The fact that children are being murdered, both before and after birth, is nothing new in history. In the headlines, there is a new discovery of one hundred plus mummified remains found in Peru of children who were sacrificed in a ritual to a false god. They all suffered a similar wound, a cutting to the chest. It is supposed that this wound was made to extract the hearts of the children, while they were still alive. The terror of their last living moments at the hands of adults who should have treasured and protected them, are still engraved upon their faces (see article) . We have heard of this ancient practice in other nations, usually in worship to a sun god.
Even in Israel, centuries ago, people threw their children into fires to worship and sacrifice to the false god, Ba'al. This appalled the LORD. The whole land became so polluted from the practice, that God had to remove the people into exile for seventy years in order to cleanse the land from the foulness of the abomination (see 2 Kings 21:10-16).
We shake our heads at the vileness and ignorance represented by these slaughters of history, but we have our own version of it today. We are still offering these horrific sacrifices to these same foul demonic gods, but we call it by another name, and we think we are accomplishing a "good" with it. We have even made it the law of the land. We have called it a liberty and a right. However, at the founding of our nation, liberties and rights were defined as those "endowed by their Creator", in the Declaration of Independence. These rights guaranteed to us and to all men are sacred and unalienable because of their divine origin*. Liberties, these foundational documents contend, cannot be given by a king or a Parliament, but are a result of an impartation from the Divine Creator, to His created being, which carries His own image: man. This nation, that is supposed to be a beacon of this divinely sourced liberty to the world, has embraced and legitimatized one of the darkest and most evil practices that the world has ever known, by associating it with the same rights of divine origin that all men have received from God. We, like those ancient peoples, not only do not acknowledge the divine source and force of a life, and the resulting divine liberty belonging to that life, but we also do not know the God Who created both, Who gave up a portion of Himself, breath, body and blood, so that we could live.
Perhaps, in part, in order to address this continual evil in the hearts and practices of man, God made very clear in His Word, the truth of the divine nature of life, including its beginnings, and the truth of His continuing presence in the life of all men. As we make the conscious choice to be ignorant of this vital truth, we do a great harm to ourselves, as we will see.
Jesus repeatedly taught and warned regarding the treasuring of children:
"Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them and departed from there." Mt. 19:13-15, Mk. 10:13-16, Lk. 18:14-17
Jesus directly defines the kingdom of heaven with children. Why would He do this? He gives us another glimpse:
"Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me...Woe to the world because of offenses (enticements to sin)! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!...Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven, their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." Mt. 18:7, 10
The child in our midst is the most humble being on earth. The defenseless child humbly places himself, with great trust, in the hands of his father. The child humbly believes what his father tells and teaches him. This same spirit is to be desired by each of us concerning our heavenly Father. For this reason, the mightiest angels in heaven, the ones who are closest to God, and look upon His face, are given charge over these humble, submitted spirits. These children are to be our teachers in the spiritual art of complete love, trust, and humility before our Father. Because of this humility of the child, as we saw above, the greatest power is assigned to them:
"But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He (Jesus) did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna (Save us) to the Son of David!" they were indignant, and said to Him, "Do You hear what they are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?" Mt. 21:15-16
First of all, these children had correctly identified with loud cries, Jesus as the Messiah. Secondly, if we look at the Psalm that Jesus cites to the most scripturally educated men of Israel, we will see an amazing truth:
"O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have ordained (yacad- be founded, establish, begin, appoint, sit in conclave and consult) strength (oz- power, might, boldness, of a loud voice, the power joined to majesty, spendor, and glory), because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger." Ps. 8:1-2
In the sounds from children's mouths, God has placed the power by which He silences the most hateful and vengeful spiritual enemies of God and man. No wonder those demons have always demanded the destruction of children, and we are rebellious enough to agree to it. Children are in possession of a most powerful spiritual weapon. We see it again here:
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior (gibuwr- might and strength of God), so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver (arrow case) full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Ps. 127:3-5
This verse tells us that children are the possession of the LORD, yet man may borrow them, or have temporary custody of them. They are the arrows in the hand of the powerful God, that man is allowed to keep in his own arrow case. These powerful arrows, children, bring the "dabar" to the enemies, both natural, and spiritual, both personal and national. As we destroy our children, we destroy one of the greatest benefits that God has given for our protection and defense.
We destroy these possessions of God, these arrows of His strength, lent to us for our benefit before they are born, rationalizing to ourselves that they are not alive, or human until after birth. Again, God would correct our ignorance through His Word. David, one of the great warriors, was shown his relationship with God while still in the womb, and before:
"For You formed my inward parts; You covered (wove, like an embroidery of assorted colors) me in my mother's womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame (otsem- bones, power, might, great, to bind up) was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret (protected shelter, disguise), and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts (rt- lowly, humble) of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" Ps. 139:13-17
Not only is the divine beginning of a life a wonder that begins well before birth, but this wonder also reveals the nature of God to us. What we consider "disposable" according to our laws, has been revealed to David as being the result of the very thoughts and power of God.
To His prophet, Jeremiah, whom God would use to raise up and destroy kingdoms:
Then the word of the LORD came to me saying: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah, is amazed at this calling as he says to the LORD, "Ah, LORD God! Behold, I cannot speak for I am a youth. The LORD reveals the power with which He has endowed Jeremiah, even though a youth, the power of the arrow, the "dabar" to be spoken to the enemies in the gates:
...Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." Jer. 1:5, 9-10
Let's not kill our children, whether born or unborn, and let us not even be consenting to the idea. We all have reason to repent, to turn, and to humbly receive God's truth and merciful benefit regarding the children He has lovingly and wondrously entrusted to us.
Our Father has ordained a life even before the womb.
*Rights of Divine origin of the Declaration of Independence:
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/yardstick/pr3.html
Out of the mouths of babes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH6msTsClUs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfDkQvnEJ0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJAqoDRX33I
The dictionary definition of "dew" is: water droplets condensed from the air, usually at night, onto cool surfaces; also something moist, fresh, pure, or renewing. In scripture, the Hebrew word for dew is tal, meaning night mist, light rain; cover with a roof, to overshadow, to cover (with planks). So while dew in the natural looks very delicate and vulnerable, spiritually it is as substantial as being covered with planks!
Gen. 3:8 tells us that God would walk in the Garden of Eden "in the cool of the day". The coolest part of the day is that time when the darkness of the night becomes dawn, and the dew forms on the ground. The "cool" made reference here also refers to winds or breezes, so the Holy Spirit is very much a part of this time of day. Perhaps, knowing what was ahead for man, when man would no longer inhabit the Garden, Elohim wanted man to have a reminder of the time when God walked with him. As man awoke early to begin his burdensome labor, and his feet were soaked by walking through the dew, he would think back and yearn for the time when God walked with him in the Garden in the cool of the day.
Dew, which seems like a common, unremarkable substance, is also a subject of the prophets, and it is really connected to a powerful principle. Here are some of the prophecies:
"I will heal their (Israel's) backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon (a cedar tree)." Hos. 14:4-5
In this chapter of Hosea, the LORD is calling Israel back to Him. He starts His appeal to Israel by saying, "O Israel, return to the LORD, your God...". His promise to them is to revive them, and bless them, if they turn back to Him with repentance.
"Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, that tarry (wait) for no man nor wait (delay) for the sons of men."
Micah 5:7
The above is God's promise to Israel when He delivers Israel from "the Assyrian". Some believe this reference to "the Assyrian" is the person of the Antichrist. In any case, the LORD plans to deliver Israel in a manner that is not dependent upon any human help, just as the dew is not created by man. The dew of the LORD here is also the disbursement of the Jewish people among many nations. With their disbursement, the LORD has also disbursed His Word to every nation. Another verse:
"For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew- I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these. And it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I shall save you and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, let your hands be strong." Zech. 8:12
This promise given to Israel, is on the occasion when the LORD has brought them back to Jerusalem from foreign nations, and Israel has built the house of the LORD. Israel, in turn, will become a people who "speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice and peace." This sounds like more than the rebuilding of the natural temple after the return of Israel from their captivity in Babylon. It is also perhaps a spiritual revival and deliverance through the coming of the kingdom of the Messiah, who establishes His dwelling in the midst of them, because of the description given here of the people as such a perfect blessing in the earth. From Proverbs 19:12, we have this verse regarding the "king", and his effect:
The king's wrath is like the roaring of the lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass."
When the manna came down from heaven to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness, it came with the coating of dew (Num. 11:9). This manna was a foreshadowing of the true Manna, or Bread, from heaven, Jesus (Jn. 6:48-51, 57-58).
Like the manna, the deepest meaning of the dew is its connection to resurrection:
"Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." Isa. 26:19
The covering nature of natural dew is a picture of the covering nature, or property, of spiritual dew. This divine covering here, is the power of resurrection. Like natural dew, it is beyond the power of man to manufacture, or to control its timing. Natural dew is manifested in the night, and is there for us to see in the dawn. Even in the night of death, the resurrection power of spiritual dew is at work, to be seen in the morning. There are other references as well:
"It is like the dew of Hermon (Sanctuary; dedicated, devoted to destroy utterly, to exterminate), descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing- Life forevermore." Ps. 133:3
The above description comes as a result of what David describes as a unity, a joining together, of the brethren (the children of one father/Father). The dew comes from a place called Hermon. This place of sanctuary is a place dedicated, set apart, to the utter destruction of something. I believe that "something" that is destroyed, based upon the verses we read and will read, is death. The dew also flows, according to David's psalm, with the promise of God of life forevermore.
There is a final description to look at here:
"I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night." Song of Songs 5:2
This is the bridegroom appearing at the door of his sister/wife. We believe also, that this is the prophetic picture of Christ and His Bride. The bride here is asleep, yet her heart is awake. The voice of the bridegroom has awakened her heart, though her body sleeps. He assures her that his head is covered, soaked in fact, with the dew of the night. He has brought the dew (of resurrection) with him to her.
This scene of the bridegroom coming to his sister/bride out of the night, covered with dew, brought to mind a verse that talks about the mercy, like the dew, of each new morning:
"This I recall to my mind, therefore, have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies ("checed": kindness, pity; eager and ardent desire) that we are not consumed (to be completely at an end), because His compassions (tender love, to love deeply) fail not. They are new (new thing, fresh, unheard of) every morning (end of night/break of day; bright joy after night of distress; to cleave, to open, like the ploughing of the ground): great is Thy faithfulness." Lam. 3:21-23
To me, that compassion, and those mercies, are the power of resurrection contained in the dew of the LORD.
There may be different opinions about the Book of Lamentations by the prophet Jeremiah, but as I read it, I see someone experiencing death, especially in chapter 3. Let me include some verses here:
"He has lead me and made me walk in darkness and not in light...My enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird. They silenced (cut off) my life in the pit and threw stones at me. The waters flowed over my head; I said, "I am cut off!" I called on Your name O LORD , from the lowest pit. You have heard my voice...O LORD, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life." Lam. 3:2, 52-58
As Jeremiah relates his experience, whether spiritual or actual, he holds on to the hope that the eager and ardent desire and tender love of the LORD will come to him at the end of the night of distress with a new, fresh, unheard of thing, and break open the ground.
The first to see the newly resurrected Jesus were women who came to the tomb "when it was yet dark", and "as the first day of the week began to dawn" (Jn. 20:1, Mt. 28:1). Scripture wants us to know that the resurrection occurred at this time of the very early morning, which is also the coolest time of the day, the time of the dew.
The dew that comes in the night, and into the dawn, coating every surface, is new and fresh every morning, like those mercies, the ardent love and desire of the LORD, of which Jeremiah spoke. The spiritual dew of Christ, the King, carries with its covering the promise of resurrection, refreshing, revival and renewal.
I never knew all of the meaning packed into a little drop of dew.
Every morning, our Father sends us the new dew coating of life forevermore.
"The Steadfast Love of the LORD Never Ceases"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njBZ8XiLZ1A
"Wake Me Up"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_KJAg8bHI
A Song of Thanks to the King of Kings (Young boy sings after receiving a miracle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEQS3-p1HRc
"Lover of My Soul/Song of All Songs"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEt6pEYKvbE
I don't understand all of the depths of the creation of man. There is so much to learn about it. The creation that is represented by the flesh man, goes beyond the being that spends finite decades on the earth. We know that this creation was formed in the image of God (Elohim, which is plural) as He said, "Let Us make man in Our image (likeness, resemblance, representative figure, shadow)" (Gen. 1:26). He formed this creation from the dust (dry earth, ashes, heap of rubbish, debris, pulverized gray powder, as of the grave). Into this sculptured formed from the dust of the earth, Elohim breathed into His nostrils the breath of life. The word for "breath" used here is a word in Hebrew that means to give up or lose life, the panting of a woman giving birth, to disperse by blowing. With this breath, the dust image "inflated" and became a living soul. The words "life, living" used in Gen. 2:7, mean life, but also revived life, restored life, recover, preserve alive. However, this "life" also includes in its root meaning "declare, make known". Because of this, rabbis teach that this breath of life also imparted "the divine voice" to the soul of man, that was created by the breath of God. The New Testament perhaps confirms this teaching in Jn. 1:1-4:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men."
The Word (Jesus, see v. 14) was the spark of life deposited in man, and that deposit was light within all men.
Why did Elohim encase the Divine Voice within the soul, the seat of thought, emotion and will? Rabbis teach that this was done for the purpose of prayer:
"Speech has a physical reality and makes it possible for the Divine grace to flow to the physical reality of the material world. The spoken words thus become the instrument or intermediary through which the spiritual fulfillment of prayer can become realized on the physical level."
For this reason also, the LORD scolded His people for their empty prayers spoken while their hearts were far from Him:
"Therefore the LORD said, "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men..." Isa. 29:13The Divine Voice, therefore, cannot be separated from our hearts, or souls.
The idea of the Divine Voice being deposited into man, in the creation of the living soul, with the breath of life received directly from Elohim, emphasizes to me the importance of the words that we speak, joined with the condition of our hearts. Scripture in many places stresses this power of words spoken, but now I can see the source of that power. Proverbs 18:21:
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
As we have seen, the living soul created by Elohim not only includes the Divine Voice from God, but is the seat of the mind, the will, and all of our emotions. Jesus connected all of these things when He taught the following as He spoke to the most religiously enlightened of His day, the Pharisees:
"Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned."
Mt. 12:34-37
What had the Pharisees said that caused Jesus to accuse them of evil use of the Divine Voice? They had said that He cast out demons by the power of the Devil, Beelzebub. Not only did this speak against Christ, but also against God's power to deliver. The Pharisees would have understood the scolding of Jesus, because they understood the connection of the Divine Voice and the soul, or heart, of which Jesus spoke.
The verses above are some indication to us of the power in the Divine Voice given to us. We all know these verses, but we need to understand the ramifications.
In scripture, there was a spiritual condition that was manifested in physical symptoms. Because of the spiritual root of the problem, the sufferer was brought to the priest for it to be identified. This condition is translated as "leprosy" in English. However, the rabbis know this condition, tzara'at (one smitten, to scourge, to strike down), as being associated with "misuse of speech", and he that is afflicted with this spiritual condition as "he that utters evil reports", metzora. What we have translated as "leprosy" in scripture is described below:
"He is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean (altogether defiled, impure); his sore is on his head. Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare (acts of mourning); and he shall cover his mustache (upper lip), and cry, "Unclean! Unclean! He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." Lev. 13:44-46
(They accused Jesus of this "misuse of speech", in His case, blasphemy (Jn. 10:33, Mt. 26:65-67). They thought Him "stricken and smitten by God and afflicted". They scourged Him, and His face was marred by them more than any man. They sent Him outside the city to kill Him. However, He was marred, and scourged, and smitten for our sakes, and for our sins, including, I'm sure, our abuse of the Divine Voice.)
While we see the physical symptoms and connect them to a disease, the cause is spiritual.
We see the connection between speech and "leprosy" in other examples.
God told Moses exactly what He would do to delivery the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 3:15-22). Then Moses answered the LORD, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you." (Ex. 4:1)
After Moses said this, the LORD had him cast his rod on the ground. The rod became a serpent, and Moses ran in fear. When instructed to take it by the tail, it became a rod again. Then the LORD had Moses put his hand in his bosom, and when Moses took it out it was leprous. If the people would not listen to the voice of Moses (v. 9), they would be shown these signs, and more. I think these signs were also a warning to Moses. What Moses said to God was questioned the LORD's ability to carry out what He was saying.
When the sister of Moses, Miriam, spoke against the Ethiopian wife of Moses, she was stricken with the condition translated as leprosy, and forced to live outside the camp. Aaron said she was as "one dead, whose flesh is half consumed". Moses prayed to God, and Miriam was exiled only seven days. Miriam's "misuse of speech" not only caused her to suffer, but all Israel was delayed in their journey until Miriam was restored. Not only that, but Israel was driven out of Hazeroth (an enclosed court, especially before the holy tabernacle or temple; to surround with a stockade that separates from the open country; to sound, to blow, to trumpet), and sent to the Wilderness (driving into the desert, or open field; also speech, including its organs) of Paran (place of caverns, desert of Arabia; to boast or explain oneself, to glorify self, vaunt self, to be proud). All Israel paid a price for Miriam's "misuse of speech" against Moses, and, consequently, the Holy One who appeared to Moses (he saw the form of the LORD), not in dreams and visions, but "face to face". The anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed (Num. 12:1-9). The presence of the LORD left them.
According to the rabbis, "misuse of speech", or of the Divine Voice, not only had repercussions for the speaker, but for those who are the hearers of it:
"When we misuse the gift of speech, and its divine purpose, we are diminished, as well as the person to whom, or about whom we are speaking. We diminish the Divine Speak, and also the divine soul within. For this reason, it is akin to murder, which extinguishes the image of God within man."
This knowledge of the rabbis helps us to understand the importance of the teachings of Jesus when He said:
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not murder", and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother (without a cause) shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, "Raca!" (empty headed, worthless senseless) shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, "You fool!" shall be in danger of hell fire." Mt. 5:21-22 (see also Lev. 19:17)
And the New Testament also tells us: "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life." 1 Jn. 3:15
Remember that the Divine Voice is part of the soul, which also includes our thoughts and emotions, as well as our will. Even our thoughts and emotions carry the power of the Divine Voice.
Just as I sat down to write this, I saw an article about an amazing technological invention. It was developed at MIT. When a person wears the headpiece, it can "hear" your thoughts, and broadcast them in speech through a device such as "Alexa" (see article here). This is a confirmation (and warning!) of the substantive nature of our thoughts and emotions because of their unbreakable connection to the Divine Voice given to us when Elohim made us a "living soul".
Our Father has breathed into us the Divine Voice.
"El Na Refa Na La"-Healing prayer of Moses for Miriam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAspeVxTLQ8
"Break Every Chain"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUPZbNozGZc
