The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Six - K Apr 22, 2018 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T004_20180422.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Nu 13:1 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; We will conclude our study of the events at Kadesh Barnea today by viewing them from a Christian perspective. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday April 22nd 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Part 6K ‘Your Descendants After You’ 1). Heb 4:1 ¶ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,'" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; 5 and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. The Holy Spirit through the writer of Hebrews wrote to the eternally saved, to those who were part of the one new man in Christ, to Christians, and by extension us. And in writing to Christians He/he draws from the experiences of the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt and the events at Kadesh Barnea and beyond. And it is the experience of Israel at Kadesh that we had been studying in our last session. a). This Chapter of Hebrews begins with a ‘fear’ that some of those who received this letter might ‘come short’ of entering ‘His rest’. b). A rest that is clearly connected to the 7th Day in Genesis Chapter 2 in one direction and to the Day that the 7th Day in Genesis foreshadows, the Millennial Kingdom, in the other. c). And to emphasize the potential danger for the eternally saved in missing out on this Day the writer looks to Israel – ‘they shall not enter My rest’, ‘because of disobedience’ – accompanied by the admonition, ‘Today if you will hear His voice do not harden your hearts’. d). And hardening our hearts, contextually, would have to do with disobedience, unfaithfulness to that which He has said, to hearing His voice with respect to entering His rest, the Millennial Kingdom. e). And from the Lord’s perspective this remains a serious concern for the eternally saved as the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write of exactly the same thing - 1Co 10:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 ¶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. In Hebrews we saw that the gospel was preached to the first generation of Israel as well as to us and here in Corinthians the same thing is seen through them all eating the same spiritual food and drinking the same spiritual drink. f). In other words, all of those who came out of Egypt under Moses heard the Lord’s voice, but most hardened their hearts against what He had said, resulting in their bodies being ‘scattered in the wilderness’. g). And the image of their bodies scattered in the wilderness provides a shocking picture – they were delivered from Egypt, to which they could never return, but had come short of the land of their inheritance which was the reason for their deliverance in the first place. h). And in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 we are given a catalogue of the actions coming from their hardened hearts, examples of disobedience and unfaithfulness shown to us – they lusted after evil things, they became idolaters, they were sexually immoral, they tempted [tested] Christ and they were complainers. i). And in response to some of these actions there was immediate judgment, they were ‘destroyed by the destroyer’. j). Not that instantaneous judgment would be ours if we did as they did, but clearly judgment is where such actions must inevitably end and with the same consequence. k). And again, we will pause to take note of what the Holy Spirit points out to us, ‘Now all these things happened to them as examples, and were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come’. And this statement is followed by the warning, ‘Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall’, which is another way of saying, ‘let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it’, that we saw in Hebrews Chapter 4. l). One more thing for us to keep in mind – both Corinthians and Hebrews deal with Israel as a nation and that which happened to them collectively as a national entity, but within the present dispensation, God deals with Christians on an individual basis, not as a nation - Php 2:12 ¶ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; The salvation to be revealed in the last time is something we have to ‘work out’ for ourselves, and that said we will realize, if we use the analogy of the experience of Israel, that some Christians find themselves just over the border from Egypt but they never go any further - Mt 13:3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some Christians will make it to the Red Sea, but don’t ever make it across – Mt 13:5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. Some Christians will make it through the Red Sea but will then look to the cities of the plain instead of the mountain - Mt 13:7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Then there will be those Christians who go through the Red Sea and follow the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night towards the land of their inheritance. And in this respect, it is to this group that the verses in Hebrews Chapter 4 and 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 are directed - Mt 13:8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" …………..24 ¶ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. And it would not be too difficult for us to see that the experiences of Israel described in Hebrews and Corinthians can be likened to that seen in the parables of the tares, the mustard seed and the leaven in Matthew Chapter 13, having to do with Christians – parables that have to do with those who ‘fell on good ground’ from the parable of the sower. m). In both instances we are looking at those journeying from the land of their birth to the land of their inheritance and that which would stop them from getting there. And again, in both instances we are looking at choices made in response to that which God has said in the midst of this journey. 2). Now we had seen last time that the Lord had taken Israel to the borders of the land of their inheritance, to Kadesh Barnea, and had then sent 12 spies into the land so that they could see the goodness of the land that God was giving to them - Nu 13:17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 "and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 "whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 "whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. And we will remember that despite that which God had said and done, 10 of the leaders of the people gave the Children of Israel an evil report of the land thereby rejecting both the land and the One who was giving it to them – Nu 14:1 ¶ So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." So, what was all this about? Why did the Lord not just take them into the land and drive out their enemies before them? Well, the answer is a simple one, and one we have already seen from Hebrews Chapter 4 – faith - Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. This is the way God had established matters from the beginning in the Garden and we have seen it exemplified in past weeks in Abraham and the offering of Isaac. a). The promises of God are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ and always have been, but for those promises to be realized there must be faith on the part of those who would receive the promises – they must believe God and act accordingly before the promise can be theirs. b). Let’s just think about Abraham for a moment. This is what God said to Abraham following the offering of Isaac - Ge 22:17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Now, the Lord had made promises to Abraham even before he left Ur of the Chaldeans, but the fullness of God’s promise was only voiced because of Abraham’s faith with respect to Isaac – So, did God just promise Abraham more and more as time went on or is that seen in Genesis 22 what God had intended from the outset? If Abraham had not been faithful here, would he still have received that which God had previously promised, or was it going to be all or nothing? c). Given what God says in these verses from Genesis 22 in conjunction with His statements back in Chapter1 concerning Man’s creation and rulership, we would conclude that Abraham’s descendants possessing ‘the gate of their enemies’ was always God’s intent and none of the previous promises made would make any sense apart from this – it really would have been all or nothing. d). We can see this same thing in the overcomers’ promises in Revelation Chapters 2 + 3. The overcomer will access all the promises in these chapters, it will be all or nothing. It is not possible to gain some of the promises and not all – either we will be an overcomer, or we won’t be an overcomer. If we are an overcomer, then we receive all the promises and if we are not an overcomer we cannot receive any. e). So, how does this all fit together for us? Taking what we saw with Israel at Kadesh Barnea and Abraham at Mount Moriah and adding in the Matthew 13 parables and the overcomers’ promises what should we expect? f). Well, if we go back to one of the foundational types in Genesis all will become clear. 3). Ge 24:1 ¶ Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 "and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 "but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac." The search for the bride for Isaac forms the foundational type for the work of the Holy Spirit during this dispensation as He searches out the bride for God’s Son, whom Isaac typifies - Ge 24:10 ¶ Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. As the oldest servant embarks on his search we see that he travels with 10 camels, 10 giving us completion, and that ‘all his master’s goods were in his hand’. a). He doesn’t go to Mesopotamia empty handed then but takes with him all that will be the young woman’s who chooses to return with him to marry Isaac. Ge 24:53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. And before Rebekah makes the choice to go with the servant, the servant gives her gifts, setting before her in a tangible way that which awaits her as Isaac’s wife. b). And being in possession of these gifts and having heard the servant’s testimony Rebekah makes her choice - Ge 24:58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go." Rebekah does of course form the type of the faithful Christian and as such should be our example. c). The negative side of this can be seen with Orpah in the Book of Ruth, where Ruth forms another type of the faithful Christian to be set alongside that of Rebekah - Ru 1:14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; The Book of Ruth present another facet of the picture of the faithful Christian and so the exact details are not the same as Genesis Chapter 24, but here again in Ruth is the opportunity to make a journey with the possibility of marriage at the end of it. It is the same journey for Ruth and Orpah, with the same potential outcome, but Orpah goes back and it is Ruth alone who makes the commitment, ‘I will go’. d). And so, to summarize with respect to Genesis Chapter 24 – Abraham’s oldest servant takes all his master’s goods, that which will be Isaac’s inheritance and shows them to Rebekah, Isaac’s prospective bride. Having received that which had been shown her and having heard the servant’s testimony Rebekah is faced with a choice – to go with the servant or not. e). And to make sure we are clear on the types – Abraham forms a type of God the Father, Isaac a type of our Lord, the oldest servant a type of the Holy Spirit and Rebekah a type of the faithful Christian. f). So, with this in mind, look at what we find in - Joh 13:1 ¶ Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ‘All things’ had been given into the Lord’s hands, the One who is appointed ‘Heir of all things’ – all that is the Father’s is given into the hands of the Son. g). Now, let’s add to this from - Joh 16:13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. This is the antitype of the work of the oldest servant in Genesis Chapter 24 isn’t it? h). And we can add more to this - 1Co 2:6 ¶ However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. This is spying out the land. i). And right along with this we will find a warning for us - Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. 9 ¶ But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. These verses in Hebrews Chapter 6 provide a warning for us all and in them we can see the example given to us of Israel at Kadesh Barnea – all the spies had been enlightened, all had tasted the fruit of the land and experienced first hand the powers of the age to come. But for 10 of the spies and ultimately the whole nation, they ‘fell away’ from this and they, having rejected that which was offered and the One who offered it, could not be renewed again to repentance, but perished in the wilderness – these are the ones, along with Orpah and Lot, seen in the earth that bears thorns and briars whereas Caleb and Joshua, along with Rebekah and Ruth are seen as those receiving blessing from God. j). And our land, the Kingdom of the Heavens, is inhabited by ‘giants’ – Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Nu 14:8 "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' 9 "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." Ro 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2Co 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. We will continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Six - K Apr 22, 2018 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T004_20180422.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Nu 13:1 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; We will conclude our study of the events at Kadesh Barnea today by viewing them from a Christian perspective. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday April 22nd 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Part 6K ‘Your Descendants After You’ 1). Heb 4:1 ¶ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,'" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; 5 and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. The Holy Spirit through the writer of Hebrews wrote to the eternally saved, to those who were part of the one new man in Christ, to Christians, and by extension us. And in writing to Christians He/he draws from the experiences of the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt and the events at Kadesh Barnea and beyond. And it is the experience of Israel at Kadesh that we had been studying in our last session. a). This Chapter of Hebrews begins with a ‘fear’ that some of those who received this letter might ‘come short’ of entering ‘His rest’. b). A rest that is clearly connected to the 7th Day in Genesis Chapter 2 in one direction and to the Day that the 7th Day in Genesis foreshadows, the Millennial Kingdom, in the other. c). And to emphasize the potential danger for the eternally saved in missing out on this Day the writer looks to Israel – ‘they shall not enter My rest’, ‘because of disobedience’ – accompanied by the admonition, ‘Today if you will hear His voice do not harden your hearts’. d). And hardening our hearts, contextually, would have to do with disobedience, unfaithfulness to that which He has said, to hearing His voice with respect to entering His rest, the Millennial Kingdom. e). And from the Lord’s perspective this remains a serious concern for the eternally saved as the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write of exactly the same thing - 1Co 10:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 ¶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. In Hebrews we saw that the gospel was preached to the first generation of Israel as well as to us and here in Corinthians the same thing is seen through them all eating the same spiritual food and drinking the same spiritual drink. f). In other words, all of those who came out of Egypt under Moses heard the Lord’s voice, but most hardened their hearts against what He had said, resulting in their bodies being ‘scattered in the wilderness’. g). And the image of their bodies scattered in the wilderness provides a shocking picture – they were delivered from Egypt, to which they could never return, but had come short of the land of their inheritance which was the reason for their deliverance in the first place. h). And in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 we are given a catalogue of the actions coming from their hardened hearts, examples of disobedience and unfaithfulness shown to us – they lusted after evil things, they became idolaters, they were sexually immoral, they tempted [tested] Christ and they were complainers. i). And in response to some of these actions there was immediate judgment, they were ‘destroyed by the destroyer’. j). Not that instantaneous judgment would be ours if we did as they did, but clearly judgment is where such actions must inevitably end and with the same consequence. k). And again, we will pause to take note of what the Holy Spirit points out to us, ‘Now all these things happened to them as examples, and were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come’. And this statement is followed by the warning, ‘Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall’, which is another way of saying, ‘let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it’, that we saw in Hebrews Chapter 4. l). One more thing for us to keep in mind – both Corinthians and Hebrews deal with Israel as a nation and that which happened to them collectively as a national entity, but within the present dispensation, God deals with Christians on an individual basis, not as a nation - Php 2:12 ¶ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; The salvation to be revealed in the last time is something we have to ‘work out’ for ourselves, and that said we will realize, if we use the analogy of the experience of Israel, that some Christians find themselves just over the border from Egypt but they never go any further - Mt 13:3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some Christians will make it to the Red Sea, but don’t ever make it across – Mt 13:5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. Some Christians will make it through the Red Sea but will then look to the cities of the plain instead of the mountain - Mt 13:7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Then there will be those Christians who go through the Red Sea and follow the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night towards the land of their inheritance. And in this respect, it is to this group that the verses in Hebrews Chapter 4 and 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 are directed - Mt 13:8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" …………..24 ¶ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. And it would not be too difficult for us to see that the experiences of Israel described in Hebrews and Corinthians can be likened to that seen in the parables of the tares, the mustard seed and the leaven in Matthew Chapter 13, having to do with Christians – parables that have to do with those who ‘fell on good ground’ from the parable of the sower. m). In both instances we are looking at those journeying from the land of their birth to the land of their inheritance and that which would stop them from getting there. And again, in both instances we are looking at choices made in response to that which God has said in the midst of this journey. 2). Now we had seen last time that the Lord had taken Israel to the borders of the land of their inheritance, to Kadesh Barnea, and had then sent 12 spies into the land so that they could see the goodness of the land that God was giving to them - Nu 13:17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 "and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 "whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 "whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. And we will remember that despite that which God had said and done, 10 of the leaders of the people gave the Children of Israel an evil report of the land thereby rejecting both the land and the One who was giving it to them – Nu 14:1 ¶ So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." So, what was all this about? Why did the Lord not just take them into the land and drive out their enemies before them? Well, the answer is a simple one, and one we have already seen from Hebrews Chapter 4 – faith - Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. This is the way God had established matters from the beginning in the Garden and we have seen it exemplified in past weeks in Abraham and the offering of Isaac. a). The promises of God are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ and always have been, but for those promises to be realized there must be faith on the part of those who would receive the promises – they must believe God and act accordingly before the promise can be theirs. b). Let’s just think about Abraham for a moment. This is what God said to Abraham following the offering of Isaac - Ge 22:17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Now, the Lord had made promises to Abraham even before he left Ur of the Chaldeans, but the fullness of God’s promise was only voiced because of Abraham’s faith with respect to Isaac – So, did God just promise Abraham more and more as time went on or is that seen in Genesis 22 what God had intended from the outset? If Abraham had not been faithful here, would he still have received that which God had previously promised, or was it going to be all or nothing? c). Given what God says in these verses from Genesis 22 in conjunction with His statements back in Chapter1 concerning Man’s creation and rulership, we would conclude that Abraham’s descendants possessing ‘the gate of their enemies’ was always God’s intent and none of the previous promises made would make any sense apart from this – it really would have been all or nothing. d). We can see this same thing in the overcomers’ promises in Revelation Chapters 2 + 3. The overcomer will access all the promises in these chapters, it will be all or nothing. It is not possible to gain some of the promises and not all – either we will be an overcomer, or we won’t be an overcomer. If we are an overcomer, then we receive all the promises and if we are not an overcomer we cannot receive any. e). So, how does this all fit together for us? Taking what we saw with Israel at Kadesh Barnea and Abraham at Mount Moriah and adding in the Matthew 13 parables and the overcomers’ promises what should we expect? f). Well, if we go back to one of the foundational types in Genesis all will become clear. 3). Ge 24:1 ¶ Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 "and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 "but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac." The search for the bride for Isaac forms the foundational type for the work of the Holy Spirit during this dispensation as He searches out the bride for God’s Son, whom Isaac typifies - Ge 24:10 ¶ Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. As the oldest servant embarks on his search we see that he travels with 10 camels, 10 giving us completion, and that ‘all his master’s goods were in his hand’. a). He doesn’t go to Mesopotamia empty handed then but takes with him all that will be the young woman’s who chooses to return with him to marry Isaac. Ge 24:53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. And before Rebekah makes the choice to go with the servant, the servant gives her gifts, setting before her in a tangible way that which awaits her as Isaac’s wife. b). And being in possession of these gifts and having heard the servant’s testimony Rebekah makes her choice - Ge 24:58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go." Rebekah does of course form the type of the faithful Christian and as such should be our example. c). The negative side of this can be seen with Orpah in the Book of Ruth, where Ruth forms another type of the faithful Christian to be set alongside that of Rebekah - Ru 1:14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; The Book of Ruth present another facet of the picture of the faithful Christian and so the exact details are not the same as Genesis Chapter 24, but here again in Ruth is the opportunity to make a journey with the possibility of marriage at the end of it. It is the same journey for Ruth and Orpah, with the same potential outcome, but Orpah goes back and it is Ruth alone who makes the commitment, ‘I will go’. d). And so, to summarize with respect to Genesis Chapter 24 – Abraham’s oldest servant takes all his master’s goods, that which will be Isaac’s inheritance and shows them to Rebekah, Isaac’s prospective bride. Having received that which had been shown her and having heard the servant’s testimony Rebekah is faced with a choice – to go with the servant or not. e). And to make sure we are clear on the types – Abraham forms a type of God the Father, Isaac a type of our Lord, the oldest servant a type of the Holy Spirit and Rebekah a type of the faithful Christian. f). So, with this in mind, look at what we find in - Joh 13:1 ¶ Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ‘All things’ had been given into the Lord’s hands, the One who is appointed ‘Heir of all things’ – all that is the Father’s is given into the hands of the Son. g). Now, let’s add to this from - Joh 16:13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. This is the antitype of the work of the oldest servant in Genesis Chapter 24 isn’t it? h). And we can add more to this - 1Co 2:6 ¶ However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. This is spying out the land. i). And right along with this we will find a warning for us - Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. 9 ¶ But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. These verses in Hebrews Chapter 6 provide a warning for us all and in them we can see the example given to us of Israel at Kadesh Barnea – all the spies had been enlightened, all had tasted the fruit of the land and experienced first hand the powers of the age to come. But for 10 of the spies and ultimately the whole nation, they ‘fell away’ from this and they, having rejected that which was offered and the One who offered it, could not be renewed again to repentance, but perished in the wilderness – these are the ones, along with Orpah and Lot, seen in the earth that bears thorns and briars whereas Caleb and Joshua, along with Rebekah and Ruth are seen as those receiving blessing from God. j). And our land, the Kingdom of the Heavens, is inhabited by ‘giants’ – Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Nu 14:8 "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' 9 "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." Ro 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2Co 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. We will continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing.