Belonging
Belonging • Sermon • Submitted
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· 15 viewsEverybody wants to belong to somebody. But who do you belong to?
Notes
Transcript
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Handout
Part 1: What does it mean to Belong
Part 1: What does it mean to Belong
What does it mean to “Belong”? Everyone wants to belong to someone or some group. It has to do with:
Acceptance
Affirmation
Identity
Love
As well, everyone wants things that belong to them. Be it material possessions or accomplishments. It has to do with:
Ownership
Self-Worth
Dignity
Some people will violate any ethical standard or adjust their morality in order to achieve “Belonging”. They will do it in the workplace, in society, or in relationships. No one wants to be left alone, rejected, empty handed, or feeling worthless.
What does the Bible say about Belonging?
What does the Bible say about Belonging?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The Apostle Peter speaks from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to those who have embraced fully the covenant of Christ Jesus therefore, consecrating themselves completely and absolutely to Him.
As a result, they are called chosen, royalty, a part of the priesthood of heaven, a holy nation. But then Peter adds this little caveat: “They are God’s possession.”
Possession denotes complete ownership and all rights of that ownership. If I by a car from you that has a lien or a debt that is still owed but I pay that debt and purchase the vehicle from you I own it. You then sign the title over to me. We both sign the Bill of Sale. But then you refuse to give me the keys and you drive off in it. I try to find you at church, but you keep the car hidden and tell me that the debt was paid but you owe me nothing. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But that is exactly how we view Salvation apart of the Lordship of Christ. I owed a debt I could not pay. He paid the debt He did not owe. And now I owe Him nothing.
But if indeed Christ purchased my salvation; He redeemed me with the price of His precious blood, and yet He does not own my life due Him, then I still owe the wages of sin.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
If indeed the Spirit of the Living God dwells within you, then you are not your own. God does not rent or lease dwelling space. The Spirit of God owns His residence.
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
In Romans 14:8, the Apostle Paul confirms this same prophetic utterance from the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
So often we hear or read this passage and think we understand it. But you cannot understand it unless you discover the Apostle’s Hebrew context of what is being sacrificed. First, that which is sacrificed to God has to be given to God as His. Second, it must be deemed made holy by God. Finally, it must be absolutely surrendered on the altar to God. So what is the sacrifice in this verse? Well, it is “your bodies”.
Well, from this we have danced around the understanding because of the potential implications of our flesh. According to the Septuagint, the body used here has a specific context.
There is, then, no consistent Hebrew equivalent for (σῶμα-soma) the Greek word used here. In translation of בָּשָׂר (basar) it replaces (σάρξ) the Greek word about one out of seven times. This is especially so when what is in view is neither man’s transitoriness nor his flesh as distinct from his bones but bodily man in his totality. Almost always the suffering body is meant. (Schweizer, E. (1964–). σῶμα, σωματικός, σύσσωμος. G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 7, p. 1045). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.)
With that being said, the Apostle Paul’s intent here is that the total man is laid on the altar as dead, now belonging to God as a sacrifice made holy by God alone. But the man must be dead to self, least he retain any sense of ownership of his person. That which is owned by God is holy and that which is to be made holy must be totally owned by God. Thus the essence of “Not my will but Yours Oh God”. God Himself, become flesh that was wholly belonging to God, yet in the form of man, a sinless sacrifice, that you might be redeemed belonging to God, holy and acceptable, to His will as a dwelling place for His presence.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
You may work your entire life paying off your home. You may work diligently every day to pay for that car you drive. But miss paying your tithe to the government on it. You will discover that that which you thought you owned, you don’t. God in all of His sovereignty holds absolute ownership of all created things. But He desires for you to “Belong” to Him through a relationship of surrendered desire.
My children belong to me. Even as adults, they are still my children. And as a result of that belonging, they have an inheritance. Not just of earthly things, but of that which is passed from generation to generation through the favor of the Lord.
Brothers and Sisters who are alive in Christ Jesus, forget not to whom you belong. In all your trials, rejoice in this, that you belong to Him.
Belonging Part 2: Living as God Lives
Belonging Part 2: Living as God Lives
It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt. But there is another problem with familiarity in a relationship, it leads to a false sense of knowledge and understanding.
If we become simply familiar with the Word of God we may stop asking questions. When we stop asking questions to seek greater understanding we simply stop seeking.
We know and have seen throughout history the consequences of tipping the scales between Yetzer ha Tov (Inclination to Good) and Yetzer ha Rah (Inclination to Evil). But do we fully understand the fulcrum of that which stands between the two? What is a fulcrum? By definition it is:
1. The support about which a lever turns
2. An agent through which vital powers are exercised
3. One that supplies capability for action
4. A part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support
In the case of the Garden of Eden, all of these apply and have ramifications for us today. In Genesis 2:9 God places lots of trees. But two are highlighted for us. One seems straight forward. It is the tree of “Life” (חַיִּים hayyim - living as God lives). Later in Scripture we find it holds eternality. But then there is the tree of “Knowledge”. Not just any knowledge but the knowledge of good and evil.
And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Let’s first look at the word “knowledge” (דַּעַת da’ath - meaning knowledge of God but in the context of ignorance. So often we hear the word knowledge used here and think it is a good thing. But God explains it better to Israel in Hosea 4:6.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
So when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, did they gain knowledge or did they lose it? We have been taught that they “gained” some kind of newly revealed understanding. Instead, truth be told, they lost intimacy with God which was a greater knowledge than what they gained from disobedience. They did not gain knowledge at all, instead they fell to ignorance of God. As a result, they no longer felt like they belonged in the presence of God.
Let’s look at it this way. Did God place a tree before them that would give them knowledge of right and wrong? Or did they already have that knowledge as a result of the spoken Word of God in Genesis 2:17 that set forth a law.
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
After having disobeyed God they hid themselves then they are punished. This validates that they foreknew right from wrong and did wrong anyway. Obviously, they already possessed what was to be gained from the tree. God had established an ethical standard. And the name of this tree does not imply that before Adam and Eve’s choice they had no moral plumbline.
So, if the tree did not give knowledge of right and wrong, what did it do? According to Rabbi David Fohrman, it transformed their understanding of God’s right and wrong into a different understanding. Let me say it this way.
What we call doing the right thing we consider to be good. And doing the wrong thing is evil. So we apply this understanding to our relationship with God. All we need be is good. Or we by the lie that we cannot or are not good enough. But the Scripture says the days come when men call good evil and evil good. (Isaiah 5:20)
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Some would even dumb down the Christ to being a good and moral teacher. But Church, it’s not about good and evil. It is about righteousness. You belong to the Father through the righteousness in Christ Jesus, not in just His goodness or your goodness.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
So what is the connection between these two trees in the Garden of Eden? Why was it forbidden to eat of the Tree of Life after they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil but not before?
Let’s look at something at a different angel that may give us some clues.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
These are not just any angels and they are not fat little naked babies with wings. But there is only one other place we find these angels. And they are guarding something besides a garden.
And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
What are they guarding? The Ark of the Covenant! And what is in this Ark of the Covenant? The Torah (Law of God); the heavenly Bread that sustained their lives in the wilderness; and the dead piece of tree that God caused to bud, blossom and bloom with fruit!
Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.
What does Proverbs speak of? Wisdom and Understanding found only through the Word of God.
We know that Adam and Eve did not physically die immediately after their disobedience. So did they remain immortal of did their disobedience bring them mortality? But God said that He had to cast them out lest they eat of the Tree of Life and live eternally. So, it would seem they were already mortal. So, is this a contradiction? Perhaps man was neither mortal or immortal. Perhaps man’s mortality would be determined by the choices he made?
But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
I belong to my parents and my children belong to me by blood. I belong to my wife and she belongs to me by covenant. I belong to Christ and the Body of Christ by blood covenant.
You belong to God by the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life (חַיִּים - hayyim - living as God lives).
Part 3: Longing to Belong
Part 3: Longing to Belong
Today, everyone is expected to belong to a cause, And if you do not belong to my cause, then you must be against me. This is a form of manipulation.
The truth is that not everyone wants salvation (deliverance from the power and effects of sin). Some want only validation of their own depravity (a corrupt act or practice). Validation (the act of making that which is illegal now legal) is not the same as affirmation (to uphold a judgment or decree).
Sin finds power through cunning desires when we hear the voice of false identity. We buy the lie of mis-identified belonging that leaves our souls naked.
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
According to A.W. Tozer, “God and man are dissimilar now. God made man in His image, but man sinned and became unlike God in his moral nature. And because he is unlike God, communion is broken. Apart from Christ, man is morally incompatible with God. God is not far in distance, but He seems to be because He is far away in character. He is unlike man because man has sinned and God is holy. The Bible has a word for moral incompatibility, this spiritual unlikeness between man and God - alienation.”
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Alienation is the opposite of salvation, redemption, sanctification, communion and belonging to God.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
Real beauty in us or any relationship can only be found ultimately in that which is holy. And if you belong to Jesus Christ, and indeed His life dwells within you, you should know the true delight of worshipping (חַיִּים hayyim - Living as God lives) in the beauty of His holiness (not yours).
In Genesis 2:1-18, God is creating the Garden of Eden, then man. Suddenly in verse 18 He says “It is not good that man is alone.” You would assume then that the next natural thing would be to create woman? Well, He does, starting in verse 21. So, why this interruption in verses 19 and 20 of parading the beast of the field in front of Adam? We glance over this. But it is critical, not only to the entire story, but to who you are in Christ.
Note the last statement in verse 20, “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.” Who was doing the searching for a Soul Mate? It wasn’t God. It was Adam. Why exactly would God do this? Why would God intentionally cause Adam to search for a Soul Mate among the beast of the field?
Within your spirit you already know the answer. But I want to confirm it for you. Because it is tied to understanding the existence and purpose of the snake, not created in the image or moral nature of God, but walked and talked to a man and woman who were created in the image of God. It is tied to your weakness in temptation and your being deceived in relationships.
It is important to note what happens in Genesis 2:23 when God parades Eve in front of Adam. Adam rejected the beasts of the field and embraced Eve as etzem from my etzem (nefesh of his nefesh and neshamah of his neshamah). In other words, Adam resolved that they were NOT morally and spiritually compatible. Could this rejection of the beasts and the acceptance of Eve have anything to do with the snakes motive for approaching Adam and Eve?
In Genesis 2:20 it states that God brought before Adam “every beast of the field.” In Hebrew this is chayat hasadeh חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה . Typically the Hebrew word would behemah הַבְּהֵמָה . But instead this rare word is utilized here and one other place. It is used once more in Genesis 3:1 to describe the snake (serpent - nahash וְהַנָּחָשׁ - being of perniciousness; of ungodliness; destructiveness; wickedness; hissing tempter). From the Pilel root of עוֹרֵר aorear meaning to arouse the serpent from its sleep and hiding place and stir up strife.
In fact, the verse goes on to call him “more cunning than any other beast of the field.” Rabbi David Fohrman (The Beast that Crouches at the Door) suggests that the snake was attempting to succeed where all the other beast of the field failed. “
While observing and defining every beast of the field, Adam received the revelation (that so many professing Christians still have not received) that he was not compatible with any beast of the field. He did not have the same physical DNA, spiritual DNA or nature as any beast of the field.
The snake sought to persuade Adam that at least one beast of the field could provide adequate companionship for the longing in his soul. “The temptation of loneliness is to seek solace where it ought not to be sought.” The snake sought to seduce Adam into the possibility of being one, even though they were of different natures and images. The snake sought to manipulate by dispelling the obvious differences and challenging Adam’s uniqueness as being anything special.
Christian, the world uses the same tactics today. The world wants to convince you that you are not any more special than them. You are the same. What makes you any better than them? Why can’t the world be your soul mate? What makes you think you’re better than anyone else?
Christian, it’s not that you are better but you have been made holy through Christ Jesus, if indeed it is Christ who lives within you. I am not better but I live different because I have encountered Christ. I have chosen Christ’s work and way and have been transformed by His blood.
The world would lure you with manipulative hissing as if it were a spiritual hymn, “Why not choose a soul-mate from our world?” Why would you, being in Christ jesus, seek solace for your soul among the snake people? Consider the outcome of a covenant and the offspring between such a union of Children of God and snake-people? I have a a Biblical answer for you. But before I show you, let me show you how this concept has probably already found its way into your home and the minds of your children.
The Zulu people have a legend of the Chitauri Race. (Basically, snake people). They describe the Chitauri as as very tall, almost 10 feet tall, and with different social classes. The upper class, royalty, are described with several horns on their heads, with wings and a huge tail. On the other hand, the warrior class or lower class are described with large eyes of vertical pupils, round face without horns, without wings and without tails.
Legend has it that he Chitauri, told the humans (who were gathered using violence with lightning bolts of energy), that they were the great gods of heaven, and that they would give them the great gifts, as long as they worshiped them and accepted them as their creator gods. They also promised to return humans to gods, if they accepted them; and the humans agreed. When the Chitauri arrived, the humans were divided, both in spirit and language.
Then, the Chitauri gave strange feelings to human beings. The humans began to feel insecure, and began to build villages with strong wooden fences. They began to create tribes and the borders between territories, which defended themselves to the death; thus originating wars. They (the Chitauri) liked to put humans against humans; they enjoyed making them their slaves without them even being aware of it. “ The Chitauri feed on the energy that human beings provide them through their darkness. They are the cause of the disputes between groups, fear and terror. When a large mass of people are angry or fearful, the Chitauri feed on that energy. They feed on what we call ‘The Dark Power’.
Here is an image of the ancient Chitauri according to Zulu descriptions.
Here is a more modern version of the Chitauri.
And this is how Hollywood got an ancient Zulu god called the Great Python into your homes and the hearts of your children. In the Avengers there is a race of Snake people called the Chitauri.
Now let me take you back to Scripture and what snake people look like when God’s people choose to hook up with them:
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
You might say, what does that have to do with snake people? I remind you that we are talking about those who live by a different spiritual and moral DNA of God’s people. Nonetheless, the idea is not far off from a strange reality. Who were some of these women that Solomon brought into his home and gave his heart and soul to?
The Moabites worshipped - Chemosh was the national deity of the Moabites whose name most likely meant "destroyer," "subduer," or "fish god."
The Ammonites worshipped - The Ammonites’ primary deity was the god Milcom or Molech.
The Edomites worshipped - Also worshipped Chemosh (the fish god).
The Sidonian people worshipped - Jezebel was a Sidonian. Ashtart, "the goddess of the Sidonians." As well, the gods Eshmun and Ba‘al Sidon 'Lord of Sidon' are among chief gods of the Sidonians.
And the Hittites worshipped - Among many gods, Tarhunt, the god of thunder and his conflict with the serpent Illuyanka; Indra and the cosmic serpent Vritra; as well as Thor and the serpent Jörmungandr.
This gives deeper understanding of “not being equally yoked.” Yet, so many Christians do not even take this advice on a day-to-day basis. The snake walked upright and could talk and hold an intelligent conversation. He too was in the Garden. There he was, right there in church, in the presence of God. Why indeed could he not be a companion with Adam? If the snake could just get Adam to disobey God, then Adam too could have a beast nature and the two would be compatible. Besides, God’s words could be taken many different ways. “Adam, don’t listen to the Words of God, listen to the voice of desire that God created within you. That voice beckons you to fulfill it’s longings, it’s cravings, it’s impulses, and it’s appetites. This voice of desire within is what animates you, defines you, gives you purpose, identity and a sense of belonging. Let it be the primary voice, not the divine voice. Come on Adam, let me show you what it’s like to be a snake.“
This confusion of good and evil, of the divine nature verses the beast or snake nature continues within many Christians today. What do you mean Pastor?
Illustration of “Connecting with Snake People”
You know, there is a positive to social media that I have discovered. If you are willing to look through people’s friend connections, posts, groups and likes, they will reveal a lot to you about their moral and spiritual DNA, their worldview. And you might just discover that they are not compatible with you Christian. Instead, they are snake people. You might just dig down through the folks they are relationally affiliated with and discover that you are really connected to an entire den of snakes. Yes, the lost need Christ and need to hear the good news of redemption. But snake people are not looking for salvation, they are looking for validation.
The serpent in the Garden was not looking to be re-created and transformed into the image and likeness or moral and spiritual nature of God. Instead, He was looking to pull Adam into his world and validate his nature. Yes, evangelize, share the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who will have ears to hear. But even Jesus called out the nature of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:33.
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
Christian, do not let this world of snakes lull you into a a slumber of compromise through the longing and desires of your inner man. Turn that longing to belong back to the one who created you out of His great love. Know that you are not alone. You belong to an entire family, and entire nation of people who walk upright before the Lord. You are from the Kingdom of our God. You are not like those who reject our King. Live as such.
Part 4: The Beauty of Belonging
Part 4: The Beauty of Belonging
The Hebrew Scriptures sometimes use a technique known as מילה המנצ'ה milah hamanchah or use of a key or leading word. In the story of the Garden of Eden, and the snake, there is one key or leading word that repeatedly stands out and points us to a sod or deeper truth.
Remember the four levels of Hebrew interpretation:
Pashat - simple surface level
Remez - the spiritual clues
Drash - the search for understanding
Sod- the revelation of the hidden truth
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The leading word in the story of the Garden is “arom” or “nakedness”. To discover the sod let us ask a serious question that maybe you have never considered:
Why does knowing “good and evil” affect our perception of nakedness? (Fohrman, Rabbi David. The Beast That Crouches At The Door (p. 29). OU press. Kindle Edition.)
Notice Adam’s excuse for hiding from God, “I heard YOUR voice and so I hid BECAUSE I was arom.”
So, Adam and Eve realized they were naked, but why? Was it only because of the fact that they disobeyed and partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? God later says that man had become like Him knowing both good and evil. So, does that mean that God is naked? What is really meant by “naked”? On the surface, the word simply implies exposed and helpless. But what was it that really caused this awareness of something much deeper than being exposed? If God is not naked, where did this concept of “nakedness” come from? Rabbi Fohrmen asks, “Was there anyone else in the Garden that was naked?”
Let’s look at the story again in Genesis 2:25:
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
We tend to separate it from Chapter three. But look closely at Genesis 3:1 and let’s put the two together. “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Did you see it? Did you see the word “naked” or “arom” again? Of course not! But the word for “crafty” or “cunning” is indeed the same Hebrew word “arom” or “naked”. In Genesis 2:25 it is “arom” and in Genesis 3:1 it is “arum” but they come from the same Hebrew root word עָרַם “aram”. They have the same root but mean just the opposite. The only difference is a vowel point, of which, would not have been in the original Hebrew text. The word עָרוֹם “arom” or naked is in the context of being fully disclosed, bare, uncovered. But the word עָרוּם “arum” means to be cloaked or in disguise.
Adam and Eve are naked and unashamed until they sin against God. However, the snake is already naked but cloaked or disguised in deceit even though he speaks in a forward way telling the truth in manipulation. The true intentions of the snake are hidden behind a facade and his true nature is not seen. Can you imagine the snake telling Eve, “We are both naked. We are very much alike.”
Christian, what makes you so different than an animal? Is it simply that you can speak in complete sentences and express thought? What if a donkey could speak and express even divine concepts? Would that then make him human or even holy? Look with me at an example in Numbers 22:27-31.
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face.
Do you not think it strange that this supposed Prophet of God has an entire conversation with a talking donkey? It’s almost like having a conversation with a talking snake. How many of you have had conversations with snakes? How many have had conversations with donkeys? How many of you have had conversations with yourself or your flesh instead of the voice of God? How many would even know the difference? How many have had so many conversations with your fleshly desires that you would not know the difference between them and the voice of God? How many have had so many prophecies from different people and listened to so many different theologies that you would not recognize the difference between them and the voice of God or even a snake or donkey?
Again, if a snake can talk and a donkey can argue, does that make them human or even holy? Better yet, are they able to hear the voice of God? In the story of the talking donkey we often make the donkey the focal point. As such, we miss the real issue here. The real problem is that a supposed Prophet of Adonai is having a conversation with a beast of the field and thinks nothing of it. Something had changed of his nature and I propose that the change was tied to how he heard God. He is so engaged in conversation with a beast that he does not see the supernatural of God at hand.
In Genesis Adam said, “I heard YOUR voice and so I hid BECAUSE I was arom.” What makes you different than a snake or a donkey is, “How God speaks to you and how you listen.” Animals have an innate sense of the Creator within them driven by instinct and appetite. But it’s not the same with you. Does the listening in your life come through your “arum”; self-deception and nakedness of your beast nature? When God says “no” to something, do you suddenly hear God say “yes” because it is what you want so inwardly? And then you say, “Well, I have to be obedient to the voice of the Lord.” And it was not God at all. Instead, it was what you wanted, regardless of what the Word of God says contrary to your desire. Do you listen with the inward voice of desire and call it God’s voice? Do you ignore His Word yet say you have the wisdom of God?
In Genesis 3:6 notice how it describes the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
It was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desire for wisdom. What did King Solomon ask God for in 1 Kings 3:9?
Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
Did he not ask for the same thing that Eve sought in the Garden? The snake did not encourage her to partake of the Tree of Life did he? No, he pointed her focus to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She may have been about to partake of the Tree of Life before this ole cool walking and smooth talking snake opened his mouth.
So, what is going on here? On the surface they, both Eve and Solomon, sought wisdom. And wisdom is not a bad thing. In fact, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. But wisdom without fearful knowledge of God is just an ego.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
But according to Rabbi Fohrman, a more literal translation would not be “desirable for wisdom” but would read וְנֶחְמָ֤ד “venechmad” meaning “desirable to contemplate”. The word used for wisdom in Genesis 3:6 is שָׂכַל śāḵal meaning to turn ones mind toward or to contemplate. In other words, she looked upon the beauty of the Tree of Knowledge and considered it an alternative to God’s Word. It was the voice of desires from within, like a dog craves a bone. When he sees the bone he struggles to listen to any command of his master.
There is a desire within us for that which is beautiful. And when you fail to see the beauty of God, you look somewhere else.
Eve saw the forbidden as:
Desirable to the eye - appealing to material and physical desire for beauty.
Desirable to eat - appealing to fleshly appetites to possess that which is beautiful.
And desirable for wisdom - appealing to desire to be perceived as having a beautiful mind or accepted and respected intellectually for a deeper sense of compatibility.
Did Yeshua not face very similar temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) as another voice sought to shift His focus from the voice of God’s Word? Yet, Yeshua emphatically replied with, “It is Written!”
Contrary to what the world, culture, and your flesh tell you, you are not the sum of your desires and instincts. Your beauty is found in your monogamous surrendered relationship and belonging to God alone. In that belonging you have a distinctive beauty as you allow God to speak to you through His Word. Your beauty lies in the eyes of your Heavenly Father and what His Word has spoken concerning you. The snake’s appeal to Eve, was that desire and instinct were more absolute and dependable in determining God’s will than obeying His words. God’s will for you can be known through the voice of His great love that speaks truth. The world seeks for beauty from within itself and the external things of this world. But you belong to the Most High God and you are to find beauty in the eyes of the Lord, the lover of your eternal soul. Any other voice speaks with cloaked fork and tongue.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Part 5: Snakes Among Us
Part 5: Snakes Among Us
As the people of God it is real easy to become entrapped in the prosaic (mundane, routine, unremarkable) events of this life and forget who we are in the Kingdom of our God.
I know that I personally have had seasons of discouragement as I get caught up in the day-to-day workings of the church. I find it is very easy to forget who and what you are.
I was having a conversation with God the other day. I said to God, “Okay Lord, this is where you have us. It’s your church and if you want us back to where we started as a people, then so be it.” Sounds fair enough right? Except it was not in a positive tone of heart. And God, in His grace did not kill me, but He said these words that broke me, “Who are you?” “What are you?” I need not give an answer for I knew the implication, “You have allowed everything else to cause you to forget who and what you really are.”
Something (some desire) is going to always burn within you. If you forget who and what God has said you are then discouragement, fear, frustration, disappointment, discontentment, and compromise will begin to burn within. Desire for things that are not a part of God’s plan and purpose can find a place within to burn. But when you allow God to remind you who and what you are, He can then set ablaze a fire within your belly that He can use to move mountains.
In Numbers 21:1-9, the Canaanite king finds out that Israel is coming his way. So he fights against them and takes some of them captive. The enemy has flat out come against the Church and has managed to take some captive. How about you? Are you fighting against the enemy and has he taken you or someone you love captive? Well, you are about to find out what to do about it!
“It is strange idea to our way of thinking, but Israel at this time would show that property was completely given to God by destroying it - thus making it unusable to anyone else. It was an expensive and whole-hearted way to give things to the LORD. This was Israel's way of saying, 'we're not fighting this battle for our own profit, but for the glory of God.’" (David Guzik)
So all of Israel vowed to the Lord to bring destruction to the enemy. They committed to God to remove the idolatry from the land! God heard and accepted their vow and they called the place Hormah חָרְמָֽה which means “devotion”.
You cannot be victorious without God’s help. There is no victory to be had where there is no devotion to be found.
God gives them victory over their enemy then circles them back around by way of the Red Sea from a familiar place called Mount Hor which is the place where Aaron the Priest had died. It was a place where once before they had experienced defeat. Now God has them going back there. How discouraging this was. But little did they know that God was bringing them back to give them a victory. It was a turning point for them as a nation.
“They had a reason to be discouraged but they had no excuse for their discouragement. They faced a real challenge and something that is no fun at all. Yet, they had no excuse for not trusting in God, and for not looking for His victory through it all” (David Guzik).
Sometimes God will take you through familiar places that may remind you of hard places where you have passed through before. But you have to trust in His purpose or you lose sight of His plan.
That is exactly what Israel did. In verse 5, the people “became impatient on the way and spoke against God and against Moses.” The people asked God, “WHY”. This is the same thing they did at the Red Sea the first time when Pharaohs army was pursuing them. And here they are years later at the same place asking the same question, “Why God.”
Do not lose your peace in the process because you are impatient on God. This impatience comes from discontentment in the process and contemplation of your own expectation of what God should do. It is the same nature that was awakened in Adam and Eve in the Garden by the serpents craftiness (arum).
Israel began to question God’s motive. If you want to see God move, quit questioning His methods and just do what He has spoken. Quit contemplating His intentions and remember whose hands you are in.
But the people did not stop there at questioning God. They went on to complain about the “worthless and horrible service they were getting.” They did not just question God’s “Why” but His “way”. This is the way some church people view learning the deeper things of God’s Word, “worthless food”.
In Numbers 21:6 it says that “Adonai sent fiery serpents among the people.” That’s right, God sent snakes among the people. Not just any snakes. These are fiery snakes. And there were so many that they bit the people. There were snakes everywhere among the people of God. Everywhere they turned; when they went to bed; prepare meals; literally everywhere they went there were snakes. It was a complete infestation of snakes.
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
What was God’s point? The same point that was made in the Garden of Eden with a snake. When we question God in our disobedience we listen to another voice and receive a nature contrary to the one He put in us through the power of His Holy Spirit.
The word “fiery” is saraph שָׂרַף meaning burning, as in a poisonous desire. It means to absorb or take in that which brings death. And the word “serpent” is nachash נָחַשׁ meaning not only deceit but to learn from experience. And the word “bite” is nashak נָשַׁךְ meaning to oppress with interest; to give payment for. In other words, God gave them “the desires of their heart”.
Be careful what you desire in your discontentment and discouragement as you question God’s motives. God may just move out of your way and let you have what you so desire. When we fail to trust Him we also challenge His motive. When we look at this event, it is easy to say that God was just being mean, a big ole bully from heaven. But the reality is, that if God had not intervened, this generation would have continued as the previous and never have seen the fulfillment of the promises of God. They would have never entered the Promise Land because of their lack of trust in God and because of their disobedience to his ways. This is the way Israel saw it. As a result they were brought to a place of repentance and restoration with God.
They knew the solution was not in luck, time, or some medical miracle from the working of medicine. They knew they would only be saved by the mercies of Almighty God.
This was their cry, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord. Take away the serpents Lord.” Come on Church! This is not about snakes around you, its about a change of your heart’s attitude about God, so He can change your altitude with God, who can then change the atmosphere where you are! In a midst of snake culture, God is turning up the heat for a burning desire within His people to trust in Him in such a way that a revival fire will burn!
So, in Number 21:8-9 God commands Moses to make a fiery serpent (a burning desire ) of God’s own. God commands him to make it out of bronze. Bronze was symbolic of God’s judgment because it had to “pass through the fire” to be made useful!
And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
“This was an unusual direction from God and miracle resulting. There is no immediate logical connection between merely looking at a serpent on a pole and living; or refusing to look and dying. But God commanded that such a "foolish" thing be used to bring salvation to Israel” (David Guzik).
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Come on Saints of God! The bronze age changed warfare. It gave a warrior a longer reach, a more effective weapon, a stronger weapon for a stronger battle. It made a weapon that would not corrode or rust in the elements. Bronze weapons were solid and lasted longer in the fight.
I’m telling you, God is not allowing the enemy to weaken the church but He is strengthening His army! God wants to bring you through the fires, not to just make you happy but holy. Not to just make you spiritual, but to turn you into a spiritual weapon that the Gates of Hell, and the snakes that are behind them, cannot stand against you or the Glory of God that dwells within you!
“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
When Hezekiah caught hold of this he responded in righteousness!
He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.
Catch hold of this Church!!!! In John 3:14-15 Jesus said this:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus was trying to reveal to them a connection between what happened in the wilderness with Moses, the serpent and who Christ was as Israel’s Savior.
You might wonder how this serpent was similar to Christ in this case. We usually associate serpents with evil (yezter haRah) as in Genesis 3:1-5. However, this is a bronze serpent having passed through the judgment fires commanded by God.
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
This connection is a serpent that has been judged by the righteousness of God.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Jesus Christ was without sin but carried the penalty of sin to the cross. He who was without sin took on the judgment of sin for the wages of sin is death. There the wages of sin were judged and a way of escape, a way of healing, a way or redemption and restoration was made for those who follow Him as their Lord. The bronze serpent was not only sin judged, but sin confronted and dealt with!
“When Israel was complaining against the LORD and against Moses, they were not looking to the LORD the way they should. They were looking at themselves, they were looking at the hard circumstances - but they were not looking to the LORD. What will it take to get you to look to the LORD?” (David Guzik)