1 Samuel 17:4-5 MKJV
(4) And a champion named Goliath came out of the Philistines camp; he was from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.
(5) And a bronze helmet was on his head, and he was armed with scaled armor. And the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
Most Christians learn the story of Goliath in Sunday school. There are some very profound things to note about the description of Goliath, particularly the 6's that describe various parts of his equipment. I would like to point out his armor. It was scale armor. This devil-man was armed like a serpent.
Genesis 3:15 MKJV
(15) And I will put enmity between you (serpent) and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.
The Seed of the woman is Jesus, our Rock. He was polished smooth in the stream of the Holy Spirit. We are His brothers, still waiting in the pouch for our chance to fell the next giant.
Showing posts with label Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rock. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Sticks and Stones
Exo 17:5-6 MKJV
(5) And Jehovah said to Moses, Go on in front of the people, and take with you the elders of Israel. And take your rod with which you struck the river, in your hand, and go.
(6) Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb. And you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Looking at our Salvation story through events in the Old Testament can be so exciting. Israel represented fallen man, hopelessly enslaved in Egypt. God used Moses to bring them out, through the Red Sea. They were free from Egypt, but only physically free. Mentally they were still enslaved to bitter, selfish souls. They were in the desert.
Notice what God says: take your rod with which you struck the river. The river? The river... which river was that, Lord... because... since we've seen the Nile we've WALKED THROUGH THE RED SEA. Why has God referenced a seemingly small event of the past instead of referencing the HUGE event of walking to freedom through a sea? Here is the verse:
Exo 14:16 MKJV
(16) But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it. And the sons of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
But no. God is reminding Moses to take the rod he used when he struck the Nile River, which probably seemed eons ago. Moses had struck the Nile in Exodus 7:20 and it turned to blood.
God usually allows mankind to obtain what he pursues, doesn't he? Pharaoh was out for blood. He had decreed the destruction of all the male Hebrew babies by what means? Throwing them in the Nile... But it was the Nile that floated their salvation: Moses. Now God was giving Pharaoh what he wanted - blood.
Back to God's reference. He said, even as you took the rod and struck the river, take the rod and strike the rock.
From here, we can take what we know and apply it. The rod is the cross that struck our Rock, Jesus Christ. From Him came water to nourish us and save us in the desert we were in. Understand, too, that rods have NO CHANCE against rocks. You'd no more set out to break a rock with a stick than you would digging a tunnel with a plastic spoon. Forget it. But the Rock split and water issued forth...
The cross... the Romans... the Jews... had NO CHANCE of killing Jesus unless He laid His life down for us. That He did.
1Jn 3:16 MKJV
(16) By this we have known the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
But the river... what about it? This same cross that was used to bring us water in the desert was also used to destroy the enemy - ultimately bringing him exactly what he wanted. Blood. The cross brings life, but the cross brings death to those who reject it.
(5) And Jehovah said to Moses, Go on in front of the people, and take with you the elders of Israel. And take your rod with which you struck the river, in your hand, and go.
(6) Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb. And you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Looking at our Salvation story through events in the Old Testament can be so exciting. Israel represented fallen man, hopelessly enslaved in Egypt. God used Moses to bring them out, through the Red Sea. They were free from Egypt, but only physically free. Mentally they were still enslaved to bitter, selfish souls. They were in the desert.
Notice what God says: take your rod with which you struck the river. The river? The river... which river was that, Lord... because... since we've seen the Nile we've WALKED THROUGH THE RED SEA. Why has God referenced a seemingly small event of the past instead of referencing the HUGE event of walking to freedom through a sea? Here is the verse:
Exo 14:16 MKJV
(16) But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it. And the sons of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
But no. God is reminding Moses to take the rod he used when he struck the Nile River, which probably seemed eons ago. Moses had struck the Nile in Exodus 7:20 and it turned to blood.
God usually allows mankind to obtain what he pursues, doesn't he? Pharaoh was out for blood. He had decreed the destruction of all the male Hebrew babies by what means? Throwing them in the Nile... But it was the Nile that floated their salvation: Moses. Now God was giving Pharaoh what he wanted - blood.
Back to God's reference. He said, even as you took the rod and struck the river, take the rod and strike the rock.
From here, we can take what we know and apply it. The rod is the cross that struck our Rock, Jesus Christ. From Him came water to nourish us and save us in the desert we were in. Understand, too, that rods have NO CHANCE against rocks. You'd no more set out to break a rock with a stick than you would digging a tunnel with a plastic spoon. Forget it. But the Rock split and water issued forth...
The cross... the Romans... the Jews... had NO CHANCE of killing Jesus unless He laid His life down for us. That He did.
1Jn 3:16 MKJV
(16) By this we have known the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
But the river... what about it? This same cross that was used to bring us water in the desert was also used to destroy the enemy - ultimately bringing him exactly what he wanted. Blood. The cross brings life, but the cross brings death to those who reject it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Rock of Ages
Dan 2:31-35 MKJV
(31) You, O king, were seeing. And, behold! A great image! That great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you. And its form was dreadful.
(32) This image's head was of fine gold; his breast and his arms were of silver; his belly and his thighs were of bronze;
(33) his legs were of iron; his feet were part of iron and part of clay.
(34) You watched until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon its feet which were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.
(35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces together. And they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
What a dream! Have you ever had a dream such as this? At face value, it doesn't seem to be such a horrible dream. Certainly it's nothing like Freddie chasing you down a dark alleyway. But there was something about this dream. In verse 1, it said "Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. "
The explanation of the dream revealed a prophecy of the entirety of the last days, beginning with the very time of Daniel. It was a visual timeline. As Daniel described, the head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian Empire, followed by the Meado-Persian Empire (breast/arms of silver), followed by Alexander's Greek Empire (stomach/thighs of bronze), the Roman Empire (legs of iron), and the final empire of man, the feet of iron and clay. The statue was that of a man to represent the best man could bring.
Notice, however, that a single solitary stone strikes the statue upon its feet. The final world empire of man will be destroyed by a single stone - the Stone the Builders rejected (Matt 21:42). The destruction by this single event will be so definite, so final, that Daniel saw it as chaff being blown away by the wind. Have you ever taken a hand full of hay and thrown it up into the wind? It is perhaps one of the most inconsequential things that can be done. Chaff in the wind cannot harm even the smallest of flying insects.
Where are we now? I'd say right about the ankles. There will be no other great world empires until the empire of iron and clay comes to power.
Then this Stone, which destroyed the last great empire of man, grows until it becomes a mountain so large it fills the entire earth.
Isa 9:7 There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this.
During a time when our representatives are not representing the will of those who elected them, and during a time when the highest of offices are not only pushing unpatriotic ideals but flat-out traitorous ideals, there is something that comes into my mind. There is a Stone coming your way. It's bigger than you think, and the astronomers aren't going to pick this one up in time. Get ready.
(31) You, O king, were seeing. And, behold! A great image! That great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you. And its form was dreadful.
(32) This image's head was of fine gold; his breast and his arms were of silver; his belly and his thighs were of bronze;
(33) his legs were of iron; his feet were part of iron and part of clay.
(34) You watched until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon its feet which were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.
(35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces together. And they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
What a dream! Have you ever had a dream such as this? At face value, it doesn't seem to be such a horrible dream. Certainly it's nothing like Freddie chasing you down a dark alleyway. But there was something about this dream. In verse 1, it said "Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. "
The explanation of the dream revealed a prophecy of the entirety of the last days, beginning with the very time of Daniel. It was a visual timeline. As Daniel described, the head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian Empire, followed by the Meado-Persian Empire (breast/arms of silver), followed by Alexander's Greek Empire (stomach/thighs of bronze), the Roman Empire (legs of iron), and the final empire of man, the feet of iron and clay. The statue was that of a man to represent the best man could bring.
Notice, however, that a single solitary stone strikes the statue upon its feet. The final world empire of man will be destroyed by a single stone - the Stone the Builders rejected (Matt 21:42). The destruction by this single event will be so definite, so final, that Daniel saw it as chaff being blown away by the wind. Have you ever taken a hand full of hay and thrown it up into the wind? It is perhaps one of the most inconsequential things that can be done. Chaff in the wind cannot harm even the smallest of flying insects.
Where are we now? I'd say right about the ankles. There will be no other great world empires until the empire of iron and clay comes to power.
Then this Stone, which destroyed the last great empire of man, grows until it becomes a mountain so large it fills the entire earth.
Isa 9:7 There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this.
During a time when our representatives are not representing the will of those who elected them, and during a time when the highest of offices are not only pushing unpatriotic ideals but flat-out traitorous ideals, there is something that comes into my mind. There is a Stone coming your way. It's bigger than you think, and the astronomers aren't going to pick this one up in time. Get ready.
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