“The Incense Altar – A Type of Christ”

Posted on September 20, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

The incense altar was a beautiful type of Christ our Intercessor, John 17; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; Rom. 8:34; through whom our prayers ascend to God The Father. Prayer was a central part of the Tabernacle service, the ‘Incense Altar’ was to be placed right in front of the veil of the ‘Holy of Holies’ where the Ark of the Covenant was placed, Ex 30:6.  The ‘Mercy Seat’ which was over ‘The Testimony’ covered the law or the tablets and God met His people on the ‘Mercy Seat.’ God meets us on the basis of mercy too, never on the basis of the law, NEVER! Never pray for God’s justice, never, only His mercy, Heb. 4:16, “Let us therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Justice is getting what we deserve; Grace is getting what we don’t deserve; Mercy is not getting what we do deserve!

The incense of this Prayer wafted its way up before the nostrils of Almighty God, hovering over the ‘Mercy Seat’ above the Testimony, behind the veil. Today the same thing is happening in heaven before God as He sits on His throne and the angels bring the golden censers before Him and ignite them, Rev. 8:3-4, “And another 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 from the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.” Question, how is your bowl today, full of prayer, ready to be ignited or empty? If the angels called for your bowl to fill the censer for God, what kind of an aroma would it emit, a sweet smell or a stench? Rev. 5:8, speaks of, “…golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.” I can’t help but wonder just how full my bowl is, how is yours? Aaron and the priests were to offer the incense or prayer, morning and evening v.8; for a, “perpetual incense before the LORD throughout their generations.” Sounds like I Thess. 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” Or cease without praying! What a beautiful picture of what we are to be doing today, right now! Continually praying for mercy, not justice, before the throne of God and if the Church dies and falls apart, whose fault is that going to be?

A special incense was to be made for meeting with God, made of stacte (natap) gum of the storax tree, a sweet spice; onycha (sehelet) the lid of a mollusc shell which gave forth a perfume when it was burned; galbanum (helbena) gum from the milky sap of the Syrian fennel, a fragrant spice; and frankincense not to be confused with incense, although it might be added to incense it could be used on its own. interesting we are never told in Scripture what frankincense was composed of. The word in Hebrew is (Iebona) and just means Frankincense. There is a city named Lebonah in Judges 21:19, I wonder if that is where it came from. We know it was very expensive and presented to our Lord at His birth by the Magoi. Incense is such a beautiful picture of prayer, its sweet gentle fragrance fills the room, it is quickly noticed by everyone, it has a lingering affect, it penetrates barriers, curtains and walls, it rises heavenward, it soothes, satisfies, and satiates, a child, an invalid, a dying man, or a warrior can ignite it, He waits for the aroma! Psalm 141:2 says, “Let my prayer be set before Thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Morning and Evening, 9:00 am and 3:00 pm every day, the time of the daily sacrifice and the trimming of the lamps. King David said, “Seven times a day do I praise Thee,” every two hours from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. Man was never to make any incense like this for his own enjoyment or he would be cut-off (karath) the most feared punishment of the Jewish people. Eliminated not exterminated, banished to hell forever with no hope of an after life, just for offering strange incense or strange fire. What is condemned here is making worship the mere pleasure of the natural man, ‘will-worship’ or ‘religion’ like Cain or maybe Nadab and Abihu, after their own will. The Samaritan woman asked Jesus an interesting question and He answered her in John 4:23-24 and said, “The hour comes and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit and they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

Moses intercedes for God’s people in Ex. 32:11-14, after their sin with the ‘Golden Calf’ before he descends down the mountain. God is angry and is about to wipe them all out, v. 7-9 and make a new nation out of Moses. However, Moses reminds God of the previous promises He made. Have you ever done that, prayed God’s word back to Him or reminded Him of His promises? Many of the great saints of the past have in their prayers, “You said God!” Or, “You declared in Your word, LORD!” Hold Him to His word, He dares you to, but you will have to know it well enough to do that and be ready to uphold your end of the bargain too! He said He would supply all your needs, if you would go into all the world and preach the gospel. He said He would heal that disease, if you would go to His people and tell them about theirs. Moses is on his way down the mountain to let the people have it and stops first to intercede for them, good principle to keep in mind. Yes he is going to burn the calf, stomp it, grind it to powder, scatter it on the brook, and make them drink it, and kill 3,000 for refusing; Ex. 32:20-30; Deut. 9:21 “And I took your sin, the calf which you had made and burned it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust; and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.” (show me one of those on Mt. Sinai or its remains!) Ex. 32:20, “And he took the calf which they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.” (A dried river bed on Mt. Sinai – good luck!)

In Ex. 32:30 Moses again intercedes for Israel the next day and goes back up the mountain to make atonement for the people and many believe he brought with him some of the “colloidal water” from the brook which was blood-red, (Google colloidal-gold) as a type of the blood of Christ to atone for the sin of Israel. It appeases God temporarily but it is just bloody water and He plagues the people because of the calf and said, “Whosoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book.” From this point on the LORD had to send His angel to go before them, He had to stay outside the camp otherwise He would consume them because they were a stiff-necked people, Ex. 33:3. When the people heard this they mourned and took off their ornaments but it was too late, they made their golden calf, and the tablets had been broken. Then Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it outside the camp, afar off from the congregation and anybody who sought the LORD went outside the camp to do it. Does your church provide the right atmosphere and climate for you to get intimate with God, or is it to loud, to boisterous, to noisy; then maybe you too, need to go outside the congregation to find God!  When Moses went into that Tabernacle the cloudy pillar descended on it, “And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend.” v.11. Isn’t it wonderful knowing that because of Calvary and all Jesus did for us, we can have that same intimacy and fellowship with the Father and the Son today? We can have, spiritual ‘YADA,’ intimate intercourse with the Tri-Unity of the God-Head any time, and anywhere, we want it? Why, because we have a personal relationship with the Son of God, not because of some ‘colloidal-water’ from a brook, but because of the blood and water which flowed from His side on Golgotha when He was pierced with a spear for our sin and paid the penalty once and for all and cried, “FINISHED!”   “…Between The Lines…”

“The Incense Altar – A Type of Christ”  9/20/12

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

“Daniel’s Seventy Weeks of Years” Dan. 9:24-27 Part #1

Posted on September 16, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“Daniel’s Seventy Weeks of Years” Dan. 9:24-27 Part #1.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

“Preparation For Prayer” Exodus 29:1-9

Posted on September 13, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

The word ‘Priest’ can bring many images to your mind but the one most intriging is, ‘Bridge-Builder.’ “This is the thing that you shall do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me in the priest’s office (kahan):” Ex. 29:1. The priests (kohen) not only conducted religious duties, but also examined people and things to make a medical diagnosis, policed the unruly and taught the word of God. The word ‘Pontifex’ is the Latin word for a member of the counsel of priests in Rome. ‘Pons’ is the word for bridge and ‘tifex’ or ‘facere’ means to fix or make. So, together it means to fix or make a bridge. So, in Latin the word for priest means, ‘Bridge-Builder.’ Which is a beautiful definition for the word, because as believer priests we have a ministry before God to the Bride of Christ, a gift which He gave to His Son. I Peter 2:5, “You also as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” I Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, 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;” A ‘Holy Priesthood’ to offer up spiritual sacrifices, a ‘Royal Priesthood’ to the praises of Him, that’s us, born-again believers in Christ, bridge-builders. Building a cause-way from man to God, standing in the gap, making up the hedge but there are some things that need to be done first just like Moses had to do to Aaron and his sons to prepare them for their ministry, we too need some preparations to enter into the ‘Holy of Holies’ with God.

First they needed to be ‘Cleansed’ washed with water v.4, bathed or ‘Regenerated.’ Before you can enter into intercessory prayer or any part of the priestly work you must be born-again, (ano-then) born from above. Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Lev. 8:6, “And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.” Heb. 10:22. This washing needs to be distinguished from the daily cleansing in the ‘Laver’ Ex. 30:18-21. This washing typifies regeneration, Titus 3:5, the laver, daily cleansing, I John 1:9, both of the are in view in the upper-room in John 13:10 with Peter.

Second they needed to be ‘Clothed’ v.5 with the coat, the robe, the ephod, the girdle, and the breast plate, garments specially prepared by the Israelite’s for their priests to wear in their service for God for them. We too must put on ‘The Lord Jesus Christ’ when we go in to serve Him for His people, Rom. 13:14, “But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” When we put on Christ, there is no provision for the flesh! II Cor. 5:21 says, “For He has made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” He took our hell that we might take His heaven! He went to the cross, not because it was fun, but because it had to be done! Then how can you make provision for the flesh, in light of the cross? Rev. 19:8 says,”And to her (the Church) was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of saints.” Without Christ’s garments of righteousness you can not intercede on behalf of others. Lev. 8-9, “And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the beautifully woven girdle of the ephod, and bound unto him therewith. And he put the breast plate upon him; also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.”

Third they needed to be ‘Crowned’ v.6, “And thou shalt put the miter upon his head and put the holy crown upon the miter.” Ex. 28:36, “And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and engrave upon it like the engravings of a signet, “HOLINESS TO THE LORD.”The Bible speaks a lot about crowns, there is the ‘Crown of Righteousness,’ II Tim. 4:8, “Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only; but unto all them that love His appearing.” There is a ‘Crown of Life,’ James 1:12,”Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.” There is the ‘Crown of Rejoicing,’ I Thess. 2:19, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” There is the ‘Crown of Glory,’ I Peter 5:4, “And when the chief Sheppard shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.” Then above all else the is the ‘Crown of Thorns,’ Matt. 27:29, “And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand, and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” There are many other crowns too numerous to mention here, but a great study and we all look forward to the day when we can cast our crowns at His feet.

Fourth they needed to be ‘Consecrated’ v.9 set apart unto God for His Holy service. Lev. 8:12, “And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.” I love Ps. 133:1-3, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments,” What a beautiful picture of this consecration, this anointing before God. However, in order to be used of God in His work we need this anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives and ministries; I John 2:20 & 27, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One and ye know all things.” “But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you all things, and is truth and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him.” In order to function we need Holy Spirit unction! Power from on high, remember He, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us Rom. 8:26-27 as well as the Son of God Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25, 9:24. To be a member of God’s holy priesthood you need all four of these; you need to be cleansed – born from above; you need to be clothed in Christ’s righteous garments and make no provision for the flesh; you need to be crowned with His holiness as only He can do and you need to be anointed with unction from above, these are essential for the ministry of intercession, for building a bridge from man to God.

Until the Law was given, the head of each family was the family priest and offered the family sacrifices like Job and Abraham (Gen. 8:20; 26:25; 31:54; Job. 1:5). When the Law was proposed, the promise to perfect obedience was that Israel should be unto God a “kingdom of priests” Ex. 19:6. However, Israel violated the Law and God had to place the priestly office with Aaron’s family and appointed the tribe of Levi to minister to Israel, thereby constituting the typical priesthood, Ex. 28:1. In the ‘Church Age’ all Christians are unconditionally constituted a “kingdom of priests” I Peter 2:9; Rev. 1:6; a distinction which Israel failed to achieve by works. The priesthood of the Christian is therefore a birthright, just as every descendant of Aaron was born into the priesthood, Heb. 5:1. The chief privilege of a priest is access to God. Under the Law the High Priest only could enter “The Holy of Holies” once a year, Heb. 9:7; but when Christ died, the veil, a type of Christ’s human body, Heb. 10:20; was rent from top to bottom, so that now believer-priests, equally with Christ the High Priest have access to God in the Holiest of all by His blood, Heb. 10:19-22. The High Priest is corporeally there, Heb. 4:14-16; 9:24; 10:19-22. In the exercise of his office the New Testament believer-priest is a sacrificer who offers a four fold sacrifice: 1 – His own living body, Rom. 12:1, Phil. 2:17; II Tim. 4:6; Jam. 1:27; I Jn. 3:16: 2 – Praise to God, “the fruit of his lips giving thanks to His name” to be offered continually, Heb. 13:15; Ex. 25:22, “I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat.” 3 – His substance, Rom. 12:13; Gal. 6:6; 10; Tit. 3:14; Heb. 13:2, 16; 3 Jn. 5-8. 4 – His service, “to do good” Heb. 13:16. The New Testament believer-priest is also an intercessor, Col. 4:12 is a touching illustration of priestly service through prayer, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” (C.I. Scofield) “…Between The Lines…”

“Preparation For Prayer” Exodus 29:1-9 9/13/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Preparation For Prayer, Priest = Bridge-Builder, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, The Plague of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | 1 Comment

“Pastor’s Prayer Principle” Exodus 28:6-38

Posted on August 28, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Exodus 28:12 says, “And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” He shall bear them up, hold them up, lift them up and carry them before the the LORD on his shoulders in prayer, the place of strength continually. Listen, we need to ‘bear up the sheep’ God has given us in our ministries to protect, feed, nurture, guide and admonish; not just put up with them, but ‘bear them up’ before the the Lord! Let them roll their burdens on us, so we can roll them on the Lord, be a burden bearer, become a wheel-barrow not a borrowed wheel! In Isa. 9:6 it tells us the One who is coming, the Messiah will bear the (misra) dominion, rule, government, kingdom on His shoulder. In Luke 15:5 we have the parable of the shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost one and left the 99 and went and found the one, “And when he found it, he laid it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” The place of strength, comfort, safety and rest. Don’t you remember when you were a child sitting on your father’s shoulders, high above the crowd, you felt like a king or royalty. That’s what we are to do with those God has placed in our ministries, ‘bear them up’ before the LORD, in prayer continually. Note v.10, there were six names on each stone according to their birth order and they were evenly distributed, no favorites, all equally brought before the throne, all equally in need of spiritual attention, all equally in danger of attack by the enemy from without and within. Oh my friend, if there ever was a need or a time for prayer, it is now, the hour is late, the archangel is wetting his lips, the little hand is on the 12 and the big hand left the 11 some time ago. We are not in the last days any more, we are in the last seconds of the last minutes, we need to pray like it’s up to God and work like it’s up to us, were out of time! “Bear up” the sheep God has given you to minister to on your shoulders in prayer continually, rejoicing before it’s to late!

Ex. 28:29 says, “And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgement upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.” His shoulders were the place of strength but his heart was the place of passion, affection, love, devotion and compassion, why? Because he is wearing the breastplate of judgement as he goes into the holy place before the LORD for the children of Israel. We need to be careful we are not to hasty in our judgement of fellow believers in the body of Christ, ‘but by the grace of God there go I.’ Aaron bore their names close to his heart as he went before the LORD. When I was a pastor I kept a small note-book in my shirt pocket and in it was a list of all my people and their prayer needs right over my heart, all the time, except when I went to bed. Today you might keep a list in your cell-phone, but where do you keep it, in your back pocket, close to your, never mind.

We as leaders will bear the judgement of those whom Christ has placed under us in our ministries, so those under our ministries must be careful how they in turn respond to our leadership and in turn treat their leaders, Heb. 13:7 & 17 say, “Remember, them who have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, concerning the end of their manner of life.” & “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you.” So, we too need to continually ‘bear up’ God’s children on our shoulders to assure them of His strength and comfort and on our hearts to assure them of His love and compassion, as well as ours. Ex. 28:30 also tells us that Aaron was to place the ‘Urim and Thummim’ in the breast plate of judgement over his heart when he went in before the LORD, (urim) means lights, and (thummim) means innocent and has been translated, lights and perfections. Or in some translations it appears as ‘revelation and truth or doctrine and truth.’ You should be aware that ‘Thummim‘ is pronounced ‘Tumim‘ in modern Hebrew. Also although they appear to be in the plural tense with the ‘im’ Hebrew ending they are singular words, the plural ending enhances their apparent majesty. But there was only one ‘ur’ and one ‘tumm’ in the pocket behind the breast plate of the high priest. Many scholars believe that they are connected to the Babylonian terms of ‘urtu’ and ‘tamitu’ meaning oracle and command, respectively and that the ‘Urim and Thummim’ were used to answer the question, innocent or guilty by reaching into the pouch of the breast plate, Lev. 8:8 and taking out one stone, gem, lot, article or whatever they were. They would have been identical and impossible to tell apart by feel only by color such as, one black and one white. There is so little known about these objects I would be in trouble if I went any further.

Then in Ex. 28:38 it says, “And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts, and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.” The ‘Holy Crown’ – “Holiness To The LORD” on Aaron’s forehead to bear the iniquity of the holy things, that is, be responsible for every neglect or offense respecting the ‘holy things.’ We as leaders, pastors, teachers, deacons, parents, students need to do more than put up with His sheep, we need to ‘bear them up’ on our shoulders and shoulder their burdens; second we need to hold them and their problems close to our hearts with compassion and love like Christ did; and third we need to keep them and their needs on our minds and in our prayers unceasingly. What did Paul tell us in I Thess. 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” Or ‘Cease without praying!’ It is actually two words in the Greek, “Unceasingly Pray!” We are also clothed with an Ephod just like Aaron when we enter into the ‘Holy of Holies’ for His children, the righteousness of Jesus The Christ! II Cor. 5:21. The ‘Ephod’ was an article of clothing, an object of worship in ancient Israelite culture and was closely associated with oracles or prophetic practices. The Jews were the guardians of “the oracles of God,” Rom. 3:2. The term “oracle” is used specifically in the context of Christianity for the concept of ‘divine revelation;’ in Judaism for the ‘Urim and Thummim’ in the breastplate; in general for any utterance considered prophetic.   Aaron had to come to God through the blood of a dead animal, but we can come to God through the blood of a living Savior, His only begotten Son, Yeshua ha Mashiach! I Sam. 12:23, should be our plea, our pledge, our promise; “Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you;”   “…Between The Lines…”

“LORD, help me to bear Your children up before You continually, to shoulder their burdens, to have a compassionate heart for their sins, and to pray for their needs without ceasing and forgive me my sin of, NOT!” In Jesus name, Amen!”

“Pastor’s Prayer Principle!” – Exodus 28:6-38  8/28/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family Altars, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayer of The Fatherless, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, The Plague of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“Prayer Based On The Blood Covenant” – Exodus 24

Posted on August 23, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

The LORD Yehovah tells Moses to come up to Him with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the seventy Elders of Israel and worship Him afar off and Moses alone shall come near the LORD but they shall not approach the LORD neither shall the people. Moses tells all the people about this and writes it all in a book, the Torah, and they respond, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” Then Moses rose early in the morning and built an altar for prayer, sacrifice and worship and twelve pillars which you can’t find at Mt. Sinai anywhere but you can find them at Mt. Jabal al Lawz in Arabia (we’ll save that for another time). Moses then has young Jewish men, probably Levites sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD and put the blood in basins and Moses sprinkled half the blood on the altar. Then in Ex. 24:7, Moses, “Took the book of the covenant and read in the hearing of the people; and they said (again) ‘All that the LORD has said will we do, and be obedient.” They added something this time to their promise, ‘obedience.’ Then in v.8, “Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words.”

Ex. 24:10 says, “They saw the God of Israel:” We know that no man has ever seen God in His spiritual Being or Essence and lived to tell about it. Ex. 33:20 says, “Thou can not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live.” However, in God’s Old Testament appearances and especially in Jesus Christ’s incarnate appearances, God has been seen by men. What they saw were ‘Theophanies’ or preincarnate appearances of God the Son either in angelic or human form in manifested glory or in a manner not described. (Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:20; Jud. 6:22; 13:22) Who is the ‘Angel of Jehovah’ in the Older Testament and why don’t you ever see him in the Newer Testament? Under His feet was a sapphire stone as clear as heaven and they ate and drank with Him, they had communion and fellowship with Him based on the shed blood of the covenant. Half of the blood was sprinkled on the altar and half of the blood was sprinkled on the people. But unless the sacrifice was made and the blood was applied there was no atonement, no fellowship, no communion, no worship, no spiritual (yada), no intimacy in prayer, no broken bread, no poured out wine, just cold, dead orthodoxy! Just like today’s cold, dead churches.

In Ex. 24:12 the LORD tells Moses to come up on the Mountain and He will give him the tablets of stone. So, he takes Joshua and leaves the rest behind and goes up and a cloud covered the mountain. “And the glory (kavod – honor, splendor, glory) of the LORD abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on top of the mount… and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” The cloud covers Moses and he waits six days before God speaks, how long would you wait on God for Him to speak to you? Five minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, would you wait for a day in a cabin alone in silence? How about two days or three days, would you wait on God for four days, no food, no water, no voice from God? How long would you wait to hear from Him, most of us can’t wait five minutes. When was the last time you took a Bible, a canteen, a blanket, a concordance found a cabin and got alone with God for three or four days and waited on Him to speak to you? When was it?

Moses went into the cloud (into the kavod) and spoke to God, there is much more than prayer going on here, wouldn’t you agree? Luke 9:34 says, “While He thus spoke, there came a cloud and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud saying, “This is My beloved Son, hear Him.” This is intimate intercourse with the Creator of the universe and it doesn’t get any more intimate than this! Moses not only saw a preincarnate theophany of God, he entered into the very presence of that ‘Shekinah Glory’ that (kavod abode) for forty days and forty nights, now there is a ‘Prayer-Meeting’ to write home about! Amen? You want to talk about ‘Sweet-Intercession, Sweet-Communion, Sweet-Intercourse’ with The Almighty, there it is. We also can have this same sweet fellowship with the Almighty and enter into the Holiest of the Holies, Hebrews 10:19 through the blood of Yeshua/Jesus, “Having therefore, brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” This is the blood of the ‘New Covenant’ spoken of by Yeshua/Jesus in Matt. 26:28, “For this is My blood of the new testament/covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Jer. 31:31 speaks of this new covenant, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;” The new covenant accomplished what the Old one could only point too, a child of God living in a manner consistent with the character of God.

In the Newer Testament the word propitiation, ‘satisfying sacrifice’ appears twice as the means of propitiation (hilasmos) in I John 2:2 and in I John 4:10. The means of propitiation is Jesus Christ. It also appears twice as the place of propitiation, ‘satisfying sacrifice’ (hilasterion) Heb. 9:5 and Rom. 3:25. So, by allowing scripture to interpret scripture the word (hilasterion) is translated, ‘mercy seat’ in Heb. 9:5 the place where the blood was sprinkled to make expiation or atonement once a year. Then in Rom. 3:25 we have the word (hilasterion) translated propitiation and as Jesus Christ hung on the cross of Calvary and the blood from the whip, nails, thorns, buffeting and spear sprinkled down on His body and was poured out at the base of the cross, His body literally became our ‘mercy seat’ and it made expiation or propitiation for our sin, giving us immediate access into the ‘Holy of Holies’ and into the presence of Almighty God. Making intercessory intercession, communion, fellowship, worship, prayer possible. Now you can enter into that cloud, so get your Bible, a canteen, a blanket and go find a cabin and wait on God and He will show up. He has never failed to show up for me in 39 years, so why would He fail to show up for you? Prayer is based on the shed blood of the New Covenant, Christ’s Covenant and don’t ever forget that!  “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayer Based On The Blood Covenant” – Exodus 24  8/23/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Shekinah Glory, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“The Prayer For The Fatherless & Husbandless”

Posted on August 20, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“You shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way and they cry (pray) unto Me, I will surely hear their cry; And My wrath shall burn, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” Exodus 22:22-24. Wow! God is the Father to the fatherless and a Husband to the husbandless. He is their advocate, their protector, their defense, their shield and security, their aegis. “If they cry (pray) at all to Me (God) I will surely hear.” God stands ready to hear the cries of all who call on Him especially the defenseless widows and orphans who have no male protector to intercede on their behalf. The father had a three-fold job basically to Protect the family from internal and external enemies; To Provide the family with all of its needs physically and spiritually; To Prepare the family to defend itself, to provide for itself, and to go out into the world and Propagate its own family. Ex. 22:24 goes on to say, “His (God’s) wrath will wax hot!” However, before God will intervene, or stand in the gap for them they must cry out to Him for His help, after all He is only a prayer away!

The same is true of the poor or your brother who is in need when you lend them money, you are not to charge them interest. If they cry unto God He will hear them too. In fact Psalm 65:2 says, “O thou who hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.” Our God is a prayer hearing, prayer answering God! “All flesh” especially the afflicted or needy and especially the fatherless and the widows. If our human courts and systems fail to administer justice, God doesn’t, neither does His heavenly court. He promises to avenge His creation, especially those who cry to Him day and night. Jer. 49:11 says, “Leave thy fatherless children; I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in Me.” A Father to the fatherless and a Husband to the husbandless, what a promise! But it is conditional to a degree, I knew it, there is always a catch. Right, “If they call – at all on Me!”

What has happened to our ministry to the widows and the fatherless in our churches today? Have we left it up to the system, social services, welfare, big brother and sister? Shame on us! If you read Acts 6 the reason for appointing deacons was to care for the Hellenistic widows in the church, how many of those do you have in your church today? How many of you know who they were and why they needed special attention over the Hebraic widows? It must break our Heavenly Father’s heart to see His widows go home on Sunday and eat dinner alone and you have extra chairs and food, or they have card-board over a broken window, or a door they can’t lock, or a dripping faucet or maybe there are some bulbs they can’t reach. Tea and cookies would be nice or a shopping trip or a card that says you care. How about that boy or girl without a father; now you can go fishing or you can take them fishing but you can’t do both but I know which one will please God the most. Take them to a ball game or to a tea room with a friend, be a father to the fatherless and co-partner with God.

I have met several young adults trying to raise children who have told me they had no male role model in their lives growing up to guide them or look up too. Or even more important to look back to for examples on how to raise their children and they need that guidance in their lives. They are crying out to God and He is looking for some men and women to stand in the gap and make up the hedge, and build a ministry called, ‘Tikkun Olam’ (heal or repair the world) one life at a time. Where is He right now, in His holy habitation, Psalm 68:5, “A Father to the fatherless, and a Judge to the widows, is God in His holy habitation.” First Timothy talks a lot about the ministry of and to widows, in fact v.3 says, “Honor widows that are widows indeed.” However, I think the capstone for this blog is James 1:27 which says it all and I will end with it from two different versions and let you wrestle with God on this matter; “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” That’s the KJV. Now for the Amplified Version, “External religious worship that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.” Till we meet again,   “…Between The Lines…”

“Abba, Father help us as we co-partner with You in being a surrogate parent to the orphans in need in our churches and a help-meet to the widows too. As we reach out in various ways to ‘Tikkun Olam,’ repair the broken pieces of Your creation, one piece at a time for Your glory and honor. May they receive our help, through Your hands, with Christ’s love. In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen!”

“The Prayer For The Fatherless & Husbandless” 8/20/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayer of The Fatherless, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Plague of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners, Widow Ministry | Leave a comment

“Instruction for Prevention of Burn-Out”

Posted on August 12, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

In Exodus 17 Moses is praying and fighting an external, physical enemy and prayer is the remedy. However, in Exodus 18 it is an internal, spiritual enemy that he is battling, his ego and he takes his father-in-laws advice for a remedy, ‘share the load.’ Jethro the priest of Midian which was in north/west Arabia, brought Zipporah Moses’ wife and his two sons Gershom and Eliezer to him, since she turned back at the Inn in Exodus 4:24-26. Jethro watched Moses judging the people alone in Ex. 18:13-16 and said, “The thing that you do is not good. You will surely wear away. Both you and the people that are with you, for this thing is too heavy for you, you are not able to perform it, yourself alone.”

Then he gives him some good advice for a heathen or was he? “Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.” Exodus 18:18 tells us how to avoid ‘Burn-Out’ in God’s service, ‘share the load!’ As under-shepherds we are to stand before God for the people, His flock, we are to stand in the gap, we are to be intercessors for God, counselors for His sheep, and in order to do that we can’t be over loaded, because as Jethro said, “you will surely wear yourselves out and the people that are with you. So, let’s stand before God for the people and let’s not burn out, bail out, rust out or run out of gas! Amen? (That was weak!)

Jethro goes on to say; If we do the first thing, Pray; Then we can do the next thing v.20, Teach them the Word; Then we can Show them the Way; Then we can Lead them in the Work. Good advice from a non-believer, especially your father-in-law. We need to learn from this principle of ‘Burn-Out,’ share-the-load. Then in v.21 he gives Moses some qualifications for choosing leaders to help him find, able men, who fear/reverence God, men of truth, who hate evil and make them rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. You will find this principle laid out in Num. 11:16-25 when Moses is ready to give up and God tells him to choose 70 elders to serve with him, the principle for building a Sanhedrin. It is also in Deut. 1:15 where Moses is repeating the law for the younger generation about to go into the promised land. Interesting, because in the Newer Testament when they appointed deacons in Acts 6 it was so the apostles could give themselves to two things continually, “to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.” So, our pastors and spiritual leaders are to give themselves to Prayer and to the Ministry of the Word, then they are to Show us the Way in which we are to Walk by example and then Lead us in the Work of the ministry, by equipping us for the work, Eph. 4:11-12. As leaders we must have the mindset to stand before God for the people; to Pray first, to Pray foremost, to Pray always, to Pray unceasingly, to Pray fervently, and to Pray steadfastly!

This was preparing Moses for the next event which was his ascent up the mountain to meet God face to face. Exodus 19:3-8, “Moses went up unto God (Elohim) and the LORD (Yehovah) called unto him out of the mountain…” God has led them out on eagle’s wings and they are camped out in the Sinai desert, about 2.5 to 3 million of them, and Moses goes up on the mountain of God, it’s “Communion Time!” Moses’ greatest attribute was his intercessory power with God, v.8. The people said, “All that the LORD has said we will do.” And Moses goes back up the mountain to bring God their words again, v.9. The law was not imposed until it was proposed and voluntarily accepted first.

The LORD came to Moses in a thick cloud in Exodus 24:15-18, “And Moses went up into the mount and a cloud covered the mount… and Moses went into the midst of the cloud.” Here, I believe the same thing is happening, Moses enters into the Cloud, where the presence of God is abiding, the ‘Shekinah Glory’ of God’s presence. In Hebrew the word Shekinah means, to settle, inhabit or dwell, however in Exodus 40:35, Moses could not enter into the Tabernacle because the ‘Shekinah Glory’ abode in it, “And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” So there were times when Moses could enter the cloud and times when he could not enter it, that was entirely up to the LORD, not Moses. What made that criteria different, I don’t know, I’ll ask Moses when I see him. According to ancient Jewish tradition the ‘Shekinah Glory’ appears in the midst of a (minyan of ten) worshipers when they pray in a congregation, when two or more Jewish people engage in Torah study, when a man recites the Shema, on a husband and wife who live in peace and harmony, and it rests on the chaste, the benevolent and the hospitable. The ancient sages said it was like a brilliant light and radiance and before it approached it was preceded by the tinkling sound of an ethereal bell. One interesting ancient Jewish legend even described the dying of Moses as being lovingly enfolded in the “wings” of the Shekinah Glory. It is said that, “Wherever the Jewish people go, the ‘Shekinah Glory’ follows.”

Hebrews 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.” Then in Hebrews 10:19 it says, “Having therefore, brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Therefore, based on the blood atonement of Jesus The Christ, we have the same privilege to enter into the Holy of Holies and intercede for His people, the ‘Bride of Christ’ because of the ‘Blood of Christ’ so we can enjoy the same intimacy Moses enjoyed.   “…Between The Lines…”

“Lord, may we enter into that sweet communion, into that cloud as Moses did and enter into intercessory prayer for Your people. May we too stand before You and for Your people and bring their petitions, their problems big and small before Your throne. In Jesus name. Amen!”

“Instruction for Prevention of Burn-Out”  8/12/12

Don’t Forget To Visit Our New Blog  –  diggingintoprophecy.com

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Shekinah Glory, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Plague of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“Damascus” – ‘Silent As A Sackcloth Weaver’ (Part #1)

Posted on August 9, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

“Damascus” – ‘Silent As A Sackcloth Weaver’ (Part #1).

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“The Value of Prayer-Partners” ‘Exodus 17:8-16’

Posted on July 29, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Ex. 17:8-16, “Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim.”  Amalek means “Warlike or dweller in the valley,” he is the son of Eliaphaz and the grandson of Easu and the founder of the tribe of Amalekites, Gen, 36:12, 16; I Chron. 1:36. He appears to have separated from his brethren and became the head of a warlike tribe. Balaam describes them as, “the first of the nations,” in Num. 24:20; (first to have attacked Israel, that is). How, from behind like terrorists, attacking the women, children, sick and feeble, Deut. 25:17-19. These weren’t warriors looking for a fight, they were nomads looking to pillage, rape and plunder. So, Moses tells Joshua to choose some men and go out and fight Amalek and he will stand on the hill with Aaron and Hur and the rod of God in his hand and pray, v.10. While Moses held his hands up in prayer Joshua prevailed and when he got tired and let his hands down Amalek prevailed, v.11.  So, they set Moses on a stone and Aaron and Hur stood on each side of him and held his hands up with the rod of God until the sun went down and Amalek was defeated that day.

There is a principle for prayer here that is so vital to us and our lives and ministries. We also need ‘Prayer-Partners’ to hold us up before the throne of grace as we do battle with the enemies of God. We are in spiritual warfare and it can not be won on our own. We have ‘Rope-Handlers’ those who sacrificially give financially to our ministry so we can go with the gospel and minister to God’s chosen people and we have ‘Prayer-Partners’ who hold us up before God’s throne of grace and do battle with His enemies so we can reach out to the ‘apple of His eye.’ Sometimes they are the same people but not always, both are extremely important, they are like two oars in a row boat, if you only have one you just go around in circles and never really get anywhere. Without prayer on the hill, Joshua was vanquished in the valley, never forget that or underestimate the power of prayer. NEVER! If I had to choose between a church giving us $10,000.00 every month for support or 10,000 ‘Prayer-Warriors’ to pray for us daily, I would choose the ‘Prayer-Warriors’ every time!

The LORD told Moses to write this for a memorial in a book or scroll and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua! v.14. It is good for us to read it over and over and to rehearse it too. The LORD says, “He will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” v.14. But He has also sworn in v.16 that, “The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” So, I guess He is not going to wipe them out until He sets up His Kingdom or the new heaven and new earth. So, who are the Amalakites today that are waring against Israel and attacking them from the rear killing their women, children, the infirm, feeble, faint and weary and never really sending their army of men to do battle with the army of Israel. Just shooting missiles at them, blowing up their buses, and killing their babies and children in their beds, and they have no fear of God?

Moses builds an altar in Rephidim (The resting place) and called the name of it “Jehovah-nissi” (The LORD is my banner). Usually a banner of flag represented conquest of victory. After defeating your enemy you raised your flag or banner on the highest hill to proclaim your victory. Like ‘Iwo Jima’ when five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raised our flag on Mt. Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. However, here Moses builds an altar on the top of this hill and an altar consists of ‘Prayer, Worship, and Sacrifice.’ In the Septuagint, ‘The LORD is my Refuge;’ In the Vulgate, ‘The LORD is my Exaltation;’ In our modern translations, ‘The LORD is my Banner.’ Matthew Henry says, “The rod of God was the banner in this action under which they rallied together. It represented the presence and power of God, therefore they erected an altar and named it, Jehovah-Nissi.” What banner do you rally under when in conflict with your spiritual enemies? How many ‘Prayer-Warriors’ do you have on your team, interceding for you and your family? We could not go forward one day without our team, not one day! Right now my wife is fighting a battle with cancer, it doesn’t seem bad at the moment but no one but God can see inside her body. I am fighting an evil, hateful, invisible enemy of the Jewish people, but what else is new? So we need our ‘Prayer-Warriors’ to hold their hands high, to raise their banners on the top of the hill, to hold that rod up where we can see it as well as the presence and power of our God.

Amalek is alive and well today, he knows his time is short, he is about to be put out of remembrance, but right now he is still at war with the LORD and with His people and we better never forget that. He will sneak up from behind and attack you in your most weak, feeble, vulnerable spot when you are not looking, probably your prayer life. He fears that weapon the most, that’s what defeated him in Rephidim, the resting place. Listen to me, there is no time to rest right now, the enemy is preparing for war, he is gathering his forces, he is stock piling ammunition, he is drawing his battle plans and we sit around with our heads in the sand. The only thing that gave Joshua victory over Amalek was the prayer on the hilltop. We need to pray, better yet we all need to find “TWO” prayer-partners to pray with and to be accountable to on a regular basis, an Aaron and a Hur and the sooner the better. By the way, Joshua or Yahoshua in Hebrew means, ‘Yahweh is salvation,’ and the English form of the Greek transliteration of Yahoshua via Latin is Jesus/Yeshua.  “…Between The Lines…”

“LORD, help us to build our own ‘Jehovah-Nissi‘ and find an Aaron and a Hur to be our ‘Prayer-Partners’ in this battle with Your enemy and ours. It isn’t enough to just pray, we need to be accountable, we need prayer partners, we need someone to hold our hands high and we need You to help us to do this. In Yeshua’s name. Amen!”

“The Value of Prayer-Partners”  ‘Exodus 17:8-16’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, The Rod of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“The Rod In Prayer” – ‘Exodus 12-17’

Posted on July 25, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

In Ex. 12:27, the people bowed their heads and worshiped after they received all the instruction concerning the Passover; The lamb, the sacrifice, the blood, the leaven, the bitter herbs, the meal, the death of the first born, etc. v.28, “The children of Israel went away and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.” But first, v.27, “The people bowed their head and worshiped.” They did this when they first heard from God’s deliverer Moses in Ex. 4:31, the word bow means to shrivel up, to stoop down, to bend over; to worship means to depress, to lay prostrate, to fall down flat in homage to God, and they worshiped prostrate on the ground. I Chron. 29:20 the people at Solomon’s coronation bowed and worshiped, prostrate on the ground; II Chron. 29:29-30, when Hezekiah’s temple was restored the people fell down and worshiped prostrate on the ground; Job 1:20, Job bowed and fell to the ground and worshiped. What does all this say about the way we worship today? When was the last time you bowed, got on your knees, laid prostrate, or wept before the LORD in Church publically? Oh, that would be embarrassing, so would being nailed to a cross stark naked on a hill out side of the city gate in Jerusalem but He did that for you! Phil. 2:9-11 says, “Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Do you think that will be done in your prayer closet or publically?

Exodus 14:10 says, “And the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.” Pharaoh and his army are marching after Israel and they see them coming and they cry out to God, to shriek or proclaim in terror, they are scared to death. So they blame the leadership, what else is new? Why is it we pray so hard when we are in a crisis and we expect an immediate response, when we haven’t talked to God for days or weeks or maybe months? They cried in their crisis, do you cry out in your crisis situations? I love Moses’ response in v.13, “Fear not, (they are scared to death) stand still (they are running like chicks from a fox) and see the salvation of the LORD which He will show to you today;” v.14, “The LORD will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.” The battle is really His not yours, and He is quite capable for the task. v.15, “Why do you cry unto Me, ‘Go Forward!” Don’t you love it! Stop your whimpering and whining and go forward, will we never learn from our past? v.16, “Lift up your rod Moses, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it and the children of Israel will go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”  Lift up your rod! Prayer, intercessory prayer, someone to stand in the gap, someone to make up the hedge, someone to bridge the breach! Where are God’s gap men and gap women today? But LORD, the water is deep, ‘Lift up your rod!’ But Lord his army is strong, ‘Lift up your rod!’ But LORD what about the enemy, ‘Lift up your rod and go forward!’ God destroys your enemies by the same way He saves His children. v.26-28. “Stretch out your hand Moses, Pray!” God’s work and God’s will depend on it. Question, can He depend on you? “O LORD, may we be gap men and gap women so You can count on us. Forgive us, cleanse us, and teach us to hold our hands high in a crisis that we may cry out to You and move forward. Amen.”

Exodus 15:1-19 is a song or a prayer of praise, ‘The Song of The Redeemed.’ They were in the desert for three days without water so they murmur against God’s servant, here we go again! So he cries out to the LORD, he prays in desperation. They come to Marah but the water is bitter, so God shows Moses a tree in v.25, and he throws it into the water and the waters become sweet. This was a test from God, the tree was the cross of Christ. When the Tree of Calvary is cast into our bitter waters, our Marahs they become sweet. What a picture or type of our life today if we will but accept it. How is your test today? Many times as a servant or leader for God, His people will not understand and they will murmur against the leadership when life seems a little bitter. We must remember to throw the Tree of Calvary into the arena of life, whether sacred, secular or social. The Tree of Calvary makes all things sweeter. Then in v.27 they came to Elim the place of 12 wells and 70 Palm Trees and they camped by the waters. Remember the refreshing water is just around the bend, just over the hill top. It’s always darkest just before the dawn, get up and watch a few sunrises and check it out. Whenever you are caught up in life’s struggles and turmoil always remember to pray, to cry out to God. Today the Red Sea, the miraculous; but tomorrow Marah, the bitter waters. Every day is a new challenge, a new test, remember to pray, to cry out to God, to lift up your Rod high and He will show you the way, He will show you the Tree to throw into your Marah, your bitter pond.

In Ex. 16 they complain about food and God sends them (manna) what is it, and quail. Then in Ex. 17 they move out and they are out of water and they blame Moses again and strive with him and put the LORD to the test v. 2, and Moses cries unto the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Ex. 17:4. “And the LORD said to Moses, “Go On!” Before the people, and take with you the elders, the leaders and your rod in your hand, and Go! v.6, “Behold, I will stand before you on the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses called the place, Massah and Meribah because of the striving of Israel and they tested the LORD there saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” It’s no different today either, when the sheep murmur against the pastors and want to stone them because they are hungry or thirsty they need to take the rod in their hand, gather the leaders, cry out to God for wisdom and ‘Go On!’ Because God goes before them. We need to seek God’s face and His wisdom in times like that, instead we often run or strike back. It wasn’t the sheep Moses struck with the rod, it was the rock. LORD help us to realize that when the sheep murmur and are contentious to cry out to You and don’t ever let us abandon the ship or the sheep but have the grit to, ‘Go On!’ Because You will always stand before us; You did it for me in 83 at Calvary Independent, in 84 at Fellowship Bible, in 87 at Clinton Baptist, in 92 at Fellowship Baptist,  and in 06 at FOI. And He will continue to do it for you and for me, we have His Word on it and He holds His Word higher than His name. Ps. 138:2.  “…Between The Lines…”

“LORD, we lift up our rod, we uplift our hands, we cry out to You, hear us O LORD, lead us and guide us, go before us and watch over us, and lead us in the way everlasting, we ask in Yeshua’s name. Amen!”

“The Rod In Prayer” – ‘Exodus 12-17’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Plague of Prayer, The Rod of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment