Goshen

The place called Goshen, in Egypt, plays an important role in Genesis 46 and 47. I think the spiritual place of Goshen also plays an important role in today's time and events.
As there was a great famine in Israel, Joseph instructed his newly reconciled family to come to Egypt, and settle in Goshen. He pointed out specifically that "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." (Gen. 46:34).
The word "Egypt" means in part "double straits (narrow place), enclosure, siege works, distress, bind, besiege, confine, cramp, shut in, show hostility, treat as a foe, to press upon, to compress, to overrun walls of defense". The spiritual place of Egypt is very confining, very oppressive, with a feeling that there is no where to turn, no options of escape. You are pressed in on all sides.
So, perhaps we can see why the Egyptians might find shepherds an abomination. The word "shepherd" is beautiful. It means to pasture, to tend, to graze, to feed, a companion, a special friend, to guard, to care for, to look upon with pleasure, to govern, to rule, to nourish, to feed, to delight in, etc. It is used metaphorically to describe God, and is indeed, one of His names, Jehovah Rohi, the LORD our Shepherd. A shepherd brings the flock or herd to a wide pasture to graze, and ensures a water supply, for cattle and flocks are always thirsty. They physically protect the flock, even at the risk to their own lives, against predators. A spiritual place that tries to confine and enclose, cramp and shut in, would find a true shepherd a great threat to its purpose.
God does not bring us to a place of death. He always brings us to a place of life. How can Egypt, especially as described above, ever be considered a place of life? Within the place called Egypt, God instructed His people through His servant Joseph, who was also a shepherd in his youth, as well as being a governor (shepherd) to Egypt to guide them through seven years of famine. Joseph instructed his brethren to abide in the land of Goshen in Egypt.
The word Goshen means "drawing near". Goshen is a place we come to, if we are wise and obedient, where even in times of pressing and besieging, it becomes a place where we can "draw near" to our Father God, our source of all things that pertain to life. In a place of Egypt there is nothing else that can deliver us, there is nothing  and no one else that can relieve us and restore us. Goshen is that place of drawing near where we can say, even in dire straits:
"The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in
green pastures;
He leads me beside the
still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of
righteousness
For His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
They comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me
all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house
of the LORD
Forever."
                              Psalm 23

It is necessary for us the dwell in the land of Goshen (drawing near), especially when we find ourselves in Egypt. Sometimes we cry out for our Father to draw near to us, but it is essential that we draw near to Him.
"But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the LORD God,
that I may declare all Your works."            Ps. 73:28

"Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations."           Isa. 45:20

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity..."
                                                                            Jer. 29:13-14

"...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."   Heb. 10:22-23.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."          James 4:8

If we follow our Shepherd to the land of Goshen, where He is leading us, we will find our pasture and still water, even in the place of confinement and besieging.

Our Father has a place called Goshen.


"Draw Me Nearer"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teC0cmS_Y_o

"Lord, I thirst for You"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOC7XGmzFJg

"Pray"*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC4kbteMLCg&sns=em

* Thanks to Fran B. for the song "Pray"
**Photo at the top of the page-Goshen area, Egypt

Garden

Garden
July, 2015

We can get a glimpse of the eternal will and purpose of God as we look at some scriptures dealing with gardens. Even as Adam's marriage to Eve (see "Marriage" post), and all of our marriages, are a type and shadow, a picture, of Christ's relationship with His Church-Bride, I think even the Garden into which the man and woman were placed, points us to a fascinating prophetic image of the Bride of Christ. The Bride has been kept veiled and protected, and, at most, we have had small glimpses of her. But it is now the time to see her more clearly. If we look under the veil, we can see the beauty, the anointing, and the importance of the Bride, not only to Jesus, but to our Father as well by looking at the prophetic picture of the garden. 

The first garden that comes to mind is the Garden of Eden in Genesis.

"The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed..."        Gen. 2:8

 

So, as we can see above, the man was not created in the Garden of Eden, but was put there after the Garden had been planted. If we do a word study of the underlined words of this above verse, we will find some remarkable things.

• The LORD God planted- means He fastened or fixed the Garden into place
• He fastened a garden-  meaning an enclosed garden, a chaste woman, a bride.

An example of a garden being used to describe a  bride can be found in Song of Songs 4:12-15:

         "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse,

          a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

         Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates

          with pleasant fruits..."

• This Garden/Bride was fastened eastward- aforetime, antiquity, that which is before
• This Garden/Bride was fastened in antiquity, at the beginning, in Eden- pleasure, luxury, dainty, delight, finery.

So, this dainty, delightful Garden/Bride was fixed or fastened from the beginning, in antiquity. Into this Garden/Bride,

• the LORD God put- set in place, ordained, appointed, directed, made for a sign
• the man- mankind, human being, rubbed red, shown red, emit redness.
• that He had formed- pre-determined, pre-ordained, planned of divine purpose

This special being, Adam, was divinely purposed, even before he was created, to be placed in this Garden/Bride. For what divine purpose was he placed there? We can read that purpose in Gen. 2:15:

"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress and keep it.

• The LORD God took the man- fetch, lay hold of, seize, take in the hand, marry, take a wife, carry off, be removed
• The man was put in the garden to dress it- to work, serve as a subject, to serve with Levitical service, to be led to serve.
• And he was to keep it- keep, guard, observe, give heed, protect, save life, treasure up, celebrate, keep (Sabbath, covenant, commands), perform a vow, preserve

The man was ordained and appointed for service in the same manner of the priesthood, in order to preserve and guard the Garden/Bride, to keep the commands and covenant of God regarding the Garden/Bride. He was physically and spiritually moved from one location to another in order to begin this service. The man was created and formed in a pre-determined divine plan for this important priesthood service.

What we can see is the importance of this Garden/Bride depicted in Genesis that caused the LORD God to fasten it onto the earth, and to appoint a priest to care for, preserve and protect it. The meaning of the Garden/Bride was important enough that when the man neglected to do the service that the LORD God had pre-ordained him to do, he was forced to leave the Garden/Bride, and he could never enter again. This is covered in mystery in many ways, but we can get a beginning glimpse into the divine purpose from scripture.

First of all, the Garden/Bride contained the three Persons of the Trinity. The Father and Son are present in the Garden/Bride, the Son being represented by the Tree of Life that was in the very center of the Garden/Bride. The cool Winds (Ruach) (Gen. 3:8) in the Garden/Bride represent the reviving and refreshing presence of the Holy Spirit. The Garden/Bride ushered in the presence of the LORD God for fellowship with the man.

The Garden/Bride of the Song of Songs mentioned above, is also described as containing very precious trees, plants, and herbs that were used in creating the anointing oil of the priests and kings, and also of use for medicinal purposes. In fact, in another garden of scripture, the Garden/Bride  in which Jesus prayed before He was crucified, was called "Gethsemane", which means an oil or wine press (also oil used for anointing), and also meaning a medicament or unguent, which is used for healing. It is, to this day, full of very old olive trees. All of these things paint a lovely picture for us of some of the qualities of the beautiful Garden/Bride.

The prophet Isaiah admonishes and encourages the people of God to extend their soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted so that they can then become lighted from within by the LORD, who will make them like a watered garden, whose springs of water will not ever fail (Isa. 58:10-11). That whole chapter of Isaiah gives us a further look into God's calling for us as that Garden/Bride. The Garden/Bride is a place of ministry, a place of comfort and healing to those who have need. A creative power, and a restoring and rebuilding purpose flows from the Garden/Bride, if she will walk in that calling of God as we see in the next verse (Isa. 58:12):

"Those from among you

Shall build the old waste places;

You shall raise up the foundations

of many generations;

And you shall be called the

"Repairer of the Breach",

"The Restorer of Paths to Dwell in".

 

The Bride in New Testament scripture plays a very important role in the earth, especially in End-Time events, and is a purpose and calling in every believer's life.

The Bride in the Book of Revelation plays a part with the Holy Spirit in calling and bringing the return of the Messiah to rule and reign on the earth (Rev. 22:17).

As Isaiah prophesied about the Garden/Bride above, together with the Lamb of God, the Bride has a part in bringing forth the New Creation, even the descending of the New Jerusalem to the earth, "being adorned as a Bride for her Husband" (Rev. 21:2). And once again, the presence of God will dwell with men.

"God Himself will be with them and be their God." (Rev. 21:3). AMEN.

An important thing to note before we leave this topic: all of the gardens mentioned in the above scriptures were directly fed by living waters. A mighty river came from Eden to water that garden. The meaning of the word used here for "river" is to flow, to shine, to be radiant, to flow together, even describing a conflux of people, to give light, to be glad, to rejoice. It is the river of salvation, the river of the Gospel of Good News. After passing through the Garden/Bride, it became four mighty rivers that watered other lands. The Gospel of Salvation flows through the Garden/Bride, and from her, it is dispersed throughout other lands and peoples in all directions. The Garden/Bride of Song of Songs, and Isaiah 58 were both watered by springs and fountains within and without them. The Garden of Gethsemane, mentioned above, is beside the Kidron Valley, where a river flows during the rainy season. The Garden/Bride of Rev. 21 and 22 had a pure river of water of life running through her. Trees with healing leaves also grew in her. What are these waters mentioned here, but the written and living Word, Jesus (Jn. 7:37-38). The relationship between the garden and the water is a close one. A garden cannot be watered by water that is not physically touching it. It is necessary to keep ourselves close, even right next to, the source of our water if we wish to become that Garden/Bride. A garden far separated from its water source soon becomes a desert, a wasteland.

Although the first Adam failed to fulfill his priestly service, not only to the Garden/Bride, but to his own natural bride as well, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, kept all that the Father had placed into His care and hands, and He kept them in, and by, the power of His Father's name (Jn. 17:12). He is very desirous of His Bride, and the coming Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

The beauty, mystery, purpose and anointing of the Bride of Christ is revealed by our Father even back in the Book of Genesis, and throughout scripture. It is ready to be revealed in us, to us, and through us. It is for us to seek it out, and unveil it.

 

Our Father has fastened a Garden/Bride in the earth.

 

"In The Garden"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jEllIaBdyM

 

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPfdD3pBUig

 

"Comfort Ye, My People"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wZvpbBD75M

 

*Special thanks Pastor Ken S. for his encouragement and feedback, and to Fran B. for her thoughts and contributions to this post

 ** Photo at the top of the page-Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, Israel