“Prayer of The Scapegoat” – ‘Lev. 16:20-22’

Posted on December 31, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Lev. 16:20, “And when he had made an end of reconciling (finished atoning for) the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat (scapegoat); And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat (scapegoat), and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send it away by the hand of a ‘fit man’ into the wilderness.” Aaron was to lay his hands on the head of the ‘Scapegoat’ and confess over it all their iniquity (avone) perversity, moral evil; all their transgression (peshah) rebellion, revolt, national, moral or religious; and all their sins (chatta) offense, sinfulness, habitual, to miss the mark.

Aaron was to confess them over the ‘Scapegoat’s’ head, (yada) to hold out the hand, to revere or worship with extended hands, to make confession, praise, thanksgiving or confession. Nehemiah did this for his people, Moses did it, David did it, Paul did it, even Christ did it. In fact Christ is our ‘Scapegoat’ today, Isa. 53:6 says, “And the LORD (YeHoVaH) has laid on Him (Christ) the iniquity of us all.” Heb. 9:28 says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Rom. 6:10 says, “For in that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that He lives, He lives unto God.” In Isa. 53:12, the prophet Isaiah said not only did Christ pour out His soul unto death for us, not only was He numbered with the transgressors for us, and not only did He bare the sin of many, but, “He is also making intercession for transgressors right now.” In fact, even on the cross, crucified, bleeding, and dying He did that for us, with all the strength He had left He reached one hand up to God and the other out to man and cried, “Father, forgive them for they know not what the do!”

Here is our Scapegoat, our (Pascha) Passover, our (amomos) our spotless, sacrificial Lamb making intercession for us on the cross of Calvary, Heb. 7:25; just like Aaron did in Lev. 16:21. In fact the word in Isa. 59:12 for intercession is (paw-gah) to impinge, by accident, violence, or by importunity. The word impinge in Webster means, two objects coming together with such force that they are now one! In fact the same meaning is found in the Hebrew word (cleave) in Gen. 2:24. Where a man is to leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife. This word impinge, means to come together with such force that they are totally inseparable, they are one flesh, like the product of this relationship. A baby is both the mother and father and is inseparable, it is one flesh! This is the word used for intercessor! Christ is one with us as He pleads for us! He is inseparable!

Aaron had to find a Scapegoat in Lev. 16, but Christ is our Scapegoat! The Scapegoat was to be sent away into the wilderness alone by a suitable (itti) man. Jesus Christ was sent to Calvary by the Father, led by the Holy Spirit and at the specific time He cried, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” His (itti) His Fit Man, was His Heavenly Father. (How Beautiful) The only place the word ‘Scapegoat’ appears is in Lev. 16:8, 10, 26; On ‘Yom Kippur’ and has come to mean, “Taking the blame for others.” Christ is our ‘Sin-Bearer’ our ‘Intercessor,’ our ‘Blame Taker.’ God is searching today for men and women not to be ‘Scapegoats’ but to be ‘Gap-Men’ and ‘Gap-Women,’ Ezek. 22:30. Men and women willing to stand in the gap between God and man and make up the hedge, repair the breach, rebuild the bridge, stand before His throne and this speeding to Hell on a skate-board world and intercede for them. The ‘Scapegoat’ was designated by the Hebrew word (Azazel) a goat sent into the wilderness on the ‘Day of Atonement’ symbolically carrying away the sin of the community, ‘A Sin-Bearer.’ Others saw this as the name of a desert spirit (Azazel) to whom the goat was sent. It began in Exodus and continued up until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Throughout the year the sins of the people were transferred to the regular sin offerings as laid out in the Torah in Lev. 16. Then once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest sacrificed a bull for a sin offering for his own sins. Then he took two goats before the Tabernacle door with a view to dealing with the corporate sins of God’s people, the nation of Israel. One was chosen by lot to be ‘The LORD’s Goat’ which was offered as a blood sacrifice and the other was to be ‘Azazel’ or the scapegoat to be sent into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people. The blood of the slain goat was taken into the ‘Holy of Holies’ and sprinkled on and before the “Mercy Seat” seven times. Later the sins of the people were confessed over the head of ‘Azazel’ and he was released into the wilderness to carry the sins of the people away. The sins of the people were then paid for by, “The LORD’s Goat” and “The Azazel Goat.” A white cord was dipped in the blood of the LORD’s goat that was slain and tied around one of the horn’s of Azazel before it was released into the desert, if and when it ever returned the cord was always pure white, indicating their sins were forgiven. It is not important whether you believe that or not, but this is important, the Talmud states that, about 30-40 years before the destruction of the Temple, many strange phenomena began to occur at the Temple and one of those was the cord on the horn of Azazel stopped turning white. So they changed the ‘Code of Jewish Law’ and began to throw Azazel off a cliff so he couldn’t walk back into the Temple with a bloody cord. Why did the cord stop turning white 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, asked two Rabbis? Answer, Heb. 9:11-15, Calvary, there was no more need for the blood of bulls and of goats!

The ‘Prayer of The Scapegoat,’ this title is more comforting, the more you study it and consider it. Now don’t misunderstand me, I also believe that Christ was the goat sacrificed in v.15 to make atonement for our sins by His shed blood, which was sprinkled on and before the mercy seat seven times. Yes, He fulfilled both, how do we comprehend it all with our finite little minds, study. In Christian thought this process prefigures the sacrifice of Christ on the cross through which God has been propitiated and sins can be expiated. Jesus fulfilled both Biblical types, ‘The LORD’s Goat’ which deals with the pollution of sin and ‘Azazel The Scapegoat’ who removes the burden of sin. I guess we just have to pray, “LORD, help us as we wrestle with these truths, they are beyond us, we are finite and they are infinite. Help us LORD to be intercessors, Gap men and Gap women to stand in the breach, to make up the hedge, to begin our own ‘Tikkun Olam.” till next time we’ll see you as we wrestle, “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayer of The Scapegoat” – ‘Lev. 16:20-22’ 12/31/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Memoir, Olivet Ministries International, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayer of The Fatherless, Prayer of The Scapegoat, Prayerology, Preparation For Prayer, Priest = Bridge-Builder, Scarlet Worm, Shekinah Glory, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Altar of Prayer, The Incense Altar, The Plague of Prayer, The Power of The Blessing, The Prayer For Mercy, The Rod of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“The Prayer For Mercy” ‘Lev. 16:12-14’

Posted on December 21, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD (YeHoVaH), and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil; And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD (YeHoVaH), that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not.” Lev. 16:12-13. God explains exactly how Aaron and his sons are to make atonement for themselves, their families, the tabernacle, and the people of Israel and then in Lev. 16:29-34, the LORD (YeHoVaH) gives them the purpose for the atonement.

However, in Lev. 16:12, Aaron was to take a censer full of coals from off the altar of fire which was started by the LORD, and was never to go out, (Lev. 6:13) with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine and enter behind the veil into the ‘Holy of Holies.’ Why? v.13; So, that the cloud of incense would cover the ‘Mercy Seat’ which stood upon the ‘Testimony – The Tablets’ which bore the ‘Ten Commandments’ that he die not. You see the ‘Law’ was never given to save anybody, only to condemn, to show us how lost and ungodly mankind was, Rom. 3:20, “Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” In I Sam. 6:19 when two Israelites lifted the mercy seat of the Ark to look inside after getting it back from the Philistines, God killed them as well as 50,070 additional Jewish people. Why? When they removed the ‘Mercy Seat’ all that remained was the ‘Testimony – The Tablets – The Law – The Condemnation – The Judgement’ of YeHoVaH! That is why Lev. 16:14 is so important, Aaron had to take the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it upon and before the “Mercy Seat” seven times with a finger on his right hand, to make atonement or he would die instantly! He did this that he might obtain mercy as he stood before the almighty presence of YeHoVaH God!

The book of Hebrews is the New Testament book of Leviticus and says much about ‘Mercy’ and the ‘Mercy Seat.’ In fact Heb. 4:16 says, “Let us therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Grace is getting what we don’t deserve; Mercy on the other hand is not getting what we do deserve; Justice or Judgement then is getting what we do deserve. We need ‘Mercy and Grace’ to help us get through this life not ‘Judgement’ and we find these through the ministry of intercessory prayer. Heb. 7:25 says, “Wherefore, He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Christ ever lives to make intercessory prayer for us and He is seated at the right hand of the Father next to the Throne right now! The word for ‘Mercy Seat’ in Heb. 9:5 and the word for ‘Propitiation’ in Rom. 3:25 are the exact same Greek word. So by specific Scripture, Christ’s own body became our ‘Mercy Seat’ on Calvary and as His blood sprinkled down upon His body from the nails, thorns, whip, spear, beating and was poured out on the ground at the base of the cross, He made atonement for the sin of the world, the whole (kosmos), I John 2:2.

Therefore, we are to come before Him with our bowls, our censers, our hands filled full of sweet incense, beaten fine, or prayer, Rev. 5:8, “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.” Rev. 8:3-4, “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.” Our hands like Aaron’s should be, “full of sweet incense beaten fine,” v.13. The word for full, means to be full to over flowing, how much flour can you hold in your two hands? Try it, ask your spouse to fill your hands to over flowing with flour, make sure you hold them over a bowl so you don’t waste it, and you will get an idea of what Aaron brought into the ‘Holy of Holies.’ Also it was, ‘Sweet Incense’ not just ‘Incense.’ The word for incense, fumigation comes from two words and carries with it the idea of fumigation in a closed place thus driving out all the inhabitants or killing them. My brother-in-law owns a fumigation business and he seals off a room or area and shoots poisonous gas in to fill the room and kill all the insects in that room. Or he will use methyl bromide which takes all the oxygen out of the room and they suffocate, which comes from the ‘Dead Sea’ and does not leave any residue on your fruit or vegetables.

Anyway, Aaron’s hands are full of sweet incense, all he could hold, two hands full and he puts it on the hot coals in the censer and the sweet smoke and aroma filled the ‘Holy of Holies.’ How full are your hands when you come before the LORD’s throne, and are they shaken down, good measure, and over-flowing? How sweet is your incense, not that sweet, just o.k.? How hot is your fire, or has it died down a little over the years? How fine have your prayers been beaten lately, a little lumpy, bumpy, sporadic, hit and miss? Do you want ‘Judgement?’ Then just enter into the throne room with strange fire or no fire like Nadab and Abihu and you will get what you are looking for. Or do want ‘Mercy and Grace?’ Then fill your hands, fill your bowls and fill your vials with fine beaten incense and prayer and put it on those coals, hot off of God’s altar fire and enter into His ‘Holy of Holies’ by the blood of the Lamb of God, who made the way possible for us, Heb. 10:19, “Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Asthe psalmist says in Ps. 141:2 says, “Let my prayer be set before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Our prayers are the sweet incense Ex. 30:34-38, that God desires and deserves today and every day, so let’s begin afresh of filling our bowls for Him. “…Between The Lines…”

“The Prayer For Mercy” – ‘Lev. 16:12-14’  12/21/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Consecration For Prayer - Lev. 8:22-24, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, The Altar of Prayer, The Incense Altar, The Plague of Prayer, The Power of The Blessing, The Prayer For Mercy, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“The Prayer of The Blessing”

Posted on December 10, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Lev. 9:22-24 says, “Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them and came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar, the burnt offering and the fat, which when all the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces.”

To invoke or ask a blessing on the people, is a blessed privilege! It is recorded in Gen. 1:22 that the Creator, Elohim was the first to bless His creation. “And God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.” The Prayer of The Blessing, do we do this? Are our people, blessed by our partaking of this privilege given to us by our God? Num. 6:22-27 gives us what is called the “Aaronic Blessing.” Can we ask a blessing on our people, our churches, our families, our friends, our nation, our enemies? I believe we can, in fact I believe we are missing one of the greatest blessings of our lives by not blessing others! If we were to partake of this God given principle it would have an impact on our lives and on the lives of our families and churches as well. It was after this blessing that the, “Glory of the LORD appeared” to the people. v.23. We must never rob God of His glory, never! If there is one thing I have learned on this earth, it is that God shares His glory with no one.

The fire of the LORD fell from heaven and the people shouted and fell on their faces, you can’t stand before God’s glory and when you bless in His name you give Him the glory due His name. Look at Num. 6:22-27 for a moment, “The Aaronic Blessing;” God says to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons saying, This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel;” So God gives them a pattern to follow; v.24, The LORD bless you and keep you; v.25, The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; v.26, The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace; v. 27, So shall they put My name on them and I (Jehovah) will bless them. You see, it is the LORD who does the blessing and gets the glory, man just gets the privilege of invoking the blessing upon the people, the church, his family, friends, etc. We fear this privilege because it is too religious, too liturgical, so we lose the privilege and our families and friends lose the blessings and God loses the glory for our dead orthodoxy and our dead fundamentalism. Some day someone is going to come along and pick up this old Bible and read it and believe what it says and do it and we will all stand before God red-faced and embarrassed. By the way that man’s name will be something like Elijah, Elisha, Noah, Enoch, Daniel or something like that.

“The Power of The Blessing,” may we begin today to invoke this privilege upon our people and may we begin today to give God the glory due His name. Lev. 9:22, “Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people and blessed them…” In Luke 24:50, Christ did the same thing, “And He (Christ) lifted up His hands and blessed them.” King David speaks of lifting up his hands in prayer in Psalm 141:2, “And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” By the way that was offed at 3:00 PM, note that time in your Bibles. Paul mentions it in I Tim. 2:8, “I will therefore, that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands…”

In Gen. 12:1-3, the LORD told Abram that He would make him a great nation and “Bless” him and make his name great and that he would be a “Blessing.” Not only that but the LORD told him that He would also “Bless” those that “Blessed” him and his people, Israel. Then the LORD ended by promising him that all the families of the earth would be “Blessed” in him, Abraham. From then on the sons and daughters sought the blessing of their fathers, Ishmael and Isaac; Jacob and Esau; Jacob’s twelve sons; Joseph’s two sons, read Gen. 49-50. In fact even today in Jewish Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox homes on the Sabbath the fathers and mothers will recite blessings over their children and many times lay their hands on their children while reciting the blessing. When was the last time you laid your hands on your children and prayed a blessing over them? My parents laid their hands on me on many occasions but it wasn’t to bless me. 🙂 I was 38 years old when my father told me he loved me for the first and only time, it was 11:00 am, Thanksgiving morning, he was sitting at a bar in their home, drinking with my cousin when he said it, but I’ll take it and treasure it till I die. A “Blessing” I would treasure for all eternity and then some, and so would you!

Why are they so important? Well they invoke the power of God’s name and there is power in God’s name and in Jesus’ name, John 14:13-14. When we use God’s name in a Biblically based blessing He empowers the one we blessed to carry out the request of that blessing. In Num. 6:22-27 God gave Aaron the exact words to use in blessing His people and in v.24 He said, “They shall put My name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them.” Also it uses the power of the tongue, and there is great power in the words we speak. Prov. 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Ironically the same word in Hebrew for “Blessing” is also used for “Cursing” and this is seen in Gen. 49 in Jacob’s sons whose lives bore this out. One of the most important reasons for honoring our mothers and fathers is to receive their verbal blessings. Failure to do so will greatly damage the potential we have for our lives and its longevity. (Read Eph. 6:2-3) Also our blessings should be based on the LORD’s words not our words or desires, because He said, “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

We need to memorize, Num. 6:24-26, “The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” That is only 32 words and it would take you less than 10 seconds to genuinely pray it over someone, from your heart to the heart of God and truly bless them. (You can do it silently and genuinely) Can you imagine what would happen to your world, if you put His name on your people (work, school, home, club, etc) and He started to bless them for His glory? A father’s blessing is also one of the most valuable gifts you could ever receive, yet so few fathers ever give their children a “Spiritual Blessing.” Why, because most fathers don’t know what to pray. Therefore, a wise son or daughter could write out the blessing they want to receive and ask their father to pray it over them. This is similar to a lawyer writing up a contract for us to sign, since we don’t know the proper terminology to use, but once we sign it we validate it. In the same way once the father prays the blessing in Jesus’ name, he validates the blessing for his son or daughter and puts the LORD’s name on that child and He will bless them as He promised in His word. The word for bless is the Hebrew word (barak) and means to bless God in adoration, or to bless man as a benefit. To bless in the O.T. means to endue with the power of success, prosperity, fertility, longevity, etc; Isn’t that what Christ did on the Mount of Olives in Acts 1:8; and Luke 24:50?   Maybe I should have entitled this, “The Power of The Blessing!” Either way I think you can read, “…Between The Lines…”

“The Prayer of The Blessing” 12/10/12

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“The Servant Exalted – ‘His Triumphal Entry’ – Isa. 52:13” (REVISED!)

Posted on November 22, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“The Servant Exalted – ‘His Triumphal Entry’ – Isa. 52:13” (REVISED!).

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“Consecration For Prayer” – ‘Lev. 8:22-24’

Posted on November 22, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tips of their right ears, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” Lev. 8:22-24.

Even though our text does not mention the concept of “prayer”the context I believe is referring to it. Here we have the “Consecration, the Setting Apart” for God’s service of Aaron and his sons. They are priests, “Bridge Builders” for God and for Israel. We also are referred to as priests, “an holy priesthood,” in I Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” And a royal priesthood, in I Peter 2:9,  “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people (a people of His own) that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Even Jesus Christ is referred to as our “High Priest’ in Hebrews 7:26, “For such an ‘high priest’ was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens;” A priest’s job was to mediate, to intercede, to be a go between, to stand between God and man. We have been given that ministry as believers in Christ, the ‘ministry of reconciliation.’ II Cor. 5:18, “All things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;” So, like Aaron we have a ministry to perform, a ministry of intercession, a ministry of supplication, a ministry of reconciliation, or a ministry of prayer. If the saved people don’t pray for this lost, hell bound world, who will? Now before we can enter into that “Ministry of Reconciliation” we need that blood of consecration applied to us just like it was to Aaron and his sons in v. 22-24.

This act of consecration of Aaron and his sons, putting the blood of the sacrificial ram on their right ears, right hands, and right feet signifys total consecration of the whole body  for sacrificial service  for the LORD. This same procedure was used in the cleansing of a leper in Lev. 14:14 for total consecration. It is also applied to the most representative member in each case, the ‘right side’ as opposed to the ‘left side.’  The right side was always more honorable, the right hand of God, the right hand of fellowship, most Jewish people are right handed, being left handed was a stigma in ancient Israel. (Ehud the left handed judge). Their right ear, hand and foot being consecrated  also symbolized their senses and active powers being devoted to God. Before you can enter into the ministry of intercessor, mediator, or supplicator; before you can stand in the gap for mankind you must be consecrated yourself with the blood of the, Lamb of God,  ‘Afresh!’

The blood was applied to the right ear so they could hear for God and from God. They could hear the pleas of mankind and bring them to the throne of God but hearing God’s response is another matter altogether. We are very good at listening to mankind for the most part, but the art of listening to God, is a lost art. An art we all need to spend time developing, Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know (yada- intimacy) God.” We also have to be in His Word, listening to what He has to say, so we can pray according to His Will and Word. So, the blood on the ear, refers to the head and heart to hear for and from God. They were not to form their own precepts or opinions, the ear-gate was to be open to hear from heaven and was to be kept sacred for the LORD. Is that your phone ringing?

The blood on the thumb of the right hand referred to sacred service for the LORD. The priests offered the blood and sacrifices for the people on the altar, now we don’t offer sacrifices for people today but we still serve God, Matt. 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven.” We were created for “good works” Eph. 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” We were saved to serve, ‘Service, Earnest Service’ is the duty of every believer priest. Luke 17:10. The hand is an emblem of both strength and acceptance and with it we distribute and receive. The hands of the priests would be busy offering sacrifices, burning incense, offering up prayer, receiving gifts for God, or sprinkling blood. Therefore, they must be clean, consecrated, and ready to present the gifts to God from His people and to convey God’s blessings to His people.

However, both of these are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal without the third one. The blood of the ram of consecration was applied to the big toe of the right foot, representing their walk. I saw a sign once of a mother duck and some baby ducks walking and it read, “Your talk talks, and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.” We need to ‘Walk our Talk’ as the saying goes. We need to listen to God; we need to serve God; and we need to walk with God. Anybody can talk the talk, putting on the moccasins and walking the walk for 30, 40, 50 years or more, now that’s a different story. Talk is cheap, it doesn’t cost you a dime but the walk can cost you everything you have including your own life. Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, (Deny, Embrace Follow). People ask me quite often, “What are you?” Meaning are you a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Brethren, what? The best answer I believe to that question was given to me by the Holy Spirit, when I was confronted with it in a synagogue by a Rabbi and several of his people I said, “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.” Any other answer would have put more fuel on the debate but instead I was able to share the Gospel. Our feet move us in the direction our hearts prompt us. The feet of the priest stood in the holy place and the ‘Holy of Holies’ it was only right that they be consecrated and sanctified first. The big toe is what gives us balance in our walk, without it we would fall, it is only right that it would be consecrated with the blood of the ram. The thumb gives us strength in our right hand and power to hold a weapon or tool, without it we could not hold a sword or spear or fend off the enemy. In ancient times they cut off the thumbs of kings and captains so they could never hold a scepter or weapon again. This is true for us today as believer priests, before we can step into the arena of intercession we must make absolutely certain that the blood has been applied ‘Afresh’ and we are, “Listening, Serving, & Walking’ to and with the LORD. “…Between The Lines…”

“Oh LORD, help us today to spiritually apply the blood of Your Son afresh to our ears so can hear your voice, to our hands so we might be better able to serve You, and to our feet that we might be better able to walk the talk and stand on that Holy ground for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen!”

“Consecration For Prayer” – ‘Lev. 8:22-24’ – 11/22/12

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“Rock Of Ages” – ‘Exodus 33:18-23’

Posted on October 31, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“Rock Of Ages” – ‘Exodus 33:18-23’.

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“Rock Of Ages” – ‘Exodus 33:18-23’

Posted on October 31, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“And he (Moses) said, I beseech Thee, ‘Show me Thy glory!” Ex. 33:18. Moses is seeking a new vision for a new task, have you ever done that? Sure you have, I know I have! The LORD, Jehovah tells him in v.19, He will let His “goodness pass before him;” He will proclaim the name of the LORD, the LORD God before him; He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious and merciful to whom He will be merciful and all this takes place in Ex. 34:5-9. But, v.20 says, “Thou can not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live.” Why? Just step outside on a bright, sunny day and stare up at the sun for 30 seconds and you will go blind. So, imagine looking at God’s magnificent glory for just one second, and you would be blind forever! Men have seen Theophanies and Christophanies  and angelic forms but no man has ever seen God in His spiritual Being or Essence. The closest man ever came to seeing Him was Jesus Christ (John 1:18; II Cor. 4:6; Heb. 1:3) Who was the visible manifestation of the invisible glory of God’s imminent eminence!

The “Glory of God” was related to the “Face of God” because in response to Moses’ request to see God’s glory, the LORD responds in v.20, “Thou can not see My face,” using face as a synonym for glory. Moses desired to see the full nature of God, to see His glory, the burning presence of God, that’s what all of us truly seek in our prayer closets, God’s burning presence or a touch of the Master’s hand. To see someones face is to see their whole person, this was very common in the Hebrew Scriptures to describe meetings of men like Jacob and Esau in Gen. 32:20, “and afterwards I shall see his face.”

What we need today to revitalize our prayer lives is a fresh look into the face of Jesus. To see Him afresh, to touch those nail prints again, to feel the Spirits breathe brush across the back of our necks letting us know that, ‘this is the way, walk ye in it.’ To hear that still small voice again, to smell the lily of the valley, to feel the warmth of the ‘Son of God’ on our cheeks, to sense His presence in the room as we pray in His name, to feel our cheeks wet with tears after we have prayed not even knowing that we have cried, to watch with Him all night in prayer until the cock crows, but it seemed like only an hour or two. The LORD does reveal Himself to Moses, to Israel and to us in a variety of ways, His goodness that passes before us, the revelation of His name suggesting His inner most secrets, His grace: getting what we don’t deserve and His mercy: not getting what we do deserve. His “Divine Presence” in the person of “His Son” and the indwelling “Holy Spirit” who intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. He is everywhere, He knows everything, and He can do anything. That’s my God, the “YHVH” the ‘Great I AM’ (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh) the One who causes to be, to exist, to breathe, to live and He is your God too!

Moses wanted to behold Him face to face, to know Him absolutely, to exhaust His depth of being, to remove His last footprint or His mystery of being God. Be careful here, to try and embrace the full nature of God, is to forget that there is a concealed nature of God, which if we ignore it, we do so at our own risk. To often we try to fit God into our theological, eschatological, soteriological, ecclesiastical, “BOX!” Don’t do that, He doesn’t come in a 42-regular, or a 44-extra large! However, the LORD, Jehovah proposed a solution to Moses’ desire to know Him fully. Rather than discourage him, this omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, is a fountainhead of hope for all those willing to stand upon the “ROCK” and follow newer and fuller visions, content for now anyway, to behold only His back, never realizing the unfinished quest of seeing Him “face to face” at least for now can wait. Whatever, we may know or experience about God there is always more to be experienced, more to know, more to learn, always! For this reason the glory of the LORD remains a hidden glory and for the same reason man’s pursuit remains an unending quest!

However, for now as we enter into our prayer closets, our prayer gardens, our prayer chambers and the LORD covers us with His hand, may we enter into His presence as He passes by and communes with us as He did with Moses on the back side of that desert. May He take away His hand for a moment and may we too see the backside of His glory and be drawn into His presence in prayer as we get to (yada) know Him in a more intimate and personal way. You can’t leave this section without bringing to mind that old familiar hymn by Augustus Toplady, “Rock of Ages,” written in March of 1776, which had four stanzas and has been changed many times: “Rock of ages, cleft for me; Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood; From Thy riven side which flowed; Be of sin the double cure; Cleanse me from its guilt and power.”

It was the words from a sermon Toplady heard from Dr. Daniel Brevint that moved him after a storm to write this hymn: “Let not my heart burn with less zeal to follow and serve Thee now when this bread is broken at this table, than did the hearts of Thy disciples when Thou didst break it at Emmaus, O Rock of Israel, Rock of Salvation, Rock struck and cleft for me. Let those two streams of blood and water which once gushed out of Thy side…let not my soul less thirst after them at this distance, than if I stood upon Horeb whence sprang this water and never the very cleft of rock, and the very wounds of my Savior whence gushed out this sacred blood.” According to his own testimony Toplady was so stirred by these word pictures he could not shake them from his memory, can you? God put him in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand while He passed by, so he could see His back, ‘Glory be To God!’ Take that thought with you to your prayer closet and shut the door, Matt. 6:6, and bolt it so the enemy can’t slither in and invade your thoughts and prayer time with your heavenly Father who is waiting there for you.  “…Between The Lines…”

“Rock Of Ages” – ‘Exodus 33:18-33’  10/27/12

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“The Altar of Prayer” – ‘Leviticus 4:7’

Posted on October 24, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Leviticus known to the Jewish people as (Vay-yik-ra/called) is God’s guide book for His newly redeemed people. Showing them how to worship, serve and obey a “Holy God” and its focus is on the worship and the walk of those newly redeemed people. The key word in this book is ‘Holiness’ and the only way to approach this “Holy God” was through the blood of an innocent sacrifice and the only way to walk with this “Holy God” was in complete and perfect obedience to His commandments. The Hebrew word word (kodesh) for holy or holiness is found almost 200 times in Leviticus as well as the repeated command, “Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God, am holy.” Lev. 19:2. You will find this repeated in the Newer Testament in I Peter 1:15-16, “But as He who has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of life; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

A major emphasis is on the order of the five offerings and the seven feasts and their instructions to the Levites and the Priests. It has also been said, “It took God only one night to get Israel out of Egypt, but it took God 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel.” Leviticus takes place at Mt. Sinai in approximately 30 days, now the question is where is Mt. Sinai? If you look at your Bible map in the back of your Bible the one in the Sinai peninsula will probably have a question mark next to it, but we will leave that for another blog. The key concepts in chapters 1-17 are ‘Worship or Sacrifice’ – “without the shedding of blood there is no redemption.” In chapters 18-27 the key concepts are, ‘Walk or Sanctification’ – “come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the LORD.”

Now keep those keys in mind as we look at the subject of prayer in Leviticus, we are in the first half of Leviticus and the key is “Worship or Sacrifice” and our first occurrence of prayer is in Lev. 4:7, “And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation;” Now we know the only way to approach a ‘Holy God’ is through the blood of an innocent sacrifice, Amen? That was weak, are you with me? You want to grab another coffee or energy drink before we go any further, I can wait, stay with me now. Heb. 10:19 says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus!” WOW! So, we have the blood of an innocent sacrifice, to make the way possible for us to enter the “Holy of Holies” into the very presence of Almighty God! However, we too need to be separated unto God, obedient to Him and His Word, following Him, His will, His desires, His passions, His commands, His heart beat, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7. You need to camp out on that promise for awhile and roast some marshmallows, until you absolutely be-live it. Do you love Him? I mean do you really, really love Him? The test is simple, John 14:15, “If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” Start with the one Jesus gave you in John 13:34, that you love one another as He has loved you. Then move on to the two He gave you that you love God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as your self and when you master those three move on to the “Big Ten” in Exod. 20:1-17 and when you master those you might want to ask a Jewish friend for his list of 613. However, I have to be honest with you, I don’t know about you, but I’m struggling with the first three. Amen? That was better!

Now as I said, the first indication of prayer in Leviticus is in Lev. 4:7 when the Priest put the blood on the horns of the incense altar. Horns signify power, and there is no power in intercessory prayer apart from the blood of an innocent sacrifice. The intercession of Christ Himself, is based upon His own atonement. He offered Himself without spot before the throne of God and now He makes intercession for us without ceasing. It pleased the Father to bruise Him and now it pleases the Father to hear Him. The bruised spices of passion release a sweet aroma to heaven when presented on a blood smeared altar. Now apply the type to your prayer life before a “Holy God.” Incense is a symbol or type of prayer, Rev. 5:8 says, “And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of saints.” Rev. 8:3-4 tells us that the smoke and incense from these saints ascends up before God’s throne. The sweet incense resembles our prayers being wafted toward heaven before a ‘Holy God’ as a sweet savor and aroma. “Let my prayer be set before You as incense; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 141:2. Oh how precious before God are the prayers of His redeemed people, Lev. 4:7. This is, “the altar of sweet incense, before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of congregation.” Sweet incense; Before the LORD; Tabernacle of meeting; Oh, the precious, sweet fellowship of intimate, intercourse with a “Holy God,” what can surpass it? I guess my question today is, if they called for your bowl or mine, would there be a full bodied, sweet incense, or a stingy, stinking stench? Just the smell of sulfur from the match? How is your prayer life? We can all use a tune up! There is no better way, and no more beautiful picture to begin looking at prayer in the book of Leviticus than an ‘Altar of Sweet Incense’ before the LORD, in the Tabernacle of Meeting, with the blood of an innocent sacrifice applied to the horns of the altar, before the veil. Lev. 4:6 also tells us that the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the “Holy of Holies.” Listen to that promise in Heb. 10:19 one more time, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest (Holy of Holies) by the blood of Jesus.”  “…Between The Lines…”

“Lord, may we enter this day and every day into Your presence, Your “Holy of Holies” by the blood of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Thank You for this beautiful, graphic picture of prayer in Leviticus, burn it into our hearts and minds. May we never forget that a “Holy God” demands sacrifice and obedience. The sacrifice You provided on Calvary, the obedience we need to provide. Please, ‘Bevakasha’ help us to obey, that You might be glorified in our answered prayers. In ha shem, Yeshua we pray. Amen!”

“The Altar of Prayer” – Leviticus 4:7 – 10/24/2012

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“Practicing The Presence of God” ‘Ex. 33:14-15’

Posted on October 12, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“Practicing The Presence of God” ‘Ex. 33:14-15’.

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“Practicing The Presence of God” ‘Ex. 33:14-15’

Posted on October 12, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Ex. 33:14. The children of Israel just committed the most heinous of sins, “the golden calf” and Moses made atonement for them after 3,000 were slain and the LORD tells them to, “Depart!” Ex. 33:1 and He would send an angel (Isa. 63:9) to go before them and lead them because if He went in the midst of them He would consume them, v.3. They had sinned a grievous sin against God and He was mad Ex. 32:10 but Moses interceded for them and God repented (recalled, turned) v.14 from the evil He was going to do to Israel because of the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Sometimes after we have really blown it we feel like Job in chapter 29 or David in Psalm 42, His rich, full, abiding presence and love is not there, but it is! The fellowship may not be the same, it may be damaged, but confession will remedy that, Amen? The relationship never changes, you will always be His child and He your Father. ‘Once saved, always saved!’ Heb. 13:8. However, in Moses’ day the Ruach ha Kodesh  came upon them and departed from them, Ps. 51:11. He did not indwell them permanently like He does believers today; Jn. 14:16; Eph. 4:30.

The LORD doesn’t withdraw His full blessing and presence from His children arbitrarily, it is due to forgetfulness, unbelief or sin on their part. Our sin creates an impassable gulf between us and God and the gloom of the night overtakes our souls, so we seek an intercessor, the Son, Ro. 8:34; the Spirit, Ro. 8:26; or a Saint, I Tim. 2:1. The people mourned (Heb. bawl, to cry out loudly) and laid aside their ornaments, their beautiful jewelry. In losing God they lost their glory, their treasure and their joy. Isn’t that true of us today, without God’s glory shining on us, there is no joy, no treasure, no happiness, nothing! So, they built a Tabernacle outside the camp where Moses and Joshua could meet God face to face, “and the LORD (Yehovah) talked with Moses.” v.9. Praise God, they had their intercessor! Do you have yours, Son, Spirit or Saint? Then the people saw the “Shekinah Glory” standing at the Tabernacle door and the LORD spoke with Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend.

Then Moses pleads with God to make His will and way known to him and God says, “I know thee by name and thou hast also found grace in My sight.” v.12. Yeah but, (don’t you just love the yeah buts in the Bible) You have not told me who will go with me! Yet Joshua has been with him since he left Egypt, through the desert, through the Red Sea, fighting the Amalakites in Ex. 17, on the Mount in Ex. 24 & 32, in the Tabernacle Ex. 33:11; but he had not yet laid hands on him and imparted the Spirit to him, Num. 27:18. He needed a partner to go with him, to train and to take over for him, Moses is no spring chicken by this time. God has also called us His friends, and sons, and His people, so it is not for us to walk in darkness either. We need to know His way and will too, after all Ps. 25:14 says, “The secret of the LORD is with those that fear (reverence) Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Therefore none of God’s people should be satisfied to live in a state of confusion, misery and darkness.

Then comes one of the most beautiful promises in the Older Testament, one that should be written on the mantles of our hearts, “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.” The realization of God’s favor, God’s presence, will give rest to your soul, rest from your doubts, your struggles, rest from your quest! “If God be for us, WHO can be against us?” Rom. 8:31. In fact WHAT can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, the sword? NO! Wrote the apostle Paul in Rom. 8:37, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” There is nothing that can separate us from from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, NOTHING!!! Read Rom. 8:28-39 over and over until it sinks in and you get it!!!! “My presence, My (Pan-im, My face, Me Myself) will go with you, and I will give you rest (nuah, settle you, establish you).” One vowel point difference from the word, Noah. Rest from anxieties about the way, rest from misgivings about the future; we may not know what the future holds but we sure know the One who holds the future, Amen? (Are you paying attention?) When you have a personal relationship with Yehovah and with His Son Yeshua and His Spirit the Ruach ha Kodesh indwells you then you know His truth, His love, His power, His promise, His presence and your soul realizes the peace that passes all understanding, Phil. 4:7. That manifested presence is the believer’s joy and glory, it’s what we live for, serve for, give for, long for, and die for.

If God’s Shekinah Glory does not go with them, if His abiding presence does not go forth with them, then they do not wish to go forward, not one foot! How about you? Can you serve, give, live, sacrifice, go, without the abiding presence of the Almighty? What good is a land flowing with milk and honey without God, it’s a mere desert! He bids us in Matt. 6:6 to enter into our closets, our pantries and when we have ‘shut the door’ to pray to our Father in secret who is already in there waiting for us. He tells us in Ps. 46:10, “To be still and know (yada) the LORD.” That same word appears in Gen. 4:1 when Adam (yadad) Eve and she conceived, this word speaks of intimacy, oneness, a closeness to close for words. That’s the kind of relationship God desires in your prayer life, intimate intercourse, conversation so close that words are not necessary, your thoughts are one with His thoughts (yada) because you ‘Practice the Presence of God.’ Joshua did not leave the Tabernacle Ex. 33:11, he wanted more, neither did Isaac in Gen. 22, he stayed on Mt. Moriah only Abraham came down v.19. Have you ever been visited in your closet, or at a prayer meeting or at your study and you had to ask Him to, ‘stay His hand?’ And you didn’t want to leave, hopefully you took Him with you and practiced the ‘Presence of God’ through out the day. You see it’s not ‘Brother Andrew’s secret, he didn’t invent it or find it, it’s God’s and He desires all of us to have it. “My presence, My face, My Shekinah, My Majesty, Me, Myself, and I will go with you, and I will give you rest, I will settle you, I will establish you, I will plant your feet on the Rock, just keep My face before you always.”

Nicolas Herman joined a Carmelite order in Paris France at the age of 24 and received the name, “Lawrence of the Resurrection” and we know him as, “Brother Lawrence.” A book was compiled by Joseph de Beaufort of his letters and conversations on the subject of the ‘Presence of God.’ It is a small book, worthy of your reading entitled, “The Practice of The Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence. A poem in the book says, “Lord of all pots and pans and things; Make me a saint by getting meals; And washing all the plates!” The key to the book is in the first letter as Brother Lawrence searched many books to find out how to go to God but came to the conclusion that in order to be holy he had to be wholly God’s all the time. So, he resolved to give his all, for His all, all the time. “I made this my business as much all the day long as at the appointed times of prayer; for at all times, every hour, every minute, even in the height of business, I drove away from my mind everything that was capable of interrupting my thought of God.” Brother Lawrence may not be the author of “Practicing The Presence of God” but he sure is known for it, Ex. 33:14-15; Read his book, you’ll be really glad you made the effort.  “…Between The Lines…”

“Practicing The Presence of God” ‘Ex. 33:14-15’  10/12/12

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