Casting Pearls- Are we crossing into the Promised Land?

In Joshua 3:2-5, the people of Israel were about to cross over the river Jordan into the Promised Land. This was the land promised some time before to Abraham as his descendants. This land had been promised to them some years before and they had just spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness ( desert ) before arriving there. All the people who had come out of Egypt with them had died off except Joshua and Caleb. 

Moses himself was not allowed by God to enter the Promised Land. He had sinned against God and his punishment for it was not being allowed to go into the promised land with the rest of Israel. Joshua had replaced Moses as the Leader of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. In verse 2 Joshua had led the people of Israel to the edge of the Jordan River (which at the time was at almost flood stage) and they had camped there three days. The leaders of each tribe of Israel went throughout the people saying to follow the Ark of the Covenant, being carried by the Priests, and they would see where to go, the Bible narrates in verse 3. 

This is another shadow, or type, of how we should follow our God and know which way He would have us go. God wants us to keep our eyes on Him and His Word so we will know the correct way to go. It is only by following behind Him like a sheep does with a shepherd that we can find the way He would have us go. It is only by reading God’s Word that we can hear from God and know the direction He would have us go.

Later in verse 4 we read about the warnings they received from their tribes leaders. They were warned to stay behind the Ark of the Covenant at least two thousand cubits, that they might know the way they should turn and go before they get there, because they had never gone that way before. Though God wants us to follow Him, He wants us to follow with enough room between Him and us that we might know the direction in which He wishes us to turn, before we get there.God also wanted them to be far enough back that they could clearly see Him clear the obstacles out of their way and give God the glory for it .

As God’s children we need His Word and the leaders He provides for us to clearly see the way He would have us go. In the next chapter the Lord shows the people and us that Joshua is His chosen Leader of Israel to replace Moses. He stops the flooding river from flowing and lets all Israel pass across on dry land. There are times in life that we wonder if God is going to work in our case. If God wants us to go there, he will make a way. All we need do is, as the Israelites, Stay back and watch until God opens the door for us.

The key to being the kind of Christian Jesus wants is to be willing to praise God even as we sit and wait for Him to open the door. God works at two speeds. Slowly and suddenly. God slowly opens the door in Hid time not in ours, so it appears that God is not working in our case. Everything seems to go so slowly, then suddenly the door opens. We wait and wait for something to happen, then suddenly it does. So God works at two speeds. 

Casting Pearls- Are you of the order of Melchisedec?

Let’s look at the way God told Moses to dress Aaron and his sons, as High priests and regular priests of the Israeli people and why. In Exodus 28:1-42 God told Moses in detail how Aaron to dress and Aaron’s sons. First, in Chapter 28, Moses is directed by God to dress Aaron both to be beautiful to the people and to God, but also to represent to the people the glory of God. Aaron is to have been consecrated into God’s service, he is to represent God’s forgiveness of sins to the people. To do such he must be of great position, cleanliness and honor among the people, and among his friends. They are all to deal gently with the people, and those who are ignorant and going astray. Moses is instructed to make a breast-piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash.

These pieces of Aaron’s outfit as the high priest each had a meaning to the people presenting the sacrifices. They also had a meaning to us today. Let’s go down the list first a breast-piece, decorated with twelve precious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, each of the stones have one of the tribes names engraved in it. The breast-piece represent to the people that the tribes of Israel are close to the heart of God, and that Aaron is the representative of the people to the Lord. 

The breast-piece is also to show authority over the tribes to make decisions. It is to be made of Gold and Blue, and purple and scarlet yarn and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square, a span long and a span wide. The stones are in four rows of three, the first row of ruby, topaz, and beryl, the second row of turquoise, sapphire, and emerald, the third of Jacinth, Agate, and Amethyst, the forth row of Chrysolite, Onyx,and Jasper. Under the breast-piece were the Urim and Thummim, used to help make decisions in very trying times.

These bright and shiny stones represented the tribes of Israel in the same way that we as Christians are supposed to represent Jesus like when you shine a light on a precious stone it gives off the light in the same color, in as many different directions as it has faces. A diamond in a Jewelers shop is shown on a black background under lights that show straight down on it so it shows off the brightness and reflectivity of it to it’s maximum extent. If the Jeweler does not want to show it to you on a black background it probably has some obvious flaws, or is to small to matter, in my case.

Then the priests are to wear Ephods, made of Gold,Blue,and Purple and Scarlet yarn as well as finely twisted linen, the work of skilled craftsmen. It is to have two shoulder pieces of Onyx, polished and engraved with six of the twelve tribes to go on each shoulder.They as the stones on the breast-piece are to be in gold filigree settings. The sons of Israel are to be in the order of their birth on the stones, Aaron wore the Ephod to represent the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and to show the Lord carries the tribes on His shoulders. 

The robe is to be under the ephod to be of entirely blue cloth with pomegranates all around hem of the robe in blue, purple and scarlet yarn with gold bells in-between them,The robe is also to have a hemmed neckline so as to keep from being torn. The sound of Aaron’s tinkling bells were proof that he had not died in the presence of God from sin, and at some point the other priests even tied a rope to the High Priest’s ankle and trailed it outside the Holy of Holies so that if the tinkling of the bells stop, they could pull on the rope to see if he had died. 

The head is to be covered with a turban like hat with a Gold plate on it that says HOLINESS TO THE LORD and is to be worn by the High Priest at all times to make the children of Israel acceptable to the Lord. The tunic and the turban are to be made of fine linen and the sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. The sons of Aaron are also to have tunics, sashes, and headbands so that they might also have dignity and honor in their positions. 

All of them are to have undergarments made of linen, from their waist to their thighs, and are to wear them whenever they are in the Holy place, so they can represent without sin.  

The whole thing is summed up in 28:29 where the High priest that represents the people to god, is to ‘bear the names of the children of Israel before God’ and God looks upon the priest as a holy representative of the people. Thank goodness we have a High Priest in Jesus who can without sin, represent us to God so that we are acceptable in His sight.

All this was done so that Aaron could be the clean representative of the children of Israel before God. The children of Israel were not judged, but Aaron was judged in their place, cleaned of his sin by the blood of the sacrifices. 

We have a High Priest that is stated as in Hebrews 4:15 ‘He cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all ways tempted as we are, yet without sin’ He represents us. God sees his cleanliness not our sin. He covers me from my sin, He is the perfect representative who is fully acceptable to God, so that despite my sin, I can go in to Heaven.

Casting Pearls- In the Beginning Part 2

After six days god decided to take the Seventh day off and rest, God even commanded Adam to take the Seventh Day off to rest from whatever work he was doing. This became a regular thing for Adam and Eve to do. So on the Seventh Day, God and everyone rested and did nothing.

Now to go into more depth of how Adam and Eve were made, the next chapter of Genesis delves deeper into the facts surrounding God’s creation. In Genesis 2:5-6 the Bible explained how God had caused the mist from the seas and the land itself to water the plants so it never had to rain. The dust of the ground was gathered together by God to make the form of Man and then God breathed life into the dust and named the first man Adam, A garden was made by God with all the trees and plants in it that were good for food to Adam, and God placed Adam in it to care for it. In the middle of the garden were two trees, one the tree of life, the other the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam was warned by God that there was only one rule, never eat from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He was warned that the day you eat of it, you will surely cease to exist. Now, that was a very scary thought to Adam, so he had a heathy fear of that tree. 

At some time after Adam had been created, God had all the animals pass before Adam, and had Adam name them. The names we call them are based on these names Adam gave them. After a time God made Adam a helpmate to give him some company and help in caring for the Garden of Eden, when God was not around. SO Genesis says in verse 21 that God caused Adam to go into a deep sleep so he wouldn’t feel anything, and took a rib out of Adam. From that rib, God created a helper for Adam, and Adam named her Eve. She is of the opposite sex to Adam so when they joined together they might reproduce and replenish the earth as God had told them. 

Adam said in verse 23 that she was from him, flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. To this day, man has one less rib than woman to help us remember that we need something to make us whole.We as men need a helpmate to make us whole in our life. Now, this is not to say that man has to have a woman to be whole. It is better for a man if he can be alone and have no yearnings for a mate. If a man does not have to take into account how an action will affect someone other than just himself, it will be easier for him to do things.If he has a mate, then he must take into account how she will be affected as well, when making a decision. 

In the third chapter of Genesis, we see the fall from goodness and innocence of men. The devil, another word for Lucifer, was allowed into the Garden by inhabiting the serpent. Even back then, Lucifer knew how to use another persons body by taking it over and possessing it. The serpent was just another animal allowed in the garden with Adam and Eve. It was fitting that Lucifer possessed a serpent because as the Bible says, it was more cunning or subtle than any of the other beasts of the field. 

This is also where some people are at odds as to how the serpent was used by Lucifer or if he was used by one of the Demons, Fallen angels that fell with Lucifer, and was used by him or actually did this alone. I believe that he was possessed by a demon and used by the demon. Unfortunately the Serpent received the blame for doing wrong, maybe so God could put him in the place he wanted him in the first place.

If we were approached by an animal that spoke to us we would immediately know that something was wrong, but as I said, Adam and Eve were both newly created and innocent. The serpent approached the woman, as the man had a direct relationship with God and would be harder to fool. The serpent, Satan, misrepresented how God had told them not to eat from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil and after Eve told him what God had told Adam, Which she did not repeat correctly, though only one person had come between her and God, since she added to what He said, that God said not even to touch it. This was to show us that even with only one person between the original speaker and us the saying can and will change. 

Satan, as the serpent, told Eve that if she ate of that tree, she would not die that same day, he told her that God wanted to keep Adam and Eve from becoming as intelligent as God by not letting them eat from that tree. Eve’s pride and selfishness had her go ahead and as she saw that the fruit if that tree looked good, she picked and ate. After Eve ate of the tree, she offered it to Adam, who was right there the whole time and he ate it as well. 

Some people try to blame the woman for the original sin of man, but as we see in Genesis 3:6 Adam was right there with her, heard all the serpent had to say and never objected to any of it. Satan took advantage of the innocence of Adam and Eve and had them sin against God by eating of the tree. 

God was all knowing so he knew what had happened, but wanted Adam to admit it himself so as to see if Adam was truly repentant of his sin. God came to walk with Adam as He normally did in the cool part of the day, and called to Adam when he didn’t appear. Adam finally came out and admitted to God that he knew he was naked and when God said so you have sinned and eaten of the tree I said not to eat from, Adam started to blame God for giving him the woman and that he was only doing what she did. 

This is why there is a order that God instituted like umbrellas of different sizes. The largest is held by God, the next largest is held by the man, next largest is the woman’s and the smallest is the children’s. The children will be sheltered from this world as long as they stay beneath their parent’s umbrellas. The woman and her children will both stay safe from the rain of sin in this world as long as they reside under the husband. They will all stay safe from the sin in this world by staying under the shelter of the umbrella of God. This is the natural organization of things.

God had to punish sin, so He went down the list of who had done wrong. When God asked the woman what had happened, she blamed everything on the serpent. God started with the serpent, He said to the serpent, that he would have to move around on his stomach and be right where the dirt of the earth would get in its mouth all it’s days. The Lord went on and said, that he would make the serpent to be at odds with the woman and her offspring all their days. He said the serpent would bruise her heal and her offspring would bruise the serpent’s head. Showing how the man and the serpent would be at odds for all time. There are many people who say, still today, that the only good snake is a dead snake.

God then went on to the Woman and said that from now on she would have troubles with discomfort in carrying and bearing children. It was also at this time that God made  the husband to be the head over the woman, not because she needed someone to lead her, but because the man,Adam, should have known better than to have let her fall for the lies the serpent told her. He was to be her protection from the sin in this world. 

The man Adam actually received the worst of all punishments though, he was made to toil in the ground and hunt wild animals, as well as deal with serpents nipping at his heels, and a woman that he had to protect and provide for. God cursed the earth to make thorns and thistles come up wherever the man planted vegetables to come up and that he would have to struggle hard to make food for them to eat.God then killed some of the animals to fashion garments of skin for them to wear, and thereby the  first man brought death into the world. 

The serpent, or Satan, twisted the truth, or spun the story to make it appear how he wanted it to so he would be telling the truth while still lying. When satan told Eve that if she ate the fruit, she would not die that same day, he was telling the truth from her point of view. She and Adam did not die that day as Eve saw days. A day to God is as a thousand years the scriptures say in Psalms and in 2 Peter. 

Casting Pearls- Is God Mean?

                      God has been accused by many of being a murderous and violent God. Much of the Bible would seem to back up that claim. Only in the writings of the New Testament do we see God referred to as a God of Love not of violence. God has not changed, only the covenant between God and man has changed. We see if we look at the beginning in Genesis 1: 31 that God saw everything He had made and it was VERY GOOD. There is no record of the time between then and when Satan came into the Garden of Eden and tempted Eve and Adam to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, but we know that he did. from that point, because of the sin of man, death came into the world.

                     First, Adam and Eve began dying and from that point neither of them, or anyone else, lived more than a thousand years. that leads us to the scripture found in Psalms 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 that explains that to God a day is as a Thousand Years. It also brings us to the first death in God’s creation, in Genesis 3:21. God had to Kill some animals to make Adam and Eve coats of skins to wear. That later led to more death. The original coats that God made them wore out and became smelly from their own sweat and body emanations and I’m sure, they had to kill again to keep themselves in clothes.

                    From there it was not very far down for them to go and kill another human as we see in Genesis 4:8. The debauchery of man continued from there to spiral downward. As time went on, man continued to disobey the commands of God and death became more and more widespread. When God made a covenant between Himself and Abraham, He instituted the death and sacrifice of an animal to be the death that would take away the sins we had and make us clean again in the eyes of God. The sin that was passed down to us from Adam and Eve, could only lead to death, so it could only be delayed by death.

                     Afterwards, the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, would again and again disobey God’s commands and intermarry with the other nations who worshiped false gods, against God’s will. God’s judgement would be brought down against these other peoples, and also against Israel, after great delays in God’s judgement futility hoping that the Israelites and the other nations would turn away from the error of their ways. God instead of showing how condemning He was, showed us time and again how forgiving He was. God kept everyone from the result of their sins as long as He possibly could. 

                    During all this time God tried to help us to keep from killing by showing us how to use plants instead of animals for covering or nakedness and protecting ourselves from the elements. Our sin, however, called for death to delay the consequences. As humans, we were the ones who created this problem, and God was the only one who could help us find a way out of the problem with sin that we created.

                    God finally made a New Covenant with man through the sacrifice that was above all before, His Son, Jesus Christ. The covenant God made with us is spelled out for us in the New Testament. It is summed up in John 3:16-17. Where God’s own son tells us that He came to be that sacrifice as the only human that never sinned and was clean enough for God to accept as a sacrifice for us, because God loved all of us so much, that He was willing to let His own son become the ‘scape goat’ that would take on ALL the sins of man and bring forgiveness to us all. As the verses say, Jesus came not to condemn the world, but that through Him it might find a way to be saved from itself. 

                   

                   All that we need do now is to accept the free gift that God has offered us. Death was brought to earth by mans sin. That sin must be covered up by the forgiving blood of Jesus Christ for us to be able to commune again with God as Adam did. Ultimately, WE are the ones that are the reason for the death and evil in the world, and God has done more than we could ever ask, in giving His own Son to be the sacrifice through His own death for the sin WE brought into this world. All we need do is accept the FREE gift god has offered us.