Balaam: Evil or Righteous?

1         Yesterday I read Numbers 22-24. I considerd it all day long. This does not cover all Balaam's prophecies, but is an account with The Angel of the Lord, Balak, the donkey, and Balaam. Was Balaam a good guy or bad guy? What did he see that most cannot? Sacred literature mentions a time when animals talked. Did they? Balaam's did! Nothing is too hard for God... and that includes things outside the bounds of reason. Below follows the sequence of events with Balaam and his donkey:

11.       Balaam asked to curse the Israelites.

2.       Balak sent elders (princes) to Balaam with the rewards of divination (witchcraft).

3.       Balaam met with the elders and told them “I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me.”

4.       God asked Balaam about the men (elders).

5.       Balaam responded that they sought a curse on the Israelites.

6.       God will #1: God’s direction was twofold: (1) “Thou shalt not go with them;” and (2) “thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”

7.       Balaam told the elders, “The Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.”

8.       Response #1: The message was sent back to Balak, “Balaam refuseth to come with us.” (So far, so good).

9.       Balak sent more princes more honorable than the first.

10.   Who said, “Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me.” (Ignore your God.)

11.   Why? “For I (Balak) will promote thee unto very great honour.”

12.   Response #2: Balak declines for any amount. (so far, so good).

13.   But stay here one more night so God can give me further direction. (Not good! He already has direction from the Lord. Now has been talking to representatives of the Serpent which he should not have for their god was Chemosh.)

14.   God’s Will #2: God’s new direction: “Go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” (God changed the conditions: Now he may go and speak but only what God tells him. He is allowing Balaam to enter into temptation, surely as a test.)

15.   Response #3: Balaam went with them. (His trip to temptation commenced. As can be seen, temptation gradually leads to sin without being recognized as such.)

16.   God was angry with him. Why so? His heart was on going all along. (As a small child would do, he was saying, “I want to go!)

17.   God’s Hedge #1: As Balaam was riding his donkey, “the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him.” The Angel of the Lord” is pre-incarnate Jesus. (Jesus was against him. Either people are for God or against him. Balaam’s heart needed circumcised for his heart was with the rewards of Balak.)

18.   Donkey response #1: “The ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way” carrying a sword. The donkey moved out of the way.

19.   Balaam Strike 1: “Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.” (That was not in the Way of Jesus, but on the way of Balak.)

20.   God’s Hedge #2: “The angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards.”

21.   Donkey response #2: “the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall.”

22.   Balaam strike #2: “He smote her again.”

23.   God’s Hedge #3: “The angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.” (Jesus is becoming more protective by grace.)

24.   Donkey response #3: It bowed to Jesus and ejected (rejected Balaam), “When the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam.”

25.   Balaam strike #3: “He smote the ass with a staff.” (Staff’s were instruments of God. He misused an instrument of peace for wrath.)

26.   Words finally given to the donkey, and not Balaam: “The Lord opened the mouth of the ass.”

27.   The donkey speaks #1: “What have I done to thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?” (Notice that God stood in the way of Balaam three times, the donkey was struck three times, and Balaam had questioned God three times. That is not an accident. God was providing a teaching moment to Balaam through an ass. Balaam had been more set o his own path than the ass had been!)

28.   Balaam, although he had mocked God, accused the donkey of mocking him.

29.   Balaam warned the donkey: “I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.” (Balaam would have killed the donkey if he had a sword and was given the chance. Jesus however, had a sword but did not kill Balaam as was God’s usual practice. God showed grace; Balaam did not.)

30.   The donkey speaks #2: “Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.” (The donkey reminded Balaam that it had been he all along who had carried the burden. That is symbolic of Jesus who always had carried Balaam through the safety of the Amorites and Moabites. The ass pointed out to Balaam his lack of respect, for himself, but symbolically for the Lord.)

31.   The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam who then saw Jesus with the sword. (The obvious implication is that Balaam had been spiritually blind, and by the way, stupider than the ass in a discernment sense. We must always considers what God wills, not only what we hear, because God tests our hearts.)

32.   Balaam “bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.” (however, the donkey had already been more subservient when he had bowed down to Jesus before.)

33.   God’s Will  #3: The Angel of the Lord, for the third  time, finally gave direction to Balaam: “Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me.” (God’s direction had not been about the curse but about Balaam. The story was about Balaam’s attitude all along, and had little to do with Balak who had been “perverse” in his true desires. We find out later, a lust for wealth was the error of Balaam; Jude 1:11).

34.   The Lord compared Balaam to the ass: “And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.” (That is the grace that God has but Balaam did not. Another error of Balaam was the lack of grace. Error? Continue on.)

35.   Balaam confesses: “I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.” (He knew that his motive had been silver and gold all along. Jude compare him to Cain in his attitude. It was also the attitude of Judas who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. When Judas betrayed the Lord, he could have said, “Been there, done that many times. It was Balaam’s “error” because he repented. It’s never too late for God’s grace. We are to forgive seventy-times seven because Jesus set the example by endless grace.)

36.   God showed his grace: “Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee.”

37.   Balaam went but with a new attitude. He felt guilt, repented of it, was forgiven, and made a new creature with a circumcised heart willing to obey for right reasons.

38.   Balaam told Balak he would not tickle his ears and say what he wanted to hear, but “the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.” (His will finally is in accord with God’s Will and his words were from God’s Holy Spirit: See Acts 2 for accordance.)

39.   Balak and Balaam went to Kirjathhuzoth. (Strong’s Dictionary offers a related word from it root: “Quran.” Was that a rejection of Islam which would come there hundreds of years later? Is it only coincidental that Judas Iscariot’s name, who had the error of Balaam , was also associated with “Quran?” )

40.   Balak made an offering the Chemosh, or perhaps the Quran. Balaam did not.

41.   Balak and Balaam went to a high place to see the Israelites.

42.   Balaam had alters made for the Lord (seven pillars) and made offerings to God from each. (It is to be noted that originally there were seven pillars of Islam. Was Balaam refuting Mohammad even at this early time?)

43.   God met Balaam and finally put words in hos mouth (not the donkey’s this time.)

44.   Balaam spoke the words of the Lord, finally, but it was not to curse the Israelites.

45.   Balaam finally saw Jesus from atop the rocks. He saw Jesus looking at the Israelites from whose loins he would someday come.

46.   Balaam asked for salvation: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” (Note that Balaam saw salvation to be at his death. All the while, Jesus, as the Angel of the Lord, had kept him safe from the Evil one, represented by Balak.

47.   Balak, symbolic of the Serpent, recognized that the Lord had outwitted him through Balaam.

48.   Balaam showed reverence for the Lord in answer to the “serpent.” “Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?” (He was finally in complete obedience, not because of the sword of Jesus but because of the Lord’s grace in sparing him. That’s why all Christians obey God; to demonstrate love and respect.)

49.   Balak continues on: Let us go somewhere else, presumably out of the presence of the Lord. Would Balaam obey Balak or God?

50.   Balaam went but not to obey Balak but to burn him by burning incense to the Lord.

51.   The Lord finally gave Balaam the words to speak.

52.   They were: “I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.”

53.   Balak continue to tempt Balaam as Satan was soon to tempt Jesus with three.

54.   “Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.  And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.”

55.   Balaam was a Gentile. He saw himself worshiping in the tents of Shem as God had spoke after the flood: “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Gen 9:27). (He realized that his experience was all about Jesus.)

56.   He saw Israel as the Garden Paradise, or Heaven.

57.   Balaam will was harmonized with the Will of God: “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?”

58.   In his mind’s eye, Balaam saw Jesus: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob.” (The Star of Jacob is Jesus.)

59.   Balaam saw Jesus having dominion over the land; he saw the millennial reign of Jesus and New Jerusalem which would come down to that place: “Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion.”

60.   In short, Balaam did not curse the Israelites but blessed them. Blessing as willing that others be saved. Salvation would come when Jesus finished his work. The land of Israel was just part of the task. 

     In summary, Balaam in theology is known as the bad guy. His heart was wrong, but Jesus circumcised it not by the blade of circumcision as with the flesh of the penis, but with the Word of the Lord. Of course, THE WORD is Jesus. Balaam saw Jesus with his eyes closed. Paul saw Jesus when he was blinded. I see Jesus through my heart. God doesn’t leave nor forsake us when we error, but if Christians repent, he is always there to lift us up just as Balaam was lifted off the ground by Jesus’s words when the donkey stumbled.

Appended: The other viewpoint:

     Ah, but not so fast! Even prophets are human. The opinions on Balaam differ because after the Lord set him straight, and he saw Jesus, he still continued in sin. Moses spoke this about Balaam:

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. (Num 31:15-16).

     The Israelites fornicated with foreign women and with their gods, apparently at Balaam's encouragement. The lust for women has always been a curse on mankind. That's why some believe that the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was carnal knowledge.
     That was a serious offense. John the Revelator wrote on that:

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (Rev 2:14)

     That raises the question; how unrighteous can a Christian be and still remain a Christian? Was Balaam still "godly" in his sin? There is no mention of a later confession, and the error of Balaam seemed to be the sin of the Nicolaitanes whose sin God hated:

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Rev 2:15-16)

     God hates Balaam's and Nicolas's sins, but was his grace generous enough to tolerate their sins? It is implied that Jesus forgives time and again as he encourages others to do "seventy-times seven." However, that forgiveness is based on contrition and repentance. Did Balaam repent of his other errors? We don't know.
     This brings up the Calvinistic fifth point: Does God preserve the saints? "Saints" are those consecrated to the Lord. "Consecrated" is "devoted to a purpose with or as if with deep solemnity or dedication." (Merriam-Webster Dict.). Obviously, Balaam was not devoted; perhaps he was not a saint.
     Some believe that belief is all that is required. Of course, even the demons believe in the Lord, so that is not efficacious. Belief is best-said as "trusting" in the Lord. In fact, "born again" is trusting Jesus and his sacrfice (John 3:7,14). Balaam believed, but did he trust. He fornicated against the Lord and encouraged others. His prophecies are epiphanies, but were they merely God's form of persuasion? Was Balaam merely transformed from a godless sinner to a sinner who believes in the Lord but does not love Him well enough to obey His Will?
     I would say that Balaam had his "Jesus moment." He wasn't a bad guy, but his heart never seemed to be circumcised as it must. A moment of belief is not enough for salvation. It must endure to the end. I started to write, "a moment of faith" but changed that to "a moment of belief" because moment and faith are oxymoronic. "Faith" implies enduring to the end. It seems that Balaam did not!
     In my youth, I too had my "Jesus moment" - several times in fact. But my faith was not there. I believed but never trusted God to deliver me from my sins. I'm afraid that with Calvinism, many merely have a Jesus moment. That is not sufficient.
     Sin must be covered by confession and repentance, and that is an ongoing process. Balaam seemed not to do that. My wish for him is that he did. Good guy or bad guy? He was bad, but God is gracious. We won't know until we die ourselves. Was Calvin right or Arminius? Again, that won't be known for certain until and if sinning "Christians" get their room in God's mansion.

Consideration

     "Considering" is to think carefully in attentiveness. Anyone can read God's Word like a storybook, but its meaning must be considered. My routine each morning is to read the Bible. Then, as the day progresses, I consider what I have read. This morning I read about Balaam. Theologians differ on whether Balaam was evil or righteous. I considered Balaam and his donkey, not just reading it once, but time and again. Why Balaam's story is so important is gradually becoming apparent because I keep considering why it's there and what it means. (I will share that perhaps tomorrow as I consider it all day today.) However, today the topic is on "considering." Scripture is full of that topic, and below are three instances:

Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. (Job 37:14)
Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. (2 Tim 2:1).
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. (Psalm 50:22)

     "Hearken" is to be respectfully attentive.  Job was told to be attentive to God: "Stand still, and consider." Much of the time contemporary people do everything on the run. I do that, but as I do, I consider the wondrous works of God. For me, that is usually about the creation. As I run and bike each day, I marvel at the creation, and credit it to God; so much so that I wrote a book about His it: On the Origin and Survival of the Species. Therein, is what I considered about the claim for God, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen 1:1). I have spent months considering that one verse! I have come to the conclusion that JHVH God did just as He said! God told Job to do the same thing as he did to me.
     God's Word is applicable in "all things." One time I doubted that. When working on a carburetor, I prayed for God's help, then foolishly declined by thinking, God knows nothing about carburetors. Then I considered that God is a tradesman, and that He created the universe. Therefore, He knows all about carburetors. That was me considering the Power of God. Then God gave me the wisdom and He and I fixed it together! We can turn to God in all things. Nothing is too hard for God! (Jer 32:17). Consider that, and life will be much easier!
     "Consider this" (from the Psalm), if you fail to consider God, you will be judged and there will be no soul remaining to be saved. We are to remember God in all things. Every decision I make, I endeavor to consider that "God's Will be done." Life is tribulation because there is dissonance between our will and God's. Life is much simpler when we comply with what God desires over what we want!
     So all day to day, I will consider Balaam. Find what God reveals to me tomorrow.

 

HIS STORY

Important events in His Story:

1. God started His work: God created mankind in His image, not perfect as God, but "very good" (Gen 1:31). The imperfection was free will.
2. By free will mankind failed God by transgressing. (Gen 3:6).
3. God covered mankind's sin for the first time (Gen 3:21).
4. God made a covenant with mankind to Adam and Eve; that Eve's seed (Jesus) would defeat the Serpent (Gen 3:14).
5. Mankind continued trespassing. (Rom 5:12)
6.  God said that He would provide living water. Moses tried to provide lifesaving water from rock on his own. (Num 20:11). Mankind still tries that. 
7.  The people endeavor to save themselves from serpents but die. (Num 21:6) 
8.  God saves them by showing the Serpent dead on his "tree". Thy trusted God's power rather than their own and were safe. (Num 21:9) 
9.  Blood and water provides salvation (1 John 5:6). Jesus provides living water (John 14:10) by shedding his blood on the rock. (John 19:34). Jesus flesh died, but God still lives on. The Serpent died vicariously (Luke 22:3) on his tree when Judas hanged himself (Mat 27:5). That was what the brass serpent on the pole represented. (Num 21:9). According to Jesus, the only "must be in the New Testament is to be born again (John 3:7). That, according to Jesus is seeing the Serpent as if dead on his tree (John 3:14)
10.  Jesus was crucified, his Spirit was transformed into the Holy Ghost (John 7:39) who he gave up, and it was finished (John 19:30). The spirit of the Serpent was crucified when Jesus died. Satan's desire was usurped (Rev 20:7-9); his plan to reign on God's throne (Isa 14:12).

     That's it - from start to finish. After that, it depends on what anyone does with Event #9. Why would we do that? "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that none should perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Grace and Condemnation

The two types of sin at the crucifixion:

Unintentional - "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots" (Luke 23:33-34).

Presumptive - Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin" (John 19:10:11)

The Romans committed the unintentional sin, in ignorance, the centurions didn't know what they were doing which was killing an innocent Man - God Himself.

Those who delivered Jesus - the Jews - had the greater sin. They presumed that Jesus was not innocent and he that he was not God. Their sin was presumptive.

When Jesus spoke, he was surely referring to the unintentional and presumptive sins whose penalties were written in the Old Testament:

Regarding unintentional sin,  God's prescribed punishment was atonement: "And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance" (Num 15:25). Of course, the "Priest" who mad the atonement for the Gentile Romans was Jesus Christ himself. Because the chosen Jews rejected Jesus, the apostles turned to the Gentiles who accepted the atonement when the Jews did not.

Regarding presumptive sin, God's prescribed punishment was circumcision of his chosen people: "Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him" (Num 15:31). We know that God's "chosen" Jewish people were replaced by his "peculiar" Gentile people (1 Pet 2:9), and indeed, the Jews were cutoff and the greater sin (iniquity) was accounted to them.

Always look for Jesus in the Old Testament. The penalties in ancient days were the same as in apostolic times, and even until this day. Those two passages are God's judgements and were applied to Jesus's death. One judgment was grace and the other condemnation.

Crying out to God

     The event in the Bible when the Israelites first called out to God is ambiguous. Some theologians believe the Hebrews prayed to God by crying out, and others that they were murmuring as was their practice throughout the time in the wilderness. 

     The crossing of the Red Sea is symbolic of salvation, and when they cried out, they had yet to be saved nor were they faithful to God. Now examine the verse wherein they "cried out:"

And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. (Exod 14:10)

     Immediately after crying-out (and with no mention of praying), they looked back to Egypt. Remember that earlier, when Lot's wife looked back she was destroyed because her heart was still in sin  (Sodom). Now, the hearts of the Israelites were still in sin (Egypt). They were not God's people! For God to hear prayers, they must be the prayers of those who do God's Will:

Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. John 9:31

     "Praying" is two-way communication with God. God did not communicate with the crying Israelites. It seems that more than crying-out for God's mercy, they were shrieking at his lack of mercy thus far. In Hebrew the word is tsa-aq from the root word, meaning "to shriek." In most instances it is interpreted "to cry out." That is true... they cried out to the Lord, and likely with a shriek, but was it in prayer or to blame? In context, (Exod 14:11) they were complaining.  There is no indication that they were praying. Shrieking at God or crying out to Him is one-sided. They did not have faith in God to deliver them, so any type of crying out would be fruitless. (Many sinful people to this day still cry-out to God in whom they do not trust to respond!)
     They cried-out with some type of attitude. It seems that their attitude was not prayerful but fearful. Furthermore, scripture does not indicate that they were praying at all. Matthew Henry indicates that some prayed and others blamed. That differentiation is not in the scripture. Both verses 10 and 11 refer to the same group of Israelites. On the other hand, John Gill's commentary indicates that they were blaming God, and not praying.
     Who should they have cried out to? They should have cried-out to Moses for he was their "deliverer" (his name even means that). God ordained Moses to lead the people out of sin. By crying out to God, they had assumed the role of priests. They were not. At that time in the exodus, only Moses was to communicate with God because the people had hard hearts. Like King Saul much later, those crying Israelites assumed the role of priest when they were not. They were not authorized to pray for they were not yet God's people. Obviously, their hearts still belonged to Pharaoh for protection and nourishment as can be seen in subsequent verses. They did not even have faith in Moses because they criticized him. Their "master" was still Pharaoh, and like scripture says, one cannot serve two masters. (Mat 6:24). Therefore, they could not pray because they did not know God.
     They did, however, know Moses. It is him to whom they should have cried out as Moses was the intermediary between man and God. How is that known? In just a short time, they were complaining again. They wanted meat to eat and "complained" ('anan; mourned). They again cried. This time, they did it right! "Then the people cried out (tsa-aq again) to MOSES, and when MOSES prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched." (Num 11:2).
     Rather than God providing water, he delivered fire to the complainers. It took Moses who was ordained for that to act as intermediary between sinful people (complainers) and God. God heard their crying out (complaining) but didn't answer their crying. It required Moses to act as intermediary by praying to obtain God's response (two-way).
     In the first situation, the Israelites were not praying but murmuring as usual. In the second situation, nothing has changed but to whom they "cried out." This time, they cried out correctly to Moses. It took Moses intervention in both cases because the sinful Israelites did not yet have the faith to pray, and they knew it!
     The lesson herein is on the value of crying-out. To communicate with God requires faith in God. Those who cry-out without the faith that God will respond, cry-out for naught. The people still worshiped Pharaoh, not God. People must be a worshiper of God for God to hear their prayers. Anything less is blaming God for a bad situation. Until the tabernacle and proper worship was set up, the Israelites still belonged to Pharaoh because they had not been consecrated to the Lord. When they cried out to Moses was after they were consecrated and became God's people. Could they have prayed to God directly at that time? Not yet. Moses was still their intermediary and the priests still offered their sin and love offerings. The time was not yet ripe for Israelites to pray directly to God.
     Our Bible study was on that subject recently. I didn't quite get it why crying-out was considered as praying. I wasn't content until my concerns were allayed. The way to do that is to test all things by scripture. Of course, commentary is just that. Oftentimes, theologians see things differently, and that's okay, as long as both test it by scripture. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, seemed confused. John Gill, I believe, got it right.

Free Will

     The first mention in the Bible of "free will" is in regard to the burnt offering, according to the following verse:

If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. (Lev 1:3)

      "Voluntary will" is translated as "free will" in other translations in that passage. The burnt offering was the sacrifice of one's first born clean animal for an atonement for the sins of the owner.  "Atonement" is, in general, making reparations for offending. The reason for doing that in the tabernacle was reconciliation with God, against whom the person sinned. The sinner was to bring his own sacrifice - his first and best. Each time the person sinned required a burnt offering.
     After God came in the flesh, the regulations changed. Sacrifice was still required by free will but it was a different "animal" and for one time. Jesus made the atonement once and for all. (Heb 10:10). His death- the first of God and the finest - paid the price for all mankind of all times. However, in gratitude, by free will, thankful Christians have a duty, not a command... "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." (Rom 12:1).
     God does expect something in return, and that is a free will offering of our own bodies. Just as the sinner brought his first and best to the tabernacle for sacrificial burning, God expects Christians to freely bring themselves to the cross to sacrifice our old creatures for new ones. That is not forced upon us, and neither was the burnt offering in days of old. Sacrificing our own bodies (flesh) to Jesus is voluntary and a reasonable thing to do! God suffered death that we might live. Is it not reasonable that our old sinful flesh be offered as a sacrifice?
     Ironically, the burnt offering was made to God for the sinner to avoid eternity in Hell. The animal suffered the burn! After Jesus came, things changed. Nobody gets burned. The reasonable sacrifice makes burning unnecessary in neither the present nor the future! The sacrifice is because the sinner avoids burning by offering himself freely to God.
      Life is a tribulation in that there is a battle of wills. It's our wills against God's Will. God already made His Will known. There is no decision process for him. Our own will is a decision-making process: Shall we do what we want to do or do God's Will. "Perfection" is when there is harmony between the two. Satan's assignment is to test that congruence. He or his helpers find that stronghold, a crack in the Christians' safety, to usurp God's will, and thus aggravate God's Purpose. Everyone has strongholds because we are not gods or even as gods! Demons use those strongholds. They find the situations where our own will is preferred to God's Will. Those are the weaknesses that we should freely give to God. Satan may find our strongholds, but after having a struggle, those strongholds are sacrificed to God for Him to tear down just as He did the walls of Jericho!
     It's not what Christians do but are willing to do. The burnt offering was made because sinners wanted reconciliation with God so intensely that they gave their first and best. For modern-day Christians, our first and best is ourselves! We are to give our all to God willingly without coercion:

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Rev 22:17)

     The above passage is the last place in the Bible that "free will" occurs - "whoever will". The water of Life is the Spirit of Jesus. By our own free will, we take the water of life freely. It is a decision process. The living water is available; all we need do is drink of it. Shall we or shall we not? By free will some decide to and others do not. Our own flesh as a reasonable sacrifice is just too much. Most decline the living water because their will is at odds with God's Will and they prefer their own.
     Essentially. rebirth is giving up our own will for God's. We diminish ourselves and elevate God since we can't save ourselves but God can! "Marvel not; ye must be born again" (John 3:7). That is when atonement is efficacious. Redemption has already been made on the cross, and "born again" is when the person uses his or her own mind to trust it. They freely submit their own will by trusting the offering for atonement performed by God. God, by the way, voluntarily willed His own Flesh instead of ours or some animal's. Christians show gratitude by harmonizing our wills with God's.

On Circumcision: Off With it!

     The condition for the Abrahamic Covenant follows:

My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Gen 17:14:14)

     We find out later the true "foreskin" which must be circumcised:  "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked" (Deut 10:16). That is still in the Old Testament, and the circumcision of the foreskin merely represents the circumcision of the heart. Paul defined circumcision for the uncircumcised Romans: "But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God" (Rom 2:29). "The letter" would be the blade of the mohel (circumciser). Circumcision of God would be by the Sword of the Spirit (Ephes 6:17).
     Male circumcision was never the condition of the person of the second part, but the symbolic ritual of the circumcision of the hearts of men and women. The souls of the uncircumcised shall be cut off from God's people unless the heart is circumcised.
     God will always keep His covenant to Abraham. It is "an everlasting covenant." That means it is still efficacious today; hearts must still be circumcised. Thus the covenant of grace (i.e., the Abrahamic Covenant) requires some thing from the parties of the second part -not to be stiff-necked to the Lord. That is not "taking God's Name in vain," or better said, not taking Jesus's purpose frivolously.
     We did nothing at the crucifixion. Jesus did it all! What is it that we must do? "Marvel not; ye must be born again! (John 3:7). That's when the hearts of those who trust Jesus for salvation are circumcised. They quit depending on themselves, but develop a dependence on Jesus's propitiated blood! We need only to circumcise the hear, but Jesus allowed all his flesh to be circumcised, not for his obligation to the Abrahamic Covenant, but for ours! We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, not just our foreskins but our hearts. (Rom 12:1). That is our "reasonable service" to God.

On Being A Royal Priest

The Book of Exodus chapters 28-30 are about Christians. In ancient times there were two types of priesthoods: the Levitical or Aaronic, and one on the order of Melchisedek. Jesus, according to scripture, is the latter-type of priest (Heb 5:6).
     Royal priests were priests of kings and for the Israelites. They were of the tribe of Levi. Aaron was the great-grandson of Levi, and hence was a "royal priest" although Israel at that time had no kings. What has that to do with Christians? Those three chapters are about us. The royal priests did ceremonially what Christians are to do attitudinally! Christians are of the royal priesthood as related in the following:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Pet 2:9-10).

     The Levites were the peculiar tribe. Rather than land, they became servants to those who owned land and to God. We are to serve as they were to serve! God gave the priests responsibilities in those chapters of Exodus. Hidden within the ceremonial duties is what the priests were to do on behalf of the people in honor of God, as representative of what we should do ourselves to honor Jesus.
      The priests were indeed honoring Jesus. It must be remembered that Jesus is the Person of God and has a divine Personality. Jesus was there in Spirit when the priests brought the offerings. Their ceremonial worship was directed toward Jesus. Their ceremony was forever, not just for patriarchal times:

This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.  (Exod 29:42). 

     What they were doing in ceremony, Christians are to do in daily worship - continually and throughout the generations even unto this day! 

      Their worship was about Jesus. How is that known? Within those passages are the wave and heave offerings. The wave offering was taking the body parts of the sacrificial animals, as well as the bread offering, and waving them before the Lord. Aaron's hands were to do the waving. The wave offering was to please the Lord.

     The other type was the heave offering. It too was a statute forever, and was heaving the sanctified breast of the sacrifice as a peace offering to the Lord. (That represents the heart.) Thus, there were two types of offerings - one heaved upward and the other waved laterally:

And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons. (Exod 28:27).

     Picture that ceremony. What do you see? The offerings were made toward the Lord, and were presented in motions which represented the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The priests understood the nature of God (Jesus) and his purpose - to die on the cross. Their ceremony was representative of how to honor and serve Jesus for dying on our behalf. Whereas they made some offerings annually and others daily, Jesus made the final offering once and for all people (not just the Israelites) (Heb 10:10).
     The priests brought animal and grain sacrifices. As "royal priests" what are we to bring to the altar of God? 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom 12:1)

     Christians are to crucify their own flesh (Gal 5:24). That is our bodies which are to be sacrificed with all its lusts and pleasures. Like the priests: Aaron and his sons, whose service was to make the animal sacrifices, the "reasonable service" of Christians are to sacrifice ourselves - continually and until the end of our days. Spiritually speaking,  like the ancient priests, that's our jobs!
      Those three chapters have hidden within them how Christians are to praise and honor God. Sanctification is therein, as well as the Lord's Supper, baptism, and the crucifixion. I'll leave it to the reader to identify Christian worship of various types within those three chapters. Of utmost importance, is the aspect of sacrificing to the Lord on behalf of others. That is the Great Commission which is the responsibility of all us "apostles." And you thought that the Old Testament was for the Jews alone!

The Torn Curtain

What happened as Jesus died and the veil was torn? Examine scripture:

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Mat 27)

30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. 31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made... 33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. (Exod 26)

The purpose of the veil divided the space in the tabernacle between the holy and most holy places. It hedged-off the Holy of Holies from regular day-to-day holiness. On one side were the worshipers and on the other side only God on His Mercy Seat. To obtain entry, Aaron, and later the priests, had to prepare themselves by ritual cleansing and holy living. If they were imperfect, they would die within and would need to be  pulled from the presence of God by a cord.

     Cherubim on the vale would as always were there to "keep the Way of the Tree of Life" (Gen 3:24). That "Way" was the Doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1) wherein Christians leave its principles and go on to perfection. Those principles are the Ten Commandments. Perfection is for those who live according to this passage:  "

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9). Perfection, then, is moving beyond the precepts of the Ten Commandments, and living according to the manner of the Father and Son. How was that? Just as mankind was designed back in the Garden; "in the image of God" and in "our image" (Gen 1:27) and without any guidance but to serve and preserve God (dress and keep).

      The rent, or torn, veil did just that. Knowing that mankind could not maintain "The Testimony" within the ark, Jesus's death made that unnecessary. (The "testimony" was the Covenant with God illuminated by the Ten Commandments.) Just as Jesus died, the veil was torn, and those dead in Christ arose. Jesus's death for mankind made him mediator, priests were no longer necessary, and perfection was obtained by willingness to live as God designed mankind.

     Jesus, a priest on the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Heb 6:20), could be served directly, and Christians became "royal priests" sacrificing directly to Jesus (1 Pet 2:9). Jesus's death changed only one thing: He paid the price so that Aaronic priests no longer need not. We, of the royal priesthood, present ourselves as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). Jesus died for us; then, we choose to live for him! Lambs cannot do that, but new living creatures can. That is the perfect sacrifice.

Ark of the Covenant

     Moses was to build an ark for God as a place to meet God. The ark had much significance because it was the meeting-place between God and mankind:

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood... 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee... 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exod 25). 

     An ark is a ship. Essentially, the Ark of God represents safety as Noah's Ark did. Rather than "float" in water, it was suspended by two poles in air. The mercy seat on the Ark represented God's mercy. God met the Hebrews on His Mercy Seat. That seat is representative of God's throne, or judgment seat in Heaven (Great White Throne), whereon He will judge with mercy who will go into Heaven ( a return to Paradise) and who will not.
     The Ark, therefore, represents Heaven and at the same time, the Paradise of the Garden of Eden. That Garden was guarded by cherubim. Likewise the Ark of God displays two cherubim. They guard whosoever attempts to enter God's domain on the Mercy Seat as they did guarding who could enter into Paradise.
     The box of shittim wood (acacia) covered with gold represents the hedge of the Garden and the walls of the City of God. The wild acacia represents the burning bush, or the presence of God. God's "Presence" is Jesus Christ. Thus, the Ark represents Jesus and the space inside safety just as in the Garden.
     "The Testimony" in the Ark is also called "The Covenant." The "Ark of the Testimony" is to contain the Commandments of God. Thus, there is a strong symbolism between the Covenant and the Commandments of God. The Covenant was between God and Abraham and was for perpetuity. Likewise, the Ten Commandments were written on stone for perpetuity. The Covenant was the "deal" between God and mankind, and the Commandments seemed to be the articles of the "deal" or articles of its "Constitution."
     The Ark, representative of Heaven, indicated that the Covenant was the merciful action of God to provide a Redeemer, and that the Commandments were the Way to salvation. Don't be startled by that! The Ten Commandments were nothing more than agape and philio love metricized: the first four are love for God, and the last six love for fellow men. The Ten Commandments remain efficacious to this day, and only the name has changed to "The Greatest Commandment" and "the second like unto it." "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Mat 22:36-40).
     The Ten Commandments were more a Constitution for mankind than commandments in that the Hebrew DEV (pronounced: tsaw-vaw') means "to constitute." That is give order to God's Will. It is still God's Will that men willingly love God and others by refraining from certain sins against them! They are less "commands" than a list of God's Wills which men in harmony with God are willing to do. They are not judged by their conformance but by their willingness to please God; thus "Mercy Seat."
     In summary, the Ark of the Covenant represents salvation and existence with Jesus. Rather than looking for the golden Ark, mankind is encouraged by Jesus to look for Him to find the True Ark, that Ark which both Noah's and the Ark of the Covenant represent!

Jesus to Appear to Moses

²⁰ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him... ²⁵ And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. (Exod 23).

     That "Angel" is pre-incarnate Jesus. As THE Angel, he is THE Messenger, or THE Word of God. When God appeared to mankind, whether audibly or visually, His Person was Jesus. People endeavor to delineate between Jesus and God but that cannot be done. There are not three "persons" of the Holy Trinity, but three aspects of One Person with one personality. Theologians call those aspects homeostasis. 

     The significance is that it was Jesus all the time. The Lord said, "For my name is in him." God was referring to the theophoric name of Jesus - "Yahweh Delivers." As you can see, the Lord''s Name is within Jesus's name! Then, the Lord points toward the Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant of Grace: "Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and I will take sickness away." That means if we serve the Lord, Jesus will heal as is written: "(They) should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Mat 13:15).

      Conversion is not healing. Conversion leads to salvation when the time comes. Conversion is when sinners are born again (John 3:7). Salvation is for those who endure to the end in faith. (Mat 10:22).

     The mystery of God is that safety was always by Jesus, always for everyone, and was always by faith and not works. 

Moses Preview of Calvary

     Proper Worship - then and now: Even when the Law was given, God made it clear that it was not efficacious for salvation, as is written: "And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon" (Exod 20:25-26).
     Doing work with the hands to glorify God had no utility, and modesty in worship was required. Modesty is more than keeping oneself covered, but taking the focus off oneself and glorifying God instead. If the sacrifice was made for the people, then the priests who worshipped and objectified themselves would diminish God. It was made clear that us doing things to gain God's grace was "as filthy rags" (Isa 64:6).
     What's more, Moses was the mediator. God referred to him as "you" (ye) making the sacrifices. Moses mediated on behalf of God. When God took on flesh, He became the only mediator necessary between God and mankind. (1 Tim 2:5). Unlike Moses, Jesus did the work on the alter: those stones holding the cross, and Jesus did so with all the modesty that his persecutors allowed, having stripped him to his flesh.(Mat. 27:33-36).
     Jesus would bear his flesh. There was no need for Moses to do that, and in fact, it would be reprehensible, as that altar of rock represented the Rock of salvation on Calvary.

Moses and the Cross

Symbolism: "But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun" (Exod 17:12).

The enemy were the Amelkites ("blood-licking" Edomites). Josephus called them "bastards."  Moses ("Deliverer") was symbolic of Jesus Christ, and the Amelkites the Devil. The stone was symbolic of an altar which in early times were made only from unhewn stone.

Therein is a picture of the Deliverer on an altar. Visualize Aaron and Hur holding up Moses's arms in the form of a cross. Aaron means "bearer of martyrs" and Hur, "noble man." Between Aaron and Hur, Jesus was identified as well as his purpose as the cross held the man Jesus who was martyred as God.

Shortly, from verse 17, we find that Moses built altar there and made the place Holy Ground.  He named it Jehovah-nissi, meaning "lift up Jehovah or Yahweh." Jesus's name means "Yahweh Delivers." How direct can it be? Jesus was there in the wilderness of Sin saving the Hebrew people from perishing!

Peace: Be Still

In Egypt (sin). as God was about to part the waters with the wind and save the Hebrews, "Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exod 14:13-14). Then centuries later, "And Jesus arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39) as God again saved his people from fear. What do we need to do to be safe? Be still, and let God do the saving!