Spirit

Reminder: Beginning in July, Google will stop sending automatic notifications of new postings for blogs such as this one that are published under "blogspot.com". If you have been receiving notifications, or would like to receive them, please enter your email address in the box in the upper right corner of the blog page before July. These email addresses will be retrieved hopefully, and you will be sent a notification directly when there is a new post available. These email addresses will not be used for any other purpose. You will receive the "new blog post" notifications from "the disciple". If you choose not to enter your email address, I would recommend that after June 2021, check the blog regularly for new posts. Thank you for your patience and faithful readership. Part of this week's Sabbath reading deals with three men. The three men, Moses, Joshua the High Priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor, were faced with great challenges. Although Moses is considered by us to be a deliverer and law giver, in Psalm 90, part of the haftarah reading portion, he is referred to simply as "the man of God". In Numbers 11, Moses has just seen the fire of the LORD's anger break out on those who were on the outskirts of the camp, because the people of God were complaining. The fire was not quenched until Moses interceded with the LORD. This must have been a very stressful situation for the people and for Moses as their leader. The children of Israel looked to Moses as the man who talked to God. In this week's Sabbath reading from Numbers 11, something very disturbing takes hold of the children of Israel. It began within the "mixed multitude" (asapsup- promiscuous assemblage of people, rabble) who were with them. These were the first to be driven into a severe craving (lust) for "flesh" (basar- of the body: of humans, of animals, flesh, nakedness, skin, mankind)). The language used here suggests that something intense and wicked was going on among the "mixed multitude". Then the children of Israel also felt an overwhelming craving. They were so distraught with the craving that they were weeping. They stood in the doors (petah- entrance, gate; root: to loose, to let go free, to unstop, to break forth) of their tents (ohel- dwelling, covering, tabernacle, sacred dwelling of Jehovah; root: to be clear, to shine) crying with this craving. These Hebrew words tell us that from the spiritual position of the "doors of the tents", something was being loosed by the people in their cries. The spiritual attack that had begun with the "rabble", had taken hold of, and was escalated by the actions of the children of Israel. They were crying desperately for meat, and had disdain for the daily manna that the LORD miraculously provided for them. The people of Israel yearned instead for the food that was available to them in Egypt, even though the cost of that food was their hard bondage and oppression. Imagine what the LORD would think and do about this latest round of complaining! I'm sure Moses was thinking about that also: "Moses heard the people weeping...and the anger of the LORD was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased (Num. 11:4-6, 10). What started with the "rabble", had infected the people of God, and now, it would affect Moses, their leader. The word "displeased" used in our Bibles to describe Moses, does not reflect the Hebrew word used. That word is ra'a, which means "evil, evil doer, hurt, wickedly, harm, sad, injurious, to do evil or wickedly, to break, shatter". Moses reacted in anger against God: "So Moses said to the LORD, "Why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child' to the land which You swore to their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give all these people? For they weep all over me...I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now..." (Num. 11:11-15). The spiritual attack on the camp had just been escalated again by the reaction and words of their leader, Moses. As the LORD prepared to deal with the intense craving of the people, Moses again spoke out against the LORD as he demanded to know of the LORD how the craving would be satisfied (Num. 11:21-22). The Lord answered Moses: "Has the LORD's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not." (v. 23). To provide assistance to Moses, the LORD took of the Spirit that was upon Moses, and placed the same upon seventy elders, and they began to prophesy on that occasion (v. 24-25). As for the craving that came upon the people, they had so much meat in their mouths, which the LORD had prophesied and provided, that they were struck with a very (mehode- exceedingly; root: firebrands) great (rab- many, abounding; root: multiplied, ten thousands) plague (makkaw- wounded, beaten, stripes, stroke, blow). With the Tabernacle of God in their midst, which represented Christ, the Messiah, inside and out, and all of the wonders of God that the people had witnessed up to this point, the LORD expected them to have the knowledge of Him as their Savior. That place was called "Kibroth Hattahavah" or "Graves of Craving/Lust", because they buried there the people who had yielded to the craving (Num. 11:33:34). The people and Moses had sought a natural solution to a spiritual attack. The attack wasn't about a lack of meat, or even about complaining, but about the unnatural craving/lust that came upon the people, and drove them to despair. God didn't expect Moses to find a way to feed meat to hundreds of thousands, but to intercede in the Spirit for the people, and to seek a Word of deliverance from the LORD. The second example from this week's Sabbath reading, deals with Joshua the High Priest. It is from Zechariah Ch. 3. The prophet Zechariah has a vision from the Spirit of God of Joshua the priest. In this vision, Joshua is standing before the Angel of the LORD, but Satan (satan- superhuman adversary, one who withstands) is at his right hand to oppose (satan- lie in wait, resist, accuse, attack) him. Again, as with the account above, we are dealing with a spiritual attack. In the vision, instead of standing before the Angel in his beautiful priestly garments, Joshua was clothed in filthy (tso- as with excrement) garments. The LORD, Who has chosen Jerusalem (v. 2), rebuked Satan on Joshua's behalf (Zech. 3:1-3). The LORD then commanded, with the Angel looking on, that the filthy garments be removed from Joshua, and be replaced with clean garments: "See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes." (v. 4-5). This work was seen in the Spirit by the prophet, and it was performed in the Spirit. This prophetic work of the Spirit was a confirmation that the LORD would once again take and choose Judah and Jerusalem (Zech. 2:12-13), and Joshuah and his companions would serve as a wondrous sign of His Servant the BRANCH (semah/samah- sprout, bring forth, shoot (of Messiah from Davidic tree), whom the LORD was bringing forth (v. 8). What started as a spiritual attack by Satan himself, became a great work of prophetic restoration and forgiveness that would cover the land. From beginning to end, this was a work of the Spirit of God by the Messiah, the stone upon which are seven eyes (v. 9). As we rely upon the Word and Spirit of God, instead of becoming "graves of craving", as did the children of Israel, we become like Joshua the High Priest, "a wondrous sign" of restoration affecting the whole land (see also Joel 2:15-27, another Sabbath reading portion for this week). The third leader in this week's Sabbath reading portion is Zerubbabel the governor. Zechariah the prophet is wakened by an angel who shows him a lampstand of solid gold. This lamp of light is fed a continuous supply of olive oil directly from two olive trees that stand on either side of it. Immediately the Word of the LORD is given to Zechariah concerning the governor of Judea, Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel had been appointed to be governor of those who had returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon. He had begun the rebuilding of the foundation for the temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed. Zerubbabel's name means "offspring of Babylon". His name (zarab) also comes from the idea of a flow of water that grows more and more narrow until it eventually dries up. In fact, like Zerubbabel's name, the progress in rebuilding the temple seemed to have come to a standstill. There was much opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple by the local inhabitants of the land. Perhaps Zerubbabel grew discouraged by this slow progress, and the constant opposition. So the vision given to the prophet was not of a narrowing stream that eventually dried up, but of an unending supply of olive oil (the Holy Spirit and the anointing) that keeps the lampstand lighted. This was identified as a spiritual problem that had a remedy in the Spirit. Then the LORD delivered these words to Zerubbabel: "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of hosts" (Zech. 4:6). A great spiritual mountain of opposition stood in front of Zerubbabel, but it would become nothing but a flattened plain, and the rebuilding of the temple would be completed within the Spirit of the LORD, and the words of "Grace, grace". The great Building Stone, the capstone, would be brought forth by Zerubbabel by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of the LORD had anointed Zerubbabel to build the Temple of God regardless of the obstacles set against it. The title of the Sabbath readings for this week is B'ha'alot'cha, which means "In your making, go up!". In Psalm 90, Moses asked God to end His anger with His people, and "Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty (na'om- kindness, favor, delightfulness, splendor, grace) of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands." (v. 16-17). We have just observed the Feast of Pentacost in the church, which remembers the fulfillment of the promise of God to endue believers with power from on high. This took the form of pouring out the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire upon believers in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. This outpouring continues, and is unending as in Zechariah's vision concerning Zerubbabel. It never dries up. It is in this "beauty", this provision of God, that establishes His works through the work of our hands. Our Father overcomes by His Spirit. If you would like to know the Messiah, Jesus, and receive the Spirit of Grace Who overcomes, you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I believe that You died for me, and that You were raised from the dead by the Spirit. You baptize me with the Holy Spirit, so I will be able to overcome all obstacles and attacks of the enemy. Your anointing destroys every yoke, and makes all things possible in God. Teach me not to rely on my own strength but on the anointing that never runs dry. I give You thanks, and receive this promise from the Father. In Jesus' name, AMEN."