (but also with salvation for the believers), can be found in Zechariah 12:10-12 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.” And  these verses are referring back to 2 Kings 23:29, when King Josiah was slain by Pharaoh Nechoh in the valley of Megiddo and there was a great mourning for King Josiah in Jerusalem. (Hadadrimmon is a town in the valley of Megiddo named after two false gods of Syria (Haddad and Rimmon))

And we know from Judges 5:21 that the Valley of Megiddo is through which the river Kishon flows (1 Kings 18:40), “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.”

#3… in Judges 5:20, 

God shows that this whole event has been a perfectly crafted historical parable typifying Armageddon at Judgment Day, because He says, “They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.“  Clearly, this description has nothing to do with the earthly, historical and physical battle that we read about in Chapter 4.  Rather God is telling us that Chapter 4 contained “allegorical” or “typological” representations, which form another “historical parable“.  Chapter 4 portrayed Jesus Christ (typified by Barak in this historical account) coming down from Heaven (typified by mount Tabor in this historical account) accompanied by His multitudes of saints (typified first by the ten thousand men, and secondly, by the “stars” in Chapter 5), please see below regarding Genesis 22:17, Isaiah 14:13, Dan 12:1-3 on Judgment Day (typified by the battle in the valley of Megiddo, a.k.a. Armageddon) to slay Satan and all of his host, the fallen angels and the unsaved of the world (typified by the kings of Canaan and all their host).

The Stars Represent the Believers, the Elect of God, the Church

Genesis 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;“

Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?“

Also, in Psalm 147:4, we read where God knows all the stars (the believers, the sons of God) and their names, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by [their] names.”

Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.“

From Isaiah 14:12-15, we clearly see that Satan, the chief prince of all the angels that became devils, in his great pride sought to “be like the most High,” and “above the stars of God“, but was subsequently consigned to Hell. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.“

Note that Satan wanted to exalt his throne above the “stars” of God; In the Bible the stars represent the believers as we read next in Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” And this verse is particularly salient to this exposition, given that it was written within the context of the end of the World and Judgment Day! 

Please note that the two preceding verses, Daniel 12:1&2, read as follows: “¶And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.“

#4…in Judges 5:21, The River Kishon

God tells us that, “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.“  This appears to be further evidence of the finality of the death that is in view, i.e. when God casts Satan and all his dominion into the lake of fire (from Revelation Chapter 20) for all eternity!  And it is also consistent with the last verse, Judges 5:31, “So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but [let] them that love him [be] as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.”

#5… In Judges 5:24-27, Jael is praised by Deborah and Barak

We read in the song of Deborah and Barak concerning the heroism of Jael, “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He asked water, [and] she gave [him] milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.” As was mentioned above, in this account, Jael served as another “Type” of the eternal church bringing about the death of the devil’s captain through the bringing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the “Word” (Jeremiah 52:7, “[Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces?” Jael might therefore spiritually represent the true believers, at the end of time, who will play a role with Jesus in the Final Judgment in the defeating of the devil, the arch-enemy of God and man.

Judges 5:28-30, is a lamentation of Sisera’s mother who longingly waits for the return of her son with the spoils of war, but Sisera, like the devil and his minions, will never return.  The devil and all those who are also enemies of God will be destroyed in the final battle on Judgment Day! 

#6…Judges 5:31: “[Let] Them that Love Him [be] as the Sun“

Judges 5:31, ““So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but [let] them that love him [be] as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.”.

This verse is similar to Revelation 1:16, which describes Jesus as being like the sun, “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.”

Malachi 4:2, “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Matthew 13:43, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.“

Romans 8:28-30, “¶And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” 

1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.“

Happily, for the believer, we are encouraged by the last verse, because the believers are the ones who love Jesus (1 John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.“), and they will be like Him in Heaven, and there will the believers have their rest, in Jesus, for all eternity!

Conclusion

In this study we have seen yet another case where God has masterfully crafted history, and the recording of it, to prefigure the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day.  From it we have learned that the battle of Armageddon is not some future earthly battle involving earthly political nations, i.e. Russia, etc., attacking the political state we now know as national Israel in the valley of Megiddo.  That scenario has nothing to do with the Armageddon of the Bible, because Armageddon is actually Judgment Day itself! 

Judgment Day will be the last event in history when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back on the clouds of Glory to destroy all wickedness, and send all of the unsaved to an eternity in Hell, and put an end to this entire creation, which is under the curse of sin.  It will mark the end of time and the beginning of eternity wherein righteousness will dwell in new heavens and a new earth forever.    

In 2 Peter 3:10 we read, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 

But thankfully in 2 Peter 3:13 we read, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.“ And please also note that this is not something that is an isolated verse. Peter is reiterating what can be found in these three verses:

1. Isaiah 66:22, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”
2. Isaiah 65:17, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
3. Revelation 21:1, “¶And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.“

It should also be noted how prevalent judgment is in the word picture painted by God in Judges 4 & 5.  It is safe to say that the whole account is dripping with judgment.  First we found that Deborah, who typified the believers, is described as a judge who declared judgment during a time of judgment from God on National Israel.  Then we found that Barak represents Jesus as the ultimate Judge at a battle that perfectly typifies the ultimate judgment that definitely will come on the Last Day, Judgment Day.  We even saw how the geographic setting appears to be pointing to that judgment.  It is therefore entirely appropriate that God has painted this so very vivid picture of judgment in the book entitled “Judges.”

In 2 Corinthians 5:11, we are admonished, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”  Given that God has recorded such a clear and unequivocal prophetic warning of the final judgment that is so assuredly coming; it is incumbent on everyone to search his or her own conscience (and heart) and ask himself or herself the big question: Am I ready to meet God?  It is my sincere prayer that whosoever reads this review will undergo that self-examination and be able to answer in the affirmative.  If not, it is still possible to cry out to God for mercy, for it is still the day of salvation.  (Please also remember that Barak was just a pre-figuring “shadow” of Jesus Christ, not the “substance.”  Only through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ is there any hope of salvation. Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.“)

**Isaiah 9:2-6, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.“

Today’s Application: Are You Ready?

Jesus is the only Way of escape from the just penalty for our sins. All other ways that man can devise will lead only to Hell come Judgment Day. You are either with God or against God.  Have you made peace with God through Jesus Christ?  Please pray to God for mercy through Jesus Christ and He will show you mercy. Judgment Day is for any individual only a heart beat away, but for the world it is coming very soon, given all of the signs of the times that we are currently all living in.

Introduction

In Chapter 6, the writer (likely the Apostle Paul) proceeds to persuade the Hebrews to develop more than they had done so far, to grow up from childhood into maturity as Christians and to not become complacent and slothful. This is the best way to prevent apostasy, the dreadful nature and consequences of which sin he describes with utmost gravity (v. 1-8).

It is interesting to note that there is an interlude after discussing Jesus, our High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, that exhorts the brethren in the Hebrew congregation to remain steadfast and not fall away because of the dire consequences for such. The chapter includes exhortations to remain diligent and caring for the eternal hope and not to be slothful in the building up of the Kingdom of God. God will fulfill His promises to Abraham and his seed (of which we are all partakers in Christ) and will fulfill His Oath. Though we may be weak, God is strong and immutable like His Oath and we flee to Him as our Refuge and our Anchor for our souls. The chapter ends by bringing us back to Jesus, our High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, Who makes intercession for the believers through the veil into the Holy of Holies on the believer’s behalf.

Then we next see expressions of the writer’s good hopes concerning the Hebrews. He hopes that they would persevere in faith and holiness, to which he exhorts them, and sets before them the great encouragement they had from God, both with respect to their duty and happiness (v. 9-20).”

Ritualistic Religiosity Leads to Apostasy

The admonitions to grow and remain steadfast could well stem from the possibility that among the church of the Hebrews there were some who were “Judaizers”.  Judaizers were a faction of the Jewish Christians who regarded the Levitical laws of the Old Testament as remaining binding on all Christians.

Circumcision, as a Work of the Law, Became as a Stumbling Block

One example is the doctrine of circumcision. Romans 2:17-29 delves into the condemnation that the law brings to such Judaizers over this issue, and these last two verses that sum up the matter, Romans 2:28&29, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.“

And let us not forget that being a literal Jew, descended from Abraham avails nothing as well as Jesus said in both Matthew 3:9 and Luke 3:8, respectively, “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” and “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

We are also told in Galatians 5:1-6, “¶Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.“

A Paul’s epistle to the Galations finalizes with Galatians 6:15&16 by reiterating this latter point, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. ¶And as many as walk according to this rule, peace [be] on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.“

And back in the Book of Acts, in Acts 15:5, “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses.“

Another example, which we know arose in Antioch, is where Paul admonished Peter as follows in Galatians 2:14-16, “¶But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before [them] all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We [who are] Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.“

In 2 Timothy 3:5-7, Paul similarly warned of those that might claim to be a Christian in amongst the congregation of believers, but who remain dead in their sins, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.“

Philippians 3:1, “¶Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed [is] not grievous, but for you [it is] safe. ¶Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.“

Today there is a tendency of many churchgoer’s to become like the “Judaizers”, such that many “Christians” associate doctrinal-based works with salvation, such that they think baptism being a requirement, or a recitation of a confession of faith, or some other outward manifestation of association with Christendom (such as those listed in Hebrews chapter 6), when there remains no change in the inward man. It brings us back again to Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].”

Apostasy can spread quickly through any congregation as we know from Galatians 5:9, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”

Growing up to Maturity

In order to grow, the believer must move beyond the elementary teachings and doctrines of Christ. We are not to lose the basic fundamentals of the Gospel, nor deny them, nor forget them, but rather to build upon as a foundation in our hearts a more complete understanding, making us better fit for service in the Kingdom of God. The writer then mentions six foundational principles which must be well laid at first and then built upon.

Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving (ἀφίημι (aphiēmi))^G863 the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection (τελειότης (teleiotēs))^G5047; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,”

The word used here for leaving is more than just setting aside, it is from the original Greek word, ἀφίημι (aphiēmi)^G863, which means to “forsake” and “abandon”. So then in this context it would seem that we are being told that those “principles of the doctrines of Christ” are not sufficient for salvation. That is why we need to grow and move beyond them.

“Perfection” is derived from the same word mentioned in Hebrews 5:9 as “perfect” (τελειόω (teleioō))^G5048. Note also how this verse relates to Hebrews 5:12-14, “¶For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age (τέλειος (teleios))^G5046, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.“

So then, “milk” from a Biblical perspective, is identified with the basics (“first principles”) of the Word (the “oracles of God”, see below) in bringing the Gospel of Salvation through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ as we read in 1 Peter 2:2, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (Please see again the Chapter 5 exposition, specifically Verses 12-14 that address “milk”)

Colossians 3:14, “And above all these things [put on] charity ἀγάπη (agapē)^G26, which is the bond of perfectness (τελειότης (teleiotēs))^G5047.

And regarding “dead works”, we should look forward to Hebrews 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?“

And regarding the “Oracles of God”, In 1 Peter 4:11 we read, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen“., and Jeremiah 23:28, “…he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully…”

The Oracles of God: The Word of God Is Alive

And what are the “Oracles of God”? The word in Greek that is translated as “oracles” is λόγιον (logion)^G3051, meaning “utterance of God” which is used only four times in the New Testament. The other two, besides Hebrews 5:12, and 1 Peter 4:11, include Romans 3:1, “¶What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit [is there] of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” and Acts 7:38, “This is he (Moses), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and [with] our fathers: who received the lively (ζάω (zaō))^G2198 oracles to give unto us:” So then, the Bible defines the “oracles of God” as God’s Word as spoken by God. If we faithfully proclaim the True Word of God, then we become Oracles of God.

We should also take note here that the word “lively” is the same word in the original Greek that we also find in Hebrews 4:12 that also describes the Word of God, which means “alive“, “For the word of God [is] quick (ζάω (zaō))^G2198, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.“

Hebrews 6:2, “Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

These first two verses address many “basic” doctrines and “first principles” that are part of Christianity, but are not the substance of salvation. They are reflections and evidence of having been saved. Paul is instructing the Hebrews to not be complacent in that knowledge, but to grow into maturity of understanding and service for Jesus and to persevere.

1. Repentance from Dead Works: We are convinced and convicted of sin and know that nothing can save us but the Blood of Jesus. Titus 3:5 tells us, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” and Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.“
2. Faith Toward God: We have a firm belief in the existence, nature, and attributes of God, and in the mind and purpose of God from both His Word (the Bible) and this creation, but most particularly as is revealed through the Person and Work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to bring Salvation from sin. That belief is not by sight. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” and 2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
3. Doctrine of Baptisms: Acts 19:4&5, “¶Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. ¶ When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.“
4. Laying on of Hands: Acts 8:14-17, “¶Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” and Acts 19:6, “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.“
5. Resurrection of the Dead: Acts 17:31, “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead.” But remember also that the Old Testament speaks plainly of the resurrection of the dead in Daniel 12:2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.” (The Pharisees had it correct, but the Sadducees did not as we read in Mark 12:18, “¶Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,” and Acts 23:8, “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.“)
6. Eternal Judgment: Acts 24:24, “¶And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.“

Hebrews 6:3, “And this will we do, if God permit.”

This is a petition statement that all believers should embrace. We want to be obedient to God and do everything with the understanding that we can do nothing apart from God’s Will. That is why the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:10 contains the words, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.” This is how Paul stated his planning for his travel to Jerusalem in Acts 18:21, “But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.“

Apostasy, Falling Away, and Its Consequences

The Following three verses have to be viewed together in context with each other

Hebrews 6:4, “¶For [it is] impossible ἀδύνατος (adynatos)^G102 for those who were once enlightened (φωτίζω (phōtizō))^G5461, and have tasted (γεύομαι (geuomai))^G1089 of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers (μέτοχος (metochos))^G3353 of the Holy Ghost,“

Enlightened is from the original Greek word, (φωτίζω (phōtizō))^G5461, which means “to be illuminated”, and therefore reflective of the Light of the Gospel. The original Greek word for “tasted” is γεύομαι (geuomai)^G1089, which is to say “perceive the flavor of” or “to experience”. The word for “partaker” is from the original Greek μέτοχος (metochos)^G3353, which means to be sharing in, partaking, but does not imply indwelling.

Hebrews 6:5, “And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,”

And the word that is translated as “word” is form the original Greek word, ῥῆμα (rēma)^G4487, which is very often translated as “sayings”. In contradistinction, the Greek word λόγος (logos)^G3056 is always associated with the Word of God, especially Christ Himself, indwelling personally the believer. So some words fit the experience of salvation, and some fit the association with the body of Christ, only.  

Hebrews 6:6, “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.”

“Fall Away“

“Fall away”, can either be subscribing to a false gospel, which is apostasy, or likely, in the days of the Hebrews, turning back to the works of the law, such as circumcision, instead of faith in the finished Works of Jesus in Fulfillment of the Old Testament laws and sacrifices. Indeed, there is every reason to expect the wrath and judgment of God to fall upon them for denying His Son and His Son’s Work.

While the tabernacle and the ordinances were in force, they were binding upon the people. If God poured out His wrath upon those who made light of the “Types” (e.g., the man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath!), think how severe shall be His Judgments upon those who reject or make light of the “Substance”, the Sacrifice and Precious Blood of His Dear Son Jesus! A return to circumcision and ceremony (away from Jesus Christ) is to bring contempt upon the persons of Jesus Christ. This is elaborated upon in Galatians 5:1, “¶Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised,Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.“

But the good news is that a true believer will be kept by God from falling prey to false gospels, which include works gospels, which in our day require the likes of outward baptism, or other formulary efforts. Nonetheless, the church, the body of believers, must be vigilant as a body to persevere and to hold fast to that which is good. (Note that this is somewhat reminiscent of the commendations and admonitions to the seven churches in Revelation.)

We should all be well aware of unbelievers who “claim” to be believers, but who do sadly “fall away”. We know this because of what we read in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” The words “would have continued” is another evidence that the believers will not, and cannot ever, “fall away”.

It would seem, therefore, that these verses are describing those that hear the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and despise it because they identify with the Gospel through their own efforts. If they reject Jesus, there is no other hope for salvation because ONLY Jesus Is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! The word “impossible” must be compared with Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith [it is] impossible ἀδύνατος (adynatos)^G102 to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”, with the conclusion being that it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to be renewed without faith, by means of his own efforts, to come to repentance and salvation. What is needed is the grace of God and not works of the law.

On the Other Hand: It Is Impossible for True Believers To Fall Away

We must also clearly understand the fundamental truth that it is impossible for those who are truly saved to ever fall away. However, as described earlier with regard to judaizers, there are those in the church that have a veneer of religiosity, who profess to be Christians (but are not true Christians). Those people can fall away, and are thereby doomed, because as there is no hope in any “other” Jesus.

Falling away does not mean to sin again, because all sins, past present and future are covered by the Blood of Christ. It is therefore a statement of fact that it is “IMPOSSIBLE” for a believer to fall away!

Let us consider the following:

1. “Who were once enlightened” Although the first work of the Holy Spirit is to enlighten the soul, there is a difference between being in the congregation (and hearing the truth from the Holy Spirit), and becoming quickened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are all by nature in darkness. Isaiah 9:2, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” Ephesians 5:8, “¶For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”
2. “Have tasted the heavenly gift” What is the Heavenly Gift? It is Jesus Christ Himself and the Pardon for Sins through His Sacrifice! It is Eternal Life! 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks [be] unto God for his unspeakable gift.” Also the word “tasted” is from the original Greek word, γεύομαι (geuomai)^G1089, which means to “taste” or “eat” and is the same word we see again in Hebrews 6:5 and in 1 Peter 2:3, “If so be ye have tasted (γεύομαι (geuomai)) ^G1089 that the Lord [is] gracious.“, which implies “perceive the flavor” or “to experience.”
3. “Made partakers of the Holy Ghost” The Holy Spirit either dwells in a person or He does not. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer, but not the apostate. This is true even when the apostate is in the midst of believers and comes under the hearing of the faithfully preached Word of God. Romans 8:9 makes this clear, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.“
4. “Have tasted the good word of God” The believers have “tasted” and experienced the Good Word of God, Who Is Jesus. They have eaten the word of God like honey. This is clear in Psalm 119:103, where we read, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! [yea, sweeter] than honey ^H1706 to my mouth!”  For more on this, please see The Meaning of Honey in the Bible. While the unbeliever may “taste” the Word, the unbeliever will ultimately find them to be bitter and fall away.
5. “the powers of the world to come” The believers see and know by faith what is to come, because they believe the Word of God. God tells us what to expect at the end of the world on Judgment Day and the new heavens and a new earth to come, wherein dwelleth righteousness  Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, and 2 Peter 3:13. They also have faith, hope, and love (“charity”). 1Co 13:13, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.”

In John 10:27-29, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand.“

Finally, in Romans 8:38&39, we read of this assurance for the believers…”For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.“

Other pertinent verses to consider:

Matthew 12:31, “¶Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.”

To “Sin Wilfully”?

There is also the issue of what will be addressed a bit later, and that is what we read in Hebrews 10:26-29, “¶For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 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?” It would seem that the person who claims to be a Christian and understands the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ, willfully disobeys God, because that person wants to do his or her own will, and does not care what God wants and requires. This is essentially wanting it both ways, which is actually the pathway to death and Hell.

But there may be more to this.

Hebrews 10:32, “¶But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated (φωτίζω (phōtizō))^G5461, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;“

Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:“

Galatians 3:2-5, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if [it be] yet in vain. ¶ He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, [doeth he it] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?“

Once again we look to Hebrews 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?“

These are hard teachings and well worth pondering. We all need to pray for God’s mercy to be upon us!

Hebrews 6:7, “¶For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

This verse immediately brings to mind Psalm 65:10, “Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.” and Isaiah 55:10, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:” The Word of God is the blessing for the believer, and will bring forth fruit in the salvation of others through the prospering of that Word.

However, for the apostate, someone who has been intimately involved in the congregation and all of the graces of God, who The Light has been cast upon rather than a spiritual awakening and hence not yet converted, the warning of the ominous outcome is quite clear. Succinctly, the next passages point out that the rain produces the blessing of the crop, as well as the growth of the weeds and thorns, pointing to the fact that the mere presence of the word and the gospel does not procure salvation.

Hebrews 6:8, “But that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned.”

One reference verse can be found in Isaiah 5:6, “And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.“

But does not this also remind us of Jesus’ Parable of the Sower? Remember specifically Matthew 13:7, where the Word of God (the “seed”), “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:” but also we know that Jesus also made clear that the thorns and briers are like the tares that we read about in Jesus’s Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, specifically the last verse, Matthew 13:30, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.“

Proverbs 14:32, “The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.“

The Word of God is a curse to the unsaved of the world. Please see the Parable of the Sower.

Better Things for the Believers

Hebrews 6:9, “¶But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.“

Clearly, if The Hebrews are believers, as Paul indicates here, then they will bear the fruits of the Spirit in righteousness as we read in Galatians 5:22-24, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” and Ephesians 5:9, “(For the fruit of the Spirit [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)”

Hebrews 6:10, “For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.“

John 13:20, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.“

1 Thessalonians 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;“

2 Thessalonians 1:6&7, “Seeing [it is] a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,“

Ministering to the Saints:

Romans 15:25, “But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.”

2 Corinthians 8:4, “Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.“

2 Timothy 1:18, “The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.”

Paul Set an Example to Follow

Galatians 2:20&21, “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. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.“

Hebrews 6:11, “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:“

Colossians 2:2&3, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.“

1 Peter 2:1, “¶Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,“

2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and forever. Amen.“

Hebrews 6:12, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.“

We are told to remain diligent and vigilant. Hebrews 10:36, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

2 Peter 3:14, “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.“

Hebrews 6:13, “¶For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,

Genesis 22:16&17, “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]: 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;“

Psalm 105:9, “Which [covenant] he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;“

Luke 1:73, “The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,” which is from Zacharias’s (John the Baptist’s father) Prophecy regarding John’s role as a prophet coming in advance of Jesus Christ Who would be the fulfillment of the oath to Abraham.

Hebrews 6:14, “Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.“

Again Genesis 22:16&17.

The Faith of Abraham

Hebrews 6:15, “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.“

Regarding Abraham and his faith, Romans 4:19-22, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Issac was that son of the promise in the which Abraham believed God would give him as we read in Romans 9:9, “For this [is] the word of promise, At this time will I come,and Sara shall have a son.“

We also know from Galatians 3:6, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.“

And also please note this elaboration of the faith of Abraham after the birth of Isaac in James 2:21-24, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.“

The Oath of God

Hebrews 6:16, “For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation [is] to them an end of all strife.”

And oath which is an end of strife, or establishes peace between neighbors, as God ordains, is explained here in Exodus 22:10, “If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing [it]. [Then] shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept [thereof], and he shall not make [it] good.

This also hearkens us back to Hebrews 6:13.

Deuteronomy 7:8, “But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath (שְׁבוּעָה (šᵊḇûʿâ)) ^H7621 which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.“

Genesis 15:13, “And he said unto Abram (Abraham), Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

But, regarding a man making an oath, we should also remember the what we are told in James 5:12, “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and [your] nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” and its corollary spoken by the Lord Jesus, in Matthew 5:37, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

Hebrews 6:17, “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath:“

God’s Word is immutable, it cannot be broken, set aside, disannulled, or abolished, just like the laws of the Medes and the Persians, which we read about in Daniel 6:15 and in the Book of Esther.

Hebrews 6:18, “That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”

Numbers 23:19, “God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?“

Hebrews 6:19, “¶Which [hope] we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;“

Hebrews 9:6&7, “¶Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service [of God]. 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:” This is refers back again to Leviticus, Chapter 16, and the Day of Atonement. (See also Exodus 30:10.)

Hebrews 6:20, “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, [even] Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.“

We also covered this previously…

Jesus Christ is The High Priest…

Hebrews 4:14, “¶Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession.” and Hebrews 8:1, “¶Now of the things which we have spoken [this is] the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,which the Lord pitched, and not man.” and Hebrews 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:“

After the Order of Melchisedec…

Hebrews 3:1, “¶Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;” and Hebrews 5:6, “¶As he saith also in another place, Thou [art] a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” and Hebrews 5:10,”Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” and Hebrews 7:17, “For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the orderof Melchisedec.“

Finally, remember Romans 8:34, “Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Introduction

Isaiah 55:1-3 tells us something that initially sounds at least a bit strange, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for [that which] satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, [even] the sure mercies of David.“

How is it be possible to buy anything if no exchange of money is involved, or if there is no price to pay? And what do the various elements of “wine”, “milk”, and “bread” imply? And what about the “everlasting covenant” and the “sure mercies of David”?

We must consider that something beyond the physical is really in view, particularly given that the word “soul” is mentioned twice, along with the word “everlasting”. The three food elements cannot be viewed “literally”, but rather they must be viewed “spiritually” as representative of “spiritual” food for the soul that will provide the necessary eternal sustenance for eternal life. Moreover, the subsequent words make clear that this sustenance for the soul can be obtained through “hearing” with an “ear”, rather than by exchanging money for it. And what is it that must be “heard” that will make a difference and allow anyone to “buy” this sustenance? One thing to consider is what we are told in Romans 10:17, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So then, it is the Word of God that we must “hear”, and God works through that hearing of the Word (the Bible) to lead someone to Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. And we also know that Jesus is the Word incarnate (John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”).

Defining Key Words

The Bible is its own dictionary and its own sourcebook of Truth. We must let God define His own terms as God specifies in the Bible. So let us first look at the elements of Spiritual Sustenance which were described as being available for purchase without money and without price.

1) The Bread (of Life)

The Bible makes very clear that Jesus Christ is the “bread” “from Heaven” as Jesus said concerning Himself in John 6:33, “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” and Jesus also said:

John 6:50&51, “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 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.” and

John 6:58, “This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.”

And we must remember Jesus own analogy that He spoke at the Last Supper in communion with His disciples in Luke 22:19, “¶And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.“

2) The Wine

And immediately following that, Jesus identified the cup of wine as being a representation of His shed blood at that Last Supper. We read in Luke 22:20, “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup [is] the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.“

And let us also be clear that the bread and wine are both symbols of the “everlasting covenant” of Isaiah 55:3, which is described as the “sure mercies of David”. Jesus is descended from David and the source of all grace and mercy.

3) The Milk

The Bible identifies “milk” with the basics (“first principles”) of the Word in bringing the Gospel of Salvation through the Person and Work of Jess Christ as we read in 1 Peter 2:2, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” and Hebrews 5:12, “¶For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.“

Isaiah 28:9, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, [and] drawn from the breasts.“

4) Hearing Ears

When it comes to “spiritually hearing”, we must first be given the “ears that hear” by God, and that involves a “quickening”, or “making” alive by God, The Holy Spirit. For more on what this means, please see The Hearing Ear and the Seeing Eye that expounds on Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.“

And to be a hearer of the Word is to also be a doer as we read in James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” And this means being sharers of the Gospel to others that they might also have eternal life. For more insights on what this means, please see the expositions on the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Talents.

The Unfathomable Price of Redemption that Jesus Had to Pay to Save Sinners

1 Peter 1:17-19, “¶And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear: 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; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:“

1 Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.“

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

While it may be incomprehensible to even begin to fathom the full price that Jesus paid for the sins of the believers (whether anyone wants to believe it or not), Jesus actually endured the full wrath of God in Hell for the equivalent of eternity in the space of three days and three nights. This can be learned from a careful study of the Book of Jonah.

No One Can Afford the Heavy Price to Pay for Sins Apart from What Jesus Paid

Salvation Is a Gift

The Bible makes clear in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The death that is in view here is “eternal” death in Hell, if Jesus did not already pay the full price for a person’s sins in the Atonement in 33 AD.

Ephesians 2:8&9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.“

God is Holy, and no unclean thing can exist in His presence, so mankind must be made clean by Jesus’s shed blood and clothed in the robes of Jesus Christ’s righteousness to cover the nakedness of our sins.

The Kingdom of Heaven? What Is It Worth to You?

Dear reader, are you seeking the real hid treasure, the Kingdom of Heaven? Matthew 13:44-46, “¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. ¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.“

Are You Buying It?

When we think of a salesman trying to convince us to buy something that we think that we don’t need, we might simply think they are just trying to get our money. Or perhaps when someone tries to explain something to us that sounds unusual to our ears, we might recoil from them. In each case we might simply walk away, and perhaps we also say something euphemistically (to ourselves, or even out loud) like, “I’m not buying it!”

Or perhaps we may simply be satisfied with our lives, and we could even think that we have all that we need, just like the church in Laodicea, which felt it was doing just fine and needed nothing, which we read about in Revelation 3:17, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.“

Reading further in Revelation 3:19-21 we read, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.“

The Good News of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Is Precious Beyond Price and Yet Freely Given by God

The problem is that there are not many buyers! It is because, although people are desperately dying in need of salvation, they are not seeking salvation. It is because so many in this world do not hunger and thirst after righteousness, in reference to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.“

Jesus Is also the wellspring of eternal life as we read in both John 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.” and John 4:14, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. And please note that this water of eternal life is cost-free (to us)! Revelation 21:6, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.“

And please not the harmony with these two verses:

Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?“

Matthew 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.“

And lastly, we should remember that to become a believer, one must be quickened, or spiritually made alive, through the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost. So likewise, the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost, and the power to “give” Him, cannot be bought as we learned in Acts 8:18-20, “¶And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. ¶But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.“

Conclusion: Salvation Is a Free Gift, Bought and Paid for by Jesus Christ Alone!

So then, to “buy” the Bread (of Everlasting Life) without money and without price is to “hear” the Word of God, Who is Jesus, as He Is found in the Bible. This is the ONLY means of Salvation for eternal life in Heaven in the presence of God. Jonah in the belly of the whale declared in Jonah 2:9, “Salvation [is] of the the Lord“. We must both hear, and heed, the Word of God, if we truly desire to be saved from the just penalty for our sins by the Lord Jesus Christ. Either Jesus paid that price in full, through His Atoning Sacrifice to provide the free gift of eternal life, or unsaved mankind will pay the full price individually, which will be an eternity in Hell. A very high price indeed!

PostScript

It was mentioned earlier that Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” If God has granted you the ears to hear, then you will rush to open that door… while also remembering that Jesus also said in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

We also know that earthly monetary funds or material goods have any lasting value for anyone. Matthew 6:19-21, tells us, “¶Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” and similarly in Luke 12:33, “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.“

In 1868, Charles Spurgeon, wrote and preached an exposition entitled “Search the Scriptures” that is based on John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” The following is that exposition:

“The word of God will repay searching. God does not bid us sift a mountain of chaff with here and there a grain of wheat in it, but the Bible is winnowed corn–we have but to open the granary door and find it. Scripture grows upon the student. It is full of surprises. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to the searching eye it glows with splendour of revelation, like a vast temple paved with wrought gold, and roofed with rubies, emeralds, and all manner of gems. No merchandise is like the merchandise of Scripture truth. Lastly, the Scriptures reveal Jesus: “They are they which testify of me.” No more powerful motive can be urged upon Bible readers than this: he who finds Jesus finds life, heaven, all things. Happy he who, searching his Bible, discovers his Saviour.“

Introduction

The name Zerubbabel זְרֻבָּבֶל (zᵊrubāḇel)^H2216, which means “Sown/Scattered in Babylon“, occurs 21 times in 20 Bible verses. Nonetheless, this man is seldom mentioned in the context of either Biblical scripture or Christian theology. So what can be learned about this, man and who might he represent? Let us take a closer look.

The first mention of Zerubbabel is in 1 Chronicles 3:19, “And the sons of Pedaiah [were], Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:” Here we are provided that Zerubbabel (translated as “Zorobabel” in the New Testament), is descended from the Tribe of Judah. Zerubbabel is descended from the Davidic line of the kings of Judah, beginning with Solomon and ending with Jehoachin (Jeconias in the New Testament), just before Jerusalem and Judea were placed into captivity in Babylon when we consider Matthew 1:12, “¶And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim;and Eliakim begat Azor;“

We then find Zerubbabel’s name appearing in four more books of the Old Testament involving the restoration of Jerusalem following the 70 years of captivity in Babylon in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah.

The Book of Ezra

In Ezra we find the following verses that tell us of the leadership role of Zerubbabel in rebuilding the Temple of God and restoring the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem:

Ezra 2:1&2, “¶Now these [are] the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:” Note that Zerubbabel has a special place being named first and followed by ten Jewish men of renown, with Nehemiah (of the Book of Nehemiah) and Mordecai (of the Book of Esther) being two clear standouts, who we know were raised up by God as “Types” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ezra 3:2, “Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as [it is] written in the law of Moses the man of God.” Note that this sacrificial rite activity was coordinated between Jeshua (or “Savior” hence the same name as “Jesus”) of the tribe of Levi, together with Zerubbabel, who was of the tribe of Judah.

Rebuilding the Temple of God

Ezra 3:8, “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.“

Ezra 4:2 &3, “Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye [do]; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.“

The Book of Nehemiah

In Nehemiah, these verses similarly tell us that Zerubbabel was a leader in restoring Jerusalem and the Chief men and priests and Levites “went up with” Zerubbabel. (Are you starting to see a “Type” here?)

Nehemiah 7:7, “Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, [I say], of the men of the people of Israel was this;” (but this time there is one more name bringing the total number of men to eleven with the name of Nahamani being the additional one)

Nehemiah 12:1, “Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel  the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,“

Nehemiah 12:47, “And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified [holy things] unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified [them] unto the children of Aaron.“

The Book of Haggai

In Haggai we see the following verses where we learn that Zerubbabel, as the likely (great?) grandson of King Jeconiah is the Governor of Judah and is consistently (in four verses) linked with Joshua the high priest. Finally, God calls Zerubbabel His Chosen Servant and His Signet (the King’s Royal Seal Ring).

Haggai 1:1, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,“

Haggai 1:12, “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.“

Haggai 1:14, “And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,“

Haggai 2:2, “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,”

Haggai 2:4, “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I [am] with you, saith the LORD of hosts:“

Haggai 2:21&22, “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.” And then in the next verse:

Haggai 2:23, “In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.”

NOTE: This phraseology is most interesting because Jeremiah issued the following curse from God against Jehoichin (also Jeconiah or Coniah) the last official reigning king of Judah in Jeremiah 22:24, “¶As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand [of them] whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.” That chapter ends with this curse in Jeremiah 22:29&30, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man [that] shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” While it is certainly true that Jehoachin did not ever again have an “earthly” successor to his throne in Judah, God nonetheless indicated through the”Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ in Zerubbabel, would still have a leadership role. God specifically called Zerubbable to be His “chosen” “servant“, that Zerubbabel, would be made a “SIGNET” to become a “Governor” in Judah, but, more importantly, that Jesus Christ (the “Substance” of the “Type”) would be made a King of Kings and Lord of Lords on His Throne eternally in Heaven.

Remember what Jesus specifically said in John 18:36, “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” We must also remember that Jesus is the first born, “begotten”, from the dead at the First Resurrection on Easter Sunday, 33 AD, as we read in Colossians 1:18, “And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.” (See also Revelation 1:5) Therefore, Jesus established a new Kingly Lineage beginning with Himself to reign eternally in Heaven, and NOT this temporal earth in a temporal Jerusalem.

The Book of Zechariah

In Zechariah we see Zerubbabel more clearly as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day because Jesus is the Master Builder with the plummet, Who both laid, and was, the foundation stone of God’s eternal Temple built with lively stones by the Grace of God.

Zechariah 4:6, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:7, “Who [art] thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel [thou shalt become] a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone [thereof with] shoutings, [crying], Grace, grace unto it. ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,“

Zechariah 4:9, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.“

Zechariah 4:10, “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel [with] those seven; they [are] the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”

Plummet?

The word “plummet”, אֶבֶן (‘eḇen)^H68, is most often translated as “stone” as we read here in Zechariah 3:9, “For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone (אֶבֶן (‘eḇen))^H68 [shall be] seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.”

Nonetheless, the word “plummet” in the hand of Zerubbabel is at least reminiscent of these verses which in every case are referring to Jesus Christ and the building of His eternal Temple of God:

Zechariah 2:1, “I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.” and

Ezekiel 40:3, “And he brought me thither, and, behold, [there was] a man, whose appearance [was] like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.“

Revelation 21:15, “And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.“

“Eyes of the LORD“

Regarding the “eyes of the LORD” we have several reference verses that apply:

Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD [are] upon the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their cry.”

Proverbs 5:21, “For the ways of man [are] before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD [are] in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

Proverbs 22:12, “The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.“

Conclusion

The conclusion that we must draw is that not only do we have evidence from the Bible that Zerubbabel was in the Davidic lineage of kings traceable through Solomon to Jehoichin, but that he was also in the genealogy of Jesus via Mary (as well as in the genealogy of Joseph). Moreover Zerubbabel was chosen by God to be God’s servant as the first governor of Judah to supervise the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. We are blessed to see that Zerubbabel is not only a progenitor of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also serves as a “Type” of The Lord Jesus Christ Who is building the eternal Temple of God right now from His Throne in Heaven.

For more on the implications of Jesus’ genealogy that we can find in the Bible, please see: Jesus’ Earthly Ancestry

PostScript

It was mentioned previously that, in Jeremiah 22:24, God had cursed king Jehoichin such that none of Jehoichin’s progeny would ever sit on the earthly “throne of David” in Judah again. It was also shown how this curse was upheld by God, and it remains factual in the earthly realm to this day. However, that curse does not invalidate or prevent Jesus, as a descendent of Jehoichin, from attaining to His Throne in Heaven from which He now reigns eternally.

Moreover, we should also note that despite this curse upon Jehoichin, God, nonetheless, granted grace to Jehoichin in his last days on earth (while still in captivity in Babylon) as we read in Jeremiah 52:31–34, “¶And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison. And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.” (see also 2 Kings 25:27–30)

Introduction: What is Wisdom?

When most people hear the word “wisdom” they think of the attribute that is most often associated with innate human intelligence, acquired knowledge, and/or a deep awareness and understanding of the realities of this temporal life involving the sciences (e.g., physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) or engineering and mathematics. Sometimes wisdom is perceived to include the ability to solve problems and puzzles. Perhaps sometimes it might also include a lot of what is considered acquired “common sense.”

Some people might think of the ancient philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, or Confucius or more recent like Abelard or Descartes. In all cases, however, all such views of wisdom only deal with earthly wisdom and cannot provide any insights on things spiritual (and hence eternal).

The Bible, on the other hand, deals with wisdom that is not only applicable to the issues of temporal life, but, more importantly, to spiritual issues and therefore which also pertain to eternal life. The Bible is the ONLY source of wisdom by which a person can truly understand his or her natural, miserable, state and complete destitution apart from the grace of God. Earthly wisdom cannot overcome death and the resultant assured eternity in Hell, as the just penalty for sin, as is decreed by The Almighty and Supreme God. The Bible makes clear that the ONLY escape is through the Atoning Substitutionary Sacrifice for sin made possible ONLY through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Earthly wisdom apart from the Bible is worthless because it will eventually perish.

The Bible makes this clear in Isaiah 29:14, where God tells us that He will bring about salvation from sin by a means (Jesus Christ) that is entirely incomprehensible to the wisest of all carnally minded men, “Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, [even] a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise [men] shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent [men] shall be hid.”

God is telling us that no matter how smart, intelligent, knowledgeable, wise, prudent we might think that we are, we are fools when it comes to eternal spiritual things. That is also why we read in 1 Corinthians 2:13, that the true believers in Jesus Christ will have and share the spiritual wisdom that ONLY The Holy Ghost (The Holy Spirit) can impart, “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.”

The Gift of the Holy Spirit is Required

The Bible requires spiritual insight to understand it.  That faculty is only obtained as a Gift from God, through the indwelling (or anointing) of His Holy Spirit, The “Spirit of Truth*“, Who Is also known as “The Holy Ghost“.  That action is God’s Alone, and is synonymous with the Gift of salvation (Acts 5:32, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and [so is] also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.“). 

It is quite interesting to find in Exodus chapter 31, when God looked for a man of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, that God told Moses the following starting in verses 2-5:“See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”

Since Proverbs 1:20-23, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.“  For more on “who” this is, please see the Proverbs Chapter 8 study.

The key here is the Spirit that makes God’s Words known to us, which is entirely in accordance with 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, “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. ¶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. 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. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“

We must also be mindful of the fact that spiritual discernment is necessary to understand the Bible. The anointing of God The Holy Spirit is required to have Jesus clearly revealed to us as is clearly stated in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“ The anointing is of the Holy Spirit Who God the Father sent to the believers to lead them into all truth, and that Truth Is Jesus. John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that]shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Note the consistency with John 14:26, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” and 1 John 2:20, “¶But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (“unction” means “anointing”)

Proverbs 4:7 Is One Starting Point for Eternal Insights

In Proverbs 4:7, we are told, “Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” In the original Hebrew the first part of this verse could have been better translated as “Wisdom is the ‘beginning‘” or “first fruits” or “chief thing” given the Hebrew word was רֵאשִׁית (rē’šîṯ)^H7225 which is the same word we find in the very first verse in the Bible, in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning (רֵאשִׁית (rē’šîṯ)^H7225 God created the heaven and the earth.“

That said, we are also told in Psalm 111:10, that “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning (רֵאשִׁית (rē’šîṯ)^H7225 of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do [his commandments]: his praise endureth for ever.” This is nearly identical to Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning תְּחִלָּה (tᵊḥillâ)^H8462 of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.” The Hebrew word that is translated here as “beginning” is another word, תְּחִלָּה (tᵊḥillâ)^H8462, which also means “beginning or “first time” (or “initial time”). We also see a similar verse in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning (רֵאשִׁית (rē’šîṯ)^H7225 of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.“

The Book of Daniel Makes Clear That Wisdom, Like Salvation, Is Only Obtained as a Gift from God

In Daniel 1:17, “¶As for these four children (Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego), God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” and later in the second chapter,

Daniel 2:20-23, “¶Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known unto us the king’s matter.“

Later in the book of Daniel we find it mentioned four times (in Daniel 4:8, Daniel 4:9, Daniel 4:18, and Daniel 5:11) that Daniel had “the spirit of the holy gods” inside of him. That is how God gave Daniel the true wisdom that Daniel had. Daniel had been given the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was indwelling within him.

The above verses teach us that it is God Alone Who gives anyone wisdom, knowledge, and understanding as they pertain to spiritual things. That is why we read in Proverbs 2:1-6, “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;  So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;  Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding;  If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures;  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.”

We should also note these verses that pertain to Wisdom from God:

Job 28:18, “No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom [is] above rubies.“

Job 28:28, “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom; and to depart from evil [is] understanding.“

Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.“

The true wisdom that really matters, the true understanding that really matters, the true knowledge that really matters… are those things having eternal spiritual import and which point us to Jesus Christ. And where do we find Jesus? In the Bible! This is because Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14) and the Bible is all about Jesus as we learn from Jesus in the Road to Emmaus.

Jesus Christ Is The True Wisdom

1 Corinthians 1:30 describes Jesus Christ as Being Wisdom…“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:“ Jesus also made clear to us in John 14:6 that He is the ONLY way to Heaven, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.“

Before we can begin to gain any wisdom, knowledge, understanding, or truth from the Bible, we must realize, and believe with our whole being, that the Bible, God’s Word, is as not only true, but is as Holy as God Himself is Holy.  God intimately identifies Himself with His Word as we find in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.“, and later in John 1:14, we see, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”  The latter verse talking about Jesus Christ and no one else. To quote another Christian author… In the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, that God has provided, “God reveals Himself, not merely information about Himself, but HIMSELF.”

The Bible is unique, not only because it is compiled from 66 manuscripts, scribed by over 40 different individuals, over a period spanning 1500 to 1600 years, but because the Bible was written entirely under the inspiration of the infinite Mind of God (The Infinite God Who created the Infinite Universe… as well as created you and me out of nothing) through God’s Holy Spirit, and is not derived in any way out of the intellect of any man (e.g. those individual humans who God used to write the Bible).  As a result, it should never be approached (as some teachers have advocated) as one would read “any other book or magazine.”  No other book was ever written under Divine inspiration and no other book has been the subject of Providential preservation! 

We must, therefore, try to approach our study of the Bible with the appropriate reverential awe that The Most High Holy God HIMSELF deserves.  God describes the manner in Psalm 2:11 and Isaiah 66:2 as with “fear” and “trembling.”  Because this, in reality, is impossible for anyone to do, in and of himself or herself (because everyone is by nature unclean, clumsy, presumptuous, and irreverent), it is only by God’s infinite grace, and longsuffering mercy, that He allows anyone to come to saving truth from the Bible.  We must, therefore, humbly, prayerfully, acknowledge our complete destitution apart from the Good Grace of the Almighty Sovereign God.  Those who are called to be the children of God, will not only do this, but will seek after the wisdom and truth of God by searching the Bible to see Jesus. 

Just as salvation is a Gift of God (Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:“) so are our spiritual eyes and ears a Gift of God (because we have His Spirit in us witnessing to our spirit).  That is why we read in Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.”  We must have been given the wisdom of God, by God. (James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”) 

This wisdom will come when we are truly seeking Him (because He first sought us, see John 6:44) and fear (have reverential awe of) Him.  We are told in Psalm 111:10 that, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom:“, and in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  The more we study God’s word, the Bible, the more, by God’s grace, our faith grows and the spiritually wiser we can become.  In Romans 10:17, we find that, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Furthermore, in Isaiah 50:4, we read, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” (This is also consistent with Psalm 40:5&6, “Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.”…and immediately following in Psalm 40:7-9, the messianic verses talk about Jesus coming in the volume of the book (the Bible) and His fulfilling work and finishing sacrifice as the sole means by which only we can hope to obtain God’s Salvation.)

Again, going back to the title of this study, Proverbs 4:7 states, “Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” and Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.” And finally, in Psalm 90:12 we read, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.“

In Proverbs 1:5&6, we read, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.”  And in Psalm 49:3&4 we read, “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and  the meditation of my heart [shall be] of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.”

But if God does bless a person with that wisdom, please remember also what we read in Jeremiah 9:23&24, “¶Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man] glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] the LORD which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these [things] I delight, saith the LORD.”

Finally, we all need to remember the following from 1 Corinthians 13:1, “¶Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have [the gift] of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have notcharity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.“

Conclusion

It is this teacher’s most sincere hope and prayer that the words found in Ephesians, Chapter 1 (every verse), will apply to whomever sees this post, particularly verse 17, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”.

It is also hoped that the reader might see that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “Mystery”, and that Jesus Christ is the “Secret” and the “Hidden Wisdom” of the whole Bible that everyone, Jew or Gentile, so desperately needs for salvation from sins and eternal life with God in Heaven.

Finally, we all need to be clear on the issue of “wisdom”. It is never to be confused with earthly wisdom, for 1 Corinthians 3:19 teaches us that “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”

*The Spirit of Truth

John 14:16&17, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 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:

John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

1 John 4:6, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

1 John 5:6, “This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.“

Understanding God’s Word, the Bible: God’s Word is a Mystery!

God the Holy Spirit Is The Means by Which “Parables” and “Dark Sayings” Are To Be Understood

In Psalm 78:1&2, God calls upon all believers to, “Give ear, O my people, [to] my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings* of old:”

Yet immediately thereafter only a straightforward Biblical historical account is provided!  

Why is that?…It is because the historical account itself is a parable (or “riddle” or “allegory”), and it is therefore also an “Historical Parable“…which points to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout time and space! And it was most certainly not written to be “plainly” understood!

In Proverbs 1:5&6, we read, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.”  And in Psalm 49:3&4 we read, “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and  the meditation of my heart [shall be] of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.”

In 1 Corinthians 2 (the whole chapter) we learn more of the means of understanding God’s Holy Word, the Bible:

a) in verse 2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

b) in verse 5, “that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.“

c) in verse 7+8, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:  Which none of the princes of this world knew:…“

d) in verse 10, “But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.“

e) in verse 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.“

f) in verse 14, “But the natural man (everyone in the unsaved state) 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.“

In John 6:63 we read, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.“

e) in verse 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.“

f) in verse 14, “But the natural man (everyone in the unsaved state) 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.“

In John 6:63 we read, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.“

Remember, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus always spoke in “parables.”  In Matthew 13:34 we read that:”All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables;  and without a parable spake he not unto them:  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret*** from the   foundation of the world.” (and this is a reference back to the prophetic statement we find in Psalm 78:2, “I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:”)

Moreover, dear reader, please be aware that Job also spoke in a parable, as we are told in both Job 27:1 and Job 29:1. And a careful spiritual scrutiny of Job Chapter 28 makes clear that Job was serving as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ in that parable precisely as crafted by God the Holy Spirit.

And before we leave the Book of Job, we should also take a look at Job 32:8, that reads in the King James English translation as, “But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.“ Man is a living being with the spirit of life that goes back to Genesis 2:7, “¶And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.“ The original Hebrew word that is translated into English as both “inspiration” and “breath” is the same word, נְשָׁמָה (nᵊšāmâ)^H5397. So what Job 32:8 is really saying is that man has the spirit of life as a physical living soul, but, and only if, someone is given The Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost from God Almighty can they then also have “Understanding”, and by implication, Eternal Life. This also brings to mind what we read in John 20:21&22, “¶Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:“

Jesus ONLY Spoke in Parables to the Multitudes

Matthew 13:34, “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:“

Jesus explained to His disciples why He spoke only in parables to the multitudes.  In Mark 4:11&12, we read: “And he said unto them, Unto you (the elect) it is given to know the mystery** of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without (the non-elect), all [these] things are done in parables:  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be  forgiven them.“(God reiterates this explanation in Isaiah 6:9&10, John 9:39&40, and Acts 28:26-28… PLEASE read these verses to see the perfect reinforcement that they provide). The companion study on the hearing ear and seeing eye is helpful here as well.

* From the Hebrew word חִידָה (ḥîḏâ) ^H2420 (also used as dark sentences or speech) meaning “hard question, riddle, enigma, or puzzle,”  and is synonymous with the word “proverb” or “parable”. But “parable” itself is derived from Hebrew word “mashal” which has the meaning of a “metaphorical adage requiring mental action.”  Ezekiel 17:2 tells us that a parable and a riddle are the same, “Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;“

** Note that in the New Testament, “mystery” derives from a Greek word μυστήριον (mystērion) ^G3466 that means something that is hidden, secret, a mystery, a hidden purpose or counsel of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men, but plain to the godly. Something which imposes silence by shutting the mouth. Note how this ties in with Ephesians 6:19“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery^G3466 of the gospel,” and Colossians 1:26 “[Even] the mystery^G3466  which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:“

*** The word “secret” here  derives from a Greek word κρύπτω (kryptō) ^G2928, that means “to conceal or hide”.

Conclusion

             The conclusion of the matter is, only if (by the grace of God, alone) we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in our hearts (because we are called and chosen by God, and are therefore spiritually raised from the dead…and hence are “born again” by the Spirit), then our spiritual eyes and ears can be opened to the hidden Truth of God (in concurrence with being given the necessary faith hope and love and the desire to be obedient to Him!).  Because that Truth is of God, and about God…then “spiritual” discernment (not carnal, earthly, human) is required.  In Romans 7:14 we read, “For we know that the law (the whole word of God, the Bible) is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.“

Therefore, only if we are being guided by God the Holy Spirit, as a Gift according to God’s Sovereign Will and Good Pleasure, and by God’s Grace Alone, using the process of prayerfully searching and comparing scripture with scripture (comparing spiritual with spiritual) within the context of the whole Bible, can the veil be removed, such that we can begin to see Jesus Christ and His work of salvation for His people that God has inextricably interwoven throughout all His word, the Bible.  Jesus really is the Child of Promise and The Way, The Truth, and The Life.  May all who read this be as the Greeks in John 12:20&21 that came up to the feast to worship and say, “we would see Jesus.”

And please, dear reader, never forget that “Salvation is of the Lord” (Please see the study of Jonah), and “salvation” means being saved from the just penalty for one’s sins, and that penalty would, apart from salvation, require an eternity in Hell come Judgment Day.

POSTSCRIPT

We know from other studies that Jesus opens the book and Jesus closes the Book, so likewise God gives different spiritual gifts to each of His chosen according to His Own Will. But it is all to God’s Glory and our collective benefit as we read in Ephesians 4:11, “¶And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”