In 1998, in the City of David, Jerusalem, a cistern was discovered that many archeologists believe was the dungeon into which the prophet Jeremiah ("whom Jehovah has appointed") was lowered by the princes of Judah. This is how scripture describes that event:
"So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon (a well, cistern, pit) of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes (also meaning pain, sorrow, travail, destruction, to bind, to spoil, to destroy, to ruin, to writhe, to twist, to be broken). And in the dungeon, there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank (to sink down, pierce, drown) in the mire." Jer. 38:6
The princes of Judah, Shephatiah, meaning "Jehovah has judged", Gedaliah, meaning "Jehovah is great", Jucal, "Jehovah is able", and Pashur, or "freedom", had made clear to the king, Zedekiah ("Jehovah is righteous/just"), that their intent was to kill Jeremiah, and the king had told them to do what they wanted (v. 5).
Jerusalem at this time was besieged by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. There was very little food left in the city, and they were in dire straits. Jeremiah had prophesied, even directly to the king, that the Babylonian king would indeed prevail against Jerusalem, and the people would be taken into captivity. He was even accused of being in league with the enemy because of these prophecies.(Jer. 37:14). Jeremiah had also prophesied that after the captivity, the LORD would turn and heal Judah, and bring them revelations of peace and truth with the Messiah, bringing them to a greater glory in Him (Jer. 33:6, 15-16). The LORD affirmed His covenant with the House of David in these prophecies (33:17).
When I started this entry, I thought it was going to be about poor Jeremiah, the prophet appointed by the LORD, lowered into the miry pit to be destroyed, but it became about something else. This is about the people around this incident. Jeremiah was indeed suffering in the pit for prophesying the true Word of the LORD, when other prophets of the day were prophesying a false word of comfort. Of course, all of the people, including the highest leadership, preferred the comforting, reassuring words that all would be well.
While the idolatrous enemy was indeed at the gates, it was Jeremiah's own people, God's people of covenant, who decided that he should die. It was those who had "Jehovah" all over their names who preferred the lie over the truth. They took those ropes of torment, and lowered Jeremiah into the sticky clay of the pit, abandoning him there. How Jeremiah must have suffered for bringing the truth!
However, there was one person who intervened, interceded. This entry is about him.
This man, Ebed-Melech ("bondservant/slave of the king"), an Ethiopian (from Cush in Africa, meaning "black"), was a eunuch who served in the king's palace. On the rungs of society of that day, he would probably be considered of the lowest. The only name he was allowed was one which meant, "the king's servant". However, when he heard what had been done to Jeremiah, the eunuch approached the king as the king was sitting in the gate of the city. Here, a king would sit to hear and judge the concerns of the common people, who would be given this rare access to him, and he would grant petitions. The eunuch, who would probably never be allowed to approach the king in the palace, was able to approach him here at this gate, the gate of Benjamin ("Son of the right hand"), and said:
"My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city." Jer. 38:9
It is very possible that Ebed-Melech was reminding the king of a previous command the king had given regarding Jeremiah when the prophet was being kept in prison:
"...they should give him daily a piece of bread from the baker's street, until all the bread in the city was gone..." Jer. 37:21
I'm sure the king had listened to many petitions from the suffering people of Jerusalem that day. He must have had to try to mollify them with those lying words of reassurance the false prophets had brought. However, upon hearing the request of the eunuch, the king told the eunuch to take thirty men from the gate, and lift Jeremiah up before he dies. Can you imagine? It would take thirty men to physically pull one man from that sticky, sucking mire. They even had to gather old torn clothes and rags so Jeremiah could cushion his armpits from the stress of the pulling ropes. This is how strong the suction was in the bottom of that pit or cistern.
To us now, there are those who have been appointed by God, as Jeremiah was, to bring the sure Word of truth to the people. They have been thrown into miry spiritual pits, abandoned, by a people who have preferred to hear the smooth, convenient word that allows us to remain comfortable, and at ease. In reality, an alarm and a call to repentance is the true prophetic message being sounded by the LORD, and delivered by these God-appointed ministers. We need to intercede with our heavenly King, crying to Him on behalf of our Jeremiahs saying, "An evil has been done!" Is there an Ebed-Melech among us who will petition the King, by the Son of the Right Hand, for our Jeremiahs?
Our Jeremiahs will then be able to be pulled from the pit, declaring with the Psalm:
"I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth-
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD." Psalm 40:1-3
Our Father has appointed Jeremiahs to us.
"Psalm 40" KJV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRE9uDZTH7Y
The prophet Isaiah gave us a name for the coming Messiah. He was the only one in scripture to use this name, and he only used it twice. It is the name, "Immanuel", and means "God with us". The name's meaning goes even deeper than that simple interpretation, as we will see.
Enemies came up against Jerusalem. Rezin (firm, stable, pleasure, delight, self-will, goodwill), king of Syria had joined with the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, named Pekah (open the eyes), to plan the attack. These kings even planned to replace the weak king of Judah, Ahaz, with a man who was the son of Tabeal (God is good, pleasing to God, to be better). Sounds good, right? But their plans were not God's plans. The names of the kings are interesting in this account. Scripture uses the term "open the eyes" to describe two kinds of events. In the first, Satan is beguiling Eve to eat of the fruit of a forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He assures her "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil." Not only did Eve eat, but Adam did as well. "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." (Gen. 3:5, 7)
Adam and Eve were drawn to a way to open their own eyes, with their own strength and self-determination. As a result, they saw only the natural circumstances, and self. Seeing these things, they tried to make for themselves their own feeble natural coverings, which can never substitute for the omnipresent covering of the Almighty. They also determined to hide themselves from God.
The other way for the eyes to be opened, is if God opens them (Gen, 21:19, Num. 22:31, 2 Ki. 6:17-20, and many more). When God opens your eyes, you see saving truth. You see beyond the natural circumstances, and into the greater spiritual reality.
In this case, we may be able to say that the king of Israel, Pekah, chose to open his own eyes, and saw the king of Syria as pleasing, firm, and stable, and therefore joined with him against Jerusalem, and assured himself that by so doing, Judah would end up with a better king. The king of Judah, Ahaz (to be caught, to be affrighted), was not a spiritually strong man, and he was involved in idolatry. The prophet Isaiah goes before King Ahaz to inform him of the approaching danger, and to give him a promise from the LORD. The LORD promised that the attacking kings' plans would not stand, and would not come to pass (Isa. 7:7, 8:8-10). However, Isaiah warns Ahaz, "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established." Because the defeat of the attacking kings hinges on Ahaz' belief of the prophetic promise, Isaiah tells Ahaz to seek a confirming sign from the LORD, no matter how large or difficult, but Ahaz refuses to do so, perhaps in some religious self-righteousness, but really in fear, as his name implies. Isaiah, fed up with such reticence, prophesies the sign himself. However, Isaiah isn't just dealing with one king. What happens to this king, even though he is a weakling, will affect God's elected Messianic bloodline that God has chosen from out of David, by His own covenant promise. So Isaiah prophesies in this manner: "Hear now, O house of David!..." (Isa. 7:13). Isaiah reaffirms the Messianic promise to David as the sign:
"Therefore, the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isa. 7:14
God also warns the prophet Isaiah that the prophet was not to conform to the ways and ideas of the people, but should remain faithful to the revelation of Immanuel (Isa. 8:11-12).
This prophesied child, Immanuel: God with us, will eat "curds (intoxicating power, to join, a wall of protection, even double walls) and honey (stickiness, gumminess)", and "shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good". The stickiness of the honey is like the power that will join God to men. Through Immanuel, He will be joined to them in power, and be double walls of defense around them.
The meaning of the word "Immanuel" itself, comes from el, God as the ram of sacrifice, even whose very skins are used to cover the tabernacle, and im and amam meaning "with, among, near, communion, together, at the same time, join together, gather together, to overshadow, to shut, to hide, to conceal".
Jesus revealed Himself as "Immanuel" several times:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks (brood) under her wings, but you were not willing!" Mt. 23:37, Lk. 13:34
"...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one...Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am...the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
Jn. 17:21-26 (excerpt)
All of these words of Jesus reveal His identity as Immanuel. In the Concordance, the commentator likens the concept of the word "Immanuel" with the German word, "zusammen". Zusammen literally means "to the same", usually translated as "all together".
What does Immanuel mean to all of us today? It is in the idea that God is not only "with us", but He has made us a part of Himself through Messiah, Christ. He has placed us together with Him, in Him. Where we are weak, He is strong. Where we are poor, He is rich. Where death has claimed a hold on us, He is the overcoming life, and so forth. Paul also stressed our inseparability with Christ (Rom. 6:5, Eph. 2:5-6, 1 Thess. 5:10). All of this is the manifestation of Immanuel. And so we are also therefore joined together with each other as Paul taught (1 Cor. 1:10, 5:4, Eph. 1:10, 2:22).
To me, personally, Immanuel has special meaning. Several years ago, I had a serious illness, and required surgery. In the world's "open eyes", the odds were against me. As I awoke from the surgery, I could only think and say aloud repeatedly one phrase, "Immanuel, God with me". Those who were there probably thought the drugs had dulled my mind, but the Lord set my identity with His, and placed that confession in my mouth, before I could even "reason" it out, or decide it myself. And I am healed.
Let the same belief and confession of Immanuel also be in your heart and mouth.
Our Father has sent Immanuel, God with us.
Excerpt From Charles Spurgeon's Sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc9Z43YPF-Q
"Jesus, Name Above All Names"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEBAHFFJdW8
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCDvc4G7EgI
I am about to have communion here at home. If you would like to join with me, you can prepare a cracker, or piece of matzoh, and juice, wine, or even just water, if that is all you have. I take communion here as often as it is brought to my mind. To me, communion is not just a memorial ("Do this in remembrance of Me.") of the sacrifice of Christ, but like the Passover Seder, which the communion was, it is also prophetic. Passover was not just to be kept as a memorial of God's miracle of deliverance from the plague of death, and the exodus from Egypt, but it was also a prophetic picture of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus, who would come to take away the sins of the world.
In the same manner, communion not only memorializes Christ's sacrifice, but it also has a prophetic declaration attached to it concerning the return of Christ, and His marriage supper with His Bride. Let's look at those prophetic declarations.
Paul directs the church:
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." 1 Cor. 11:26
Paul connects the spiritual significance of communion, not only to the past sacrifice, but to the future coming of Christ.
Connected to the sharing of communion, Jesus also declared:
"...for I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
"But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." Lk. 22:18, Mt. 26:29
As I partake of the communion, whether at church or here at home, it not only offers me the chance to connect with my Savior, and His atonement for me, but also to connect with my coming Bridegroom and soon returning King. It opens a door of prayer for me that allows me to stand in the prophetic promise of His return, as I actively intercede concerning it. It is my opportunity to participate in the call of the Spirit to the Lord, which is "Come":
"And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17
Not only am I agreeing with the Holy Spirit when I make my prophetic declaration, "Come!", but those who hear that declaration also join and say, "Come!" And then the invitation goes out even further to "whoever" has a spiritual thirst. Once the prophetic call to Jesus goes forth, the effects are multiplied. Communion is another way for me to make that call, or demand, in the spirit.
So, if you have your bread and "wine" ready, let us begin our communion:
"...the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks (let us take a moment to hold our bread and offer a prayer of thanks), He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
In the same manner (let us also say a prayer of thanks for the cup) He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 1 Cor. 11:23-25
Lord Jesus, I remember Your sacrifice for me, and the new covenant that You established according to the promise of the Father. I also, in eating the bread and drinking the wine, express to You my hope and my anticipation of Your soon return, and for the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Your name, I believe Your prophetic promises to me. Amen.
Perhaps you have never before viewed communion as prophetic, as I have proposed here. However, I can assure you that you will experience this when partaking of the Table of the Lord. Because of who Jesus is, whose testimony (witness, including testifying concerning future events) is the spirit of prophecy, there cannot help but be a prophetic meaning to this signature expression of our relationship with Christ, in my opinion.
Our Father calls us to the table of His Son.
"Come to the Table"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXXxLwxfo0U
Today I would like to discuss the incredible, magnificent, life-changing, mind-renewing, saving, healing, delivering power of the will of Almighty God. This is what the apostle Paul had to say about the will of God:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (doctrine, word of ministry and worship of God). And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Rom. 12:1-2
Let's start by seeing how Paul described God's will, since it is by this is that we are to "prove" ourselves. In these verses, God's will is described by three adjectives:
good: good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, excellent, distinguished, upright, honorable
and acceptable: well pleasing (Root 1-prosper, well off) (root 2-pleasing, fit)
and perfect: finished, perfect, wanting nothing to completeness, full grown, adult, mature.
(root- termination, end, last in a series or succession, the aim, the purpose, the goal
or point)
There does not appear to be one adjective describing God's will here that is more important, or desirable than the others. His will encompasses all three adjectives. In fact, this description of God's will might have come right out of Jeremiah:
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (KJV: to give you an expected end)." Jer. 29:11
God's provision of Christ to us is the very essence of His good will for us. The angels declared it at Christ's birth, when the babe could not yet express it Himself. However, Christ would, of course, express this good will of His Father with every fiber of His being, with every drop of His blood:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will (kindly intent, benevolence, delight, pleasure, satisfaction) toward men!" Lk. 2:14
We acknowledged and accepted God's good will for us in Christ when we made that choice for His salvation. Why wouldn't we accept that His will is good towards us in all things?
Knowing God's will for us is so powerful, that it transforms the mind. It is completely opposite of what the world believes regarding the purpose and achievement of a successful life. The world does not rely on God for their joy, their prosperity in all things, or their life's goal, or completion. The world says that man chooses or creates his own success and fulfillment of purpose. The world's hope is not in a future that God has ordained for the individual, but instead, whatever efforts and results that man can achieve by, and for himself.
God's will, on the other hand, speaks to the very foundation of our reason for being. Understanding God's will for us affects our choices, our very direction in life. Paul is begging us to understand it, to allow it, to prove it, to exhibit it, to be it, to submit our lives to it. This is our reasonable service, the manner of our worship: we sacrifice our lives, our own plans and the efforts to achieve those plans, our own will, thoughts, religious ideas, our own desires, cravings, demands, even self, the hardest thing to sacrifice. We put them to death in favor of something better, something greater, something that will accomplish in us more than we could ever hope or dream to accomplish for ourselves:
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Cor. 2:9 (Isa. 64:4)
I don't think these verses from Romans 12 are meant to be used to condemn ourselves or others, but by its revelation, to give us a glimpse of something far greater and far more wonderful than we even want for ourselves. These verses are meant to relieve the burden of the world's thoughts and ways from us, rather than to place a new burden upon us:
"...we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory."1 Co. 2:6-7
These verses free us, and make us shout, "Hallelujah!!" to the God Who knows the end from the beginning, to the God Who knows the thoughts and plans He has for us, if we would just let Him have the kingship over our lives that we try to keep for ourselves:
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Mt. 6:10
How can we pray for God's will to be done in earth, if we refuse His will for ourselves? We are to be the "proof" of how good God's will is in every way.
What a heavy burden it is to devise and carry our whole purpose in life, our future, our striving for success, whether material or spiritual, on our own shoulders. His will for us is JOY, PLEASANTNESS, HAPPINESS, UPRIGHTNESS, PROSPERITY, FULL DEVELOPMENT AND MATURITY IN CHRIST, and more.
Some of our ideas of happiness and pleasantness match the world's ideas more than God's. The joy and happiness found in God's will are not found in sin for a season. They are not found in things that cause harm to our own souls, or to the souls of others. They are not fleeting pleasures and joys that change with the circumstances. The prosperity of God is not rooted in the ways of the world, but deals with the prosperity of the soul, first:
"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, even as your soul prospers." 3 Jn. 1:2
Our responsibility in this is to show forth how our submission to God's will, our living sacrifice, has transformed our minds and lives. Paul says that our attitude towards ourselves, and our relationship with the whole Body of Christ, is affected by how we understand and exhibit God's will in ourselves (Rom. 12:3-21).
How we understand God's will affects our attitudes about the things of the world as well:
"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God". Rom. 13:1
We could go on and on in Romans, as Paul exhorts how to live in the will of God in this world, but not of this world. Everything that he says follows his revelation of the will of God for us.
Let us see God's will for us as the joy and miracle that it was meant to be. We will rush to sacrifice ourselves to the will of God with thanksgiving and joy, as we begin to receive the revelation of it. I dearly want to do this with my life.
Our Father's will for us is the most wonderful thing in the world, and beyond the world.
"How Can It Be?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ben2wwGyOk
