From Ruin to Glory:

From ruin to glory.

Introduction.

The following is dedicated to those who left for us a record, an account of facts, facts respecting God; kings, their kingdoms, the joy, fear, or the suffering and pain of the common man. It’s narrative of events in the order in which they took place, including their causes and effects.

“Ex nihilo nihil fit,” From nothing, nothing comes, a maxim (saying) which will lead us to infinite intelligence, Y.H.W.H., the Supreme name of God.

History is a matter of record, it signifies knowing and learning to excite us to inquire, explore and learn by inspection. So, let the journey begin, as we weave our way through the pages of history, examining the wonderfully mysterious and fascinating stories of God and man. We will share in the glories and majestic powers of God; the life and hope of good men; and the despair of the fallen.

Religion on the other hand in a comprehensive sense includes a belief in God; the perfections of God, the revelations of His will toward men, and man’s obligation to obey and be accountable to His will. The effects of obedience will result in rewards, and the effect of disobedience is punishment.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ must be both intellectual and practical. Our body, soul, and spirit must be informed of the nature and the kinship which exists between Him and all who live by faith. The faithful shall be adopted into the promises made to the prophets of old and the rewards promised made by the Savior himself, eternal life.  

God’s judgment of a flood upon the ancient world, did not eradicate depravity from the hearts of men. When He had fully executed his vengeance on the wicked, he brought forth his little church of eight from the ark and gave to them, the earth for a possession.

Jehovah must be known and shown that he is infinite and eternal and that He alone has every moral excellence. He alone is the author and finisher of our faith, the giver of blessings, the Redeemer of men, and the Judge overall.

Divine revelation is not to be doubted if justly perceived. Because of the defects of darkened understandings and perverted by the corruption of the heart, the evidence brought forth and the truth imperfectly understood.

Great outward prosperity has always been a destructive force to the interests and will of God. The power, wealth, splendor, and evil behind men like Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Nero, Hitler, Putin, and others have corrupted themselves and their people. These were, are, and will continue to be a fit instrument in the hands of the prince of the power of the air, a channel for demoralizing and destroying.

Men of renown have been the benefactors or the scourge of their race, in great numbers, have been exalted and seated on high, and declared to be God. And under their authority, other gods have been imagined and fashioned, then set on altars built in temples magnificently adorned in gold, silver, and precious stones.

Settled by the Mizraim, the second son of Ham was the land of Egypt. By Mizraim’s authority, the land of the Nile had become the fruitful mother of abominations. In her, earth, sea, hills, rivers, animals, fishes, birds, plants, and stones are submitted to and deified. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Yet God in His mercy, promised a Mediator, a Savior Redeemer.

Two thousand years ago, if one had listened closely, they would have heard the voices of the heavenly host crying out, “unto you a child is born, unto you a son is given: —- His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

The birth of Jesus filled the hearts of the people of God, those looking and waiting with great joy for his coming. The coming of the Christ and the new covenant he brought with him has had a universal appeal to reason, an appeal to those who dare reason and those who will reason.

And for those who will not reason, “the wisdom of God is too high for a fool.” And for those who dare not reason, these shall remain vagrant in body, soul, and spirit; their innermost being will give way to one or more of them.

 

The magic circle, man, good and evil.

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

Those who despise and reject the God of creation have been with us from the beginning, and for them, there can be no profit in instruction unless their hearts and minds are filled with a holy reverence for the Creator. Wisdom here addresses us as sons and lays down for us the foundation stone, “the fear of God” for all moral virtue and wisdom.

Can it be said, “there has been preserved for us a true history of the church?” NO! Why? “Because it does not exist; there is no true history of the Church.”

It is a story of controversies and conflicts that have, and continue to rage on earth among believers and unbelievers, but not the story of Jesus’ victories. And the record of the death and destruction brought on by the passions of men throughout all ages is not the history of our Lord’s conquests.

The battles that have and continue to rage between the forces of heaven and the destructive forces of the underworld cannot be described; why, “Because no two men have been a witness to them.”

Matthew 18:16 Jesus in speaking to his disciples said, “that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.”

Ephesians 6:12 Paul the apostil said to the brethren, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (man), but against principalities (rulers), against powers (authorities), against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” 

Yet, the Lord has allowed certain individual prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul, and John to have random but select visions of the future, and a glimpse of the struggle and nature of these spiritual battles. These men had been given a momentary glimpse into the world of spirits, and the mighty forces that contend one with another for control of the world and the souls of men.

In the work of creation, we see the power of the Supreme being who executed it. It is indeed so vast the mind of man can barely wrap the wildest of his imagination around the power behind it. It is indeed boundless and seemingly so impossible that many have denied its possibility.

Those who believe suggest that matter with the attribute of eternity makes it equal in age and duration with God if He exists at all. But we Christians have the infallible testimony of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Therefore, our test of faith and the beginning of wisdom begins with creation.

Is God who he declares himself to be? Is He the cause, the creation the effect?

 

Who is God?

We as believers are to worship the “one true God.” Yet, The Word speaks of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word best describes this unity comes from the Latin trinitas, tres, and unus, meaning one or unity. Most call it, “the Trinity.” In theology, it is the union of three persons in one Godhead; it embodies the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Many acknowledge one Supreme Being, but disallow what we call the Trinity, saying, how can three possibly be one? Think of it as a body of three beings delegated to the same purpose and goal, and the three possessing the divine nature and perfections. 

We can reference this unity in the following verses, each serving as a witness to this wonder of oneness.

Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

“Us” is a pronoun objective case of, “we,” plural.

Genesis 11:7 God said, “Let us go down, and there confound their language.”

In the following, the LORD is speaking to the prophet: 

Isaiah 48:16 “I (the LORD) have not spoken in secret from the beginning (from the foundation of the earth); from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God (the Father), and his Spirit have sent me.”

It was revealed to Isaiah, that the Father and His Holy Spirit have sent Jehovah his beloved Son. In the Bible when you see Spirit written with an upper case (S), it always refers to the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus said to the eleven, Matthew 28:19, “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

John 15:26 Jesus is speaking to the disciples “When the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) is come, whom I (Jesus) will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

The first time we see the name of God is in Genesis 1:1; the Hebrew is Elohim. Elohim means, the Almighty, the omniscient, omnipresent, pure, and perfect being, he who preserves and governs all things. 

There are three principal opinions concerning Elohim:

Jewish and Christian writers derive it from El, (mighty), meaning the Almighty. Isaiah wrote concerning Jesus,

Isaiah 9:6 The Son to be born of a virgin will be called “the mighty God.”

Revelation 1:8 Jesus said of himself, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, — which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” 

Others say the Hebrew root of Elohim signifies to swear, alluding to the oath God has sworn to establish his covenant with his people.

 

Y.H.W.H.                                                                                       

This Hebrew word Jehovah is an English rendering of the Tetragrammaton, “YHWH.” Its original pronunciation is unknown. Jehovah is derived from the verb “to be.” and implies that God is eternal, that He is Absolute, the uncaused One; Jehovah describes His real essence.

How did the name Jehovah come about?

The Ancient Israelites took seriously the third commandment written in Exodus 17:15 “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain,” and God will hold those who take his name in vain guilty.

After the Jewish captivity from Babylon, the pronunciation (Y.H.W.H) was lost. The modern name of God, Jehovah, has been greatly refined and translated into the English word LORD or God.

How did God’s holy name Y.H.W.H., first become Yahweh, then later, Jehovah? Two vowels, A and E were added for easier reading and pronunciation, rendering it, YaHWeH, or Yahweh.

In the English alphabet, until the 1600s there was no letter “J.” The name Jehovah was written in English as, “Yahweh.” Later, the letter J was introduced into the alphabet for an easier pronunciation of words.

The W is the union of two Vs. V is the form of the Roman capital letter which we call, U. The W is properly a vowel but does not retain that distinction today.

To conclude, the Y was changed to J. The W changed to V. The vowels were added for pronunciation purposes, and so, the English rendering is Jehovah. In the first publication of the English Bible, Jehovah would be rendered, LORD and God.

Others claim Jehovah comes from an Arabic word, meaning “the object of worship;” or “the Judge” and “Defender” of his people.”

When Moses asked the voice in the burning bush, “Who shall I tell the people sent me?” we read in Exodus 3:14 the LORD (Jehovah) said to Moses, “I Am that I Am: therefore, shall you say unto the children of Israel, I Am has sent me unto you.”

From the burning bush, the one speaking declared himself to be God, the “I Am,” the Almighty.

Whatever Jesus’ titles are, and whatever characteristics we find in Him, we will find in the Father. He is our Creator, Judge, Father of all spirits; of all flesh; one in nature with the Father; one in all the attributes of the Godhead, and one in the operations of those attributes.

This is what Jesus meant when he said,

John 14:9 “he that has seen me has seen the Father;” with,

John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”

Jesus said in Matthew 11:27 “All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son,”

Was this a new thing? No! Jesus praying to His Father said, in John 17:5 “Father, glorify thou me with your own glory which I had with you before the world was.”

But He does reveal one significant difference between the Father and Himself.

Jesus said of His Father, John 14:28 “I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”

John 13:16 “the servant is not greater than his master; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” 

At the Mt. of Transfiguration: Matthew 17:5 “While Peter yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” “Hear ye him,” That command came from the Father to all who search the scriptures for truth.

 

Vilest of men.

Some profess, “God is the author of sin:” but sin was never a part of God’s creation. What is sin? Sin is the voluntary transgression of divine law, or the violation of divine command and the abuse of good be it with a man or the invisible world of spirits. To say Jehovah who’s good then abuses good is to nail on to the cross, the highest blasphemy against His divinity and holiness.

The history of crime is quite simply the history of abuse of God’s law and man’s law. When men like Cain were born into the world, there was no social structure, no customs or institutions. As the population grew, men like Lamech, the first man to take two wives for himself, sinned against God. Noah’s son Ham sinned against his father; Nimrod, founder of the Babylonian empire and builder of the tower of Babel, sinned against God. Terah the father of Abraham, was an idol worshipper, paying homage to many gods.

Following are five of the vilest men in history; men whose illusion of insanity made perfect because they had become slaves to the will of Satan. And their hunt for flesh and blood will one day carry them into the deepest corners of hell. These five hated God, the Jews, and the Christians.

  1. The first is, Haman the Amalekite; we read about him in the book of Esther:
  2. In the days of the Seleucid empire, the tyrant Antiochus the fourth Epiphanes:
  3. In first century Rome, Nero, Caesar of Rome:
  4. In the 20th century, Adolph Hitler, the Fuhrer of Nazi German:
  5. Hitler’s henchman and executioner, Heinrich Himmler:

Of course, there were and are others, but these five have all the characteristics, qualifications, and nature of cold-blooded, unadulterated evil. So dark, dreadful, and despised that few others would qualify to stand within their ranks. No five have ever lived who were more completely the slaves of hell than these; all classified as types of antichrists.

Their Re-su-me:

Haman proposed to king Ahasuerus of Persia, also known as Artaxerxes 1st, the total annulation of the Jews. He said to the king,

Esther 3:8-9 “there is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; and their law as are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore, it is not for the king’s profit to let them remain. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed:”

The Jewish population at the time of the Persian empire was spread out over 127 provinces and had grown to hundreds of thousands while in captivity. Haman’s hatred for the Jews may have resulted from the nameless demons that plagued him. If the LORD had not interceded with Esther and Mordecai, the Jews would have been eradicated.

Antiochus the fourth Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid empire: was a liar, deceiver, and murderer. On his return to Egypt, having indignation against the holy covenant and hating the law of Moses and the worship of the one true God, he desecrated Solomn’s temple, using the combined forces of his troops and deserters from the Jewish religion.

Menelaus a Jew, a traitor to the law, and his people, guided Antiochus into the most Holy of Holies, carrying off many of the precious vessels of the Temple. Antiochus had been received into Jerusalem with open arms by the senators and scribes of Jerusalem, and for this, he rewarded them with silver. He took away the daily sacrifice, set up an abomination of desolation upon the altar, and renamed the temple “the temple of Jupiter Olympius.”

Nero was the most wicked, depraved, and crazed Caesar of Rome. On the pretense of Rome having been burnt, Nero began his persecution of Christians in 64 A.D. Thousands were tortured, others sent into the Coliseum to face wild beasts, or hung on stakes to burn as torches in Nero’s gardens. Who could have ever come to grips with Nero’s pathological personality?

Toward the end of 66 A.D., Nero gave Vespasian command of his troops to fight against the Jews. Not until after his death would Jerusalem and the temple be destroyed. The year of destruction, 70 A.D.

Adolph Hitler was the beast who led Nazi Germany into World War two. His spirit was that of revenge. As the war entered its last days, allied troops would uncover evidence of Nazi Germany’s most hideous crime: the systematic murder of millions of Jews, racial, political, sexual, and religious men, women, and children.

Hitler said as he reasoned with Albert Speer, chief of military production, “If the war is lost, the German nation will also perish,” this was to be Hitler’s scorched-earth policy for his people.

Seldom in the history of Western civilization had so much depended on one evil and murderous man’s personality.

Forged from Hitler’s flames of hate came his staunchest commander, the chicken farmer made head of the S.S.; organizer of the death squads and concentration camps: His name, Heinrich Himmler.

Under orders from Himmler, over 56,000 Jews that lived in the camps around Warsaw Poland would be massacred. Also, by order of Himmler, some six million Jews were to be slaughtered. Hundreds of thousands were sent to Hitler’s death camps, forced to dig their graves then systematically executed. Thousands and thousands would be herded into shower rooms only to be murdered with Zyklon B poison gas.

Millions of others were starved, beaten, or hung. It has been estimated, 40 to 50 million were murdered, murdered in Hitler’s war against humanity. Europe lay in ruin for many years after.

The day of reckoning. Haman would be hung on the gallows by order of king Ahasuerus, Esther’s husband. Esther was Jewish born, yet by the hand of God, she would sit on the throne with her husband as queen of Persia.

And by the wisdom of God, it was king Ahasuerus who, after hanging Haman and his associates, gave the Jews the authority to defend themselves and to destroy any who attempted to destroy them.

Antiochus 4th fell from his chariot, injuring Himself severely. From that time forward, he suffered pain, grief, and worries so severe as to give him no rest.

Nero died by suicide in the 14th year of his reign.

On April 30th, 1945, Hitler stuck a pistol barrel into his mouth, killing himself; his wife Eva followed him to the grave by swallowing cyanide. Both bodies were doused with gasoline and burned, leaving little evidence they ever existed. The few skeletal bones that remained of Hitler remained in Russian hands.

The same day Mussolini, the war-worshipping dictator of Italy, and his mistress captured, then the Italian partisans, first shot them, then hung them by their heels.

Himmler took his own life by swallowing cyanide. Other tyrants of the war who died at their own hands were Joseph Goebbels, Germany’s propaganda minister: and Hermann Goering, head of Germany’s air force, both died swallowing cyanide capsules.  

These were the glory days for evil spirits as they swarmed like locusts among the population of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Created by the hands of the devil were dark arts so horrific that they may never again be dublicated until antichrist made known.

The king of terror, the devil, must have seen in the above the making of tyrants who would bow to his every word, men who would be easily possessed in their nature and rendered submissive to his evil ways.

 

Wisdom cries out.

Thanks to God’s many blessings, the Wisdom of God cries out to us through the Bible with its wonderfully mysterious and fascinating stories. It begins with the creation, carries us through the centuries, and closes in Paradise. The Bible is unique in that most other books record only the virtues and praiseworthiness of their heroes, then exaggerate their deeds, gallantry, fearlessness, and bravery.

But not so in Scripture! It records the faults as impartially as the virtues of those it portrays. This fact alone furnishes us with strong and internal evidence of its divine origin and inspiration. From the human standpoint, every occurrence has been outlined and discussed within the volume of the book and to every living soul made known.

Romans 1:20 Paul wrote, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they (Men) are without excuse:”
God’s Word had been directed at the ancient prophets by the Holy Spirit, the prophets declaring God’s every thought and his every intention. Revealed in visions and dreams; heard with the ear, in miracles, signs, and wonders, written with His finger on stone, then recorded with pen and ink by holy men of God. Also revealed is the fantastic story of His creation, love, grace, and invitation for immortality.

The doctrines of God, for the most part, are fundamental but are not all alike important, and all our errors of faith are not alike detrimental to the well-being of his soul. God, with his heart, reaches out to us with both mercy and grace for the saving of souls. Important doctrines are fundamental, each supporting the entire fabric of the Christian faith and necessary for salvation. For, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Origin of evil.

Good and evil; two powers unequal, opposite, one eternal the other not, yet holding between them the world in balance; evil imposing upon the nations a law of merciless compensation.
“Ezekiel 28:14-15, the LORD said, “you (lucifer) were upon the holy mountain of God: you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you.”

Isaiah 14:12 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!”

Jude writes, “And the angels which kept not their first estate (proper domain), but left their own habitation (in heaven), he (God) has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
Lucifer, the anointed cherub, created perfect in his ways; having served in heaven on God’s holy mountain, having walked in his garden of Eden, covered with precious stones and heavens music created in him: yet found in him, iniquity and violence.
The LORD said to him, “you have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, — therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold you.”

Cherub’s, or “mighty ones.” Scriptures indicate cherubim are a class of angels, and their numbers are limited. Their form is seen when we examine the splendid figures the LORD commanded Moses to make and then place at each end of the mercy seat within the Holy of Holies. These creatures utter no voice, though one was heard from heaven, nor do they deal with men. They referred to as,

Hebrew 9:5 “Cherubim of glory.” And like the ark of the covenant, anointed with oil.
The two stood over the mercy seat in the Holy of holies, both covered with gold, having wings fifteen feet in length, and fifteen feet in height. Their wings extended, one touching the north side, the other wing touching the south side of the tabernacle, with the mercy seat placed between the two. Their feet were joined in one continued beaten work of gold, joined to the end of the mercy seat which covered the ark.

Fallen host.

Revelation 20:12-13-14 John saw, “the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books (will) be opened; and another book (will be) opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Scriptures are a prophetic outline of the beginning and the coming end of a battle fought for the heart, mind, and soul of men. Man, religion, and world history have been and continue to be a variety of symmetrical patterns changing over time, yet never changing.

 

A possible reason for creation.

The riddle of the universe, man’s awe and investigations into the possibility of an invisible world, and his desire to know the future. These things linked with the problems of chance and fate. These are matters into which the deepest of thinkers entangle themselves, knowing these things should remain in the hands of the Infinite Being
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”

It is conceivable that a primary reason for the creation of heaven and earth may be owing to Lucifer’s fall from grace. For the past six thousand years, the great and final test between God’s sovereignty and rebellious Cherubim will continue in heaven and here on earth. The hearts and souls of men, made in the image and likeness of their Creator, will be the reward, as will the creation itself.

 

Raising a few questions.

Were the shadowy figures of the underworld present when “God divided the light from the darkness?”

Was this a spiritual division between the forces of Light and Darkness below? Note, in Genesis 1:5, Day and Night are in upper case, but in Genesis 1:18, the literal day and night are in lowercase.

Psalms 29:3 “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thunders: the LORD is upon many waters.”

Ezekiel 1:25 “And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.”

Ezekiel 10:1 “I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the Cherubim there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.”

Proverbs 15:24 “The way of life (leads upwards) to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.”

Psalms 88:6-7 “You have laid me in the Lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you have afflicted me with all thy waves.”

Also, in a literal sense these exact words “God divided the light from the darkness” marked a literal 24-hour day. “And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

A Dark Worlds First Inhabitants:

And so, the LORD cast Lucifer, the once anointed Cherub to earth; cast him down to the depths of the sea. Then declared, “I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”

And before the words, “Let there be Light,” were spoken, demons roamed at the depths of the seas, evil lurked, fallen spirits having left their proper domain in heaven. They rebelled against their Creator, so the LORD cut them to the ground, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the waters.

“And the earth was without form, and void.”

We learn from Jeremiah 4 what the phrase, “without form and void” means. Without form is to be understood as a place of confusion, where confusion reigns, having no pattern, no God. Here was the world of the serpent, a new world, a world without light.

The word “void” speaks of an empty, desolate place, one with no binding force or binding parties and incapable of producing the effect of that which is just. It also points to things void of reason, vain in actions, and motives that violate and transgresses God’s authority.

And so, Lucifer and his subordinances had been cast down to the new creation. The heaven, the earth, unlike the spiritual world, was a material world, made of earth, fire, and water, and for a short time, void of God’s presence.

Revelation 12:3-4 the “great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads, his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven (fallen angels), and did cast them to the earth.”

Lucifer desires to be a law unto himself, to be like God. The core of and commitment to evil is the darkest of all moral determinations. Depravity and wickedness have and will never understand good. And for this purpose, the serpent’s primary intention is confusion and destruction!

Jeremiah used these same expressions to describe the people of Israel, a people without God.

Jeremiah 4:23 “I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.”

Like their father the devil, Israel had become sinful, and confused, one fallen from the grace of God. Therefore, cast into the longest day of darkness, one that would last until the coming of the Savior, who is the “Light and life of the world.”

Jeremiah 4:17, The LORD called the Israelites “a rebellious people.”

Verse 18, a “wicked and bitter people.”

In verse 20, He writes, “the whole land is spoiled.”

Verse 22, “For my people are a foolish people and stupid, having no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they do not know.” The writer of Genesis has given its readers a clear and precise view of a gathering storm. Jeremiah represents Israel as having morally and spiritually returned to a prim-eval condition. Jeremiah painted a graphic picture of a nation in confusion. And so was it in the days before the flood. But a voice was to be heard, “Let there be Light: and there was light.”

 

The Shekinah glory.

If we had found ourselves standing on the earth, earth covered in darkness, we would suddenly have been blinded by the brilliance of the shekinah glory of God; a magnificent Light radiating out from our Creator, the Creator, Isaiah 40:22 “that sits upon the circle of the earth.”

Genesis 1:3-4 “And God said, let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good:” The Light was a perfect reflection of the Creator’s every thought and every action.

Suddenly, a fantastic, blinding light, more dazzling than the sun, swept across the oceans of water, leaping out to the North, the South, the East, and the West, reaching into the darkest corners of a new world and extending into vast distances of space.

Job 20:13, “And by his Spirit, he has (adorned) the heavens;”

Out of chaos and confusion came the voice of God saying, “Let there be Light.”

The earth is no longer covered in darkness but is now aglow with the presence of the Son of God. His presence was a showing of the Father’s Almightiness, of the Son’s obedience, and the power of the Holy Spirit in creation:

1 John 5:7 for there are three, “the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 

The riddle of the universe, man’s awe and investigations into the possibility of an invisible world, and his desire to know the future, are linked with the problems of chance and fate. These are matters into which the deepest of thinkers entangle themselves, knowing they should be left to an Infinite Being, God.

Thanks to God’s many blessings, the Wisdom of God cries out to us through the Bible with its wonderfully mysterious, and fascinating stories. It begins with the creation, carries us through the centuries, and closes in Paradise. It’s a unique book in that most other books record only the virtues and praiseworthiness of their heroes; then exaggerate their deeds, gallantry, fearlessness, and bravery.

But not so in Scripture! It records the faults as impartially as the virtues of those it portrays. This fact alone furnishes us with strong internal evidence of its divine origin and inspiration. From the human standpoint, every occurrence has been outlined and discussed within the volume of the book and to every living soul made known.

Romans 1:20 Paul wrote, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they (Men) are without excuse.”

God’s Word had been directed at the ancient prophets by the Holy Spirit, declaring the Creators every thought and his every intention. Revealed in visions and dreams; heard with the ear; seen in miracles, signs, and wonders, written with His finger on stone, then recorded with pen and ink by holy men of God. Also revealed is the fantastic story of His creation, His love, grace, and invitation for immortality.

The doctrines of God are fundamental but not all alike important, and all our errors of faith are not alike detrimental to the well-being of our souls. God’s heart reaches out to us with mercy and grace for the saving of our souls. Fundamental doctrines support the entire fabric of the Christian faith and are necessary for salvation. For, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

 

The Garden.

Genesis 2:8 “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

When Adam walked through the garden, he saw the grass adorned with flowers of every variety and color, all in perpetual bloom. Four rivers of cool, clear water meandered along the hills and dales. Fruit trees bent downward by the weight of the fruit as their branches sway in the warm breezes.

Bees and insects of every sort busied themselves among the flowers. Flocks of geese, ducks, and swans flew overhead, and herds of grazing animals played in the fields. Birds filled the groves with their sweet songs, and fish of every sort leaped up from the waters.

Adam was commanded, “to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

Lucifer the archenemy, and accuser of God and man, stands as the force behind Adam’s ruin; Judas’s betrayal of Christ; behind the false witnesses, mock trial, and brutal execution of an innocent man, Jesus of Nazareth. And for the past 2000 years, the devil has been behind the crushing burdens brought upon the Jews and the driving force behind the persecution of Christians. 

The devil is characterized as “the god and prince of this world;” “the prince of darkness;” “The prince of the power of the air;” “Belial;” “The tempter; an adversary, a murder; deceiver, and liar.”

His end will be “in everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Once called Lucifer, alias the light bearer, the morning star, the father of darkness, he who rules over “the children of wrath.” He is the corrupter of nations and kingdoms; he is the Leviathan, so terrifying only God with His mighty sword can approach him. Of the Leviathan it is written in

Isaiah 14:12, he “rules over the children of pride.” John 14:30, he is called “the prince of this world.”

And with the fallen angels, Beelzebub, Belial, and others of the underworld, the hosts of hell have anointed their king. The gates of hell are the place of their counsel, where evil strategizes for supremacy in a broken world.

Isaiah 14:13-14 Lucifer said in his 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.”

And the antichrist will “open his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” And their disciples will “worship the dragon which (will give) power unto the beast: and they (will) worship the beast.” 

 

The Gates of Hell.

The serpent has established his standard of hell, and the scriptures have painted a vivid picture of the full power of this evil. Fallen angels have been reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day,” the days of Jacob’s trouble. And when the day of Jacob’s trouble arrives,

Revelation 9:1-2 the angel of the LORD given the key to the bottomless pit. He will open its gates, and from it, smoke as from a great furnace; and from the smoke will come,

Verse 3, “locusts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

Verse 5, they will not kill, but men “should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he strikes a man.”

Revelation 9:14, and a sixth angel is told, “loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.”

Verse 16-17, “And the number of the army of the horsemen (that came with the four angels) were two hundred thousand thousand (200,000,000 of them):”

“I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.”

Revelation 16:13-14 “and I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world,”

Idolatrous prophets and unclean spirits speak lies in opposition to Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection. Revelation introduces the demons of hell, prepared by God for, “the great day of his wrath.”

 

The serpent’s seductive powers.

The beauty of the serpent with its piercing and seductive eyes, its gentile manner, and its artful way would succeed in seducing the first woman. For it was man alone, made in the image and likeness of God, so the man was the prime objective.

His greatest lie needed to overcome the capstone of the creation, man! He would have to overcome Adam to secure his victory. Adam was neither mortal nor immortal but in a state of testing.

Like Job, the LORD had put a hedge around Adam and Eve and called it the garden of Eden. He blessed the two and gave them a free hand in caring for and protecting His garden.

Genesis 2:20 “And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field.”

Adam’s power of perception and intelligence had to be supernatural and broadened enough to know every creature’s habit and what use each species was when the LORD brought them before him.

So, the questions arise, “For what reason did the LORD allow the serpent to enter the garden? why had he allowed him to tempt the woman and the man? Why had he allowed him to create chaos among the generations to follow?”

Was this to be the ultimate and final test between the Son of God and Lucifer? The test for supremacy for the creation was about to take place.

The serpent enters the garden to challenge Adam and Eve’s trust and love for the LORD. He puts on the robe of an angel of light and promises the woman more than the LORD had blessed them with; he had to promote in them a sense of pride. And so, he said to the woman,

Genesis 3:5 “in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

And so, the woman took of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, “and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Then the LORD said to the serpent, Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; (he) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The “he” speaks of a coming Savior through the line of Seth. His name? Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.

The seduction of man was now complete, the victory belonged to the tempter, and so paradise and the promise of immortality were lost. “So (God) drove out the man” and sent the man and the woman into a world of darkness, chaos, and confusion.

The time of Adam’s eviction fell on the day of the fall equinox on October 23ed 4004 B.C. At that moment, time as we understand it began.

Genesis 3:23-24, and so, “the LORD God sent him (Adam) forth from the garden of Eden, —- so he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

 

Cain is given a Mark.

Could Eve have thought her first born Cain to be the promised seed of Genesis 3:15?

Genesis 4:1, And with great expectation concerning the birth of Cain, she said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” But the promised seed that was to crush the head of the serpent was to come through Adam’s second born, Abel.

Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.”

But Cain would murder his brother Abel, and for his crime, God cursed him, but allowed him to live. Cain protested against the curse, saying, “my punishment is greater than I can bear.” So, to protect him from man-hunters, the LORD “set a mark upon Cain,” saying, “Lest any finding him should kill him,” —- “Vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.”

Question, was this a visible mark the LORD put upon Cain? Let’s compare what Ezekiel and Revelation have to say about the marking of men.

Ezekiel 9:4-6 “The LORD said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark;”

To “set a mark” means exactly that, to set or make a mark upon man’s flesh, a mark visible to the human eye.

Revelation 7:3, God said, “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”  

Revelation 14:1 “a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his father’s name written in their foreheads.” Written” means to commit to writing.

The mark the Lord put on Cain was a protective mark, not that of a murderer. And because of a merciful God, Cain was put under the LORD’S divine protection. 

“And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.” He was now an exile and vagabond in the land of exile.  

 

Seth, Enoch, and Noah.

Eve gave birth to another son, his name, Seth, a child born to serve God. It would be through Seth the promised seed would now come. The descendants of Seth were many until the flood, all having died but one, his name Noah. The others died of natural causes before the crushing waters of heaven destroyed all that was upon the earth, all but Noah and his family.

Two descendants of Seth stood out among the generations before the flood, the first was Enoch, and the second was Noah.

Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God.” Enoch “walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

For Enoch, the gates of heaven were opened, and the light of the glory of God streamed out, bidding him, “come up hither faithful servant!”

Was the translation of Enoch designed to give the angels in heaven a perfect example of a redeemed man? For it was the angels who desired to look into the work of redemption.

Hebrews 1:7 “And of the angels, he (the Father) said, who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Hebrews 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Angels have been appointed ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Yet, until Christ, they could see only in part, and know but in part what God had designed for us.

And so, Enoch, body, soul, and spirit had been taken up into glory, taken to his new home in Paradise. Only now could hosts of heaven form a correct anticipation of what the Redeemer’s kingdom was like, and for all the kindreds and people under heaven, multitudes which no man can number, will be brought before the throne of glory.

John 14:2-3, Jesus said to his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions:” — “and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there you may be also.”

In the days after the flood, the prophet Elijah would also enjoy the same blessing, for he also was caught up in heaven.

Noah, the son of Lamech, was the tenth to descend from Adam. Amidst the general corruption of mankind “Noah found favor in the eyes of God,” — “because he was a just man, and perfect in his generations,”

Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

In Scripture, the narrative concerning the antediluvian world is brief and many points obscure. A mountain of mysteries hangs over the centuries before the flood, and the whole story is never known.

Death came to all: The fifth chapter of Genesis informs us of the number of years men lived before the flood. Men lived hundreds of years, but all came to the same end, “they died.” “The days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.” Seth lived 912 years, “and he died;” Enos lived 905 years, “and he died;” Methuselah 969 Years, “and he died.”

 

Man’s wickedness and sorrow of the Creator.

And because the wickedness of men was great, and “every imagination of the thoughts of (men) heart was only evil continually,” the LORD pronounced judgment on them.

Genesis 6:3, The LORD said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.”

In Genesis 6:6, “It repented the LORD (He was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

It was the Lord Jesus who made man on earth,

Colossians 1:16, speaking of the Lord Jesus, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.”

Hebrews 1:10 “Thou LORD (Jehovah) in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.”

The Son created all that is for the honor and the glory of His Father in heaven. And because man failed the test of faith, the Father was now the offended party. And so, the Son of God “regretted having had made man on the earth.”

And the LORD said, Genesis 6:7, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

So, the story of the creation and its destruction is told in all fullness without the erasure of a single line or change of a single word. The truth is made known by Jehovah, yet across the dark waters of history, the story of creation and fall from grace has been corrupted by the Devil and by the tongues of lying men.

Noah being six hundred years old, the waters of the flooding rain down upon the earth. Noah enters the ark, then the LORD seals the door closed, the year 2348 or 2349 B.C.

The LORD’S timing is His ability to select the precise moment for doing whatever He desires to accomplish, and His desires and accomplishments are always for optimum effect. And so, God’s promise of redemption began; but first, a generation of men had to be accounted for to begin fulfilling his promise.

 

Punishment death.

And now death reigned from Adam to Moses and from Moses to Christ. And because of sin, the joys of infancy, blooming youth, stately manhood, and a glorious old age have been forced to bow to the devil’s dreaded supremacy.

And since the days of the flood, sin has found its way into every home, every dark corner, and abandoned place of the poor; in the palaces of the wealthy and workshops of the noble, the religious, political, and star-studded of all who are celebrated among us.

With its growing population, the pestilence of sin spread through the then-known world, and for the next six thousand years, death turned the earth into one vast graveyard.

Ezekiel 21:26-27 “Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: . . . exalt him that is low and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”

 

The Serpent.

And the serpent found to be, John 8:44, “Both a liar and a murderer from the beginning.”

When Lucifer left his place before the throne of God, he was cursed by the Lord. He was without excuse, having no apology to offer, his sentence began immediately. The true appearance of Lucifer may never be known, but in the material world, his appearance was that of a serpent. Therefore, his sentence is set under the same image.

Genesis 3:14, the LORD said to the serpent, “because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life.”

And before the earth was taken and brought up from out of the waters, Job tells us, the Leviathan made “the deep to boil like a pot and one would think the abyss (the depths of the ocean) to be old. He (Leviathan) beholds all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.”

Genesis 1:9-10, and the LORD said, “let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas.”

Satan now had access to both water and land. The LORD knew he was close by, so he warned Adam of the danger and consequences of disobedience. His warning to Adam can be found in two words, “darkness.” “Darkness was upon the face of the deep; the other evil, as in, “The tree of good and evil.”

“And the LORD planted a garden — and there he put the man whom he had formed.” He “grew every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also amid the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Before the fall, Lucifer desired “to be like God,” but was found to be full of pride, therefore cast out from before God, cast down to a new creation, a new environment called earth. It was then the father of lies found his way into the garden. This evil was determined to destroy the peace and goodness of a perfect creation. It was a moral evil in total disagreement with the actions of the Almighty and His rule over these actions.

 

Tree of knowledge.

God instructed Adam concerning the tree of “good and evil.” Evil was unknown to Adam, but the LORD knew the serpent was in the garden. This dark figure was about to cast his wily shadow across God’s garden, patiently waiting for his opportunity to corrupt the man and woman.

The warning Jehovah gave Adam, Genesis 2:17, “Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Adam’s stay was a period of probation with the promise of reward. This test of obedience would produce either good or evil for all future generations. It is possible, and very analogous to the course of divine foresight and care, to suppose if Adam did sin, his sin would produce its own punishment.

For Adam, this was to be an exercise in obedience. The condition? Adam was to refrain from one particular tree, while all the others he could eat without restraint. Adam knew nothing of the serpent or the effect of evil for disobedience. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Evil was a flaw and cancer in Lucifer. His was a moral evil whose roots took hold in his pride. He thought himself to be like “God,” saying,

Isaiah 14:13 “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:”

After Adam had taken the fruit from his wife and eaten it, “the Lord God said, behold the man is become as one of us, knowing good and evil.”

Question: “who were the LORD’S words addressed to? And what did He mean when He said, “Behold the man is become as one of us?”

In the garden, God’s plan of providence and grace was not to be disturbed by the serpent’s craftiness or the foolishness of Adam. The sarcasm of God was being addressed directly to the serpent. It was the serpent that said, “You shall not surely die.”

The LORD was addressing the serpent as Adam and Eve stood by. They were quickly made aware of and humbled by the LORD’S words to the serpent. His words meant to bring them a sense of guilt for their foolish behavior and to give them an understanding of the sin they had committed and the consequences of their sin. So, in the same way, God drove Lucifer from heaven, He would drive the man from his garden, and the woman followed.

 

Sons of Eve.

“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain,” “And she again conceived and brought forth a brother and called him Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground” as was his father, Adam.

“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

After the death of Abel, “Adam would “beget a son in his own likeness, after his (own) image; and called his name Seth.”

The sons and grandsons of Seth are recorded for us in Scripture. The year of the flood was 2338 B.C., some 1665 years after the fall and eviction of Adam and Eve from paradise.

 

Noah and the Flood.

Genesis 6:13 “And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

But the LORD found one man, Noah: Genesis 6:8 “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

Noah was instructed in the building of an Ark. And to Noah, God said, “with you will I establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your son’s wives, with you.”

And God commanded Noah to bring with him in pairs, male and female, every fowl of the air, cattle of every sort, and every creeping thing of the earth.

The Lord sealed the door of the ark, and the flood came. The mountains and plains shook, spewing out thundering discharges of burning lava. From the many storms sent by God, tornadoes, with driving sheets of rain tore through cities, towns, and villages. The winds blew, and the earth convulsed by the heaving and tossing of mighty waves.

Noah, his family, and a cargo of living creatures rode atop the waves of the storm, bobbing like a cork on a flood of water, a catastrophe that would destroy all remaining flesh upon the earth.

Genesis 7:17 “And the flood was forty days upon the earth;” and “all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.” And the waters rose some 22 feet above the highest mountains.

Genesis 7:24 “And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.” God’s judgment destroyed every man and every living creature that lived on the earth.

After one hundred and fifty days, the waters receded, and Noah stepped from the Ark onto dry ground. And so, Noah and his family stepped from the Ark onto the dry earth. The LORD would now permit Noah to kill animals for food, only with the restriction that they should not eat the blood thereof.

This restraint appears to be laid by the LORD to prevent the shedding of human blood, against which He denounces the following, “Whosoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”

Noah would first build an altar unto the LORD, then offer to him burnt offerings. He would also plant a vineyard; I supposed he remembered the delight and sensation of wine before the days of the flood. He made wine, drank of the wine, and became drunk, a thing that soon after disgraced himself and his family.

Noah had built an altar to the LORD and planted a vineyard for himself, each side by side to the other. And when the devil sees the faithful kneeling in prayer and a vineyard growing in their backyard, he will not battle against the prayer for he knows there will be no victory; but he will encourage men to savor the fruit of his hand. For its written, in 1 Corinthians 6:10 “drunkards — shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

The Noahic Covenant.

When the waters had receded, the LORD made a covenant with Noah. It was an unconditional covenant: no special requirements were given to Noah.

The LORD said to Noah, Genesis 9:11, “Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Verse 12, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:”

Verse 13, “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”
Verse 16, “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”

 

Noah’s three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth.

Genesis 7:13 “In the self-same day entered (into the ark) Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah,”
The story of Noah’s three sons can best be told by quoting Scripture. When the flood had receded,
Genesis 9:20-27 Noah “planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine and became drunk; and he was uncovered within his tent.”

His youngest son Ham, father of the Canaanites, saw the nakedness of his Noah, then told his two brethren who were standing outside the tent.

When they learned what Ham had done, “Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.”

Then, “Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.”
Ham himself was not cursed, but His descendants were. In verse 25, Noah said, “cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brothers.

Noah said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Shem, and Canaan shall be this servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.”

Shem’s genealogy is traced back to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and the Lord Jesus himself: see Luke 3.
“And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.”

 

Noah’s Wrath.

“What was it Ham did to invite Noah’s wrath?” Was it that Ham had seen the nakedness of his father? or was Noah’s son guilty of sodomy? Sodomy is a cursed sin, a sin God hates enough to destroy Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities of the plains, and will also do again in our future. I believe the answer is found in the phrase, what Ham “had done unto him.” The word “done” in Hebrew expresses the idea of performing, executing, or finishing a thing. It is to do anything with or to anyone, good or bad.

Noah’s prophesy against Ham could not be the result of his anger against his son, or Noah would have leveled the curse directly at Him. But the curse related wholly to Ham’s posterity.

Ham’s posterity was to receive the most degrading curses to be, “a servant of servants.” The curse received its first fulfillment in the subjugation of the Canaanites by the children of Abraham, then by Joshua and Solomon.

The Canaanites practiced ritual prostitution, homosexuality, and various orgiastic rites; thus, they were the center of the LORD’S prophecy of judgment. The Canaanites would eventually inhabit the area on both sides of the Jordon, living in tents as they grazed their cattle. And those who lived in walled cities cultivated the land.

They had found displeasure with God, therefore unworthy of the land they possessed. In the days of Moses, they had become incorrigible idolaters; therefore, the LORD commanded the Israelites to destroy their altars, break down their images, cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. And to prevent the Israelites from perverting themselves, they were told never to intermarry with them; but to smite them and utterly destroy them, showing no mercy.
We read of it in the conquest of Ham’s descendants, the Tyrians and Carthaginians, by the Greeks and Romans, both descendants of Japheth. The fate of the people of many African nations, those of the sons of Ham, was thrust into the worst of servitude.

 

Post-era flood.

A few generations after the flood, the lives of men had been reduced from 900 to 200 years of age. The LORD having now avenged himself of a sinful world, reflected on Noah, blessed Noah and his sons saying to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
Noah’s descendants would eventually move eastward, settling in the plains of Shinar by the banks of the Euphrates. Here they determined to build a city and tower reaching into the heavens. In the post-flood era, man fell into a deep, spiritual darkness as multitudes turned to astrology and occultism.

Idolatry was the religion of Nimrod, the son of Cush, who seized by force the land of Arphaxadites in the land of Shinar. The cult of Nimrod would flow down on the nations like a mighty river carrying with it, idolatry and its host of idols. Those who practice idolatry will have made a covenant with death. Contaminated with idolatry were the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, Babylon, and eventually the Israelites.

Not long after Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the Jews adopted the gods of Egypt for themselves. Why? “Because they would develop the same disposition as the Gentile nations toward objects which are visible and external.”

Men desire gods who go before them and gods who dwell among them. Jehovah is everywhere in power and nowhere in appearance, a thing too difficult for the people of Israel to comprehend, even though their history was filled with God’s mighty works.

The worship of idols seems to favor human passions; requiring no morality; with rituals consisting of splendid ceremonies, reveling, dancing, nocturnal assemblies, impure and scandalous mysteries, corrupt priests, and those who claim to be God. But those who worship idols and false gods would become slaves to every sort of evil the imagination of man can conceive.

 

Nimrod.

A universal depravity of human nature had now displayed itself in almost every part of the then-known world, more particularly in the cities of Ur and Nineveh, where idolatry carried to its utmost height.

What were the origins of pagan heroes, mythology, oracles, and high priests? Many would point to the youngest son of Cush, Nimrod. He was said to be, Genesis 10:9, “A mighty hunter before the LORD.”

It would be several hundred years after the flood, 2150 B.C. Nimrod was the founder of the Babylonian empire and builder of the tower of Babel in the land of Shinar on the Euphrates. And as it was in the days before the flood, fewer and fewer of the descendants of Noah held to the things of God.

Genesis 11:1, “The earth was of one language, and of one speech.” The language was Hebrew. On the Mountains of Ararat, the Ark came to rest where the people built a tower reaching up into heaven.

Verse 5-6, “And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men build. And the LORD said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”

And the LORD said, verse 7, “Let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So, the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth:”

Since the dispersion from Babel, hell hosts worked exclusively in Gentile lands. In these places, idolatry flourished.

The beginning of his kingdom was called Babel. Nimrod would invade and conquer Assur, also called Assyria, the land east of the Tigris River. Jonah was commanded; 

Jonah 1:1, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”

After his death, Assyria and Babylon waged war against each other to gain control of the plains of Shinar and the surrounding areas. The Assyrians emerged victorious and took control of the region, dominating the Chaldeans, Medes, and Babylonians.

 

Abram.

The leading design of God’s selection of Abram and his settling in the land of Canaan was to make for himself a distinct and peculiar people.

Exodus 19:5, God said to Moses, “if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.”

The promised land was to be a nation separated from all others by the peculiar institutions which were given to them and passed on to every following generation. The Jews were to be appointed,

1 Corinthians 4:1, “stewards of the mysteries of God.” And to be the receivers of the “oracles of God.”

A descendant of Shem was Tarah, the father of Abram. The city he was from, Ur, which means fire, supposedly received its name from the objects the people of Ur worshipped. The city of Ur had become the chief seat of idolatry and astrology.

Tarah was an idol maker who brought up his son Abram in the same trade. Before Abram knew of the things of God, he must have understood the absurdity of worshipping the idols he made.

Abram would receive a divine call and would “not be disobedient to this heavenly vision;” Instead of being persecuted by his father, Tarah decided to accompany Abram on his journey with other family members. And the LORD said of faithful Abram,

Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

“And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered and the (people) that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan:”

 

Abrahamic Covenant.

Shortly after, God made a covenant with Abram: The covenant was unconditional, then sealed by the LORD. The actions of Abraham could not affect the fulfillment of the covenant. For the LORD himself was the cause, he would supply the means to accomplish it.

The Abrahamic covenant consists of 7 provisions,

Genesis 12:2 “And I (God) will make of you (Abraham) a great nation,”

Abraham is the father of many nations (most of whom are Arabs), primarily his son Ishmael and a lesser extent Zimran, Joshan, Median, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah sons. Genesis 16:3, 25:2.

The promise of the Messiah would find its fulfillment in Israel, from the seed of Abraham through the line of Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons.

The reference in Genesis 12:2 is clearly to one nation, not many. God told Abraham, “I will bless thee, and make thy name great.” This promise of “a great nation,” is drawn from the Scriptures declaring Isaac sole heir. Genesis 17:19-21.

 Genesis 12:2, “I will bless thee,” would be fulfilled in two ways. From a temporal standpoint, God blessed Abraham with abundant wealth and material possessions Genesis 13:14-15-17-18 and Genesis 24:34-35.

He would be blessed spiritually, Genesis 15:6, “And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and (God) counted it to him for righteousness.”

The word ‘believed’ is a verb and is in a tense meaning a continuous past action–, Abraham “kept on believing in the LORD.”

 The third promise found in Genesis 12:2, “And I will …….make your name great.”

Thus, Abraham would be a man of renown. Except for the Lord Jesus, Abraham is undoubtedly the most widely recognized name in the Bible. Today 4000 years later, millions of Christians, Muslims, and Jews around the world honor the name of Abraham.

The Lord told Abraham, in Genesis 12:2, “Thou shalt be a blessing.”

This was not only a prediction but a Divine mandate. God instructs Abraham to be a blessing. The Jews were designated, the “Chosen People,” “a peculiar people.” Implying God would show himself to his people.

God’s promise is still being honored to this day. The meaning never implied they were in any way better spiritually than others.

Acts 10:34-35 “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation (anyone) that fears him, (God) and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

Genesis 12:3, but God did say, “I will bless them that bless thee,”

This declaration established an important principle: any nation that blesses and sustains the Jewish people will flourish under the power of the Lord.

Genesis 12:3, God said, “I will …curse him that curses you.”

God spoke His judgment against nations that came against His people and the land. History bears this out. The sin of anti-Semitism (Jew haters) inevitably brings judgment upon them.

Genesis 12:3 “In you shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

At the age of ninety-nine, “the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

It was here the LORD said to Abram, “I will make my covenant between me and thee,”

 

The land covenant sealed.

In Genesis 16, the LORD revealed to Abram that his seed would first serve in a land that is not theirs, four generations, meaning some four hundred years. And after four hundred and thirty years, Israelites would return from Egypt to the promised land, called the “Exodus.”

The LORD makes a land covenant with Abram:

Verse 18, “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”

The sign of the covenant was to be a physical sign, circumcision:

Genesis 17:7 “the LORD is speaking to Abram, “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you, and to your seed after you.”

Genesis 17:11 “You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token (sign) of the covenant between me and you.”

What was the LORD’s true purpose for circumcision?

Colossians 2:11 “In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” In a physical sense, to distinguish the Jews from the Gentiles.

A land promised to Abraham and his seed for all time: now sealed and one day to be delivered.

The Lord born under the law was to keep and fulfill every point of the law, so He obeyed the law of circumcision.

In Luke 2:21, we read, “when eight days had been completed for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus,” fulfilling that part of the law.

Leviticus 12:3, “in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin (any male child) shall be circumcised.”

His circumcision was a sign of His subjection to the law, the Law which He alone could have accomplished in fulfilling since the fall of Adam. Thus, in the last part of Lukes’s verse, he wrote, “His name was called Jesus,” Jesus, meaning Savior!

Jesus’ circumcision fulfilled and forever sealed God’s promise of a land for Israel.

Genesis 17:7 “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you, and to thy seed after you.”

Whenever you see the words everlasting, eternal, forever, and ever, etc., it concerns the LORD himself; because He is eternal, so also are his covenants eternal.

 

Lot goes to Sodom.

Soon after arriving in the land of Cannon, Abram and Lot would part company, Lot, journeying off to the place called Sodom. They found themselves particularly distressed for want of provisions for their cattle, which most likely arose from the late famine and partly from the number of Canaanites, who possessed the most fertile part of the land.

Genesis 13:10 “Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,”

Soon after Lot left, the LORD again appeared to Abram in a vision and renewed the promise he had made before of enlarging his posterity but also reaffirmed to him the gift of all the land he beheld to him and his descendants.

In the time of the battle of the kings, both Sodom and Gomorrah fell to their enemies, the victors taking Lot and his family away. One of the soldiers of the vanquished army had escaped, then immediately went to Abram, to whom he related the unfortunate fate of his nephew. When Abram heard of this, he armed three hundred and eighteen of his servants and pursued them unto the land of Dan.

Because of the suddenness of Abram’s attack on a weary army, he quickly obtained a complete victory. After defeating them, Abram took Lot, his goods, and the women. On his return home, in the valley of Shaveh near Jerusalem, the first person to congratulate Abram on his victory was Melchizedek, the priest, and king of Salem.

 

Melchizedek.

When Abram and Melchizedek met, the high priest of God blessed Abram. Abram then the priest a tenth of all he had taken in his battle. Abram understood Melchizedek to be the official mediator between God and himself. Nothing is known of the birth or death of Melchizedek, for he was not a priest by birth. His name in Hebrew means “King of Justice.”

Hebrews 7:3 he, “was without father and mother, without (genealogy) having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually.”

In a sense, Paul declares Melchizedek to be a figure of Jesus Christ, “who is a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek;” not according to the order of Aaron, whose origin, consecration, life, and death were well known.

The Levitical priesthood was inferior to the priesthood of Melchizedek because the Levitical priests were replaced because of old age or death.

Hebrews 7:12 “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”

As for the priesthood of Melchizedek, it was sealed by divine appointment; his priesthood was to be inherited by the Lord Jesus Christ, the “Anointed” of the Father. God’s covenant with Abram:

The LORD would then appear to him in a vision, informing him that he had undertaken his defense and would reward his faithfulness, “fear not,” said the LORD, “Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”

Not understanding how these things could be accomplished, without an heir, he would have to leave his substance to his steward, Eliezer. But the LORD assured him it would not be his servant, but a son of his own, and that from him should descend a race as “innumerable as the stars in heaven.”

Abram asked the LORD for a token of some sort whereby he would be assured of so distinguished a blessing, and so the Almighty complied.

Abram commanded to take a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each of three years old, together with a pigeon and a turtle dove, and offer them up as a sacrifice.

Abram obeyed, and having killed the animals, he cut them in half and laid them opposite one to the other, but the fowls he left whole. After doing so, he walked between the bodies, making his solemn vows to God of perpetual obedience to his will; and then sat down to prevent birds of prey from injuring the sacrifice.

At sunset, Abram fell into a deep sleep, during which it was revealed to him by the LORD that he was not to expect an immediate accomplishment of the divine promise. Though he was to die in peace and of old age, his posterity would sojourn and go into servitude in a strange land (Egypt) for four hundred years. After that, the LORD would punish their oppressors, then establish them in the land of promise.

As a ratification of God’s part of the covenant, he caused the symbol of his divine presence to appear before Abram. It consisted of a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, which passed between the divided pieces of the victims, totally consuming them.

 

Abram’s name changed.

Genesis 17:5 “the LORD said to Abram, “Neither shall your name anymore be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you.”

Abram in Hebrew, “high father:” and Abraham, “father of a multitude.”

Genesis 18:1 “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre.”

The LORD and two others appear to Abram in the plains of Mamre. At his camp, he became aware of three men who stood before him, soon to realize the superiority of the one.

In this encounter, the hospitality and courtesy of Abraham are not to be overlooked. He offered the strangers water for washing their feet, rest, and food, inviting them to stay until their hearts were satisfied.

Paul reminds us in, Hebrews 13:2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

At this meeting, Abraham’s wife Sarah is promised a son, and his name is called Isaac, meaning “he laughs.” Also, Sarai changed to Sarah. Sarai means “my princess,” and Sarah is, “princess of a multitude.” 

 

Sodom and its destruction.

Because of the multitude of the sins of the people of Sodom, the LORD foretold of its doom. Abraham attempted to intercede for Sodom but failed. Why? Ten righteous people could not be found in the city and plains.

The two who were with the LORD journeyed to the city of Sodom. When they arrived, the two were welcomed by Lot.

But the depravity of the men of Sodom was great. First, they gathered outside Lot’s house, then called out to Lot to send the two men out from the house to “know them,” meaning to have sexual intercourse with them. It appears the men of Sodom were going to rape the two strangers.

Lot left the safety of his house to meet the men, shutting the door after him. He asked them not to do this evil and was willing to offer these depraved souls his two virgin daughters instead. But their desire for the two was so great they threatened Lot, then attempted to break down the door of his house. The two men remained inside the house opened the door, pulled Lot back inside, then secured the door behind him.

The Sodomites who stood outside the door were instantly blinded, yet continued attempting to break in. Then came the prophecy for their destruction:

The two men said to Lot, Genesis 19:13, “We will destroy this place because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”

As they stood inside the house of Lot, the angels of the LORD said to Lot,

Genesis 19:17 “Escape for your life; look not behind you, neither stay you in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest you be destroyed.” So, Lot took his wife and two daughters, then left for the mountains.

Genesis 19:24-25 “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

When Abraham woke the following morning, “he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.”

We may ask, “did the destruction of the flood in Noah’s days and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah serve as fearful examples of God’s punishment for sin and disobedience to others?”

No! Because men never take any warning seriously for the fall or punishment of others. Crime, when uncovered, is known to all, yet a crime in all its varying shades has grown to proportions unheard of in man’s long list of offenses against God.

The evidence lies in the breakdown in morals worldwide, especially in America. Abortion and homosexuality; are both now accepted as normal activities in almost every part of society; gay marriage has become the law of the land, and in politics and religion, a growing corruption.

Society brainwashed with the idea that life as we know it came about by chance and not by the miraculous powers of God. Lastly, there exists even in our churches, “no fear of God!”

Job 28:28 “And unto man he said, behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

 

Lot leaves Sodom.

 

Lot hurries from the city with his wife and two daughters, ”fleeing to the Zoar. It was then,

Genesis 19:26, “his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Ezekiel 3:19-20, “Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turns not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man does turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him a warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

The overthrow of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah taken as a warning of divine judgment, a punishment no longer feared today. In the following verses, the majestic authority of God is emphasized as it was for Lot. His word portrays the Jews as devastated by war and found to be morally and spiritually corrupt.

And only by the grace and mercy of God has Israel survived to this day to learn the lesson that the desolation they have suffered is a direct result of their moral failures.  

Isaiah 1:9 “Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us (the Jews) a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”

Amos 4:11 “I have overthrown some of you (the Jews), as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have you not returned unto me, said the LORD.”

Prepare to meet the LORD warns the LORD: He will not visit Israel and a large part of the gentile world with salvation, but with inevitable and complete judgment. 

Daughters of Lot: Birth of Moabites and of Ammonites

The powers of darkness would darken the hearts of Lot’s two daughters: Lot with his two daughters traveled up into the mountains thinking the three would not be safe in Zoar. There, the three of them lived for some time in a cave.

There are two possibilities why did the girls conjured up a wicked plot to bring their father to sin. One, they had no knowledge that any of their father’s family or any other connection to the family existed for them to gain a husband. What they did know, their two other sisters with their husbands had perished in Sodom, so, they would have had to marry a man outside of their race, possibly to a Canaanite.

Another possibility is, they may have thought the whole earth had been destroyed. But whatever may have been their reason, the two girls, on two successive nights agreed to make their father drunk with wine, lay with him, thinking to “preserve the linage of their family.

Born to the two daughters were the sons of their father. The first-born was called Moab, meaning, “of his father;” who was the father of the Moabites. Moses went to war with the Moabites but spared them because the LORD had restricted him from destroying them. From that time forward, there has been a great antipathy between the Moabites and the Jews.

The younger daughter would also give birth to a son; she called his name Ben-ammi, meaning, “son of my people,” who is the father of the children of Ammon.”

Deuteronomy 2:19 the LORD speaking to the Israelites said, “And when you come near over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give you the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.”

2 Peter 2:7 tells us God, “delivered just Lot.” Why? because Lot was distressed by the evil around him in Sodom, and reacted as would a righteous man, and so just Lot was delivered from destruction.

 

Ishmael..

 

Ishmael was born in 1910 B.C. to Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant. Hagar conceived a son fathered by Abraham fourteen years before the birth of Isaac.

Sarah long considered Ishmael the heir of her family, so she raised him and continued to treat him with great tenderness. But, on the birth of her son Isaac, she became apprehensive concerning his inheritance, possibly imagining if her husband Abraham had died, Ishmael’s superiority of years would give him the advantage over her son. Excited by these fears, she decided to get rid of Ishmael.

Genesis 20:9 “Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.”

Because Ishmael had been mocking Sarah’s son Isaac, Abraham had Ishmael and Hagar sent into the wilderness.

But by the grace of God, He intervened, promising Hagar,

Genesis 21:18 “I will make him (Ishmael) a great nation.” So, Hagar took her son and found him a wife out of Egypt.

Ishmael was said to be, Genesis 16:12, “a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

Ishmael fathered 12 sons and one daughter. From the twelve came the tribes of the Arab nations. Before the seventh century, many Arabs followed and believed in the true God, Jehovah, but since then, these same tribes embraced the religion of Mahomet, “worshipping a god whom their fathers knew not.”

 

Isaac.

Hebrews 11:11 “Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.”

Isaac was born in the year 1896 B.C. He was the son of promise, a gift from God to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was one hundred years of age when Isaac was born in the city of Gerar. As a youngster, Isaac had become the object of Ishmael’s jealousy and began mocking young Isaac. Sarah had become angry with Ishmael and had Abraham send Ishmael with his mother into the wilderness.

Genesis 21:14 “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.”

When the water was gone, Hagar put her child under some shrubs, then walked away, “Let me not see the death of the child.”

Here, the LORD intervenes, saying to her, “fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand: for I will make him a great nation.”

Ishmael grew up and lived with his mother in the wilderness, having become an archer. Hagar, herself an Egyptian, would take for her son a wife out from the land of Egypt. 

 

The sacrifice of Isaac.

Ishmael was now no more to Abraham; he parted with him by the command of God. Abraham now transferred his affections to Isaac, his only son, a son of the promise given to Abraham and Sarah. But now it appeared the son of promise would fall victim to an unalterable decree of Heaven. It would be a difficult task, a severe trial of faith, but if Abraham’s flesh weakened, his spirit was absolute: God commands – the patriarch obeys.

The LORD said to Abraham, Genesis 22:2, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love and get you into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.” The historian Josephus tells us Isaac was about 25 years of age.

And so, Abraham took two servants with his son and traveled three days up into the mountain in the land of Moriah where the LORD had directed him to go. When they arrived, Abraham was to build an altar, bind his son, then have him lay upon the altar.

Genesis 22:10-12 “Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said Abraham, Abraham: and he said, here am I. And he said, lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now, I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, thine only son from me.”

Abraham turned his eyes from the intended victim and beheld a ram fastened by his horns in a thicket. Abraham immediately went to the ram, slew it with his knife, brought it to the alter he had built, and offered it to the Lord as a burnt offering.

Hebrews 11:17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.”

 

A wife for Isaac.

Abraham was now advanced in years, desiring to see his son married, and settled in the land. And so, he sent his servant Eliezer to Mesopotamia, the place of his birth, and there chose a wife out of his own kindred for his son Isaac.

Abraham assured Eliezer that a heavenly messenger would conduct him to where a wife would be found. And so, Eliezer set out on his journey, taking several servants and camels. The trip was difficult, the roads bad, and they lacked water, but the caravan soon reached Mesopotamia, stopping at Haran, a city belonging to Nabor, Abraham’s brother.

Soon after, Rebecca, the daughter of Behuel came to the well with her pitcher for water. Eliezer approached her and asked humbly for water. Rebecca consented, gave him water, and then went to the well and fetched water for his camels.

Rebecca received gifts and asked to accept them as a token of his esteem for her virtues and a grateful return. When Rebecca returned home, Laban her brother, saw the gifts and immediately went to the well, where he found Eliezer and brought him home. He then ordered proper provisions to be made both for him and those with him.

When her parents agreed to send her off to marry Isaac, Eliezer brought many gifts with him,

Genesis 24:53 “jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.”

Verse 67, And when they returned to Isaac’s place, “Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”

 

Birth of Esau and Jacob.

The birth of Esau and Jacob to Rebekah occurred sometime around the year 1836 B.C.

The LORD said to Rebecca, in Genesis 25:23, “Two nations are in your womb, and two manners of people shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder (Esau) shall serve the younger.”

At the time of David’s reign as king, the prophecy came to pass, the Edomites were brought into subjection.

And Rebecca gave birth to twins, Esau being the first-born, having a red complexion and said to be “hairy all over.” “After that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob:”

But the LORD said to the people of Israel,

Malachi 1:2-3 “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet you say, wherein have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? Said the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated (loved less) Esau,”

There appears to be a sort of contradiction when we read,

Romans 9:11 “For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls; It was said unto her (Rebekah) the elder shall serve the younger.”

Was Paul speaking of the persons of Esau and Jacob? No! He was speaking undeniably of their offspring. Esau’s wives were Canaanites and bitter toward Isaac and Rebekah. Esau fathered the people of Edom, the Edomites, today, modern-day Jordon.

The name Edom was given to Esau when he sold his birthright to Jacob. Genesis 25:30 “Esau asked to be fed, “that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore, was his name called Edom.”

Both king Saul and David fought against the Edomites. They were also Solomon’s greatest enemies and the enemies of king Jehoshaphat. The Edomites would join forces with Nebuchadnezzar when he besieged Jerusalem, taking an active part in the plunder of the city.

Psalms 137:7 “Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, raise it (make it bare), even to the foundation thereof.” We also read about the coming of the Lord Jesus to Edom on the day of judgment.

Isaiah 63:1 “Who is this that comes from Edom,”

Verse 2, “Why are you red (with blood) in your apparel, and your garments like him that treads in the winepress?”

The Lord replies, in Verse 3, “I have trampled the winepress alone; and of the people, there was none with me: for I will tread them in my anger and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my clothes.”

 

Esau sells Birthright.

And when he grew to be a man, Esau became a cunning hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob grew to be mild-mannered, a man who lived in tents. Isaac loved his son, Esau, because he was a cunning hunter. But there came a season when Esau had killed no game for food.

Jacob had been cooking up a stew when Esau came in from the field hungry. He said to his brother, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”

Jacob replied, Genesis 25:33, “Swear to me this day; and he (Esau) sware unto him: and he (Esau) sold his birthright unto Jacob.”

Jacob, in exchange for his brother’s birthright, gave Esau bread and Lentil stew: Esau eat and drink, then rose and went his way. Because Esau was the eldest of the two, he was by law to inherit his father’s birthright. In ancient times, and particularly among the Hebrews, many privileges were annexed to the right of the firstborn.

Exodus 22:29 concerning the law, “the firstborn of your sons shall you give unto me (the LORD).”

It becomes obvious Esau had no respect for his inherited birthright. For one meal, Esau stepped down from what was by law his. Jacob with his mother’s support and a bit of deception would also acquire Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac, one meant for Esau.

 

God’s confirms promise to Isaac.

Malachi 1:2-3, the LORD said, “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? — yet I loved Jacob, and I hated (love less) Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste”

Jacob here refers to the Jewish nation the LORD saw fit to exalt a high national privilege because Jesus was to come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Genesis 26:2-4, The LORD speaks to Isaac and tells him, “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for unto you, and unto your seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham your father; and I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto your seed all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”

Genesis 26:34, “Esau was forty years old when he took to wife two Canaanites, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, the daughter of Eon the Hittite, both strangers to the blessing of Abraham.

Hebrews 11:20, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.”

After the deceit by which Jacob acquired his father’s blessing, Isaac sends Jacob to seek a wife in Padan-aram. Esau would not see Jacob again for the next forty years. Not until he returned from Hebron with his large and prosperous family. 

As the child of the promise, Isaac contrasted with Ishmael in the following verses.

Romans 9:7-10, “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

“That is, they which are the children of the flesh, (speaking of Ishmael) these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise (Isaac) are counted for the seed.”

“For this is the word of the promise, at this time will I (the LORD) come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;”

Galatians 4:28, “Paul is writing to Christians, “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.”

Hebrews 11:18, “Of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called:” 

In the Lord’s discussion with the Sadducees, Isaac’s history carried beyond the point where it left off in the Old Testament and beyond the grave. Jesus said of Isaac,

Genesis 25:29, “And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” At 75 the two brothers buried their father in the cave at Machpelah.

The verse, “Isaac was gathered to his people,” is represented as still living to God, Luke 20:38,” For he (God) is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”

 

Jacob’s name changed.

Before Jacob was to meet Esau his brother, Genesis 32:24, he first helped his wives and children cross over the river, desired to be alone, but soon after a stranger approached him. I am not sure how two strangers would have gotten into a wrestling match, but I suppose if the LORD puts it into a person’s head to do a thing, they will.  

“And there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” And when the stranger “saw that he prevailed not against (Jacob), he struck the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint,” thereby disabling him.

And the stranger cried, “Let me go, for the day breaks.” Was this stranger a weak man? Or was this stranger testing Jacob to see what his response was going to be?

Jacob’s respond was, “I will not let you go, except you bless me.”

Who was this man? was this the appearance of Christ? A miracle of God we call a “Christophany.” This demonstration of power speaks of the visible and bodily manifestation of the Father’s beloved Son, well before his incarnation.

The prophet Hosea seemed to understand who it was when he wrote, Hosea 12:4, “he (Jacob) had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him:”

And so, the stranger asked, what is your name?” Jacob, he replied. It was then the stranger said, Verse 28, “Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power (struggled) with God and with men and have prevailed.” Jacob, “struggled with God,” and so, scriptures answer our questions.

Jacob then asked, “tell me, your name.” the stranger replied, “why is it you have asked after my name?” he then blessed Jacob.

Jacob now had a new and honorable name given to him by God, “Jacob the supplanter,” was now to be called, Israel, “a prince with God.”

Jacob would call the place he wrestled, “Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Let me remind you all, when we read the word “angel” it doesn’t always speak of a spirit creature that flies around the heavens. It has a second meaning, “a messenger of the Father, one who is sent in order to announce, teach, perform or explore.

Before Jesus birth we hear from him in the Old Testament as, “The (definite article) angel of the LORD.” In other words, He is the messenger sent from the Father. “An (indefinite article) angel of the LORD,” may be any of the host of angels.  

This similar meeting with God had also occurred with Manoah and his wife, the parents of Sampson, Judges 13:9. At first, the angel of God sits with Manoah’s wife; she then hurries home to tell her husband. He goes to where the man was and asks him,

Verse 11, “Are you the man that spoke unto the woman? And he said, I am.”

Manoah attempts to detain the man by offering him food, but the man desired him to offer a burnt offering to the LORD. Manoah would ask the man’s name, his reply, verse 18, “Why ask you thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” Secret also meaning “Wonderful.”

The same Hebrew word is found in Isaiah 9:6 when we read concerning the coming of Christ. “And his name shall be called Wonderful.” Secret and Wonderful are the same Hebrew.

His name was both secret and wonderful: Matthew 1:23-25, “they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.” Verse 25, “and he called his name Jesus.”

And so, the stranger that wrestled with Jacob, is the same who walked in the garden with Adam and Eve; who came before Abraham in the plains of Mamre; who appeared to Manoah and his wife and who John saw in heaven receiving the book from “him who sat on the throne.” And so, the one whose name was both secret and wonderful would be revealed, His name, Jesus, the expected one!

 

Isaac and Ishmael, Spiritual Differences.

Romans 6:10-11, “For in that he (Christ) died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What was Paul speaking of concerning the persecutions suffered by Isaac at the hands of Ishmael?

Galatians 4:29, “But as then he that was born after the flesh (Ishmael) persecuted him (Isaac) that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.”

Jacob was the second son born to Isaac when Isaac was fifty-nine years of age. At the age of seventy-eight, Jacob was sent from the family’s home, in order to avoid his brother Esau who had grown to despise him. Esau vowed to slay his brother after his father Isaac’s funeral. When Rebekah heard the threat to her son, Jacob left for Haran where Rebekah’s brother Laban resided.

Genesis 28:1-2, “Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and commanded him, and said unto him, you shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take thee a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.”

 

Jacob and Esau reconciled.

Genesis 33:4, Now, after many years when Esau finally saw his brother Jacob, he, “ran to meet him, and embraced him and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.”

But at first Jacob for fear of Esau’s wrath, begins to bow himself before his brother, but Esau stopped him from doing so. Esau offered to take his brother and his family and those with him, home. But Jacob excuses himself, parts himself with his family from Esau’s company and continues his journey home.

Genesis 35:9, “God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, your name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be your name: and he called his name Israel.”

Verses 11-12, “And God said to him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of you, and kings shall come out of your loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to you will give it, and to your seed after you will I give the land.”

These same words of introduction were spoken to John by the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1?

We read, Revelation 1:8, Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8 is one of many verses that support without doubt, that Jesus is Jehovah; the Savior and Redeemer of man, He is, the LORD God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth. 

 

Who are Israelites?

The LORD renewed his promise of a land for the sons of Jacob, then promise passed to his twelve sons.
“Why did the LORD change Jacob’s name to Israel?” There are several reasons,

The name Israel, and in the context in which it stands, is to be understood as Jacob himself; in other verses, it refers to the people of Israel; or the race of Jacob. It may speak of the kingdom of Israel, depending on the context in which the words Israel or Israelites found. It can also refer to the ten Northern tribes, distinct from the kingdom of Judah, the two Southern tribes.

But there is a fifth reason for this conversation, the most important. It refers to those who are worthy of the name of Israel, those found to be righteous and faithful in the Lord Jesus.

Romans 9:4-7 “Paul is speaking to the Jews concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said,

“Who, are Israelites; to whom pertain the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

Verse 6, “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they (unbelievers) are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:”

Isaac had named his son of promise Jacob: but the LORD changed his name to Israel. If a Jew or Gentile believes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, both shall be called Israelites: the Jew because he is of the seed of Abraham and believes. The Gentile by adoption or the grafting into the family because he also believes. And those who reject Jesus are called sons of Jacob. These will find themselves in the center of “Jacob’s trouble,” in the time of great tribulation.

Those circumcised in their heart are, Romans 9:4, “Israelites; to whom pertain the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises,”
Moses wrote Deuteronomy 30:6, “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.”

But he is not an Israelite who is circumcised outwardly in the flesh but inwardly rejects Jesus finished work of the cross.

 

God changes the names of those he loves.

When the LORD changes a name, it brings his blessings with it.

The woman changed to Eve. The name woman belongs to the female sex: Eve signifies “life.” It was after the expulsion from the garden that Eve conceived her first child.
Abram means “High father:” Abraham, “father of a multitude:”
Sarai, “my princess:” Sarah, “princess of the multitude:”
Jacob, “that supplants.” Israel, he “who prevails with God:”
Simeon, “that hears:” Peter, “a rock or stone:”
Saul, “demanded:” Paul, “small or little.”
Jehovah, “He shall cause to praise:” Jesus, “Savior:”

 

Jacob’s twelve sons.

Hebrews 11:21 “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”

Jacob would first marry Leah, Laban’s daughter. Laban tricked Jacob into this marriage with Leah. Leah then conceives four sons for Jacob; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Jacob then married Rachel, his true love. Rachel remained barren, causing Jacob to grow angry with her. Rachel quieted his anger by giving Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah. Bilhah would conceive a son, calling him Dan. She gave birth to a second son, calling him Naphtali. Yet, Rachel remained without a child. Leah would give her maid Zilpah to her husband. Zilpah conceived two sons, Gad and Asher. Leah conceived a fifth and sixth son for Jacob, naming them Issachar and Zebulun.

The LORD would then remember Rachel; it was then she conceived, bearing a son whose name she called Joseph. Rachel would also give birth to a second son calling his name, Benjamin. And so, twelve sons were fathered by Jacob, who begat the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph had married an Egyptian woman who gave birth to two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh; both received a blessing from Jacob.

Genesis 48:14 “Israel (Jacob) stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly; for Manasseh was the first-born.”

Because Manasseh was the eldest, Israel’s blessing and his right hand should have been on his head. So, through the ages, we have the same occurrence, the younger receiving God’s blessing that by law, belonged to the eldest. Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Abraham before Nahor and Haran; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau; Judah and Joseph preferred above Reuben; Moses before Aaron, and both David and Solomon received the blessing belonging by law to their elder brothers.

Verse 19, “Ephraim shall be greater than he (Manasseh), and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.”

Verse 20, “And he (Jacob) blessed them that day, saying, in thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.”

From Ephraim, both Joshua and Jeroboam came. The tribe of Manasseh had divided, one half living on one side of Jordan, the other on the other side, thus making it less powerful.

Verse 21, “And Israel said unto Joseph, behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” Joseph would die in Egypt, his last wishes fulfilled,

Joshua 24:32 “the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.”
Jacob prophesies concerning the future of his sons:

As Jacob neared death, his prophetic words would refer not so much to the twelve sons but to the twelve tribes themselves.

Genesis 49:1 “Jacob called unto his sons, and said, gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.”

He demanded their attention so that they would hear what he had to say.
Concerning Ruben, he sinned with his father’s wife, thus forfeiting the prerogative of the firstborn. Therefore no one in his line would ever become a judge, prophet, or king.

Concerning Simeon and Levi, both passionate, revengeful, fierce, and uncontrollable; so, Jacob protested, “Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it, was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”
Concerning Judah, his name signifies praise; in allusion to what Jacob said, “thou are he whom your brethren shall praise;” the name Judah was given to the Southern portion of the promised land. Jacob was a “lawgiver,” the great-grandfather of David, and from David, Messiah sprang forth.

Judah, “A lion’s whelp:” had little power but grew victorious against his enemies, not for the sake of war, but for peace. Then in his later years, he was compared to, “an old lion,” one who was Quiet and calm, “who shall rouse him up?”
“Until Shiloh come,” Shiloh refers to the coming of Christ: He will be, John 17:3 “the sent;” Isaiah 11:1 “the seed;” Ephesians 2:14 “the peaceable or prosperous one;” Isaiah 11:10 “the Messiah.”

Genesis 49:10 “The scepter (the scepter is the symbol of kingship) shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

Concerning Zebulun, his sons would have their land by the seacoast, becoming merchants, mariners, and traders at sea. Issachar was strong, industrious, and inclined to labor. Concerning Dan, he “should judge his people,” and have success against his enemies. Concerning Gad, he will be a warlike tribe; men fit for battle. His tribe would be on the other side of Jordan, exposing it to, the Moabites and Ammonites. Asher was blessed; his allotment was to be the seacoast, a land fertile, producing the finest corn and oil in the land. Concerning Naphtali, his tribe would be located in a fertile and peaceable land, having the richest of pastures.

 

Joseph.

Genesis 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Joseph’s blessing interpreted: The tribe of Joseph increased, but in his youth, was attacked by envy, revenge, temptation, and ingratitude by his brothers. Yet by the grace of God, he would triumph over all opposition, so much so he would be the sustainer of Israel. Joseph blessed his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, whose history bears this out.

Concerning Benjamin, the youngest, his tribe “shall be as a ravenous wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.”

Thus, the Benjaminites became a warlike tribe, strong and daring, enriched themselves with the spoils of war, therefore, feared by their neighbors.

Genesis 49:33 “And when Jacob had made an end of prophesying to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost,”

Joseph son of Jacob and Rachel. When Rachel passed away, Joseph was a young lad that drew close to his father. The lad attracted the attention of his father because of his extraordinary genius. As a token, Jacob made a coat of many colors for him.

Naturally, this raised the envy of his brothers; besides, for some time considered him a spy because he had told his father of some indiscretions committed by the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. From these circumstances, the brothers treated Joseph with contempt, withholding courtesy from him, and made it their purpose to perplex and torment him.

Joseph had innocently related to his brothers the two dreams he had, the explanation of which seemed to warn them of his future greatness. The first dream was, “as he was binding sheaves with his brothers in the field, his sheaf arose and stood upright, while their sheaves round about fell, and, as it were, made obeisance to his.”

The brothers considered this an indication of his pride and ambition, so their intention of harming him increased, but more so when they heard the nature of the second dream. “Behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” When Joseph revealed his dream, Jacob was present and then reprimanded him, “Shall I and thy brethren come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” These words Jacob may have spoken to appease the anger of the other eleven sons.

But they became even more hateful of Joseph, resolving to cut him off, now waiting for a convenient opportunity to cut him off. The day came when Joseph was sent to his brothers to see how they were doing with the flock. As Joseph approached, they said,

Verse 20, “let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast has devoured him: and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

But Reuben stepped in, saying to his brothers,

Verse 22, “shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.”

And so, when the lad came, they stripped him of his coat of many colors and cast him into a pit. As they sat down to eat, they saw a company of Ishmaelites coming their way. Now they would agree to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. After the transaction, the Ishmaelites continued their journey, taking Joseph.

The brothers took his coat, killed a lamb of the goats, then dipped it in the blood. When they returned home, they presented it to their father. When Jacob saw the coat covered with blood, he said, “a wild beast has devoured him.”

And so, Joseph was sold into slavery, then brought to Egypt. As the years passed, his life was a roller-coaster ride; he did well in the house of Potiphar, captain of the guard. But his wife would make sexual advances toward Joseph, but Joseph ran from the house. Potiphar’s wife would lie to her husband concerning his conduct having him thrown in jail.

But the LORD had a grander design for his future. When he entered what appeared to be his doom, he accepted the full consequences of his life, knowing God was yet with him. He was first sold as a slave by the vindictiveness of his brothers, then thrown into a pit; sold into slavery; accused falsely of a crime by the wife of Potiphar, then thrown into prison.

So, what did Joseph do? He meets his situation with a spirit that grew increasingly intelligent, self-critical, steadfast, and determined. Looking back at his darkest hours, he understood his situation not by the hands of men but by the hand and will of God. The LORD was with him, showing him mercy in every crisis, thus preparing him for a far grander and more prosperous future.

In prison, Joseph was gifted by God, giving him the skill to interpret dreams. This gift would lead him to the throne of Pharaoh. Then the LORD gave Pharaoh his dream that no man in his court could interpret. When Pharaoh heard of the gift Joseph possessed, he called for him.

Joseph tells the king, it is not I, “God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” Joseph interpreted the dream and then richly rewarded. In one mighty leap, Joseph came from the prison to the throne of Pharaoh, then made second in command of Egypt.

Genesis 41:40, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “You shall be over my house, and according unto your word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, see, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh took the ring from his finger and put it on his finger. He then arrayed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck, and he made him ride in the second chariot he had; and they cried before him, “Bow the knee:” and made Joseph ruler over all the land of Egypt.

He said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without (your consent) no man lifts upon his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

Joseph’s new Egyptian name, “Zaphnath-plane; means “one who discovers hidden things.” His wife was the daughter of the Potipherah, a priest of the city of On. The city is in Heliopolis, seven miles northeast of Cairo, and is the center of worship for the sun-go Re.

 

Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt.

There was a great famine in Israel, but plenty of food in Egypt, so Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to purchase corn in Egypt, but not Benjamin, his youngest. When the brothers arrived, they went before Joseph, who immediately recognized them, “but they know him not.”

Joseph remembered his dreams as a young lad and presented himself as a stranger when they came before him. The whole story of the treatment of his brothers is graphically told in Genesis and is so familiar that it seems unnecessary to repeat it here.

After some time passed, he revealed his adventures first to his brothers and then to Jacob. And so, the family packed up all they had and journeyed to Egypt. It was here in Egypt Jacob gave Joseph a portion above his other sons, including the parcel of ground at Shechem, the future place of burial. Jacob was one hundred and forty-seven years when he died, the last seventeen of which he lived in Egypt.

Joseph lived fifty-four years after his father’s death. Nothing further is mentioned in the record except the following: namely, he lived to see himself as grandfather to numerous offspring by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, even to the third generation.

In his old age, knowing his death was approaching, he sent for his brothers, and, with the same prophetic spirit that his father had, he told them that God, according to his promise, would not fail to bring their posterity out of Egypt into the land of Canaan. He also made them swear that when it was time to return to their land, they should not forget to carry his remains with them, that he is buried in the place of his ancestors.

Joseph lived to the age of one hundred and ten. In compliance with the injunction, his brothers had the body immediately embalmed, put into a coffin, and carefully secured till the time should come when the LORD’S promise has come for them to leave Egypt, then return and possess the land of Canaan.

John 4:5, “Then came he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.”

In whatever light one may consider Joseph, this man of God was amiable and excellent in character, worthy of imitation and applause. He is spoken of in the scriptures with the highest of honors as a person, greatly in God’s favor and protected wherever he went. Even amid all the corruptions of an idolatrous court and kingdom, Joseph proved his faith, so much that even the strongest temptations could not subdue him. 

The happiness the Jews enjoyed under Joseph’s protection would soon be interrupted after his death. A new king was to sit on the throne in Egypt. The new king beheld not only prosperity but also the increase of the Israelites. Fear overcame him; he began to think if Egypt was invaded the Israelites might take part with his enemies, thereby stripping him of his place on the throne.

He felt it necessary to take measures to lessen their power and their numbers. To accomplish this measure, Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the Hebrew boys born in the land.

Exodus 1:2 “Pharaoh commanded all the people, saying, every son that is born to you (the Jews) shall be cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”

Moses was a fine-looking child at birth: His mother, not wanting the child killed, placed him in a waterproof basket made of reeds, then laid him in a bed of reeds. He was now committed to the Providence of God. By the grace of God, Pharaoh’s daughter happened to be walking along the river when she saw the reed basket. She stooped, opened it, and saw the child. She immediately fell in love with him, hiding him from her father.

She had her sister call for a Hebrew woman. Again by the will of God, the woman called was the mother of Moses. She commanded her to nurse the child she loved greatly because it was her own.

Moses continued to live in Pharaoh’s court until he came of age, then he resolved to leave the court and associate himself with his persecuted brethren, the Israelites. Moses observed the affliction, and cruel manner in which the Jews were treated by merciless taskmasters and so, greatly angered. 

 

Moses flees Egypt.

Moses, one day walked among the Jews watching as they worked. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew; went over to the Egyptian, killed him, then hide his body. The following day he walked out and met with two Hebrew men quarreling among themselves. Moses attempted to encourage them not to fight, for they were brothers. But the aggressor of the two, instead of listening to Moses’ advice, treated it with contempt. He upbraided him with having been guilty of murder when killing the Egyptian.

When Pharaoh heard of this, he sought to slay Moses. Moses fled Egypt and walked to the land of Midian in the Sinai wilderness, a beautiful and fertile country situated to the east of the red sea. Instead of a Scepter in his hand, he would shepherd sheep with a crooked staff.

When Moses entered the plains of Midian, he reached the spot of a well. Being fatigued, he stopped to quench his thirst. But soon to arrive at the well were the seven daughters of Jethro.

As they drew water, some brow-beating shepherds went before the girls resolving to serve themselves before the girls. They seized the water the girls had drawn, and in so doing, frightened them.

As Moses stood by, he saw what had just occurred, so he intervened on the girl’s behalf, forcing the men to draw more water for the girls, and then told them to water Jethro’s flocks. Of course, the young ladies with much joy went home and told their father of the incident.

Jethro had expressed great surprise at the quickness his daughters returned home. They informed their father that they had met a stranger at the well, who assisted them and also, protected them from the bullies.

Jethro disapproved of his daughter’s ingratitude and discourteous behavior for not inviting the stranger to their home. He asked them, “What has become of the stranger?” They said, “We left him at the well.” Jethro ordered them to return and to invite him to their home.

Moses was so well pleased with the reception he had received that after a short time, he expressed his willingness to stay with Jethro and become his shepherd. Pleased with Moses, he would give him his daughter Zipporah in marriage.

By Zipporah, he had two sons, the eldest called Gershom, which signifies a “stranger.” The younger he called Eliezer, “God is my help,” grateful that the LORD had delivered him from the hands of Pharaoh.

Several years after Moses had left Egypt, the king of Egypt, who sat on the throne when Moses left Egypt, had died; but for the Israelites, there still was no peace for them in the land.

The new king was no less a tyrant than the latter, and the misery of the Jews increased. At length, their complaints reached heaven; the LORD God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so He now looked upon the Israelites with an eye of compassion. In his secret providence, the LORD was about to make Moses the instrument of the Jew’s deliverance.

We all know the story of the angel of the Lord appearing in Moses in a burning bush. As Moses approached, the LORD called out to Moses from the bush, forbidding him from coming any closer. And to make him even more sensible of the sacredness of the place he stood, he commanded Moses to remove his sandals because the ground he stood on was holy ground.

The voice from the bush said to Moses, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses immediately fell to the ground and covered his face, unable to sustain the brilliance of God’s divine presence.

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

“I have seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt,” — because of their taskmaster:”

“I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Back up a few centuries; it was 1491 B.C. when the LORD spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

Four hundred years earlier, in 1891 B.C., the LORD had made a covenant with Abraham concerning the land covenant. The timeline of the LORD was ready to be fulfilled. We read in,

Genesis 15:13, “Know of a surety that they seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;”

Moreover, God said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

He tells Moses he is to go to Pharaoh and bring the people out. Moses would question God, “Why me? Who am I?” you know I have a speech impediment.

Eventually, Moses is convinced to leave, but not convinced he is the right man for the job. The LORD gave Moses a staff and told them to cast it to the ground, and when he did, it became a serpent;” and when he picked it up by the tail, it became a rod once more. Moses told to bring his brother Aaron with him into Egypt. Why Aaron? Aaron was a far better communicator than Moses.

 

Moses returns to Egypt.

Moses took his brother, wife, and sons and began his long journey back to the land of Egypt, and commanded to return to a land from which he had once fled. Now a series of events was about to take place that would change the course of history.

The LORD had instructed Moses well, telling him, “See that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand.”

The brothers joined in the same commission would begin their epic journey. Immediately on their arrival in Egypt, they called an assembly of the elders of Israel, to whom Aaron declared the message that the Lord God had sent by Moses, while Moses confirmed the truth of the mission.

A few days later, the Pharaoh received the two in his court. Having gained admission to the king, they requested that he permit the Israelites to go three days into the wilderness to perform a solemn service to the Lord their God, but Pharaoh refused.

The king replied, “Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”

He reprimanded Moses and Aaron for going among the people and interrupting them in their labor; then charged the taskmasters not to allow them any more straw, yet to exact the same tale of bricks from them, there would be no reduction in bricks.

And the power of God set before the king, but each succession of plagues only hardened his heart. But the LORD had resolved to make use of a more forcible scourge on the king and the Egyptian people.
After the last plague, the Almighty commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand toward heaven, that there might be a universal darkness, such as never known throughout the land. And so, darkness covered the land. Nature seemed to be involved in the dreadful eclipse: the sun no longer shined on the earth; the moon, with the stars, no longer illuminated the sky. Yet Pharaoh remained obstinate.

Moses instructed his people that every family of the Jews, on the tenth day of the month, take a lamb, or kid, shut it up till the fourteenth day, then kill it. The animal was to be a male, not above a year old, and without blemish. The blood of the sacrificial lamb was to be caught in a vessel, and with a bunch of hyssops dipped in the blood, then sprinkled on the side posts of the outer door, after which no one was to leave the house until the following morning.

That night the destroying angel went forth in pestilence and smote all the firstborns of Egypt. Exodus 12:29, “From the firstborn of Pharaoh, that sat on his throne, to the first-born of the captive that lay in the dungeons; and all the firstborn of the cattle.”

The effect was what Moses had foretold. The king, his nobles, and the people rose in sorrow from their beds that night. The shrieks of the living, and groans of those about to die, broke upon the quiet of the night. And Pharaoh himself was filled with horror. Without truly repenting, he bitterly lamented the effects of the death of his son. And so, a message was sent to Moses, “Get you forth from among my people, both you and the children of Israel; and go and serve the Lord as you said; take also your flocks and herds, and begone; and bless me also.”

And the people were also urgent in their request to send them away. For they said, “We are all dead men.” And they gave to the Israelites “Jewels of gold and jewels of silver,” with rich clothing from the Egyptians, this on the principle that “all that a man hath he will give for his life,”

It is estimated “About six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.” The whole population of Jews who left is estimated to have been about two and one-half million men, women, and children. And so, the journey of the Exodus from Egypt began.
The Lord God sent ten plagues upon the people of Egypt, the last caused the Egyptian people and Pharaoh to release the Jews from bondage. The last plague would be the death of all Egyptian’s firstborn.

Then the Jews were ordered to return to their homes and instructed by the LORD to do the following.
Exodus 12: 3-4-5, “In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, — a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year: and take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:”

They were to keep it for 14 days, kill it in the evening, take its blood and strike it on the two side posts and the upper door post. They were then to roast the flesh and eat it in the evening.

The Israelites were also told, Exodus 12:22 “You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.”

Exodus 12:29 “And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle.”

When Pharaoh rose in the morning, he heard a cry in all the land, in every house lay the dead. It was at this time he gave the command to release the Hebrews. The people of Egypt gave them food, water, silver, gold, and clothes, and in so doing, the Egyptians were plundered by those they had once enslaved. Pharaoh released the Jews, then sent them on their way. Moses would also take with him the bones of the patriarch Joseph, fulfilling his last wish to have his bones returned to the promised land.

 

Israels Long Journey Home.

And the LORD commanded the Jews to sanctify (set apart) unto him all the firstborn because he had spared them in Egypt. Also, the feast of unleavened bread is to be celebrated for seven days and then passed on to the next generations.

Both Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread represented Israel’s deliverance from bondage. The Feast of Unleavened Bread took place the day after Passover and lasted seven days. Similar to the Passover, a feast of commemoration, causing the Israelites to remember their deliverance from Egypt. Leaven bread was purged from their midst and sacrificed daily to the Lord. Removal of the leaven (or yeast) represented Israel’s separation from the Egyptians and the world.

 

The Israelites would journey by way of the red sea.

Exodus 13:21, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, and lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light;”

Moses is warned by the LORD concerning Pharaoh’s plans to pursue them into the wilderness, knowing they would be trapped having their back to the sea. And with 600 chariots, the Egyptians pursued the Hebrews into the wilderness. And when fear set in, they said to Moses,

Exodus 14:12 “Is not this the word that we did tell you in Egypt, saying, let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Moses again encourages the people, telling them the LORD would send his angel to stand between the Hebrews and the Egyptians in a pillar of the cloud.

“It was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but a light by night to the Jews: preventing the Egyptians from coming near to the place the Jews had been camped.”

Now trapped by the Egyptian army and the waters of the red sea, Exodus 14:21-22, Moses stretches his hand over the water, and by a strong east wind all that night, the waters separated, causing the land to dry out. The Israelites crossed safely, but when,

Verse 23-24, “the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all his horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked into the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and troubled the host of the Egyptians.”

Verse 27, Moses is told to “Stretch out your hand over the sea,” and when he did, “the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.”

 

Forty years in the wilderness.

The Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, led by a cloud and pillar of fire. The people were given manna from heaven and drank from a stream that flowed from a rock Moses had struck. News of these miraculous events spread to distant lands, and messengers came from remote nations, such as Hobab, the prince of the Midian, who came to see and learn more perfectly the marvelous works of Yahweh.

Because of their constant complaining, murmuring, and lack of faith in the LORD and Moses, it would be a forty-year journey before the following generation reached the promised land.

On their journey home, Moses was given instructions on the law on the construction of the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the golden candlestick, the tabernacle, the altar to burnt offerings, the court of the tabernacle, the garments of the priests, the consecration of Aaron and his sons, the priest breastplate, altar of incense, the Laver, as were other commands given.

 

The people filled with pride.

Knowing they did not have it within themselves to please God apart from grace; in their pride the people said,
Exodus 19:8 “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.”

And the people were hopelessly trapped between the wilderness and their pride. Those who believe in spiritual superiority, are self-righteous, and legalistic, will continue to walk a wayward path, stumbling upon the,

1 Peter 2:8 “stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient:”
For He (Jesus) is a trap stick upon which bait is attached. When anything strikes against it, the trap is sprung. It is a snare and used as a metaphor in the N.T. in a moral sense, an offense against God.

Salvation by grace alone was/is a radical concept for the Jews and Gentiles. Sinai greatly illustrates the futility of men attempting to conform to the Lord’s righteous requirements through personal efforts. From Joseph to Moses, the Egyptian conduct towards the Jews while in captivity and their overthrow resulted in the eventual deliverance of the Israelites from bondage, the former being necessary for the accomplishment of the latter. Here we are given a wonderful example of God’s righteous judgments. We find another perfect example of this in the book of Esther, something we will cover later.

These things do not happen by accident or by chance; neither do they spring up from the ground but occur under the wise and superintending hand of God’s providence. And these things will continue until universal rights, obligations, and respect are regarded worldwide in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus.

Daniel wrote concerning this matter: he wrote when there is “an end of sins,” and (when) the people have “made reconciliation for (their) iniquity,” and (when) “everlasting righteousness” (has been brought in, and when the) “most holy” has been anointed.

 

The law.

The law of God can enlighten and enrich, but to those who are weak in spirit and doubled minded, it will entangle and hold them accountable.

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Before Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets of stone, the people had already violated five of the ten commandments. The law Moses brought with him was never intended to be a permanent cure for achieving righteousness for the Hebrews. Both the Old and New Testaments reveal the ceremonial sacrifices of bulls and goats as a temporary fix, never meant to remove sin. Therefore, it was to be acted out from year to year by the high priest until the coming of the Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” The law intended to be a schoolmaster.

Before the LORD had met Moses on Mt. Sinai, He dealt with the Jews according to His grace, grace apart from any works or virtues of the people. Our Lord was as a mother eagle carrying for her young.
Exodus 19:4 “Ye (the Jews) have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.”

Jehovah offered a legal agreement with His people. In this agreement, the people were to satisfy God’s righteous requirements. Unlike the Abrahamic covenant, this agreement had conditions attached. Now we can take a closer look.

Exodus 19:5-6 “Now therefore, IF, you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you (the Jews) shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”

Note the conjunction “If.” If signifies the conditional nature of the contract between God, Moses, and the people. “If they would obey God’s voice, If, they would keep his covenant.”

Sad to say, they were never able to keep the agreement for any period. And because of their grievous sins of idolatry, God’s blessings, mercy, and righteousness were given to others, namely, the Gentiles who make up a larger part of the Christian community.

The Palestinian Covenant is different from the Mosaic Covenant. Moses spoke of Israel’s disobedience and the future scattering of the people throughout the earth. This displacement of the Jews from their homeland is called the “Diaspora, or Dispersion.” Their dispersion was not a one-time event but progressive, taking place over hundreds of years.

Centuries after the Exodus, the ten Northern tribes and the two Southern tribes were invaded, first by the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, and Arabs. From invasion to invasion, the people fled their homeland, seeking refuge in Gentile nations. Their permanent return was a promise made to them by the LORD, having officially begun in May of 1948. But the first serious attempt to reclaim the land began in 1881 when certain Jewish immigrants started to return to Palestine. From that time forward, successive waves returned. It was from Nazi Germany and before World War 2 that the Jews began to run for their lives to Palestine. By 1946, the population had grown to over 650,000.

 

The Palestinian Covenant in Deuteronomy 30:1-10: Verses 5 through 10 give us an outline of several of its provisions.

“And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.”

“And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.”

“And the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies, and on them that hate you, and persecuted you.”

“And you shall return and obey the voice of the LORD and do all his commandments which I command you this day.”

“And the LORD your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of you land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers.”

“If you shall hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn unto the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.”

 

The Golden Calf.

Exodus 32:1 “When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down out of the mountain, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said to him, make us gods, which shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man that brought up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.”

And from the golden earrings the women wore, Aaron fashioned a calf of gold, then build an altar before it, proclaiming, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” In the morning, the people offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the altar that stood before the Golden Calf.

Moses is told before he returns, “The people have corrupted themselves.” He said, Moses, “Behold these people are stiff-necked people: let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may destroy them: and I will make of you a great nation.”

Moses reminds the LORD of his promise to multiply these people and to give to them the land He had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so, the LORD in all his mercy forgave the people of their idolatry. When Moses arrived in the camp and saw the calf and the people dancing, he broke the tables of stone.

Moses spoke with Aaron his brother, and when he saw the people were naked.

Exodus 32:26-27, He “stood in the gate of the camp, and said, who is on the LORD’S side? Let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”

Moses then said to the Levites, “thus said the LORD God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.”

Moses would return to the LORD where he is told, “Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto you: behold, my angel shall go before you:”

It was then the work began on the framing of the tabernacle. It was to be made of curtains embroidered and coupled together. The furnishings of the tabernacle; the ark of the covenant; the mercy seat; two cherubim of gold; a table overlayed with gold; vessels made for the table; a candlestick of pure gold, having six branches going out of the sides, a shaft having six branches, knobs, and flowers, all having their pattern in heaven.

Aaron was to minister unto God in the Priest’s office when completed.

Exodus 40:34 “then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent, because the cloud abode thereon,”

Verse 36, “And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not.”

Miracles follow Israelites:

Numberers 20:4-5 the people complained to Moses concerning a lack of water, saying, “Why have you brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place?”

Then Moses and Aaron went to the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.” The Lord told Moses to take his rod and gather the people. Now Aaron and Moses were to speak to the rock, and it would bring forth water.

Numbers 20:9 “Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he was commanded,” he gathered the congregation before the rock, then the LORD commanded him to strike the rock once. But Moses would “Lift his hand, and with his rod he struck it twice: and water came out from it and the people drank from it.”

And because Moses disobeyed the word of the LORD, by having struck the rock twice, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

Numbers 20:12, “Because you believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” Moses had betrayed not the power but the will of God to gratify the people.

Again, the people became impatient, complaining to Moses about the difficulty of the journey. And so, in His righteous judgment, the Lord sends them venomous serpents, putting many to death. When the people seek Moses’s help, he prays. He would make a brass representation of the Serpent, and then fasten it to a pole. Now anyone who turned himself toward the Serpent would not be healed by what they saw but by the Lord and Savior of us all.

The people’s pride was against the LORD and Moses, so the LORD humbled them, subjecting them to humiliation and shame. And like the Serpent that was lifted on the pole, also was our Savior lifted upon the cross, “that whosoever believes in him should not perish” by the sting of sin.

 

Death of Moses.

Moses receives from the LORD a summons to prepare to die. The age of Moses, at his death, was 120 years. His life was divided into three equal periods. He spent forty years in the court of Pharaoh, forty years in the land of Moab, and forty years in the wilderness. In all his years, neither his work, his sight nor his strength failed him: but died according to the word of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 34:1 “Moses went up from the plains of Moab, unto the mountain of Nebo,” — “the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan.”

Verse 4, “the LORD said unto him this is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto your seed:”

And so Moses died according to the word of the LORD. The splendor and sorrow that follow great men like Moses to the tomb may be a gentle warning to some but would only be lost to them. In the case of Moses, there is an important reason for the omission of any pomp and ceremony, of sorrow or joy at his death. For such was the bowing down and worshiping of idols of the Israelites, that there can be no room for doubt, that those who slighted Moses’ authority and disobeyed his laws, would have been the first to idolize him. For this reason, the LORD buried him in a valley unknown to man; and “no man knows of his sepulcher unto this day;”  

Verse 5. So, “Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab. The LORD buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor.

 

Joshua.

At birth, Joshua was given the name Oshea but was given another name by Moses, Jehoshea. He was born the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim. Oshea grew up as a slave in the brickfields of Egypt. Born about the time Moses fled into Midian. He is first spoken of in connection with the fight against Amalek at Rephidim, Exodus 17:9.

At first, Joshua is called Oshea. It means, “God is Salvation or God saves.” His name is then changed to Jeh-oshua meaning the “LORD is salvation”, or “the Savior.” In the O.T., he is called Joshua. In the new, it is one of the titles of the Lord Jesus, which means “Savior!” From Joshua to Samuel, a period of, four hundred and seventy-four years passed.

Deuteronomy 31:14 “The LORD said to Moses, behold, your days approach that you must die: call Joshua and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation that I may give him a commission.”

Forty years of wandering in the wilderness were almost over, Joshua being one of the few survivors who had come out of Egypt. A most interesting section of the chapter is the injunction laid on Joshua to study the law of God for his instruction and direction.

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night,”

He was one of the twelve sent to explore the land of Canaan, and one of the two, Caleb being the other, to give an encouraging report of their journey.

He took command of the Israelites at Shittim, sent spies into Jericho, crossed the Jordan into the promised land, fortified a camp at Gilgal, circumcised the people, kept the Passover, and was visited by the captain of the Lord’s Host, who is, the Son of God.

Joshua 5:13-14-15, When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted his eyes and saw a man standing opposite him; he walked up to the man and asked him, “Are you for us, or our adversaries?”

The man replied, “Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship and said unto him, what say my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose your shoe from off your foot; for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.”

The Lord himself had appeared to Joshua in an angelic form to give him encouragement and direction in the siege of Jericho. Jericho was a fortress city; with walls, so thick houses were on its top. It lay by the river Jordan where the Israelites crossed. It would take a miracle to bring the city down, and by the direction and the hand of God, down it came.

Joshua would go on to defeat the city of Ai and the Amorites. When he returned to Gilgal, he had taken half of Palestine. He would go on to defeat the Canaanites, the Anakim, the old horror of Israel, and another six tribes in the plains of Lebanon would fall before his forces.

He was now getting on in age and proceeded with Eleazar, priest of the Levites, and the heads of the tribes to complete the division of the conquered land. The Tabernacle of the congregation was established at Shiloh; six cities of refuge were appointed, and forty-eight others assigned to the Levites.

Before his death, Joshua brought together an assembly from all of Israel. He reminded them of the fulfillment of the LORD’S promises to their fathers and warned them of conditions on which their prosperity depended; lastly, he caused the people to renew their covenant with the LORD. His generation never suffered idolatry to become predominant, but still, the Israelites were very negligent concerning the expulsion of the Canaanites. He died at the old age of one hundred and ten in the year 1367 B.C. and buried in the city of Timnath-Serah.

 

Time of the judges.

Soon after the death of Joshua, and while the contemporary elders lived, the Jews expanded their territory. Eleazer, the high priest, did not survive long after Joshua’s death, and the remnant of the seventy elders appointed by Moses soon followed Eleazer and Joshua to the tomb.

The Book of Judges covers three hundred years, beginning with the death of Joshua in 1367 B.C., at the age of one hundred and ten, and continuing until the days of the prophet Samuel. The book of Judges appears to be the work of one author, one who lived after the time of the judges; some thinking it to be Samuel, others not.

The following principle in Genesis 4:7 dominates the book. “If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door.”

In Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning.”

In the time of the Judges, Israel remained almost continually in Jewish possession, but there were times of encroachment from their enemies. Their enemies were the Canaanites, Midianites, Moabites, Philistines, Perizzites, and Ammonites.

Judges 2:6, we read, “And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.”

Judges 3:7, “The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalism and the groves.”

At the time of the Judges was a period marked by the expression, “When there was no king of Israel.” There were thirteen Judges in Israel; they were Shamgar, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, and Micah:

The history of Judges occupies the greater part of the narrative, yet a history of the people of Israel. The first introduction is a summary of the results of the war carried on against the Canaanites by several tribes on the west of Jordan after the death of Joshua.

The second stands in the path the people of Israel took,

Judges 3:7, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baal and the groves.”

The third has no formal connection with the preceding and is referred to as the appendix. There is no mention of the Judges, but there are allusions to the “house of God,” the ark, and the high priest, this period is marked by the expression,

Judges 19:1, “It came to pass in those days, when there was not king in Israel,” It records the conquest of Laish by a portion of the tribe of Dan, and the establishment there of the idolatrous worship of Jehovah already instituted by Micah in Mt. Ephraim. Thirdly, the almost total extermination of the tribe of Benjamin.

We then come to the time when the LORD, Judges 2:16-19, “Raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not hear their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned out of the way which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.”

“When the LORD raised them up judges, He was with that judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed harassed them.”

When the time of the judges ended, the people,

Judges 2:19, “Returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following after other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.”

 

Gideon.

Gideon was appointed by the LORD, to deliver the Israelites from their enemy, the Bedouin tribes. To retain possession of their corn, the Jews dared not thresh it out for use in the usual manner but had to conceal it from the Midianites. They would have to do it silently and secretly in the vineyard near the winepress. Here is where we would have found the man Gideon working on the threshing floor.

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said to him, Judges 6:14, “Go in this thy might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites; have not I sent you?”

But Gideon said to the Lord, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

But the massager of God said to him, “I will be with you:” Yet lacking confidence in the stranger, Gideon prepared the flesh of a kid and bread for the stranger. These set upon a rock, and when he touched it with the end of his staff, a fire arose that consumed it all.

But still lacking in confidence, he would ask for a second sign. So a fleece wet with dew was laid out on the ground, and the soil around it was dry. And so, by a miracle, the angel of the Lord reversed what lay before Gideon. The fleece became dry, and the ground became wet with dew; only then was Gideon satisfied.

Gideon found himself with thirty-two thousand men. He marched off to the mountains and set his camp before the vast army of the Midianites and Amalekites. So Gideon’s men would not take their deliverance for themselves; their number was reduced to three hundred.

The company of three hundred men was divided into three companies. Gideon put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers and lamps within the pitchers. He said to his men,

“When I blow the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow you the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, the sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.”

When the time came, the three hundred “Blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow them: and they cried the sword of the LORD and Gideon.

Judges 7:22, “And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man (of the enemy) against his companions, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath,” And so the men of Israel pursued after the Midianites,

Verse 25, “And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew them at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.”

In the overthrow of the enemy, no less than one hundred and twenty thousand of the various tribes of, “the children of the east” perished, and so completely the defeat of the enemy, from that time forward, they were never able, “To lift their heads anymore.”

Gideon refused the people’s offer to make him king, replying in the true spirit of the theocracy. He said, “I will not reign over you, neither shall my son reign over you; Jehovah, he shall reign over you.”

Gideon survived and ruled as judge over Israel forty years after his victory, and in this time, the tranquility of Israel appears to have been undisturbed.  

 

Sampson.
Sampson was the last of the military heroes stirred up to deliver Israel from its oppressors. The two who followed were Eli, a priest, and Samuel, a Levite, both were men of peace. Sampson was the son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan.
As a child, it became manifest that extraordinary physical powers had been given to him by God. His strength is not based on his physical condition but on his condition as a Nazarite.

The Nazarites were a class of men separated from the world for some limited period of life by a vow. During their vow, they were never to cut their hair or drink any wine or strong drink. When their offering was fulfilled they would have their hair shaved off at the door of the Tabernacle and burnt under the altar.

Paul once, on some special occasion, became a Nazarite at Corinth, shaved his head at Cenchrea, and made his offering at Jerusalem. Christ was styled a Nazarite or Nazarene because he had spent much of his life in Nazareth.

Sampson was a man of ungovernable passions, but unaffected by these passions, the LORD used him as an instrument of distress and ruin to Israel’s enemies, the Philistines.

It reported he killed with his bare hands, a young and fierce lion that attacked him. He took revenge on the Philistines by catching three hundred jackals, tied them together, and with a firebrand tied to their tails, he turned them loose. In their flight, they ran side by side, heading into the fields of ripened corn, setting the fields on fire.

Delilah, a woman who lived in the valley of Sorek, was to be Samson’s wife and his eventual downfall. There appears to be no doubt she was a Philistine courtesan and hired as a political emissary. Delilah was offered a large sum of money by the Philistine lords, betraying her husband for the love of money. The amount received was 1100 pieces of silver from each lord, equaling 5,500 shekels.

Day after day, she pressed him and urged him, desiring to know the secret of his strength. Finally, “His soul was vexed unto death,” so he told her that he was a Nazarite from birth, and if his hair was cut his extraordinary strength would depart from him. And as he slept, she cut his hair.

The Philistines then came and bound him with rope, and to complete his disablement, put out both his eyes, thus rendering him incapable of further resistance. Humiliated by a woman and now weak, blind, bound, and disgraced, sent to prison. While there, he most likely learned more of himself than he had known in all his previous life. As for the Philistines, they assumed their god Dagon, was more powerful than the God of Israel, Jehovah.

The Philistines held a feast for their god; at the height of the festival, the Philistines demanded that Sampson come before them so they could degrade his condition. When he appeared, they shouted and praised their god for reducing “The destroyer of their country” to a bond slave.

A young land came to Sampson, who would lead him into the arena. Samson would ask the lad to lead him to the pillars that supported the weight of the temple roof. Assembled above and below were some three thousand Philistines.
Sampson prayed, “O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray you, and strengthen me, only this once, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”

And with the power of the Holy Spirit returning in him, he pressed against the pillars. The roof fell in, destroying all who stood above and below. Sampson’s exploits against the Philistines were without cooperation from any fellow Countrymen. Sampson counted as one of the judges of Israel, and his administration lasted 40 years, ending with his death in, 1222 B.C.

Samuel.

Samuel was of the tribe of Levi, the last Judge of Israel, the first of the regular succession of prophets, a historian, founder of the school of prophets, and the monarchy of Israel. He began the order of the prophets, which never discontinued until the death of Zechariah and Malachi.

The book of Samuel covers nearly a century of Jewish history. He is the author of the book of Judges, of Ruth, and the first book of Samuel. Our attention is on the mother of Samuel concerning his birth. She is described as a woman of a high religious calling, almost a Nazarite by practice, and a prophetess in her gifts. She prayed continually for a child, and when the LORD answered her prayer, she called the child Samuel, meaning “The asked or heard of God.”

Samuel as a youngster, had laid down to sleep, and while sleeping, the LORD called to him: 1 Samuel 3:4, he awoke and answered, “Here am I.” He ran to Eli and said, “Here am I; for you called me.” Eli said, “I called not; lie down again.”

Again, the LORD called him, he arose and went back to Eli, and Eli again said, “I called not.” The third time “Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.”

From this time forward, the prophetic character of Samuel was established and words treasured, “and all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.”
As the years passed, Samuel warned the Jews of their idolatrous practices. At Mispeh, the Philistine army would attack Israel, killing thirty-thousand-foot soldiers, then they captured the ark of the covenant and killed Eli’s two sons.
Eli’s two wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas, had marched out of Shiloh with the ark of the covenant. The ark kept in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The Shechinah, or symbol of the divine presence, rested on both; inside the Tabernacle and the temple, manifesting itself in the appearance of a cloud, as it were, hovering over it.

The men of war took the ark into battle, thinking it would act as a talisman and give them a victory. But the ark was taken by the Philistines. Eli and his two sons killed because they had “Made themselves vile, and he (Eli) restrained them not.”

Once the ark returned to Israel, the Philistines would be, defeated. When he was old, Samuel made his two sons judge Israel. But, “his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after (dishonest gain), and took bribes, and perverted justice.”

The Jews would now desire to rest their hopes on men, and as these men led them, they followed. If their leaders were good and just men, they did well, if evil men, not so. They would turn their back on the institutions of God and throw themselves upon the accidents of the character of men. And so, the people had determined to “Have a king to rule them like the nations;”

The people asked for a king, but this would displease Samuel, and so he prayed to the LORD; the LORD answered his prayer, saying,

1 Samuel 8:7 “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto you: for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” And so, Saul was chosen to be king over Israel.
Saul would soon begin to act “Like the kings of the (Gentile) nations,” and fulfill one part of Samuel’s prediction concerning the course Israel was likely to take.

There were garrisons of Philistines in the land, and it would seem they would have returned to their homeland after their last defeat. But they retained some hill fortresses from which they knew the Hebrews would find difficult to dislodge. Without any authority from Samuel, Saul had taken measures that were certain to result in a war with the Philistines.

Samuel, not willing that such a stand taken, appointed to meet Saul on a particular day at Gilgal “To offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and to show him what he should do,” this to regain favor with the LORD and to advise Saul on how to carry on the coming war.

Saul foolishly usurped the office of the priest, soon after, was rejected by the Lord, then reproved by Samuel, and this opened the door for King David.

The prophet in his old age is called “Samuel the Seer.” For his work with the people and his office as Judge, reverenced by all of Israel. He represented the independence of the moral law and the Divine Will, distinct from Saul’s kingly enactments. So, when Samuel counseled Saul, it was not as a priest but as a prophet.

Samuel would privately anoint David at the house of his father, Jesse. Samuel was the spiritual father of David, who became the Psalmist king. The death of Samuel took place during the later period of David’s wandering. “All the Israelites had gathered together” from all parts of the then divided nation, and all, “Lamented him,” he buried in the walls of his house. And so, it is written, Samuel had judged Israel “all the days of his life.”

 

Saul the first king of Israel.

Saul was of the tribe of Benjamite, a man of strength and said to be head and shoulders taller than the rest of his people. His father, Kish, was a powerful and wealthy chief, though the family he belonged to was of little importance.
When Samuel was old, the people came to him;  

1 Samuel 8:5, “Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the (Gentile) nations.”

The elder’s cure for the nation displeased both Samuel and the LORD. But their diagnoses for the people were correct, but their cure was not. At that time, the big difference between Israel and the Gentile nations was the LORD was their King through his representative judges and priests. But the institution of a monarchy involved the separation of the civil from the religious leadership. From this time forward, Israel would own a political history independent of its religious history. So, the appointment of a visible king would throw out of view the true King of Israel to come, Jesus Christ. And so, Samuel prays to the LORD.

The LORD said to him, Verse 7, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto you: for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”
Saul, with his servant, met Samuel in the city of Zuph while searching for his father’s donkeys. On their way into the city, the LORD spoke to Samuel.

1 Samuel 9:16, “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines:”

1 Samuel 10:1, Samuel anointed Saul with oil, kissed him, and said, “Is it not because the LORD has anointed you to be captain over his inheritance?”

Chapter 11, In God’s providence, the renewed Ammonite hostilities provide an opportunity for testing the new King. The Ammonites said to the men of Jabesh, if we make a covenant with you, we,

1 Samuel 11:2 “May thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for a reproach on all Israel.”

This type of barbaric act was to humiliate the Israelites and incapacitate them from further fighting. When Saul heard this, he became angry that the Israelites would not come out to fight the Ammonites, so he slew a herd of oxen, cut them to pieces, and sent them out to the people of Israel. He threatened if any man refused to come and fight, they would be cut to pieces. And because of the king’s threat, some 350,000 men showed up and defeated the Ammonites.
In the second year of Saul’s reign, he began to organize an attempt to shake off the Philistine yoke that had been pressing on the shoulders of his people. He found three thousand who followed him; with the three thousand,

1 Samuel 13:3 “Smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba.”

And when the Philistines heard of it, verse 5, they “Gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude.”

When the Israelites saw them, their spirit broken, and in crisis, Saul in his inpatients, made a sacrifice unto the LORD, disobeying Samuel’s instructions to wait for him. Samuel may have been testing the King’s character by waiting to arrive. Saul had full knowledge that Samuel was to officiate the sacrificial ceremony. When Samuel arrived he reprimands Saul, then tells him, Verse 14, “Now your kingdom shall not continue: the LORD had sought him a man after his own heart,”

God rejects Saul.

The rest of the King’s life was a tragedy. His second act of disobedience called down a second curse from God, and the first distinct intention of God was to transfer the kingdom to David. The king had exhibited his inability to understand his position before the LORD. And so, Saul was rejected as King. The word of the LORD come to Samuel,

1 Samuel 15:10, “I repent (I am sorry) that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel.”

Described in various phrases as, “An evil spirit of God” or a form of religious madness that came upon Saul, almost choking or strangling him from its violence. In the crisis of the day, David was pointed out to Samuel. David is brought to the house of Saul to quiet the king’s spirit by playing his harp.

1 Samuel 16:21 “David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer.”

Verse 23, “it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: Saul would then be refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

After the defeat of the Philistines at Gibeah, they assemble a formidable force sufficient to overwhelm Israeli forces, consisted of three thousand chariots of war and six thousand Horsemen.

1 Samuel 13:5 “People as the sand upon the seashore for multitudes:”

For fear of the enemy, Saul’s army diminished daily as his troops retreated, seeking refuge in caves, woods, and hillsides. Samuel stood against the King’s decision to go up against the Philistines. Written in the Hebrew constitution no war against any other than the doomed nations of Canaan would be undertaken without the previous consent and promised assistance of the LORD God of Israel, but the actions of the king, guaranteed war. Samuel would make an appointment to meet Saul at Gilgal “To offer burnt-offering and peace-offerings, and to show the king what he should do.” On the day appointed, Samuel arrived late to test Sauls’s fidelity and obedience. Saul failed!

In his pride and independence, he performed the priestly function himself, without Samuel’s authority, thus sealing his fate. Jehovah’s supremacy preserved, and the king’s actions severely punished. The king was regarded unworthy to be the founder of a royal house, inasmuch he could not become a pattern to any of his successors. Saul’s campaign against this enemy lasted for a year, and during this time, Samuel had not interfered in any of the King’s civil and administrative affairs.

Some ten or eleven years into Saul’s reign, Jehovah made it known to Samuel that the iniquity of the Amalekites had now reached its height. The time had come to fulfill the sentence pronounced on them years earlier, “Their utter extermination.”

Exodus 17:14, “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.”

1 Samuel 15:3, “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.”

Saul led his forces into the territory of Malek, where he was victorious. The Jews pursued them to their most distant and final retreats. Agag was taken alive, but again, Saul was blinded by personal ambitions, spared Agag, and preserved their treasures. Again, Saul was acting independent of God’s utterances to destroy the Amalekites without mercy, but he would again disobey.

Samuel charged Saul with disobedience, but Saul insisted he had obeyed God’s command.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 “Samuel said, has 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 you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being King.”

 

David and Goliath.
The Philistines reentered Israel with their chariots and horses and occupied the Plain of Ephes-dammin; their camp pitched on the southern slope by Shochoh. On the opposite side of Mount Gilboa, the Israeli army camped near the spring of Harod, also called “The Spring of Trembling.” The name “Spring of Trembling” assumed an evil omen; when Saul pitched his camp, his heart “trembled exceedingly” at the sight of the Philistines.

Out from their camp came a giant of a man whose height was well over nine feet, his armor and weapon weighed some one-hundred and fifty pounds; his name was Goliath. Goliath cries out to the Israelites,

1 Samuel 17:8-9 “I am a Philistine and you servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you and let him come down to me. If he (any man) be able to fight me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall you be our servants, and serve us.”

At that time, Davis happened into the camp, stopped, and asked a man who stood by, Verse 26, “What shall be done to the man that kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For whom is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

David tells Saul how he slew a lion and a bear that had killed a lamb of his father’s flock. He said to Saul, “This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”

David also said to Saul, Verse 32, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul replies, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him: for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” David convinced the king, then goes down to meet the giant. When Goliath sees David, he said, “He is but a youth,” — “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? He then curses David!

David replies, “You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Verse 46, “This day will the LORD deliver you into my hand; and I will smite you and take your head from you; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

Verse 49, “David put his hand in his bag, and took from it a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.”

1 Samuel 17:51 “David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.”

After slaying Goliath, his sword was hung up behind the ephod in the Tabernacle at Nob. An ephod is an ornamental part of the dress worn by Hebrew priests. The head of the giant, David took away himself, and it was taken to Nob, subsequently to Jerusalem. His victory over the Philistine giant was the turning point in David’s career. It was the beginning of his march to the throne of Israel.

Jonathan, Saul’s son.

Jonathan, son of Saul, had become a sincere friend of David. The king became extremely jealous of David because the people honored David more than he did. David would eventually marry Saul’s daughter. But because of the king’s jealousy and rage, he made several attempts on David’s life.

When Jonathan learns of his father’s intention to kill David, he goes to him and pleads for David. Saul becomes angry with Jonathan, and in his anger, the king hurls a Javelin at him, intending to kill him. Now fully understanding the rage of his father, Jonathan goes to David and tells him, run, run as fast and as far as you can; the king intends to kill you!

Saul pursued David, but he escapes. During his flight, David had several opportunities to kill Saul, but because he loved the king, he would spare his life. Eventually, Saul repents, leaving the matter closed for the moment.
When Samuel dies, he is laid to rest at Ramah, his home. Then David goes to the wilderness of Paran. The war between Saul and David would rise again to a fever pitch, but again, Saul would repent of his sin against David. David no longer trusts Saul, so he goes to live among his enemies, the Philistines for some sixteen months. But once again, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Saul.

Saul and the Witch’s Cauldron.

The end of Soul’s reign was near when he sees the Philistine armies gathering to make war against him, “He was afraid, and his heart trembled.” And because he could no longer consult with God, Saul determined his wayward mixture of superstition and religion to summon one of the necromancers who had escaped his persecution; a witch in the place called Endor.

The following was written in the law, and Saul knew it. Leviticus 19:31, “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards (mediums), to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.”

Saul had also taken measures to uproot those who practiced magical arts, declaring it a capital offense. But in his fear, the king disguised himself and, with two men, went to the woman who practiced these arts by night. In his disguise, the king said to her,

1 Samuel 28:8 “I pray you, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto you.” She recognizes Saul and reminds him of what the king would do if found to have a familiar spirit or to be a wizard. The king would have put that person to death.

1 Samuel 28:10-11, “Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying; as the LORD lives, there shall no punishment happen to you for this thing.” The woman asks, “Whom shall I bring up unto you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel.”

“And when the woman saw Samuel,” she recognized Saul, “she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.”

Saul again reaffirms, “Be not afraid.” She tells Saul what she had seen, “I saw gods ascending out of the earth.” Then told him, it was “an old man who came up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel,”
The question was, was this truly Samuel’s spirit that had been summoned up? Let’s examine the words found in this verse.

Hebrew for “gods.” In this verse, it’s used to describe a divine, godlike appearance or form having “ascended out of the earth.” The king, when he saw Samuel, “Stoops with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.”

To “Bow” himself: Saul had prostrated himself to the spirit of Samuel who stood before him; bowed to honor him. My conclusion: the LORD had sent Samuel’s spirit to Saul as a messenger, not intending a “witch” to reveal His messenger to the king. The message spoken by Samuel’s spirit revealed the following to the king.

Verse 17, “for the LORD has rent (torn) the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, even to David: Because you obeyed not the voice of the LORD, nor executed his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore has the LORD done this thing unto you this day.”

“Moreover, the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shall you and your sons be with me (with Samuel): the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

The question, “Where were Saul and his sons to go after their death?” We get a good idea when we read Luke 16. It is the story of a rich man and a poor man called Lazarus take note, the rich man’s name is unknown because of his sin. His lifestyle was that of a king; the other man the life of a beggar, he daily sitting before the gate of the city, begging for food. When both men died, the rich man is seen in hell: and the poor man in the bosom of Abraham.

Luke 16, hell here in Greek is, ha,des; it speaks of the abode of the dead. According to the ancient Hebrews, it consists of a vast Subterranean receptacle, where the souls of the dead, not their physical bodies, but their souls and spirit exist in a separate state from physical bodies. Once more to be raised and reunited in body, soul, and spirit on that day of judgment.

Concerning Lazarus, he will be one of those we find written in, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. Lazarus is seen in the care of his father Abraham; his relationship was that of a son to his father. And concerning the rich man, he will be with those found in Revelation 20:5, “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”

Verse 12, “I saw the dead, small and great stand before God (having been raised from their graves); and the books were opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

Verse 13-14, “they (will be) judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death.”

And so, 1 Samuel 31:1-3 “The Philistines fought against Israel:” —- “and the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons: and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shun, Saul’s sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was wounded by the archers.”

Verse 6, “Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.” — “Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.”

And because the prophecy was correct in all its details, we must assume it came from God. The spirit of Samuel itself had been allowed by the LORD to be summoned up from paradise to reveal the king’s fate.

 

King David:

David, the youngest son of Jesse, born in 1040 B.C., died, in 970 B.C., at the age of seventy. When thirty years of age, David was crowned king of Israel. He ruled successfully over Israel for forty years and six months.

David is one of the most well-known and loved figures in the Old Testament of the Boble. He was the youngest in his family; his youth contains in many respects the antecedents of his future career. David’s mother had been a concubine of Nahash, but would later become the wife of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of eight sons, seven of whom were present in Bethlehem when Samuel the prophet came to anoint the king. The youngest of the clan, David, was out tending sheep for his father. Samuel invited Jesse and his eight sons to the sacrifice, the prophet knowing one of them would be anointed king, but not which son. Samuel beheld the stature of Jesse’s eldest son Eliab; in these day’s kings were chosen if they were taller than the rest. And so, Samuel settled in his mind this was to be the LORD’S anointed.

But the LORD rebuked Samuel, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for Jehovah sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outer appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart.”

And so, Samuel restrained himself from pouring the oil of anointing upon any of Jesse’s sons after having passed before him. Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons, and when hearing there was another, Samuel asked Jesse to send for him.

When David arrived, Samuel was impressed by the lad; he had a ruddy complexion, ‘With a beautiful countenance, and good to look at.’ The LORD told Samuel, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” He took the horn of oil, then “anointed David in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.” 

As for Saul, the anointing of David was significant only to God’s intention and choice. When the ceremony ended, Saul returned to his fields and David to his flock. The path to the throne was to be opened later by other circumstances which were yet future. Davids anointing was the sign and seal of the LORD’S ultimate intention, but for the present, David was not more a king, nor Saul less one, than before. But the doom of exclusion had been pronounced upon Saul.

David’s eyes were bright; he was remarkable for the grace of his body and appearance, a good-looking lad, well built, possessing strength and agility. His speed of foot made him like a wild gazelle, quick on his feet, and arms strong enough to break a bow of steel.

Psalms 18:33-34, “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet (feet of a deer),” — He teaches my hands to war so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms.”

When we read the Psalms, we are given a glimpse into the genius of David through his music and poetry. His courage is told in the story concerning his conflict with a lion and a bear in defense of his father’s flock. And his many battles against the enemies of Israel have been told in the chapter concerning Saul.

King Saul had become jealous of David for his successes, especially against the Philistines, and in his jealousy and rages, he would lay out snares to entrap David. Open violence and madness broke out twice with him, finally convincing David that his life was in danger.

Now David had two friends in the king’s court, Jonathan, Saul’s son, and Michal, the daughter of Saul. One day when Saul made his mind up to kill David, he was warned by Jonathan and then assisted by Michal in his escape.

David had many close escapes that continued for years. Impressing upon him a sense of dependence on the LORD. His fame among the people grew, being well known for his many successful exploits against the Philistines.

As we move ahead in the years, the erection of the new capital at Jerusalem introduces us to a new era in King David’s life and the history of his monarchy. He became a king on the scale of the great sovereigns of Egypt and Persia, having a regular administration and organization of court and camp, and also founded an imperial dominion which for the first time realized the prophetic description of the land boundaries God had promised Abraham.

Genesis 15-18, “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”

The many foreign tribes David would go on to defeat were the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites. David’s empire continued only while David and his son Solomon sat on the throne. This, promised by the LORD.

Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver (Judges staff) from between his feet, until Shiloh come;” The scepter is a symbol of royal power; Shiloh speaks of the character and divine right of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

David’s land purchase for the House of God.

Beginning in the year 1002 B.C., and the following 7 years, David had expanded Israel’s kingdom on all sides. During his reign, David’s son Amnon raped his sister Tamar the year; about 990 B.C. Two years later, Another of David’s sons Absalom, avenged Tamar by murdering Amnon his brother. David shunned Absalom, and in 979 B.C., he revolted against his father, driving him from Jerusalem.

David, would be reinstated king only after Absalom’s death. And in the last few years of his life, from 974 to 970 B.C., he would be occupied with the Philistine wars. In this period of 4 years, the LORD had commanded David not to number his troops, but David disobeyed and numbered his forces anyway.

1 Chronicles 21:1-2, “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.”

And because of his disobedience, the LORD sent his destroying angel to Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:14-15, “So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld and he repented him of the evil and said to the angel that destroyed, it is enough, stay now your hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”

And when Jerusalem was threatened, David confessed his sin and prayed to the LORD to spare the people. The LORD intervened, commanding His angelic destroyer to stop.

To make proper restitution and atonement, David arranged to construct an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

The LORD said to David, “My house must be built on the threshing floor of Araunah, a citizen of Jerusalem.” David obeyed, purchasing “The land from Ornan for six hundred shekels of gold by weight,” in today’s currency, which would have been 15 pounds of gold or 450,000 dollars.

David offered a burnt offering and a peace offering to the LORD, the peace offering being a thanksgiving for the cessation of the pestilence. At this time, David instructed his son Solomon to build the temple.

1 Chronicles 22:6-10, David calls his son Solomon and “commands him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.” David said to Solomon, “it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, you have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars: you shall not build a house unto my name, because you have shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.”

David had been promised, “behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name.”

 

Davidic covenant.

The Davidic covenant lays the foundation for the Lord’s future earthly kingdom.

Romans 1:3, “Concerning the Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.”

2 Samuel 7:8-16, the covenant was given to David at Jerusalem through Nathan the Prophet.

In Genesis 49:10, Jacob foresees and foretells the glorious events that will come to the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Judah would be successful in war under King David and superior to the other 11 tribes. Judah was to be the lawgiver.

Psalms 60:7, “Judah is my lawgiver.”

Genesis 49:10, “The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, not a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

Neither the Scepter, the symbol of kingship, nor the lawgiver (the Judges staff) shall not depart from Judah until the coming of the Giver, who is the Prince of Peace: both characters, a King and Lawgiver united in the coming Christ, this fulfilled in King David, whose seed, the crown was passed.

 

Solomon’s temple.

According to Josephus, the measurements of the Temple and the royal portico included the measurements of the area of Mt. Moriah. The length of the portico was about 190 meters, and the length of the southern wall of the Moriah Area around 300 meters.

Solomon’s Porch, John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12, was a colonnade or cloister located on the eastern side of the Temples Outer Court (women’s Court), named after Solomon, King of Israel, and not to be confused with the Royal Stoa, which was on the southern side of Herod’s Temple. The royal portico or court was 207.7 Yards, and the length of the Southern wall was 328 yards long.

When measured in cubits, it is generally equal to 18 inches. A reed in length is 6 cubits long or 9 feet in length.

In Revelation 11:1-2, This will be the measurement for the future Temple in Israel, atop Mt. Moriah. It’s here the Lord Jesus will establish his kingdom and reign as King of the Jews and as King of Kings.

The Holy place John measured in heaven is the pattern for the Holy place of the 3ed Temple.

Revelation 11:1-2, John writes, “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the Temple leave out, and measure it not;”

 

King Solomon.

Solomon, the last son of David and Bath-sheba, was born in, 1000 B.C., and died in 931 B.C. David named his son Solomon to be King, Solomon meaning the Peaceful One. The fourth son of David, Adonijah had grabbed power, and because he lusted for power, David appointed Solomon king. 

Solomon was a wise man, a rich man, a great man, and supreme over all the kings of the earth. Yet he became a fool by abusing his wisdom: the LORD had given him all he had asked for and more but would turn to his vices.

God had forbidden the Hebrews from taking wives of any nation devoted to Cannon or from Cannon itself.

  1. Solomon would make a treaty with the Pharaoh of Egypt.
  2. He would take Pharaoh’s daughter, an Egyptian for his wife, a woman who may or may not have professed herself a proselyte of the Jewish faith.
  3. He made a treaty with Hiram, King of Tyre.
  4. He fell in love with a Gentile woman, who turned his heart from the LORD:
  5. He fell into idolatry, having four gods he worshipped: he then took other women for his wives.

“And did evil in the eyes of God.”

After David died, young Solomon prayed to God for understanding. The LORD heard his prayer and gave him a wise and understanding heart. When he was a youth, Jehovah loved him, but when Solomon grew older, the LORD became angry with him.

God endeavored to reclaim Solomon, first by mercy and then by affliction. He raised three adversaries for that purpose, but Solomon would not hear, continuing down the path of his evil ways.

Solomon died with murder in his heart in his attempt to slay Jeroboam, an innocent man. There is nothing written concerning Solomon repenting. He appears to have died in his sin. Scriptures tell us those who die in their sins, where Christ is, they cannot go, for no murderer or person with murder in his heart will know eternal life.

 

Revolt of Ten Tribes.

Soon after, the empire David built and where Solomon ruled; in the year 796 B.C., the ten Northern tribes revolted against the South, the nation dividing into two very unequal parts. The prophet Ahijah had predicted that Jeroboam would inherit the ten Northern tribes and Rehoboam, the two Southern tribes.

When Solomon was constructing the fortifications of Milo, he discovered the strength and activity of a young Jeroboam. He was said to be a mighty man of valor and was soon raised to the rank of superintendent over the taxes and labors exacted from the tribe of Ephraim.

Jeroboam most likely noticed the growing discontent coming from the tribe of Ephraim and the alienation of the prophetic order from the house of Solomon. One day while leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him walking on the road. The prophet was wearing a new garment, while alone with Jeroboam, he took his garment and tore it into twelve pieces:” saying to Jeroboam,

1 Kings 11:31-32, “Take you ten pieces for thus said the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you: but he (Solomon) shall have one tribe (Judah) for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:”

As the years passed, Solomon attempted to kill Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt, remaining there until after the death of Solomon. Hearing of his death, he requested permission from the Egyptian king to return to Israel. While in Egypt, he married Ano, the elder sister of the Egyptian queen, Tahpenes. After one year elapsed, they had a son, Abijah. Eventually, Jeroboam left Egypt and returned to Israel. At this time, there had not been any acts of insurrection concerning the ten tribes.

Soon after the King’s infant son fell sick, he would send his wife in disguise to inquire about the prophet Ahijah. She brought gifts, thinking to please the prophet. But he knew the woman was coming, so he sent his boy out to meet her. The prophet warned her of the uselessness of her gifts. A forthcoming doom was coming to the house of Jeroboam that could not be prevented. After the child died, it appears to have been a turning point in the King’s reign.
Ahijah tells her what the LORD had revealed to him,

1 Kings 14:10, “I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam, — and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man takes away dung, till it is all gone.”

The kings of both kingdoms, Judea and Israel disregarded the fundamental laws of the commonwealth with idolatry and rebellion against their God. Their disorder carried so far, and the treatment of their subjects so poorly, they had been described by Isaiah and Ezekiel as “Images of wicked shepherds.”

A succession of prophets reminded both kings and their subjects of their duties to Jehovah and threatened them with punishment because of disobedience. The more their corruption and idolatry rose, the more striking were the declarations and signs made to show the Israelites that the LORD of the universe was their Lord and King and that all idols were as nothing when opposed to him.

Milder punishments had proved fruitless; the Jews continued rebellion would be followed by the destruction of the kingdom and the coming captivity of the people. Every event is predicted by Moses, Ahiah, Hosea, Amos, and others.
The history of the Jews represents a contest between them and their God, who should have been, but was not acknowledged, and the idolatrous Israelites and everything ordered to preserve the authority of God in their minds. After all milder punishments proved ineffectual, the rebellions would be followed by the destruction of Israel, both Northern and Southern kingdoms, and the people were taken captive.

And so, only has the royal family remained unchanged, according to the promise given to David. But the kings who followed would be the most idolatrous and rebellious of kings. But they would be succeeded by those of a much purer mind, stopping all idol worship and re-establishing theocracy in the hearts of the Jews. And with the help of the prophets, the priests, Levites, and accompanying services of the temple, restored the knowledge and worship of the one true God.

Judah though much smaller than Israel, continued her existence one hundred and thirty-four years longer; but would eventually suffer the same fate, thus fulfilling the predictions of Moses and other prophets.

Rehoboam, son of Solomon crowned King of Judah.
It was perceived throughout Scripture that the twelve tribes were beginning to unravel. When Rehoboam was crowned king in 975 B.C., he was counseled by the wise counselors of his father, whose advice he rejected. The people demanded a remission of the severe burdens imposed by Solomon. Rehoboam would consider the matter, promising the people an answer in three days. During this time, he consulted first his father’s counselors, then with the young men, those who had “grown up with him, and which stood before him.”

He would reject the advice of the elders, returning his reply to the people with the frantic bravado of his overzealous friends. So, among the people arose the formidable song of insurrection, a song heard once before when the tribes quarreled after David’s return from the war with his son Absalom.

Rehoboam would assemble an army of 180,000 men from the two faithful Southern tribes hoping to retake Israel. But this was forbidden by Shemaiah the prophet. Throughout Rehoboams’ reign, relations between the ten Northern tribes, and two Southern tribes, were never restored, but the worship of Jehovah God maintained in Judah, but at the same time unchecked, was the worship of Ashtoreth. It was allowed to exist side by side with the true religion. The people set up images, tolerated immoralities, and pagan abominations took hold in Jerusalem.

Egypt would eventually invade, taking the city of Jerusalem. With a bribe, Rehoboam had to purchase a shameful and dishonorable peace, the King delivering up the treasures of the temple Solomon had adorned it with. Rehoboam gave the Egyptians the golden shields, three hundred smaller shields, and two hundred larger ones

After a reign of seventeen years, Jeroboam died when forty-one years old, in the year 958 B.C. After his ascension to the throne in 975 B.C. Jeroboam had gathered eighteen wives, sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons, and sixty daughters.

 

Abijah crowned king of Judah:

King Abijah, otherwise called Abijam, ruled over Judah, having succeeded his father Rehoboam. Jeroboam, king over the ten northern tribes attempted to take advantage of the young king, so he gathered an army of eight hundred thousand men. When Abijah heard of this formidable army, he was not discouraged. He gathered half that number together and took the field against his opponent. Jeroboam’s army could not withstand the force the LORD gave to the arm of Abijah’s forces. So the mass of Jeroboam’s army was broken and fled, no fewer than five hundred thousand slain, it was a slaughter Josephus wrote about. “Had never occurred in any other war, whether it had been the Greeks or the barbarians.”

It is certain that after this defeat, the kingdom of Israel weakened considerably, while that of Judah made constant progress in power and importance. Because of his great victory, Abijah retook and annexed some border towns and districts, some of which had belonged to Judah and Benjamin. Abijah “Walked in all the sins of his father,” and “His heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God.” Abijah died in 970 B.C. after a reign of three years, leaving behind twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters, whom he had by fourteen wives.

 

Asa crowned king of Judah.

Asa, king of Judah, son of Abijah, succeeded his father when a youth. Asa, for his virtues, his fidelity to the principles of the theocracy, and the prosperity and victory with which he was favored, took a high place in the rank of kings of Judah. It is said, “his heart was perfect with Jehovah, as did his father David.

After ten years of prosperity and peace, his next challenge came from Zerah the Cushite arrived with a million-man army and three hundred chariots. Asa met this emergency in the true spirit of the theocracy he understood the inadequacy of his forces, he nevertheless went forward to give them battle, trusting in Jehovah, who had so often given victory over superior forces. This reliance he had, gave him a great victory over the Cushites.

In his later year, he became very irritable, committing many acts of severity and injustice. Some say it may have been caused by a disease in his feet, possibly the goat. After a reign of forty-one years, Asa died in 929 B.C., in the second year of Ahab, king of Israel.

 

Ahab crowned king.

Ahab, the son of Omri, came to the throne of Israel in the year 931 B.C. Throughout the reign of Ahab, he was entirely under the influence of his idolatrous wife, Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre. Both Ahab and Jezebel united their authority to introduce the gods of other nations. Ahab built a temple in Samaria, erected an image, and consecrated a grove to the god Baal, the god of the Sidonians.

Jezebel promoted the worship of Baal and maintained many priests and prophets of Baal. Soon after idolatry had become the predominant religion of the land, Jehovah and the golden calves said to represent him viewed with no more reverence than Baal and his image. It appeared the knowledge of the true God was lost. But Elijah the prophet boldly stood up and opposed the authority of Ahab. A great and memorable struggle ensued, giving the narrative of Ahab’s reign an unusual prominence and range in the Hebrew annuals.

Elijah’s first appearance occurred abruptly, he announced a drought and famine to come, and he demanded this calamity as punishment for the idolatry the nation had fallen into. When the great drought came, the prophet withdrew himself from the presence and solicitations of the king.

Elijah withdrew to his native district beyond Jordan, hiding in a cave by the brook Cherith. The Arabs in the area sent him bread and meat every morning and evening and the brook water to drink.

Jezebel had ordered the destruction of all the prophets of God. Many perished, but a devout man in the palace of Ahab, Obadiah, managed to save a hundred by sheltering them in caverns, where he provided for them and eventually planned and executed an escape into the kingdom of Judah. Ahab searched diligently for Elijah for him to offer up intercession to Jehovah God for the calamity to end.

But when the king found him, he accused him, saying, “Are you he that troubles Israel?” Ahab replied,

1 Kings 18:18, “I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim.”

Elijah asked to have all of Israel come to Mount Carmel and asked that four hundred of Jezebel’s prophets of the groves come also. The story of the contest at Mount Carmel between the prophets of Baal and Elijah is well known; therefore, not necessary to review it. See 1 Kings 18:20-40. When the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Jezebel was over, all four hundred prophets were slain by the people.

Elijah would then go to the top of Mt. Carmel and pray seven times for rain, and prayer quickly answered. “There arose a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” “The heavens were black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”

The king of Syria, Ben-hadad besieged Samaria with thirty-two other kings and their forces and warred against Samaria. Ahab by the word of God, “I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” So, the king went out and defeated the Syrians, slaying many.

The Syrians fled, and Ben-hadad escaped. Years after, Ben-hadad returned to fight against the Jews; he was defeated, then taken captive. But Ahab spared his life. But the King’s doom was already sealed by the LORD. He would be killed when an arrow struck him between the joints of his armor in the year 909 B.C. After his death, one of Ahab’s seventy sons, Ahaziah became King of Judea that same year.

2 Kings 8:27, “And he (Ahaziah) walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD,”

In the year 895 B.C., Jehu was crowned the king of Israel and founder of the fifth dynasty of Israel. In his youth, he had been one of the guards of Ahab. He rode on the journey from Samaria to Jezreel and heard, and laid up in his heart, the warning of Elijah against Ahab and Jezebel, the murderers of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Jehu was known to Elijah as a youth of promise; in the vision at Horeb, he was to become the future king of Israel, whom Elijah was to anoint as the minister of vengeance on Israel, 1 Kings 19:16-17, this injunction, for unknown reasons, was never fulfilled by Elijah but was reserved long after for his successor Elisha. Jehu was under Jehoram, captain of the host in the siege of Ramoth Gilead.

When among officers of the army, a youth suddenly entered and insisted on a private interview with Jehu. The two went into a secret chamber, where the young man uncovered a vial of the sacred oil he bought with him, poured it over Jehu’s head, and announced to him, the message from Elisha. “You have been appointed king over Israel and destroyer of the house of Ahab.”

After revealing to those he had been with, they threw their garments under his feet, to form a carpet of state, placed him at the top of the stairs as on a makeshift throne, blew the royal salute on their trumpets, and there, ordained him king of Israel. 

Jehu was a monster of cruelty, delighted in shedding blood. There are times when the plans of God are difficult to understand, especially when he employs wicked men to punish others who are equally wicked. When Jehu came to the throne, it was not part of the LORD’S strategy to heal the schism between Judah and Israel.

2 Kings 10:7, “And it came to pass, — that they took the king’s (Ahab’s) sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel.”

Jehu would kill King Ahaziah, the family of Ahab, and those who worshipped Baal, then go to Jezreel, the place of Jezebel. Hearing of the king’s death, Jezebel looked down from a window at Jehu; she then called down to him, “Zimri,” meaning, “You murderous traitor.”

Then Jehu ordered several of the eunuchs who stood by Jezebel to “Throw her down.”

“So they threw her down to the ground: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and the horses: and he (Jehu) trampled her underfoot.”

Shortly after, in Verse 35, when “They went to bury her: they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.” And so, the prophecy concerning her demise had been fulfilled to the letter.  

1 Kings 1:23, “And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying, the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.”

 

Elijah prophet of Israel.

There is no person in the Old Testament whose career is more vividly portrayed. We read of his rare, sudden, and brief appearances, his undaunted courage and fiery zeal, of the brilliance of his triumphs, his artistic representations arousing pity or compassion of his discouragements. And without doubt, his glorious departure, and the calm beauty of his re-appearance on the Mount of transfiguration with the Lord Jesus and Moses. 

It was in the year, 909 B.C, “the prophet had been translated into heaven.”

2 Kings 2:11-12. Elisha was God’s witness: “As they (Elisha, and Elijah) went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. —- and He (Elisha) saw Elijah no more.”

Verse 10, There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire. In appearance, Elijah was about to get the ride of his life, a ride due a prince.

Certain of the angelic host are called cherubim, and seraphim. Seraphim signifies “burning ones,” these are said to be a flame of fire.

Psalms 104:4, “Who makes His angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.”

Cherubim signifies chariots, thus called the “chariots of God,”

Psalms 58:7, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels:”

Both the horses and chariots appear as fire, for brightness, to be seen. Brightness to give all who saw Elijah’s ascension as most remarkable, and emanant; and by the power of God, every law of nature having been broken. Elijah burned with a zeal for Jehovah God, and was now to be refined and translated into paradise.  

It is said, even to this day by the Jews, that Elijah will once again appear for the relief and restoration of his country.

James 5:17, speaks of his character as being a man of like passions as we are;

Matthew 17:11, “Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things.”

Malachi 4:5-6; “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Luke 1:17, he shall turn “the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.”

Ezra 10:21, He was a priest of the sons of Harim, who had married strange (foreign) wives. 

 

Elijah, a prophet of Israel.

No person in the Old Testament portrayed more vividly than the prophet Elijah. We read of his rare, sudden, and brief appearances, his undaunted courage and fiery zeal, the brilliance of his triumphs, and his artistic representations arousing pity or compassion of his discouragements. And without doubt, his glorious departure and the calm beauty of his reappearance on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord Jesus and Moses.

In the year 909 B.C., “The prophet had been translated into heaven.” 2 Kings 2:11-12. Elisha was God’s witness: “As they (Elisha, and Elijah) went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. —- and He (Elisha) saw Elijah no more.”

Verse 10, There appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire. In appearance, Elijah was about to get the ride of his life, a ride due to a prince.

There are those of the angelic hosts called Cherubim and Seraphim. Seraphim signifies “Burning ones,” or flame of fire. Psalms 104:4, “Who makes His angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:” Cherubim signifies chariots, thus called “Chariots of God,”

Psalms 58:7, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels:”

Both the horses and chariots appear as fire for brightness to be seen. Brightness, to give all who saw Elijah’s ascension as most remarkable and emanant; and by the power of God, every law of nature broken. Elijah burned with a zeal for Jehovah God and was now to be refined and translated into paradise. Even to this day, the Jews claim Elijah will once again appear for the relief and restoration of his country.

James 5:17 speaks of his character as being a man of like passions as we are;

Matthew 17:11, “Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things.”

Malachi 4:5-6; “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Luke 1:17, he shall turn “the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.”
Ezra 10:21, He was a priest of the sons of Harim, who had married strange (foreign) wives.

 

Elisha, a prophet of Israel.

The successor to the prophetic office would be Elisha, the son of Shaphat and the disciple of Elijah. He was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel. He ministered for fifty years and served the LORD during the reigns of Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash.

1 Kings 19:16, Elijah is told by the LORD, “Elisha the son of Sha-path of Abel-mehlah shall you anoint to be prophet in thy room.”

Elijah’s first search was for Elisha. He would find him in a field plowing with twelve pairs of oxen. He would then throw his mantle (a sheepskin cloak) over him, proclaiming him as his son, then left with Elisha following.
Near the closing of the prophet’s life, we find him at Gilgal, when he receives the divine announcement that his departure from this earth was at hand.

Elisha had become Elijah’s constant companion who the prophet attempts to persuade to remain behind as he goes on an errand for the LORD. But they would both go to Bethal, then Jericho, Elisha following. After crossing the desert, the two finally reach the river and stand on its banks. Elijah could not stop here, for he must set foot on his side of the river. He rolls up his mantle into a staff and strikes the waters; the waters divide, and the two cross over on the dry ground.

“And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, and Elijah went up by the whirlwind into the skies.”
It was then Elisha inherited Elijah’s mantel. It was a token of the office of the prophet and his adoption as a son.

 

The Ten Tribes were Taken Captive.

The LORD struck Israel down at the height of its corruption. After the division of Solomon’s kingdom in 928 B.C., both Judea and Israel were invaded by King Pul of Assyria shortly after he had taken the throne in 790 B.C. At that time, the Assyrians had already become a great and powerful empire. Before King Pul, Sardanapalus ruled Assyria. After the death of Sardanapalus, the Assyrian empire ended, then divided into three kingdoms; Assyrian; Babylonian, and Median.

Amos 6:14, “behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.”

King Pul was succeeded by his elder son Tiglath-pileser, at the same time, putting Babylon in the hands of his younger son, Nabonassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came against Samaria in the sixth year of King Hoshea, 724 B.C. After a siege of three years, he took the city, carrying thousands of citizens back into Assyria. After removing them to the cities of Halah, Habor, and into the cities of the Medes, he replaced them with Assyrian citizens. And so, the ten Northern tribes were overthrown by the Assyrians and repopulated by Assyrians in the year 719 B.C.

 

Uzziah, king of Judah: 810 to 758 B.C.

Uzziah, also called Azariah King of Judah, began his reign in 810 B.C. After the murder of Amaziah, Uzziah, the King’s son, at 16 years of age, was chosen by the people to occupy the vacant throne. He ruled Judah until 758 B.C., some 52 years, always living in fear of God, and showed himself to be a wise, active, and pious ruler.

He fought successfully against his father’s enemies, the Edomites. He would also wage war against the Mehunims, the Arabs, and the Philistines. He strengthened the walls of Jerusalem and was a great patron of agriculture. Uzziah never deserted the worship of the LORD God, having been influenced by Zechariah, a prophet mentioned one time in 2 Chronicles 26:5.
The southern kingdom under Uzziah raised to a condition of prosperity that it had not known since the death of Solomon. Pleased with himself and the things he had accomplished, he was determined one day to burn incense on the altar of God but was opposed by the high priest Azariah and eighty others. Enraged at their refusal, he went forward with the censer but was suddenly struck with Leprosy.

Amos 1:1 and Zechariah 19:5 speaks of a great earthquake that had a serious effect on the nation, it occurred during the King’s reign.

 

Hosea, the prophet of Israel, 834 to 738 B.C.

Hosea wrote of King Uzziah, King Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judea. He covers the period between 770 to 725 B.C. His ministry ceased a few years before Assyria carried the Northern tribes into captivity.
Hosea exercised his office for sixty years: his prophecies were directed against his people. He reproves and threatens them for their idolatry and their wickedness but would also encourage them to repent.

Hosea’s predictions concerned the dispersion of the ten tribes: first, the deliverance of Judea from King Sennacherib of Assyria: then Israel’s future restoration, and the future union between Israel and the Gentile nations in the coming Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. One of the difficulties with his prophecies; they are in one continuous series and without any distinction as to the time when they were to be delivered or the different subjects to which they relate.

 

Nabonassar the first king of Babylon, 747 to 734 B.C.
Nabonassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, ruled from his throne in Babylon, while his son Nebuchadnezzar let the armies of Babylon into battle. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem in 606 B.C., taking a young Daniel and others captive to Babylon; this, the beginning of Judea’s 70 years of captivity, ending in the first year of King Cyrus, who conquered Babylon in 536 B.C. He then allowed the Jews to return to their own country; his order included all captives, including those of the ten northern tribes.

In 598 B.C., when Jehoiachin was King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem. He would again return in 586 B.C., this time destroying Jerusalem and the temple, thus ending the Kingdom of Judea.
In 70 A.D., the Roman legions came into Jerusalem, again destroying the city and leveling Herod’s temple to the ground.

 

Isaiah: His book covers the period between 740 and 699 B.C.

Isaiah, a prophet of God, son of Amoz. He discharged his prophetic office “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, all kings’ of Judah.” From the days of Uzziah King of Israel in 810 B.C. until Hezekiah in 726 B.C., his book includes prophecies regarding Immanuel, the Son of God, born of a virgin, and the trials of a suffering Servant, speaking of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah means “The salvation of Jehovah.” He was contemporary with the prophets Amos, Hosea, Joel, and Micah. The scope of his prophecies is four-fold; first, to detect; reprove, and then condemn the sins of his people and the abominations of the Gentile nations. He denounced with harsh judgment all people, the citizens of Israel, and the surrounding countries.

The first verse of his book, Isaiah 1:1, “The visions of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
The verse prefaces, at least the first parts of the book, chapters 1 through 39, leaving off in the reign of King Hezekiah. It covers the years from 758 B.C., when Jotham began to rule in Judah, until 698 B.C., when King Hezekiah died.
In the year of Uzziah’s death, Isaiah wrote,

Isaiah 6:1, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and his train filled the temple.” With his own eyes, Isaiah saw Jehovah in the Second Person of the Godhead, who is called Jesus.

John 12:41, “These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.”

Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger (John the Baptist), and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you (the Jews) seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, said the LORD of hosts.”

The prophecy of a messenger can only apply to John the Baptist, he being the only prophet besides the Lord Jesus who is the subject of this prophecy. In Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah was overwhelmed with awe when he saw the Lord sitting on His throne in heaven. Isaiah felt with great sorrow his sinfulness and that of his people. He cried out,
Isaiah 6:5, “Woe” upon himself as if brought before Jehovah to receive the reward or judgment of his deeds.” A Seraphim was sitting above the throne of God,

Isaiah 6:6-7, he took a “live coal in his hand, which he had taken from the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon (Isaiah’s) mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sins purged.”
The number and variety of prophecies concern the advent and character of Jesus Christ. The particular events of his ministry and numerous prophesies consisted of Christ’s preaching, his suffering, death, and the everlasting kingdom to come. To conclude, the whole book of Isaiah originated in one mind. Isaiah is one of the loftiest, outstanding, and spiritual, intellectually gifted instruments the Holy Spirit ever employed, pouring forth Jehovah’s Voice and will upon the world.

 

Jeremiah; prophet of Judah, 627 to 586 B.C.

It was in the thirteenth year of King Josiah, 628 B.C., as Jeremiah speaks of himself as “a child.” As a youth, trained in the traditional precepts and ordinances of the law, and as a young lad, he would hear among the priests of his native town Anathoth which lay some three miles from Jerusalem. He will have heard of the idolatries and cruelties of King Manasseh and his son Amon.

Had Jeremiah been left to himself, he may have taken part among the reforming priests of Josiah’s reign but did not. Thus, he remained free from their strict observances and hypocrisy. But “The word of God came to him,” and by the word his future life was revealed.” It was as difficult for him as it had been for Isaiah to find among the people and leaders who worshipped in the temple a just and truthful man.

The principle subject matter of the prophecies of Jeremiah concerned the idolatrous apostasy, wickedness, and outrageousness of the people of Judah, and the severe judgments the LORD had prepared to inflict on them; but, never without a distant prospect of their future restoration and deliverance.

He foretold the fate of Zedekiah; of the Babylonish captivity, the precise time of its duration, and the Jews’ return from captivity. He then describes the destruction of Babylon and the downfall of many other nations.
He foreshowed the miraculous conception of the Lord Jesus, the virtue of his atonement, the spiritual character of his covenant, and the inward effectiveness of his law. Jeremiah’s reputation spread among the nations, and his prophecies were celebrated by many.

He would survive to see the sad accomplishment of his darkest predictions, witnessing all the horrors of the famine and victories of the enemy. He would also witness the city’s destruction; the sacred vessels, including the Ark of the Covenant and golden Cherubim, were carried off, and the temple with all its courts leveled and burnt to the ground.
The darkness and doubt that hung over Jeremiah’s last days. They are left, to the imaginations of historians. Jeremiah did not need death by violence to make him a martyr. There fell on him far more suffering than any prophet before him, but he never backed away from the work Jehovah had laid out for him.

God curses the Jews.

Before the captivity in Babylon began, the first curse was directed at the Jews by Jehovah. He spoke to the nation of Israel through Moses:

Leviticus 26:33, “I (the LORD) will bring the land into desolation: —I will scatter you among the heathen (Persians and Babylonians), —- and your land (Israel) shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and you be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when you dwelt upon it.”

He then speaks of the prophet Jeremiah concerning the curse: 2 Chronicles 36:21-22-23, “To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate, she kept sabbaths, to fulfill threescore and ten years.” (Seventy Years.)

Daniel and others were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar to the city of Babylon in 606 B.C. This marked the beginning of the seventy years of captivity for the Jews. Their release came in the year 536 B.C. Seventy years passed when some 44,000 Jews returned to Israel under Zerubbabel.

Zedekiah, king of Judah: 599 to 546 B.C.

Zedekiah defeated: Jerusalem overrun: The temple destroyed in 586 B.C. Judah’s King came to the throne in 599 B.C. Those who remained in Judah continued to cherish their dream of independence from the Chaldeans. Those taken captive to foreign lands were looking forward to a speedy return to their land. But these expectations were discouraged by both prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. But the people would not heed their words, nor their prophecies believed.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, the King’s evil counselors openly renounced his allegiance with Nebuchadnezzar. His renunciation was accompanied by an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt, also known as Apries. Hophra, in the early years of his reign, besieged and took Gaza, and Sidon, then engaged and destroyed the King of Tyre.

When Nebuchadnezzar heard of Zedekiah’s revolt, he no longer attempted to maintain the separate existence of Judah, but now determined to incorporate it absolutely as a province with his empire. He would march into Judea and lay siege to Jerusalem.

Jeremiah attempted to counsel Zedekiah to save the city and temple by submitting to the Chaldeans and abandoning the Egyptian alliance. But the King’s counselors trusted the Egyptians to march to their relief if attacked by Nebuchadnezzar.

The Egyptians did march to assist the Hebrews, but when Nebuchadnezzar began his siege on Jerusalem and advanced to meet the Egyptians, they retreated before him back into Egypt. The siege continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the year 586 B.C. The city and temple were both destroyed. The King, his sons, officers, and a remnant of the army escaped from Jerusalem but were pursued and overtaken in the plain of Jericho. From Jericho, they were taken prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar unbraided Zedekiah for his ingratitude and his breach of faith, ordering a horrible punishment inflicted on him.

Zedekiah’s hopes to continue his reign were over. His sons ordered him slain before his eyes and, to exclude him from any hope of ever reigning, his eyes put out; this was a barbarous mode of disqualifying any man from taking any position of power.

Jeremiah 32:4-5, “Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, said the LORD: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed.”

 

Daniel, prophet of Judah. 

Daniel is the fourth of the “great prophets” and a descendant of the kings of Judah. He stands as commentator to succeeding generations and the herald of deliverance.  Part of his book is written in Chaldean, other parts in Hebrew and Aramaic.

The eye and not the ear were the organ of Daniel, who by visions and not words saw the will of God. The book of the prophet Ezekiel forms the connecting link between the characteristic types of revelation and prophecy.  

Daniel seems to have been the only prophet who enjoyed a great share of worldly prosperity, amidst the corruption of the king’s court. He was taken captive to Babylon while yet in his teens, the year, 606 B.C. He would be trained for the king’s service with three others his age, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

The four were placed in the court of the king, and after a short time, Daniel would rise to positions of great rank and power, both in Babylon and later in the courts of the Persian kings. He passed away when nearly ninety years of age, never to return to his home in Judea.

The first test of the four boys came when they resolved to abstain from the king’s food and king’s wine for fear of being defiled. Possibly, the food offered them may have been offered to the idols of the Babylonians. The four would eat only vegetables and drink water but would not partake of the king’s food. It was a test to last ten days, and at the end of the test,

Daniel 1:15, “their countenances appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s food.” 

Daniel’s book is a mixture of history and prophecy. The events occurred in the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede and Cyrus king of Persia. Chapter two contains Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream concerning four great successive monarchies; Babylon; the Medes and Persians; the Greeks and lastly, the Romans.

Following Rome would be a series of ten lesser empires having been part of the old Roman empire. It would end with the coming of Christ to his Temple, one that shall stand atop Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.

 

Nebuchadnezzar: 606 B.C.

The king’s dream was that of a man whose head was of gold, his chest and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of bronze, his legs of Iron, his feet and toes of Iron and clay. The king refused to tell the Astrologers, sorcerers and Chaldeans the dream.

But the LORD had enabled Daniel to know what the dream was, and to interpret it. After giving the king the interpretation, he was giving much favor in the king’s court.

In the last six chapters of the book, there were a series of prophesies extending from the days of Daniel to the general resurrection found in, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.

The legs of iron and clay mix would be an extension of the fourth empire divided into ten lesser kingdoms; and lastly when the Lord would return to destroy every earthly kingdom and established His own upon the earth. As for the exact time of Jesus return, He said in,

Mark 13:32, “of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.”

This dream was distinctly seen by the king and interpreted by God’s prophet, Daniel. A view of tomorrow coming from the counsel of God, which had been “laid before the foundation of the world.”

By the power of God, Daniel was able to interpret the king’s dream, for this, Daniel was “made ruler of the whole province of Babylon,” and “made chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.”

Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon for 42 years, from 605 to 561 B.C. He would be succeeded by Evil-Merodach, who was slain in battle with Cyrus the Great. Belshazzar would follow him to the throne of the empire.

 

Daniel’s five visions.

Vision 1: Daniel 2:1, “In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, 603 B.C., he dreamed dreams,” His dream left a profound impression upon the king’s mind, but as for the details, he was unable to remember. And so, he commanded his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans that by their occult skill and pretended influence with the gods of Babylon, should not only interpret but recover his dream without being told what it was; but they failed.

Verse 13, “And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Arioch the captain of the guard, then went to slay the wise men of Babylon. Arioch went for Daniel, he told him the reason for the kings hast to slay the wise men.  

Daniel goes before the king; he requests more time to consult his God. Given permission, Daniel removed himself from the king’s presence to his home, and in prayer, the king’s dream was made know to the prophet in a vision.

Arioch, the captain of the guard again brings the prophet before the king who tells him, “There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets and makes known to the king what shall be in the latter days.”  

Nebuchadnezzar was a worshipper of images, and in his dream beheld a great compound imaged of a living man standing before him. It is representing, “things that should come to pass thereafter.”

The head of the image was of pure gold denoted Nebuchadnezzar himself, and the succeeding kings of the Babylonian dynasty. The “breasts and arms of silver,” pointed to the succeeding but inferior empire of the Medes and Persians; “the belly and thighs of brass,” represent the third empire of the Macedonians and Greeks. The fourth empire represented by “legs of iron, and toes partly iron and partly clay,” pointed to the future Roman empire.

Rome would be strong as iron, but the kingdoms into which it would ultimately subdivide were composed of mixed materials, which should be partly strong and partly weak.

Lastly, Verse 34, “a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay and broke them to pieces.” Verse 35, “And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

This stone represents the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ; his kingdom is to be established upon the ruins of the four temporal empires and destined to fill the whole earth and is to continue forever.

Nebuchadnezzar was not slow in rewarding Daniel for the distinguished qualities which he exhibited. Daniel would be appointed ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and “chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon,” two of the highest civil and scientific offices in the state. The king ruled for forty-three years; died in 561 B.C.

 

Vision 2:

Daniel 7:1-2, “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, 555 B.C., Daniel had a dream and vision” “I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.” The year, 555 B.C.:

This vision of four beasts fills out the historical sketch that have been seen in king Nebuchadnezzars first vision, Daniel 2. Daniel sees the four worldly kingdoms in their inner essences as having natures lower than animal natures. But there is a judgement to come, a time when all thrones and authority shall be thrown down.

1 Corinthians 15:24, “Then comes the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”

In contrast to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the prophet sees the kingdom of God first. 

Verse 13, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days,” “there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”   

 

Vision 3:

Daniel 8:2, “And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace,” The vision is dated in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar:” the year, 552 B.C. Daniel is carried away in a vision to another part of the world, physically in Babylon, while his spirit is in Susa, the chief city of Elam, in the Persian empire.

Daniel sees a two horned ram which represent the Medes and Persians. He then sees a “he-goat,” Alexander the Great’s army, coming from the west with great speed. The he-goat, with great fury attacked the ram and trampled it to the ground.

But when the he-goat was strong, Alexander would suddenly die; his empire falling into the hands of, “four notable ones.” The four notable ones were four generals in Alexander’s army, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy.

From Seleucus would come a “little horn,” it represents the family of Antiochus, the first being, Seleucus’s son, Antiochus 1st Soter, surnamed Savior. Those who followed were,

Antiochus II theos; Antiochus Hierax; Antiochus III the Great; the first son of Antiochus III the Great followed. the younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus, became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus (son to Antiochus III the Great.

Next came the beast, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who is called and at times compared to the antichrist. He would rule the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until 164 B.C.

Then, Antiochus V Eupator; Antiochus VI Dionysusl; Antiochus VII Sidetes;  Antiochus VIII Grypus;  Antiochus IX Cyzicenus; Antiochus X Eusebes; Antiochus XI Epiphanes; Antiochus XII Dionysus (Epiphanes/Philopator/Callinicus); Antiochus XIII Asiaticus (died 64 BC), one of the last rulers of the Seleucid Empire.

And so, the kingdom of the little horn, which “waxed exceeding great,” ruled until defeated by the Romans in 63 B.C. 

 

Vision 4:

Daniel 9:21, “I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,”

It was in the first year of Darius king of the Medio-Persian empire, the year, 539 B.C. Daniel was given a fourth vision concerning the future of Israel’s judgements and future restoration.   

Daniel 9:24-27, “Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon the holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous times.”

Had the unfaithfulness of the Jews rendered the promises and designs of God of no effect? No! But rather tended to illustrate that the LORD would accomplish all he had decreed in spite of, and even through the reluctance, dishonesty, and treachery of the people. And so, the Hebrews were compelled to work God’s will by and through their misery and dishonor.

 

Vision 5.

Daniel 10:7, “I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision;”

It was in the third year of king Cyrus, 536 B.C., when Daniel had his 5th vision. He wrote concerning his vision, “the time appointed was long:” meaning it was far in the future.

Daniel was told by “a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightening, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and is arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.”

In verse 13, The message had been delayed twenty-one days because of a spiritual confrontation with the “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” this is when Michael, God’s messenger came to help.

Michael, who is called, “one of the chief princes,” is the patron angel of the Jews. God’s messenger said to Daniel, “I am come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days,” meaning far into the future. 

The vision concerns an amazing summary of some two-hundred years of history, regarding the wars between Egypt and Syria, between the Seleucids and Ptolemies who preceded Antiochus Epiphanes 4th.  This vision will continue until the end of time as we know it; a time when Jesus Christ has established his throne upon Mt. Moriah. This subject will be covered in Daniel’s prophesies.

 

Ezekiel, prophet of Judah: 595 to 571 B.C.

Ezekiel was one of the four greater prophets’ who rarely alludes to any facts concerning his own life. Ezekiel was taken captive in the captivity of Jehoiachin in 598 B.C., ten years before the destruction of Jerusalem in 588 and twelve years before the Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.

With a number of other Jewish exiles, they settled on the banks of Chebar, a river or stream of Babylon. It was here “that God’s message first reached him.” In the fifth year of king Jehoiachin, 595 B.C., Ezekiel had his call.

He was married and occupied a house in the place of his exile but lost his wife by and unforeseen stroke. His mission extended over twenty-two years during which the prophet Daniel was living and already famous. The boldness with which Ezekiel censured the idolatry and wickedness of his own countrymen is said to have cost him his life. He exhibited everywhere the tendencies of a Hebrew educated under Levitical training, that bias always visible. His memory was greatly revered, not only by the Jews, but also by the Medes and Persians.

The glory of God had been revealed to him, as was his appointment to office, and with it, instructions and encouragement for the discharge of it. He would describe under a series of visions and similitudes the calamities impending over Judea, and the total destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem itself by Nebuchadnezzar as well as another period in the future of yet a greater desolation, and more general dispersion of the Jewish people. This by the Romans in 70 A.D.

His prophesies were placed by the Jews among the “treasures.” Certain portions of his writing were not allowed to be read until the age of thirty. The last nine chapters of his book contain a remarkable vision of the structure of a new temple and the glory and prosperity of the church of the Lord Jesus.

There are no direct quotations from Ezekiel in the New Testament, but in Revelation there are many parallels and obvious allusions.

 

Ezekiel’s prophesies.

Assyria Shalmaneser king of the Assyrian empire defeated the ten Northern tribes of Israel, taking thousands into captivity. Also, thousands of those from the ten tribes migrated South going Jerusalem. But the LORD promised their return in these later days, reuniting the twelve tribes in one nation.

Ezekiel 36:24, The LORD is speaking of the return of the Jews to their land, “I (the LORD) will take you from among the Gentiles, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”

Ezekiel 37:12-14, “Thus said the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel.”

The LORD regards the Hebrews as “his people.” Their covenant relationship with them ensures His not letting death permanently reign over them. The Lord would give the Jews who were still under the law, a sample of what to expect when the Lord returns, then raises the dead from their graves. See, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54: and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 

Matthew 27:52: After the Lord’s death, we read, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks split; and the graves (of ancient Hebrews) were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept (those who had died) arose. And these came “out of the graves AFTER his (Jesus) resurrection; and went into the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared unto many.”

Verse 14, I, “shall put my Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land:”

In the year 990 B.C., the ten Northern tribes split from the two Southern tribes, Judea and Benjamin. King Jeroboam would rule over the ten Northern tribes, and king Rehoboam over the two Southern tribes. Ezekiel wrote concerning the later days, 

Ezekiel 37:22, “I (the LORD) will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king (Jesus) shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms and more at all:”

The prophesy began its fulfillment in May of 1948, and when the Lord Jesus returns, he will establish his throne on Mt. Moriah and rule as King of the Jews.

 

Belshazzar’s end.

Belshazzar, king of Babylon came to the throne in 555 B.C. and ended with his death in 538 B.C. when a mysterious hand appeared writing upon the wall of the palace, words of ominous import, words which no man could understand, filling the king’s heart with terror. The queen-mother sooths the king, reminding him of the days of Nebuchadnezzar when the wisdom of God was found in Daniel. 

Daniel is brought in before Belshazzar who speaks to him saying, “I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in you.”

He then said to Daniel, “If you can read the writing, and make know to me the interpretation thereof, you shall be clothed with scarlet,” a color distinctive of nobility; also, “have a chain of gold about your neck, and third in the kingdom.”

Daniel would reject the king’s offer, but said, “nevertheless I will read the writing to the king.”

Daniel read the inscription: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Peres, Upharsin.” He then proceeded to give the interpretation:

“Mene, God has numbered you reign, and

(Mene) has finished it.

“Tekel, You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.

“Peres, Your kingdom is divided.

“Upharsin, And given to the Mede and the Persian (Darius and Cyrus).”

The king heard this terrible sentence: but made no remark further than to command that Daniel should be invested with the promised scarlet robe and golden chain, and that the third rank in the kingdom be assigned to him. “The same night was Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans slain.”

Cyrus’s decree to release Jews:

Cyrus the Great wrote a decree, releasing the Jews from Babylonian captivity. There are many opinions concerning which decree, whom decreed it and when it was decreed that the Jews should be released to do what Daniel had prophesied,

Daniel 9:25, “to restore Jerusalem” and that “the street (open square) shall be built again, and the wall (moat around the city dug out), even in troublous times.”

Four decrees had been ordered over a period of 86 years, the first by Cyrus, then Darius, then Artaxerxes Longimanus otherwise called Ahasuerus, Queen Esther’s husband. These three were all kings of the Persia empire.

The first, Cyrus’ decree in 538 B.C., see 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4; Ezra 5:13. The Jews were to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the house of God. Obviously, it had not been fulfilled because Darius had to reaffirm Cyrus’s old decree, see Ezra 6:1 and verse 12.

The third decree came from Artaxerxes who ruled from 464 to 423 B.C. His decree came in the seventh year of his reign, 457 B.C.

Ezra 9:9, “our God has not forsaken us in our bondage but has extended mercy unto un in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.”

Desolations here in Hebrew speaks of, “dry places having been laid waste.”

The Hebrew word Ezra uses for wall actually speaks of a moat around the city.

Daniel 9:25, mentions a wall, in Hebrew means the walls of a deep moat around the city. The area around the city was a dry place, so a moat had to be a dry moat, not one filled with water. Recently an ancient moat has been discovered around the city of Jerusalem, it has been estimated the walls of it were 13 feet high, and the width, 56 feet wide.  

The third decree came from Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B.C. When Artaxerxes made his decree, the walls of the moat had been neglected for over a hundred years, and most likely filled in by Israel’s enemies and the gates going into the city had been burnt. Also, erosion most likely played a part in the moat being filled in with dirt. So, in order to protect the city form its enemies, the moat had to be dug out again, the gates going into the city rebuilt, and the open square repaired.  

The 4th decree also came from Artaxerxes on March 5th 444 B.C., see Nehemiah 2:1-8. This decree was for timber for the palace and for the walls around the palace, speaking of actual walls, not the moat. The palace was a fortress or tower and may have protected the temple and overlooked the northwest corner of its courts. Herod would rebuild it and named it Antonia. These things had nothing to do with the things Daniel spoke of.  

So, it was the third decree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. that fulfilled Daniel’s prophesy. It also makes sense because the king had married Esther who was a Jew, and he had prevented the total extermination of the Jews in all the provinces of the Persian empire from total extermination at the hands of Haman.

 

Darius, king of Persia.

“Darius the Mede took the kingdom.” Daniel would come into high favor with Darius, madding him first of the “three presidents” of the empire. Daniel’s life with the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians resembled that of a ride on a roller-coaster. Up to the top, only to fall to the bottom.

Because Daniel was preferred over two other presidents in king Darius’s court, a plot was hatched to destroy him. A royal statute was decreed,

Daniel 6:7, “that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.”

When Daniel heard of the king’s decree, he went to his chamber, faced toward Jerusalem, kneeled three times each day and prayed, giving thanks to his god, Jehovah.  

When the king heard, he ordered Daniel to be delivered and thrown into the lion’s den. But the king was pained because of the fate Daniel was to suffer. The following day, the king goes to the den of lions; he cries out to Daniel; and to his amazement, Daniel replies from the pit,

Daniel 6:22, “My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me:” Daniel is pulled from the pit, and those who accused Daniel and their children, and wives and cast them into the pit.

Daniel has another vision in Belshazzar’s third year as king, the year, 550 B.C. The vision begins with the Medes and Persians battling with the armies of Alexander the Great. Alexander defeats them, ruling over his new conquests but for only a short time. After his death in 323 B.C., his four generals divide the empire. The four generals were, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy.

After warring with each other, Seleucus and Ptolemy remained; Seleucus ruled from Syria, Ptolemy from Egypt. Seleucus would Hellenize the empire he now ruled over. Seleucus would be murdered early in the year 281 B.C. His son Antiochus 1st Soter would be become king over the Seleucid empire. For the following 200 Years the family of Antiochus ruled until the Roman Legions drove the Greek armies back to their original borders in 64 B.C.

If Artaxerxes decree for Ezra to return to Israel was in the kings seventh year, the decree had to have been in 457 B.C.

This is important because Ezra was told to return to Israel in order to repair the desolations, meaning dry places, and the places laid waste. A moat around the city in this part of the world would have been a very wide, deep and dry, the walls some 13 to 15 feet high on each side.  

Artaxerxes Longimanus, king of Persian ascended to the throne in the year 464, died in 424 B.C. His reign had been filled with incidences of the utmost importance and interest to the Jews. Certain elements of the Jewish population had returned to Jerusalem after the decrees of Cyrus in 536 B.C., and Cyrus’s decree reaffirmed after his death by Darius.

Certain Jews had returned to rebuild Jerusalem and the wall. Their work stopped by an order from the king, because of a complaint from the Samaritan officers, who reported to the king the citizens had become rebellious, warning Artaxerxes, if Jerusalem were rebuilt and fortified, the inhabitants were sure to rebel against him as they had in former times.

In the third year of Artaxerxes reign, the king celebrated at Susa the sitting of a new king of the Persian empire. At a public banquet, he sent for his queen Vashti, so those present at the celebration might witness her beauty. The order was so repugnant to her, she found it necessary to disobey her king. This infuriated all the wise men of Persia, they held that, to prevent the evil effects of her example, it would be necessary that the queen should be deposed, and that by a decree,

Esther 1:22, “every man should bear rule in his own house!”

So, Vashti was removed; and ultimately, Esther, a beautiful Jewish woman would be promoted in her place. This in the fourth year of the king’s reign. Because of Esther, the king would more than likely have become acquainted with the true character and position of the Jews. In the seventh year of his reign, he indicated that the edicts of Cyrus and Darius be acknowledged and enforced.

 

Esther and Mordecai.

The money Haman had offered the king to make up any difference the Jews would have paid in taxes was declined by the king. Besides, the amount would have been considerably short of the full amount of the Jewish tribute. The king had been unmindful of the heavy responsibility which was imposed concerning the destroy every Jew in all, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.

Esther pleaded with the king to “reverse the letters devised by Haman—, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces: But the king replied,

Esther 8:8, “The writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.” Not even the king himself had it within his power to reverse the law once written and sealed.

But now, Artaxerxes was convinced of the wrong into which he had been led concerning the massacre of the Jews. So, another letter was sent out to the provinces, but this time to the Jews. 

Verse 11, He, “granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.” And the king sealed it with his ring.”

On the appointed day, which had been destined to sweep the race of Israel from the face of the earth, they repelled their enemies by force of arms, and in all the provinces seventy-five thousand were slain.

The great deliverance of the Jews has been commemorated by the yearly feast of Purim, also called, Lots, so called from the lots, a form of dice which were superstitiously cast by Haman to find a good omen, and promising good results.

 

Haman.

Haman was an Amalekite: For centuries, the Amalekites were a firmly established foe of the Hebrew people. Hamon occupied the chief place in the confidence and service of king Artaxerxes 1st. His pride had been irritated by the apparent disrespect he received from Mordecai, a Jewish officer, the uncle to Queen Esther.

Esther 3:5, “And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.”

Haman would soon after hatch a plot for the massacre of the whole of the Jewish nation and the plundering of their goods.

Verse 6, “Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus (another name for Artaxerxes), even the people of Mordecai.” 

Esther 3:13, “And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar and to take the spoil of them for a prey.” 

Haman’s rank and wealth had allowed him to acquire and gratify his barbarous whim, when he offered the king himself a gratuity of ten thousand talents of silver to provide payment in order to make up for the deficiency of the royal revenue the Jews would have paid to the king’s treasury; but now were doomed to die.

The book of Esther refers us to the many particulars of Haman’s plot, and how the crafty schemes of this Amalekite were defeated by Queen Esther, then turned upon the unprincipled inventive Haman himself. Haman was destroyed with all his family, and Mordecai would be promoted to Haman’s position.

 

Judea’s restoration:

Several questions need to be answered; Why was it expedient the two Southern tribes, both Judah and Benjamin and the city Jerusalem be restored? and being restored, why not the ten Northern tribes territories?

Since the immutable promises that were made by God to the nation, the privilege had been secured in the seed of Abraham for upholding the standard of divine truth, until,

Ephesians 1:10, “the fulness of times.”

Since the nationality of Judah had been secured by the guarantee of the LORD’S promise, and after their punishment and correction, a restricted restoration would be sufficient. And so, the necessity of restoring Judea was that it was from Judah and from the house of king David that the King of King’s was to spring. The Christ who is to enlighten and redeem the world, and to bring in the new creation as the time of this age draws to a close.  

And for the Lord’s identity, our Redeemer promised, it was necessary that the dying struggles of the Jews nationality should not be permitted to end. But, when the “fullness of the times” comes, the nations will hail the coming of “the day-spring form on high” with great joy.

The political sins of Judah could be traced to their disposition to lean on the wisdom of men rather than upon God’s law, beginning with king Saul. Or having relied on the established institution for sacrifice and thanksgiving established by God.

The sin of the ten tribes was greater and merited a far greater severity of punishment because of idol worship. Israel, speaking of the ten tribe’s, their evil had been so hateful, shocking and deeply rooted, that no promise of restoring them could take place at that time. 

 

What became of the ten tribes?

Cyrus’s decree for the Jews to return had been directed to all God’s people, it being proclaimed throughout his empire, including the paces of the ancient Assyrians. Therefore, there’s no reason for anyone to conclude the ten tribes were forever lost, as implied by the cults. That teaching is sheer nonsense! God knows who and where they are today.

Also, Artaxerxes’s decree, with Esther and Mordecai’s letter concerning the feast of Purim was sent out to one hundred and twenty-seven provinces the king ruled over, provinces where the Jews of every tribe lived.  

Concerning their return home, they would have attached themselves to small caravans of merchants and proceeded to the land of their fathers. Arriving in small numbers and in small companies, their return is not particularly mentioned in history. Also, there may have been many of them in the first great caravan under Zerubbabel; but, whatever; it’s most likely that the citizens of the ten tribes returned in considerable numbers.

They would have returned as soon as they heard of the settlement of their brothers, and the completion of the temple. Also, there arrival was most likely subsequent to the close of the Old Testament canonical history, a time when the nation had pretty much settled in. Also, there were those who were prevented from returning; but even these retained their Jewish identity and heritage, but certainly, they were never lost. 

Those who had not returned, and who still bear the names of the sons of Jacob can be found around the globe, found in nations where they have for centuries resided, keeping their Jewish roots, and their religion intact. Also, their general physiognomy is strongly indicative of a Jewish descent.

 

 

 

The following article is long; it concerns Daniel’s prophesies found in Chapters nine and twelve and the prophesies of Hosea. What I have attempted to do is establish a solid foundation upon which the prophesies fall into place naturally, and not have to be forced it. Concerning dates, I have used every precaution to establish the correct historical dates. 

We will begin in the year 606 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar with his father co-ruled the Babylonian empire. It was the year Daniel the prophet and others were taken from their home in Israel to Babylon. In 605 B.C. the father dies, and Nebuchadnezzar is left sole ruler over the empire.  

The resurrection power and foreknowledge of God is the focus, the fulcrum and hub upon which all things rest and upon which all things turn, including time itself.

Again, I will attempt to lay a strong foundation before I get to the actual prophesies.

Time:

There were different systems among the ancient peoples to demarcate time, some by the solar calendars, others lunar. At the time of Jesus there was a lunar year, or 354 days. But the lunar year has the serious disadvantage of being some 11 days behind the solar year, which quickly causes a discrepancy between the months and the seasons. So, the differences had to be “caught up,” otherwise what was to be declared the summer months would eventually have opened in mid-winter.

Today we use the Gregorian calendar which had its beginning in 1592 A.D. It has been designed to reflect the duration of a solar year as accurately as possible. The solar year is approximately 365.242189 days long on average. The length of a year is defined by the time it takes the earth to complete a full orbit around the Sun. And because a common year has 365 days, a leap day is regularly added to bring it into sync with the solar year.

What’s important is, it’s the LORD who establishes the cycles of years and seasons. He controls history, declares kings, nations and empires,

Daniel 2:21, “And he (God) changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings and sets up kings:”

Now the question concerning Bible prophesy; “which of the calendar years are we to use when calculating end time prophesy?” If it’s one of Daniel’s prophesies, do we use the form of time keeping the Babylonians and Persians used?

Or do we reconcile time as it was in Jesus’ lifetime? Or because it concerns “End time” prophesies, are we to use today’s method for keeping time? Personally, because the LORD knows all things from beginning to end, the way we calculate time today would not have caught Him by surprise, therefore I believe the later would be correct. Therefore, all my calculations, both past, present and future will be based upon today’s keeping of time.

Concerning God, time and man there is another consideration that must be included in our calculations.

Scriptures tell us, Psalm 90:4, “For a thousand years in your (God’s) sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

2 Peter 3:8, “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

God sees all things from the beginning to the end, because there is nothing to make the LORD either hurry or delay the end. The LORD’S eternal-ages differ completely from our ways of keeping time, and certainly, He is not regulated by heavenly bodies.              

Hosea: Following is a good example of the above; we read in Hosea 6:2, “After two days will he (the LORD) revive us: in the third day he will raise us up,” If one would consider the context, there is no way a day here can mean a literal 24-hour day.

Now let’s apply Psalms 90:4, and 2 Peter 3:8 to Hosea’s prophesy of 2 days followed by a third day? some may say this verse has nothing to do with end time prophesy, but I say, “it does.” Hosea 5:15 holds the key to understanding Hosea 6:2.

The LORD said, “I will go and return to my place, till they (the Jews) acknowledge (confess) their offense and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early (meaning diligently).

So, the question is, when did the Lord return to his place in heaven? In the days of Hosea to this very day, God has been displeased with the Jews; and so he said, he would return to the place from which he came; that place? heaven.

The Lord Jesus came to us from above, Ephesians 4:10, “He (Jesus) that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens,”

After 33 ½ years here on earth, he would return to his place in heaven, Jesus said in John 16:16, “I go to the Father.” He went because his work here on earth was finished, and so was the nation of Israel.

Acts 1:9, “And when he (Jesus) had spoken these things, while they (his disciples) beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud (of angels) received him out of their sight.”

Colossians 3:1, “seek these things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God (His Father).”

It appears Hosea was speaking of the Lord Jesus returning to his place in heaven and sitting at the right hand of His Father.

Question, “Will the Jews ever seek the face of the Lord Jesus again?” Yes! it will be in the days of Jacob’s trouble, speaking of the great tribulation. For 3 ½ years the Jews will be confronted with a formidable foe, the antichrist. Antichrist will make the Jews an offer; receive my mark and live or reject my mark and die.

There will be a small remanent of Jews who will reject the antichrist’s mark of 666. Making that decision, they will have brought upon themselves a death sentence. In their affliction, they “will seek (His) face;” meaning they will earnestly seek him, but they will be beheaded. The good news, they will be raised up again to be with the Lord.

Revelation 20:4, for those who “had not worshiped the beast, neither received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

Hosea 6:1, the LORD “has torn:”

The year, 70 A.D., the place Jerusalem; the Lord sends the Roman army under the command of Titus to fulfill His will. Over a million inhabitants of the city were killed, tens of thousands taken into captivity, Jerusalem destroyed, and Herod’s temple leveled to the ground. From that day forward, and for the past 2000 years, the Jews have suffered at the hands of the Gentile nations. And so, it can be said, “He has torn.”

But Hosea also wrote, the LORD will one day heal the Jews, and raise up for himself a nation that will live in His sight.

Zechariah 8:23, “Thus said the LORD of hosts; in these days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the (gentile) nations, even shall take hold of the skirt (sleeve) of him that is a Jew, saying, we will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”   

If the above is correct, Hosea is speaking of 2000 years (represented as two days) followed by a one-thousand-year period (it represented by one day).

It will be 2000 years in October of 2027 when the Lord was baptized and recognized as the Messiah.

It will be 2000 years in April of 2031 when the Lord will have been raised from the dead and then returned to his place in heaven. I believe these are very important clues to the possible return of the Lord. I will show how other prophesies support the above.

We have determined time is a necessary precondition for us because people, places and things change, and change is a sufficient condition to establish the passage of time, and at the end of all time, we will find the Lord.                                                                                  

Language of the Bible:

The second thing that must be examined closely is the language in which we find Daniel’s prophesies written. Daniel at an early age had been brought into captivity by the Babylonians in 606 B.C. He lived to be about 90 years of age under Persian rule; never to return to Israel.

In the book of Daniel from chapter 2 the fourth verse to chapter 8, Daniel wrote in the Chaldee dialect. And to the end of the book, he wrote in the ancient Hebrew language. The Chaldee dialect was also used by other writers, Ezra, 4:8, 6:18, 7:12-26, and in, Jeremiah 10:11.

Ancient Hebrew, also known as classical or Biblical Hebrew, differs noticeably from modern Hebrew. The differences are mainly in the areas of grammar, phonology, and vocabulary. With that said, certain words that Daniel uses may not mean exactly what we think they mean in today’s vernacular.

And because of these differences, certain words need to be examined closely in order to stay the course. There are words Daniel uses that are not found anywhere else in Scripture, so we need to pay close attention to their true meaning. We will examine a few later in the article.   

                                                      

The fall:

My understanding is, before the fall, Adam and Eve were to live forever with the LORD in paradise. But when they fell after taking from the forbidden tree, the two were cursed, as were all future generations. And so, the LORD “Drove out the man.” I believe this is when time as we know and understand it began.

And so, Adam took that first step into the wilderness where the ground would yield its fruit within the thorns and thistles of the land, and where the beasts of the field hunted their pray and men became hunters of both beasts and man. It has been calculated by several notable chronologist that Adam’s departure from the garden occurred in October 23ed of 4004 B.C. This month and year will give a great deal of support to both Hosea and Daniel’s prophesies.                                        

 

Daniel’s prophesies concern long periods of time:

It must be clearly understood that Daniel’s prophesies beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream until “the end of the days,” thus, they concern long periods of time. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an image of a man in Daniel 2 deals with the rise and fall of empires. From the head of gold to the feet and toes of iron and miry clay, some 2628 years have passed to this day; yet Nebuchadnezzar image stands.  

Note, in the King James Bible when Daniel interprets the meaning of the king’s image of a man, he mentions two types of clay. Daniel 2:34 speaks of a mixture of both, “iron and clay.” The Hebrew here refers to a potter’s clay, a usable clay mixed with the iron. These two elements form the legs and feet of the image. Potters clay is both strong and tough, whereas miry clay found in Daniel 2:43 is a dirty, muddy unusable form of clay.

And so, the nations of the world including Israel in these last days will be of no value to the Lord, as miry clay is to a potter. It will be a time when both the political and religious communities will be weakened by the filth of false religions and corrupt governments.

The number ten in scripture is viewed as a complete and perfect number. But in this case, the ten toes of the image may represent a perfect group of nations that will bow a knee to their god, the coming antichrist. These ten will bring us to the doorstep of the great tribulation.

Before the time of Jacob’s trouble, all men will have made their decision as to whom they will follow. It will be either the testimony of Jesus Christ, or that of the antichrist.

Jeremiah said of a corrupt Israel, Jeremiah 4, the whole earth, “is plundered:” — for the people are foolish, they have not known me: they are (stupid, meaning foolish) children, and they have no understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void: and the heavens, and they had no light.”

This brings to light the condition of the earth in Genesis 1:2, it being “without form, and void;” that is, until the LORD said, “Let there be light:”  

                                                                               

Toes of iron and miry clay.

The nations of Italy, Britain, Spain, France and Germany, all once world powers having their roots in ancient Rome; but today their gasping for air. Most Arab nations have been built on the foundation of ancient Rome; some had developed into world powers, but as they grew in age, they began losing their balance and now stumble around like old men on weakened legs.  

Most all Middle Eastern nations have turned to the religion of Mohomet, no longer worshipping the God of their father’s Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For you who are not familiar with religious history, the religion of Islam came along some 500 years after the death of Jesus Christ. Islam is not established on the Rock, Jesus Christ, but on the feet and toes of a man called Mohamed.  

The nations of Ethiopia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon all once part of ancient Rome, all having had a taste of Christianity, but now overcome and intoxicated with a false religion. These false religious beliefs have driven them into a continual religious war with both Christians and Jews, a war they cannot win.  

America has been settled by many of the people of the above nations, and with them, they brought their religion and politics. Strange ways and strange beliefs, the words and phrases having been interwoven in with the word of God. Many of the Bibles on the market today have been intentionally corrupted, corrupted so they would agree with corrupt teachings.  

Daniel 2:43, speaks of feet and toes consisting of both an iron and miry clay compound. As stated above, miry clay is a dirty, muddy form of clay, it cannot be turned into a glasslike substance whereas, potters clay can. From the daily headlines we can see the world we live in has been weakened by this contaminated combination of elements. 

      

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

The LORD’S dream given to Nebuchadnezzar began with the Babylonian empire, the “head of gold.” Babylon would eventually be overthrown in 536 B.C. by the Medes and Persians. These two great powers would be overthrown by the Alexander the Great about 333 B.C. The Greeks would be overrun by the Romans and pushed back to their original boundaries in 64 B.C., and so ended the Seleucid Empire.

The Roman empire would be divided, East and West, it would also have a divided church. The Roman Catholic church in the west, and the Eastern, or Greek Orthodox church in the East. Eventually Rome would be suppressed by the barbarian tribes which came from Asia and Europe in the 5th century. The chiefs of these tribes were fascinated with the culture and lifestyle of the Romans so they adopted it, as well as the Christian religion. The more powerful and influential of these chiefs would support both financially and militarily the new upstart, the Roman Catholic church.  

In the 5th century, the church of Rome led by the Popes of Rome would hold all the cards, a Royal Flush! And so, the time came when kings bowed before the throne of the Popes.

From the Roman root came the nations of Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Great Brittan and others. Diverse America has adopted much of the culture, politics and religions of the ancient world.

Today in the climate of Hollywood, the entertainment industry, the internet and so on, we are witnessing the spread and acceptance of nasty sexual thinking and perverse sexual behavior, the blasphemous sins of the ancient world. The results, millions, especially children are being indoctrinated in our public schools with this evil and spoiled with drugs and liquor.   

A warning from the Lord’s own mouth has been sent out for all to heed.  

Matthew 18:6-7, “Whosoever (shall cause to sin) one of these little ones which believe in me, it was better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

After examining all of Daniel’s prophesies as well as Hosea’s prophesy, it can be determined that long periods of time would have to pass, time measured in years and centuries, not days, weeks or months. Let me clarify, I am not speaking of the prophesies found in the book of Revelation, most do concern shorter periods of time.                                                                                            

Daniel’s prophesy, 9:24.  

The first prophesy we will examine is Daniel 9:24; we will then move on to verses 25-26-27. When finished, Daniel 12:11-12, and their connection with Hosea 5 and 6. Also that moment in time when Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden. We will have to establish certain key players who took part in fulfilling the prophesies. One more point; common sense and an open mind will help in this investigation.

Seventy years of captivity:

The Jews were to serve out a period of 70 years in captivity, Jeremiah 25:11, “And the whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And — when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon,”

When Daniel and others were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the seventy years of captivity began, the year, 606 B.C. The seventy years ended in, 536 B.C. two years after Darius the Mede took the kingdom of Babylon from Belshazzar in 538 B.C.

After the fall of Babylon, we find Cyrus the Great, ruled the Mede and Persian empire from 559 to 539 B.C. During his reign as king, he had decreed the release of all Jews from their captivity. We find it in,

Ezra 1:2-3, “he (God) has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. — let him (the Jews) go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God) which is in Jerusalem.”

Cyrus’s decree would include all 127 provinces under his rule, this would have included any and all Jews born of the ten Northern tribes. Any Jew who wished to return to Jerusalem could; the year, 536 B.C. God’s curse was now ended, the 70 years fulfilled.   

The first caravan back to the promised land was led by Zerubbabel. Those who returned with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, a grandson of the high-priest Jozadak, and ten of the principal elders, all having prepared themselves for the four-month long journey home. The number with them is estimated to have been 50,000, including 7,337 male and female servants. 

It is certain that a portion of the ten Northern tribes had returned with Zerubbabel, their history of later periods mentions them as settling in Galilee and Perea long before the time of Christ. At that time, many from the ten Northern tribes had connected themselves with the tribe of Judah, eventually losing the name of Israelites. From then forward, all 12 tribes have been indiscriminately designated as Jews.

Many of the Israelites from the ten Northern tribes had migrated South to Judea after being overrun by the Assyrians, this between the years, 721 and 719 B.C.

The cults teach that the ten Northern tribes are lost. Absolutely not! Read what the LORD had to say about that, Ezekiel 20:32-44.    

When the returning Jews began to work on the city and temple, their adversaries used every means to deter and discourage them. For many years to follow they gave the Jews a great deal of trouble in the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem. Why did they hinder the Jews?

The Samaritans offered to help the Jews rebuild, but were rejected, thus was laid the foundation of hatred between the two nations. The Samaritans were the colonists whom the Assyrian kings had planted in the land of Israel. The Samaritans intermarried with Jews who had remained in the land after the Assyrian captivity

And so, the work was suspended. Ezra 4:24, “Then ceased the work of the house of God (the temple) which is at Jerusalem. So, it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia,” the year, 520 B.C.  

                                                                            

Darius.

Years later when Darius the Great searched the “house of rolls,” and found the rolls Cyrus his father had written, permitted the Jews to return to their land and begin rebuilding the house of God.

Prior to this, Darius had made immense preparations for renewing the war with Egypt and Greece. The fourth Egyptian revolt would cause Darius to divide his army, half to act against the Greeks, the other against Egypt. But just when preparations were completed, Darius died, the year 487 B.C.

As the rendezvous of the army in this expedition against Egypt were in the neighborhood of the territory of Israel, it is likely the Jews were obliged to participate in either its operation; or possibly they may have obtained an exemption from personal service on condition they would help supply Xerxes army with provisions.   

                                                                                              

Xerxes.

Xerxes the Great came to the throne in 487 B.C., having succeeded in bringing Egypt under the Persian yoke. His resources had been taxed to the uttermost, so there is no reason to suppose the Jews were able to avoid contributing toward this vast undertaking.                                                                 

Queen Esther and Xerxes:

Esther was taken by Xerxes the Great who was also known as Ahasuerus as his wife and queen. She appears to have remained sitting on the throne after Xerxes son Artaxerxes Longimanus had been crowned king. There is no record of the year of the queen’s death.

We find Esther seated on the throne beside her (stepson) in Nehemiah 2:6, “And the king (Artaxerxes) said unto (Nehemiah), the queen also sitting by him,)”

Xerxes took Esther as his queen at a very young age, some 4 or 5 years after being crowned king. Let’s assume she was between 16 and 20 years of age. When the king died, Esther would have been about 35 years old. She would remain by her step-son Artaxerxes Longimanus side; how long is unknown. But the king did have another queen, Damaspia the mother of Xerxes 2ed. When the king died in 425 B.C., it’s said, she died.

Why is this information concerning Esther important? Queen Esther most likely had a great deal of influence with Xerxes, Esther 2:17, “And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight — so he sat the royal crown upon her head and made her queen —.”

After the king’s death, she most likely remained on the throne as queen in the reign of her stepson, Artaxerxes Longimanus.

She was to complete her ultimate mission for the LORD. That mission was to influence both Xerxes and Artaxerxes into letting the Jews return to Zion in order to rebuild the city and the temple, thus fulfilling all the ancient prophesies.

It would be no stretch to claim that Artaxerxes sympathy and consideration for the Jews probably had a great deal to do with the queen’s witness, her influence, loyalty and uprightness to both him and his father.   

Throughout the Old Testament, we can witness this pattern; a pattern in which the LORD knowingly would choose a woman to be instrumental in accomplishing his purposes: examples are, Sarah, Rebekah, Miriam, Deborah, Jael, and others.

Considering all the players, and the historical perspective, it would be easy to make the case that there was far more to Queen Esther’s mission than the initial saving of the Jews from the villain, Haman. Her obedience to the LORD laid a great deal of the framework for the eventual restoration of Jerusalem, the wall, street and Temple.                                                     

The crowning of a new king in the Persian empire:

An uncertain amount of time had to pass before Artaxerxes took the throne. It was on August 11th 465 B.C., his father Xerxes was assassinated by one of his ministers, Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and most powerful official in the Persian court.

After killing the king, Artabanus went to Artaxerxes and told him, “Your brother Darius murdered the king.” Artaxerxes then went and murdered his brother Darius. But later, when the truth was found out, he had Artabanus and his sons arrested and killed. It appears many months had passed after the death of his father Xerxes.   

As for the coronation, Artaxerxes was required to go to the ancient capital of Pasargadae for his coronation ceremony. Once there, he entered a temple to a warlike goddess whose name is unknown. He would remove his own robe and substitute it with the robe worn by Cyrus 1st at his crowning. These ceremonies would have taken time to prepare and complete.

Considering all the above, we can safely say Artaxerxes could not have been officially crowned king until late in the year 464 B.C.                                                                                                      

Ezra 4:6, “And in the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), in the beginning of his reign, wrote they (the Samaritans) unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.”

This written accusation by the Samaritans to Xerxes is not referred to anywhere else in Scripture. When his son Artaxerxes became aware of this document, he would confirm every particular his father had made concerning the Jews. See Josephus, Antiquities 9:4-8, 11, 5:1.

After several years had passed, Artaxerxes would receive a letter from the leaders of the Samaritans who wrote negatively to him concerning the Jews in Jerusalem. Here’s how the letter reads,

Ezra 4:12-13, “the Jews which came up from you to us are come into Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. Be it know now unto the king, that, if this city be build, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so you shall endamage the revenue of the king.”

And so, the Jews were stopped in their work by an order of the king, in consequence of this letter of complaint from the Samaritan officers, who described Jerusalem as, “a rebellious and bad city;” and also warned the king, if the city were to be rebuilt and fortified, the inhabitants would surely prove seditious as in former times and most likely cause trouble, and endanger the Persian dominion in that part of their kingdom.

The king would consult the ancient records and found the facts to be true. The king would then send a letter to the Samaritan chiefs to stop the work until further orders. The opposition of the Samaritans was remarkably well-timed, and hence, in all probability had its success.

The following date is of extreme importance in order to solve the mysteries hidden in Daniel’s prophesies. Now in the seventh year of Artaxerxes reign, 457 B.C., the king indicated his knowledge of the decrees made by both Cyrus and Darius years before.

He was therefore willing to enforce these decrees by authorizing “Ezra the priest, and a scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven” to return to Jerusalem “to beautify the house of Jehovah,” and to establish the ecclesiastical and civil institutions with greater firmness and order than they had already acquired.

Ezra 7:13, the king said, “I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.” “To go up” not in altitude, but higher because Jerusalem belongs to the LORD.                                                                                 

When Ezra arrives in Jerusalem, the treasures they brought with them were given to the priests and Levites who then brought them to the temple. At that time Ezra arrived, the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites had been intermingling with the gentiles, committing many abominations with them.

It also appears the king had given Ezra further instructions that were not recorded in Ezra 7:13 to 26. In verse 21 we read what the king did decree privately to Ezra,  

“I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasures which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, and the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily.”

And so, Ezra was made governor of Judea, and begins a reform in 456 B.C.                                                                                                                    

What was Ezra’s plan?

He wrote in Ezra 9:9, the king of Persia had given “us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.”

Two separate items mentioned in this verse are of extreme importance, 1. “repair the desolations,” and 2. “give us a wall.” The ancient wall around the city was to be repaired in order to protect it from their enemies.  

So how do the orders we read about in Ezra line up with Daniel’s prophesies?  

 

Ezra 9:9 the word “desolations” speaks of “dry places or places laid waste.” In the same verse he also speaks of repairing a wall. Ezra’s wall in verse 9 speaks not directly to the wall, but to THE PLACE that has walls. It appears obvious, repairing the desolations and repairing or rebuilding the wall speak of two different projects.

Daniel for the word wall uses the Hebrew word which speaks not of a wall above the ground, but that of the walls of moat dug into the ground. Before the Jews were removed from the land there had already been a moat around the city, a moat most likely in dire need of repair.                                                                       

Daniel 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto (until) the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks (49 years), and threescore and two weeks (434 years): the street shall be built again, and the wall (moat), even in troubled times.”

Forty-nine years, or one week of years had already passed. The decree of Artaxerxes went out in 457 B.C., a full 49 years later would take us to the end of the writings of the Old Testament, 408 B.C., Malachi being the last Old Testament prophet.                                                                                           

Daniel 9:26, “And after threescore and two weeks (62 weeks of years or 434 years) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

Several events over a period of time are mentioned in the above verse.

The Messiah would be cut off after a full four hundred thirty-four years from the close of the Old Testament. This would bring us to the year 27 A.D. This was the year Jesus was baptized by John and the Holy Spirit as Messiah.

Is there any other evidence to prove the above? Jesus was born in October of 4 B.C. Luke 3:23 tells us he was thirty in that year when baptized.  

Daniel also prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem as well as the Temple by the people of the prince, this happened in 70 A.D.

“Unto the end of the war desolations,” wars against the Jews continue to this very day.

Daniel 9:27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the middle of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Again, several events were to take place over a period of time. Questions:  

  1. When Jesus was speaking of an unknown person he referred to him as “he” So who is this “he?”
  2. Who is it that is to confirm this new covenant? And what covenant is Daniel speaking of?”
  3. Who is it that caused the blood “sacrifices and oblations (gift offerings) to cease?”

At that time, the Jews were doing the works of the devil, therefore, they had to be punished. Sin had alienated the Jews from God, thus provoking Him against them. Jesus original commission was to “seek and to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” but they rejected him from the beginning of his ministry.

And because of Israel’s great sins against the Lord, some 40 years after His death, He would send the Roman armies led by Titus to destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Throughout Jewish history, Israel’s enemies had been sent by the LORD to fulfill His will in order to punish the people of Israel for their sins. The destruction of the ten Northern Tribes followed by the destruction of the two Southern tribes had been prophesied years before these events occurred.

Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the Gentile lands, He would send the Roman legions.  

The LORD sent Sargon the second and his son and successor, Sennacherib to destroy the ten Northern tribes: He sent Nebuchadnezzar to sack the Temple treasures in 598 B.C., then to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple in 586. He sent Cyrus to defeat the Babylonians in 538 B.C., and Alexander the Great to defeat the Syrians.

And so, we can conclude it was the Lord who sent in the people of Rome led by Titus to inflict the punishment they deserved. So, Titus is not the “he” Daniel spoke of. Why not Titus?

Because Titus was neither a prince or king, but a General of the legions of Rome. Titus would be crowned king some nine years later in 79 A.D.

So, to conclude, the “he” is Jesus Christ: Psalms 24:1, “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”                                              

 

Who confirms covenants?

The LORD alone makes covenants and he alone confirms covenants, especially with the people of Israel. Believing Gentiles (wild olive tree branches) are grafted into the promises made to the Jews who are (the natural branches of an olive tree). See Romans 11:17-24.

Hebrews 8:8-10, The following was written by Jeremiah some 600 years before the birth of Christ, he wrote,

”Behold, the days come, said the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Verse 10, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, said the LORD; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” The last part of this verse (underlined) has yet to be accomplished.

The LORD severed His relationship and communication with the Jews several times in Jewish history. When I say severed all communications with him, what I mean is, the priests of the temple and the people would have no means of communicating with God and no way of cleansing themselves of sin.                                                                                       

Concerning Nebuchadnezzar in 598 B.C. He was allowed by the LORD to enter the Temple and remove the vessels in the Holy place.

1 Kings 2:24:13, what they did was, “carry “out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD,” — they (the Babylonian’s) “cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD,” The Temple and the city remained, but, the Ark and Mercy seat were never seen again.

When the Ark of the Covenant which held the golden bowl that once held the manner from heaven; the two broken tablets of the law and Arron’s rod that budded as well as the mercy seat overlaid with gold were taken, the Jews were left with no means of communicating with God, thus, the daily sacrifice was taken away, not by men, but by the LORD. God alone allows these things; men are the vessels sent to fulfill His will; they have no power over these things unless He allows it.                           

The third question: “Who caused the blood sacrifices and oblations (gift offerings) to cease?”

When the people rejected Jesus Christ as the “Lamb of God,” no further sacrifices would be accepted by God, in other word, “they blew it!”

What was the daily sacrifice Daniel is speaking of in 9:11, and Daniel 12:11?

The daily sacrifice is when the Jewish people as a nation were to offer two lambs each day; one in the morning and one in the evening, this in order to cover their nations’ iniquity. Since sacrifices can only be performed within the Temple of God, the LORD’S mandate for this particular sacrifice was to be a permanent statute which is to be observed throughout all generations.

But when Nebuchadnezzar took the Ark, mercy seat and other vessels from the Temple, the priests of the Temple were left without any means of communicating with God. So, who was it that was going to stand in for the sacrificial Lambs? It was to be the Son of God, Jesus Christ; who was ordained to be the Lamb of God, a Lamb without spot or blemish.

Jesus is also our High Priest and minister of the sanctuary, not after the order of the Levites, but of Melchizedek?

Hebrews 7:17, “Thou (Jesus) art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 8:1-2, speaking of Jesus, “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.”

Can the golden pot that held the manna, the broken tablets having the law written on them and Aaron’s rod that budded along with the mercy seat ever be replaced in order for the people of Israel to once again be cleansed of their sins?

Yes! all of the above had been replaced by the Lord Jesus. Every aspect of the working of the temple had been fulfilled in the Jesus.

Isaiah 42:21, “The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ (Son’s) sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” “Task accomplished.”

Romans 8:3-4, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Concerning the golden pot that held the manna:

John ties it all together for us: John 6:49-50, Jesus is speaking, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.”

John 6:33, Jesus said, “the bread of God is he which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world.” Verse 35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger;”  

Concerning Aaron’s missing rod that budded:

The symbolism of Aaron’s Rod which miraculously budded, blossomed and bore almonds, is shown to have foreshadowed the resurrection of the Lord as the resurrection and the life, the Stem out of Jesse, who showed Himself after His resurrection by many proofs.

Concerning the missing Mercy seat:

Romans 3:25-26, “Whom God (the Father) hath set forth to be a propitiation (mercy seat) through faith in His blood, to declare His (Jesus) righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” And so Christ is our mercy seat.

And so, with the new covenant Jesus brought to us and by his representation of the missing vessels of the Temple, and finished work, the door to the Father’s thrown was thrown open for all men to enter.  

Matthew 3:15, “Who fulfils all righteousness that He (Jesus) will magnify the law and make it honorable.” And so, the new covenant was born in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6-21, “I the LORD (the Father) have called thee (His Son) in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people (the Jews), for a light of the Gentiles.”

What about the veil of the temple that was rent (torn) in half from the top to the bottom? The veil of the Temple was for concealment; it was a high crime punishable by death for anyone to see the things which were within the Holy of Holies except for the High Priest, and this, only once each year.

But after Christ’s death, all things were laid open, the mysteries were now unveiled and anyone who receives the Lord could enter into the Holy place, including Gentiles.

John mirror’s this in Revelation when he wrote, Revelation 4:1, “I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven:” Verse 2, “immediately I (John) was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”

What John saw after passing through the door in heaven, which represents the finished work of the cross, opened the door through Jesus Christ to said, “I am the way.” And, what John saw was the throne of God radiating with the glory of the Father.   

Two more questions: Daniel wrote, “unto Messiah.” Meaning, when was Jesus recognized as the Messiah by his people? And when was he being “cut off?” Meaning, when did he cut himself off from the people he came to save?

Let’s begin with this, exactly four thousand years after the fall in October of 4004 B.C., the Lord was born. The time was in late October of 4 B.C., then baptized at the age of 30. So, the month and year of his baptism would have been sometime in October of 27 A.D. We will come back to the above-mentioned dates and tie them in with Daniel’s prophesy later.

When was he recognized as the Messiah?

First recognized by John the Baptist, then by Andrew and Peter, and also by the devil himself when he tempted the Lord in the wilderness. These events occurred sometime in late October and early November of 27 A.D., this after the Lord turned 30.

Luke 3:23, “Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age,”

John 1:35, “the next day after John (the Baptist) stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, behold the Lamb of God!”

John 1:41, “He (Andrew) first finds his own brother Simon (Peter) and said unto him, we have found the Messiah,” this soon after his baptism.

What had been one of Jesus many missions? Jesus said to the Canaanite woman,

Matthew 15:24, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

This was a strict commission from the Father to his beloved Son. But, the Jews, the “lost sheep” rejected him. Let’s go back to the time Jesus went to John to be Baptized. John had already confronted the religious leaders who came to his baptism from Jerusalem.

In Matthew 3:7-10, he calls the religious leaders vipers, “who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

As their fathers were, so were they, children of the wicked one. These men were the seed of serpents, who should bruise the head of the woman’s seed.

Jesus came to John from the Gentile city of Galilee in order to be baptized. This was Galilee of the Gentiles.

After he left the wilderness, he learns John had been arrested and cast into prison. So instead of going to Jerusalem he departed and returned to Capernaum and then back to Galilee, both gentile cities. Here he finds Andrew and Peter.

The first time we find Jesus in Jerusalem was during the Passover, this had to be in April of 28 A.D., six months from his baptism. He goes into the temple and finds “money changers, traders selling oxen, sheep and doves to Pilgrims who carried all sorts of currencies, but brought with them no animals for temple sacrifice.

He made a scourge, then drove them from the temple. He would then be confronted by the Jews, John 2:23-24. Though many (Jews) believed in him, he “did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,” in other words, He would not entrust his fate to their hands because he knew their hearts.

Throughout his ministry, he endured the contradiction of the Jews against himself, living in poverty and disgrace.

When He went to the synagogue in Nazareth a Jewish city on the sabbath, he read from the book of Isaiah. When finished reading, he said to the people, “this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”  Soon after,

Luke 4:28, “all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things were filled with wrath (rage), And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” He then headed back to Capernaum, a Gentile city.

At his trial and before the crucifixion, he was crowned with thrones; then they bowed before him, mocking him, spit upon him, struck him with a reed on the head.

The Jewish people cried out to Pilate, Luke 23:21, “Crucify him, crucify him.” Pilate then said to the people,

John 19:15, “Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar.”

Matthew 27:25, at the cross, the people cried out, “let his blood be on us, and on our children.” He was then led away to be crucified.

In Acts 2:15, we are told of the number of disciples who remained loyal to the Lord even after the resurrection were 120, this out of a population of thousands and thousands.  

So, the answer to the question, “when was Messiah cut off? “It was soon after he began his ministry in the later months of 27 A.D. From this time to his death, he walked through the many cities and streets in Israel confirming his new covenant with words, deeds and miracles for 3 ½ years.

Concerning his disciples, Matthew 10:5, Jesus “commanded them, saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter you not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Verse 16, “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:”

Now we have enough evidence to determine when Jesus was cut himself from those he came to save. They had rejected him from the day of his baptism.

A second question needs to be answered. We know, the confirming of His new covenant was to be for 7 years. Even though he cut himself off from the people and religious leaders, he continued to confirm his covenant with his people before being put to death.

But Daniel wrote, Daniel 9:27, “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (7 years):”

After the devil left him, Jesus heard John had been cast into prison, so he departed to Galilee. Galilee is some 40 miles from Jerusalem. 

So, what about the remaining 3 ½ years? Who will finish confirming this new covenant Jesus brought with him? And, when will this happen?

For the answer, let’s go to Revelation 11. Before the tribulation begins, there will be two men anointed of God, dressed in sackcloth preparing to accomplish this most important mission. Who they are? no one knows.

Soon after the rapture (catching away) of the bride of Christ, the world will see the two of them standing somewhere near where both Solomon and Herod’s Temple once stood, and where the abomination of desolation now stands.

Every news network world-wide will be focused on them. They will finish confirming the Lord’s new covenant for 3 ½ years, then murdered by the antichrist, who will himself receive a deadly wound to his head by the two.

Revelation 5:5, “If any man will hurt them, —- he must in this manner be killed.” And the warning from the Lord in the context of this verse, “he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.”

At the time of the first beast (antichrist) anyone who defied was to have their heads cut off.

And because he killed the two witnesses, most likely by the sword, it was by the same means he would receive a deadly wound to his head.

Now because of the power given to the second beast of Revelation 13, his deadly wound was healed, Revelation 13:12, “whose deadly wound was healed  

The dead bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street for 3 ½ days, while the people of the earth will, “rejoice over them, and make merry, — because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.”

 After this, the Spirit of God will enter them, they will stand on their feet, then a voice will be heard from heaven saying, “Come up hither.” They will be taken up with a cloud of angels as the nation’s watch in awe.  

So, the answer to our two questions,

  1. When was Messiah cut off? Answer, soon after he had been baptized by John and the Holy Spirit.
  2. Who will finish confirming the last 3 ½ years of the new covenant? Answer, the two witnesses of Revelation 11.

Last question, “who caused the blood sacrifices and oblations (gift offerings) to cease in the middle of the 7-years?”

The blood sacrifices and oblations ceased twice in Jewish history: Let’s return to the days of king Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. At that time, the law allowed animal sacrifices in the Temple as long as the Jews honored the LORD and kept the Levitical laws. But when the Jews fell into blasphemes sin, the LORD sent Nebuchadnezzar to remove all the vessels of the temple including the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy seat.

And so, all communications with the LORD ceased, and any further daily sacrifices made by the priests of the temple would be rejected, that is until Christ came.   

When Jesus began his ministry, he brought himself to the people of Israel as the Lamb of God having neither spot or blemish. But the priests of the temple and the people rejected him as God’s sacrificial Lamb.

And so, the Lord cut himself off from the people and returned to the cities of the gentiles. And for a second time, the Jews were without a daily sacrifice having no means of communicating with God.   

Jesus Christ is the great sacrifice, by which atonement is made for all sins, and so, reconciled to the Father in heaven.

Jesus said, John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.  

Jesus chose to allude to the lambs that were offered with a special reference to the daily sacrifice, which was offered in the temple every morning and evening, and the sacrifices were always lambs. The blood of the animals offered in the temple looked forward in time to the true sacrifice.

The Passover observed after Jesus was crucified, should have been the last act concerning Jewish temple worship involving animal sacrifices. The only lawful sacrifice offered after that should have been the once and for all time offering of the body and blood of Christ.

Let’s summarize the above: from the time the command went out to restore and build Jerusalem, the street and wall until Messiah would be 483 years.

The command by Artaxerxes in the 7th year of his reign, 457 B.C., less 483 years takes us to the year Jesus was baptized and recognized as the Messiah, 27 A.D: It was also the year he began his ministry and the same year he was rejected, or “cut off.” Not that the people cut him off, but because they refused to acknowledge who he was and his mission, they were cut off from him.

Daniel wrote, to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince.

What is the Hebrew meaning of the word restore?  It means to return concerning the Jews it meant they were now free to return to their homeland.  

Now the word, “build,” in the Hebrew means to construct, repair, raise up and reestablish. So, the Jews were given permission from the king to return to Israel and to “build” or repair and reestablish their city, the wall, moat and street.

Our 3ed word is “street. This would be the open square in Jerusalem that was also in need of repair.

The 4th word is of the most importance. It’s the one word that distinguishes Nehemiah’s wall with the wall Daniel speaks of in Daniel 9:25.

Does Nehemiah’s wall fulfill Daniel’s prophesy of a future wall?”

No! Here’s why. Nehemiah’s wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month of Elul,” The wall Nehemiah repaired was one of stone, one built above ground in order to protect Jerusalem. An example can be seen in what is today called the wailing wall. The wall stands some 39 feet above the ground. A wall of this height would have been a formidable task for any of Israel’s enemies to overcome. 

But Daniels prophesy concerns a different word, it concerns the walls of a moat, one dug down into the ground. And because of this, Nehemiah’s wall of stone does not fulfill Daniel’s prophesy, neither would it be the command Nehemiah received from the king in 444 B.C.  

Daniel’s wall concerned a moat cut into the ground; a moat that would help fortify the city. The moat around Jerusalem would most likely be a dry moat because of the scarcity of water, thus referred to as a dry place. Ezra wrote concerning the place as a place of desolation.

Ezra 9:9, the LORD had revived the Jews, and so they were to “Set up the house of God, and to repair the desolations (meaning dry places.)

When the Jews were taken into captivity by the Babylonians and Jerusalem and the temple destroyed in 586 B.C. until Nehemiah and Ezra’s time, about one hundred and forty years had passed. Most likely the old moat around the city collapsed in on itself, or the enemies of the Jews may have filled in many of the strategic places in order to enter the city more easily. So, when Ezra arrived, the old moat would have had to be dug out and repaired.

The climate around Jerusalem is dry, a place where little water is found. So, a moat dug out in this part of the world would be a dry. It would have been a great obstacle facing any enemy from entering the city. Usually after a moat was crossed, Israel’s enemies would have had to then climb a high wall built with stone, this would have been Nehemiah’s wall.

Recently, archologist uncovered a moat around Jerusalem that was, thirteen feet-deep, and fifty-six feet wide. It had to be dug out and repaired just as it had back in Ezra and Nehemiah’s days.

Thirteen feet deep and fifty-six feet wide would have slowed down and exposed an invading army to a great deal of danger as they attempted to climb the walls of the moat. Once they scaled the walls of the moat, they would then have had to scale a second wall, a wall of stone. They would have needed ladders to climb up the moat walls, and then bring the ladders to the stone wall in order to climb up.

To conclude, the commandment that fulfills Daniel’s prophesy was given by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C., and in “troublous times,” troubled by the Samaritans and others. The 483 years ending in 27 A.D.

This was also the time when Messiah was made known to the Jews, being announced as the one by John the Baptist, Andrew and Peter. And we know, he was rejected by the highest-ranking religious authorities as well as the general population.  

Let’s move on to Daniel 12:11-12-13, “And from the time the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

Now in verse 13, Daniel is told “to go his way till the end: for you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of the days.”

The Hebrew word “lot” is important and must be understood. It means Daniel was to wait for his portion, destiny or inheritance in the kingdom of God to be fulfilled. Daniel would not live to see the fulfillment of these prophecies but is promised that he would one day be raised from the dead to receive his reward.

Verse 13 speaks of the “end of days.” This would point to hundreds of years in the future from the time Daniel wrote this prophesy.

We have already established when the first daily sacrifice was taken away, 598 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar removed the vessels of gold and silver Solomon had made for temple services. So, it would have been in the year 598 B.C. we may begin the countdown concerning “the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days”  

Again’ these prophesies found in Daniel from chapter one through to 12 cover long periods, not days, weeks or months, but years and centuries. The daily sacrifice took place in the Holy Place within Solomon’s temple. It was conducted twice each day by the priests of the temple. Two sacrifices, one in the morning, the other in the evening. At each, a lamb would be sacrificed and offered up to the LORD. It was to be a perpetual sacrifice, but the LORD cut it off because of the sins of the people.

We know Solomon’s Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., and Herod’s Temple in 70 A.D. It was about the year 973 during the Philistine wars when David purchased the land for the LORD’S house. This piece of real estate still belongs to the LORD, even though he threw the Jews out, had the Temple destroyed and temporally replaced them with Arabs and their own temple.

Today, the Muslim’s Dome of the Rock sits where the Temple once stood. This is the abomination that makes desolate that Daniel speaks of in, verse 11. Daniel wrote, this abomination will be “set up.” The LORD put his land under the control of the enemies of Israel, Luke 21:24, “until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Taken in context, this abomination of desolation was allowed by the LORD to be set in the very place where His house once stood. It is written from the time the daily sacrifice was taken away, 598 B.C. until this abomination was set up would be 1290 days, speaking of years. That would bring us to the year 692 A.D. This was the very year the Dome of the Rock was completed and built where Solomon’s Temple once stood.

But Daniel also writes, for those Jews who are patient and wait for another 1335 years, these will be blessed. Now let’s take the year 692 and add another 1335 years to it. This would bring us to the year 2027, exactly 3000 years from the time David purchased this piece of real estate for the LORD in 973 B.C.

As I had written before, 2000 years from the time Jesus was baptized in 27 A.D., would bring us to the October of 2027 A.D. Two thousand years added to the time of his resurrection in April of 31 A.D. brings us to the year 2031 A.D.  

That’s it, you can weigh the evidence for yourself.

Phillip LaSpino