Battlefield

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled B'midbar, which means "in the wilderness". B'midbar is also the Torah title of the fourth book of the Bible, which we call "Numbers". The title comes from the first verse of the Book of Numbers: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt..." 

     The LORD instructed Moses to take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) a census of the children of Israel to include every male from twenty years old and above, "all who are able to go to war (saba/seba - warfare, battle, war, appointed time, soldiers, company, go out to war, a mass of persons organized for warfare, army/go forth as soldiers to war, as a soldier against an enemy, wage war, fight, serve, mustered, assemble, wait upon) in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies (saba/seba - same as above)." (Num. 1:3). There can be no doubt, based upon the meaning of the Hebrew word for war or army, that the LORD is mustering His people for warfare.  The LORD had been referring to the Israelites as His armies since the Book of Exodus, before and after He delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. (see Ex. 7:4-5, 12:17, 12:41-42, 12:51).

     According to verse 1, it has been two years since the Israelites had come out of their Egyptian slavery. This implies a certain maturity of experience in their walk with the LORD. They have seen powerful miracles, and they have suffered losses of life because of rebellions, disobedience and idolatry.  The LORD considers them able to walk as His armies. The battles that they face will not only be physical warfare, but, more importantly, spiritual warfare. Their primary weapon will be their traceable covenant identity in the LORD as they recite their lineages all the way back to their ancestors with whom the LORD made covenant promises. (see Num. 1:18-20). As the Israelite men over twenty years old were counted, the largest group came from the tribe of Judah (yehuda/yada - "praised"/praise, give thanks, confess, to revere or worship with extended hands, shoot arrows, cast down, throw down) at 74,600 men of that age. (v. 26-27). Looking at the meaning in Hebrew of the word "Judah", we can see praise, thanksgiving and earnest worship of God become weapons in warfare. The tribe of Judah will bring forth the Messiah/Christ Jesus many generations later and it is Jesus who defeated the spiritual enemies of man which included sickness, sin, death, hell and the grave, and He did so in an act of glorifying His heavenly Father (see Jn. 12:27-28, Phil. 2:8-11). It will serve us well to remember this great weapon of our spiritual warfare if we learn nothing else from this Sabbath's B'midbar reading portion than this, but there is more to learn.

     All of the tribes of the Israelites were numbered for warfare in the same manner, with captains (nasi - chief, captain, prince, king, ruler, one lifted up) from each tribe appointed over them by the LORD. As the names of the captains are given in Numbers Ch. 2, many remind us of Messiah/Christ Jesus in meaning: "Given, appointed, bestowed of/by God", "Whose Father is God", "The Rock is God", and "Peace and Completeness of God".

     The Levites, or priestly tribe, who served in the tabernacle were not left out of the armies of warfare. The same Hebrew word seba/saba used above for "warfare, armies, soldiers, battle, etc., is used to describe the hosts and service of the Levites, all of those thirty to fifty years old were to be numbered. (see Num. 4:3, 4:23, 4:30, 4:35, 4:39, 4:43). Their service in the tabernacle was actually associated with the warfare of seba/saba. 

     We also can't forget the women! In Ex. 38:8, the LORD included them in His army of seba/saba warfare: "He (Moses) made the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) laver of bronze and its base of bronze from the bronze mirrors (mar'a/mar'e - visions [sent by God], mode of revelation, mirror/sight, vision of form, appearance, visage, pattern or countenance) of the serving (seba/saba - see above) women who assembled (seba/saba - see above) at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."  Revelations and visions from God, particularly pertaining to a certain form, visage, countenance and pattern which, I believe, pertains to the visage and form of Jesus Messiah/Christ (see Isa. 52:13-15), are part of the spiritual warfare the Israelites were called to, especially through the women, as mentioned here.

This is a good place to look more closely at the Hebrew word for "wilderness", which is midbar. Midbar means, "wilderness, desert, uninhabited land, a sterile, sandy country." We would expect this desolate meaning. However, midbar also contains the meaning, "pasture as an open field where cattle are driven, plain country fit for the feeding of flocks." Two opposite conditions are contained within the meaning of midbar, as we can see. There is also a secret within the meaning of midbar that can help us understand the key that relates to these two opposite meanings.

Midbar also contains the meaning, "speech, mouth as an organ of speech." The Hebrew root word of midbar is the Hebrew word dabar, which means "speak, say, promise, tell, command, pronounce, warn, put to flight, sing."

On the battlefield of the wilderness, it is what we speak, pronounce and sing that determines whether a sterile desert or a pasture fit for feeding flocks and cattle is established. What are the armies of the LORD speaking in the wilderness? The LORD can take a spiritually desolate and uninhabited wilderness and turn it into a lush spiritual garden, or He can take a fruitful green pasture of food for His flocks and make it desolate, and it seems to depend largely on what His army speaks according to the meaning of midbar.

     The Israelites of the Book of Numbers were in their second year after their deliverance from slavery. As we mature in our walk with the Lord, we can expect that the Lord will begin to lead us into spiritual warfare, not only in our own circumstances, but in warfare that will lead to the spiritual salvation and liberation of other people and even nations. Often we regard people as being foes, however, the apostle Paul wanted us to have this revelation about our warfare: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Cor. 10:3-5). This spiritual warfare isn't against other people, it is against our own minds! So many of us feel overwhelmed by problems that will pass away with all other temporal things, or we become discouraged by life's challenges and continued struggles against sins and weaknesses in our own souls and flesh until we tempted to wave the white flag of surrender. Never! Fight that battle with thanksgiving and praise out of our mouths, with hands lifted up and outstretched in reverence and worship, shouting the victory of the Lord as promised in His Word. As we continue to fight the spiritual battle, we need to understand that we are also winning the warfare on behalf of others as well.

     We can see that our warfare is directly connected to our relationship and covenant inheritance with and in Messiah/Christ Jesus, just as the Israelites' warfare was based upon their covenant heritage in God.

     In another place, Paul wrote: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Eph. 6:12-13).

     As the Israelites were, we are also called to be a spiritual army fighting spiritual warfare. We do not go to battle in our own strength, nor with weapons that have been made by men for use against men. but we are armed with the truth of the Word of God, which was embodied in Jesus (Jn. 1:14), and with the victory of Jesus:

     "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn. 16:33, the Words of Jesus).

     "Death is swallowed up in victory...The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:56-57/Isa. 25:8-9).

     "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:37-39).

     Scripture tells us that Jesus sent out seventy disciples in His name to bring the Gospel to cities where He intended to go. They were to heal the sick and bring the message: "The kingdom of God has come near to you." (Lk. 10:1-9, excerpt). The seventy returned to Jesus with joy because even the demons were subject to them in Jesus' name. Jesus had known of their victory as He said to them: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall be any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Lk. 10:17-20).

     As Jesus explained above, the serpents and scorpions He referred to were not physical creatures, but spirits or demons. Both of the creatures mentioned have the meaning in Greek of being sharp in vision, able to look into the distance in order to spy, being skeptical and having malicious intent especially associated with Satan, for the purpose of piercing and stinging.

     The disciples' obedience to the commands of Jesus, in His name healing the sick and declaring the Kingdom of God, sent Satan falling from his position in the heavens!  The warfare victory was not because of themselves, but it was because of the Yesua (Jesus' name in Hebrew) salvation of God is their lives. This is also the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples. (see Mt. 28:18-20, Mk. 16:15-18).

     It is very important to know that this B'midbar Sabbath reading portion must be read on the Sabbath before the Feast of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, which in Greek is called Pentecost. Previous weeks' Sabbath reading portions were doubled together so that this B'midbar portion would fall on this specific appointed Sabbath. This year, Pentecost falls on this coming Monday-Tuesday. The Book of Acts tells us how the LORD fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit in flames of fire to the believers in Messiah/Christ Jesus who obediently waited for "the power from on high" (Lk. 24:49 , Acts 1:8) in Jerusalem. The effect of the Holy Ghost fire was to change the believers' tongues (glossa - the tongue, an organ of speech, a distinct language).

     What were the changed tongues of the believers saying by the power from heaven? Foreign pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the feast were amazed, "because everyone heard them speak in his own language...Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs - we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." (Acts 2:1-11, excerpt).

     The tongues of the Holy Spirit gave praise for the wonderful works of God. We are brought right back to midbar (see meaning above regarding mouth and speech) and the largest tribe in the LORD's armies in the wilderness - the tribe of Judah, meaning "Praise". As we observe this Shavuot, Feast of Pentecost of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which continues with us, let us join in the fiery tongues of praise.

     If you would like to know more about being in the Lord's army of believers, you can join me in my prayer: "LORD of hosts, You have called Your people to be part of Your armies of warfare and transformation. What a privilege to be called by You and included in Your mighty works! My heritage in You and in Your Son, Jesus, includes Your victories on our behalf. All creation is waiting for this manifestation of Your sons in the earth. Teach me to speak in the way that transforms the spiritually dry wildernesses into green pastures. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit who gives me a tongue to proclaim the wonderful works of God to all people and nations. Fill my mouth with praises because You have written my name in heaven. I ask this in the name of my Savior, Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

Army

This week's Sabbath reading portion takes us to the beginning of the fourth Book of the Bible. We call this the Book of Numbers, but the Hebrew title of this Book is B'midbar, meaning "in the wilderness", which is taken from the first verse of Chapter 1. So the first four books of the Torah in Hebrew are: B'reshiet, meaning "In the beginning", or Genesis, Sh'mot, meaning "Names", or Exodus, Va'yikra, meaning "And He called", or Leviticus, and now B'midbar, "in the wilderness", or Numbers. From the beginning of Numbers, the LORD ordered Moses, while the Israelites were in the Sinai wilderness, to take a census of every male twenty years old and over: "...all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies (saba - host, war, army, battle, appointed time, soldiers, go out to war, organized for war)." (Num. 1:3). The Israelites, who had been slaves in Egypt for over four hundred years, and certainly without having been trained to be warriors during their slavery, had faced enemy kings, and the trained armies of those kings, both before, and after they would enter the Promised Land of Canaan. The name and character of the LORD is as the Leader of warfare, Jehovah Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts, the LORD who commands armies as Scripture says: "The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name...Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You." (Ex. 15:3, 6-7). The LORD revealed Himself to Joshua, who would lead the Israelites after the death of Moses, as "a Man...with His sword drawn in His hand", saying, "...as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.'...Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." (Josh. 5:13-15). When Jesus returns, He doesn't come alone: "...His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (see Rev. 19:7-8), followed Him on white horses...He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Rev. 19:11-16). Did you think that we, as believers in Christ, are not called to war? Paul wrote: "...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us..." (Rom. 8:36-39). However, our warfare, as well as our armor and weapons, are not physical, but spiritual, and not against flesh, but against spiritual powers (2 Cor. 10:3-6). However, the LORD's armies in the Book of Numbers have much to teach us, even as the LORD taught them. Each tribe, or division (Num. 1:16), had its own leader specifically appointed by the LORD, and each tribe was to camp under its own identifying standard and emblems (Num. 2:1-2), yet it was to be a unified army under the LORD as its Commander. As the divisions of the armies encamped, they were assigned placement to the north, south, east, and west, with the tabernacle of meeting at the center. The Levites were to encamp nearest to and surrounding the tabernacle (Num. 2:17). From above, the configuration of the camp would be in the shape of a cross, and they would move out from camp in this same configuration. Even the furnishings within the tabernacle were placed in a cross formation, so it became a cross within a cross. The LORD positioned Himself right in the middle of His armies. The greatest challenge to these armies, was not any physical enemy, but the knowledge of, and obedience to, the LORD as their Commander and their only source of victory. The same is true for us today, I think. In another reading from this Sabbath, David, who was a great warrior himself, prayed to the LORD to be saved from the wicked and the workers of iniquity (Ps. 28:3). David declared in his spiritual warfare: "Blessed be the LORD because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped...and with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people...shepherd them also, and bear them up forever." (v. 6-9). David was a soldier/king who understood that it is the LORD who delivers the offense and defense in warfare. In another portion from this week's sabbath reading, the LORD prophetically calls upon a new kind of army. Can you guess who they are? The reading is found in the prophet Hosea, whose name means "salvation". Hosea ministered prophetically in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, also called Ephraim, when the nation was divided into two kingdoms. At the beginning of his prophetic ministry, the LORD told Hosea to take a harlot for a wife, which would prophetically reflect Israel's harlotry in her marriage relationship with God. Hosea took (aleph-tav) Gomer for his wife. Her name means "complete, finish, to end either in completion or failure". Her father was named Diblaim, which means "two cakes, press together a cake of figs, conjoined with, dwell with, dwell together". We can see that the prophet is marrying a harlot, but from her name, and the name of her father, we can also see that something is being established here. Two things are being joined or pressed together to make something complete. Ezekiel prophesied of two sticks being joined together into one also (Ezek. 37:15-20). Then Hosea, "salvation", had three children with his harlot wife, Gomer, meaning "completion" as mentioned above. The "completion" meant here may, on one hand, signify the fullness of the judgment that God was ready to bring to the northern kingdom of Israel because of its faithlessness to Him. In another way, the meaning of the "completeness" of Gomer's name may point to the special work that God was planning to bring a restoration and completeness to Israel, as the LORD prophesied later in Hosea, as we will see. One child was to be named (aleph-tav) Jezreel, which means "God will sow/scatter". Jezreel refers to the place where Jehu had King Ahab's seventy sons killed in Samaria (2 Kings 10:11). When Jehu became king in Ahab's stead, he was as wicked as Ahab had been, and here in Hosea, God promises to end his family's reign in Israel, which was fulfilled when the northern kingdom of Israel went into captive exile to the Assyrian conquerors. Their sins, violence and idolatry caused them to lose the battle with the enemy. They forgot that the LORD is the center of their victory. As the meaning of Jezreel is "God will scatter", the LORD would scatter the inhabitants of northern Israel from off of their land. The LORD said of Jezreel: "I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel....I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel." (Hos. 1:4-5). As the LORD promised to break their bow, He was removing their own military power from them, and leaving them defenseless before their enemy. Jezreel and the valley it occupies played a role in many battles throughout Israel's history, and is believed to be the valley in which Armageddon, the prophesied end-time war, will occur. Both battle, bloodshed and judgment are associated with this place. Next, an (aleph-tav) daughter was born to Hosea and Gomer. The LORD told the prophet to name her Lo-Ruhamah, meaning "not having obtained mercy". The aleph-tavs connected to some of the words in these verses are, as the first and last Hebrew letters, a form of The Alpha and Omega in Greek, by which Jesus identified Himself in the Book of Revelation. Whenever we see the aleph-tav combination of Hebrew letters associated with a written word, it brings a special significance. Finally, a third child, a son, is born who was to be named Lo-Ammi, meaning "not a people". As the LORD judged northern Israel to Hosea, He then prophesied its great restoration. Instead of "Not a people", and "not having obtained mercy", the LORD said: "Say to your brethren, 'My people', and to your sisters, 'Mercy is shown'. Plead (rib - plead a cause, strive, contend, grapple, to pull) with your mother, plead;...Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts." (Hos. 2:1-2). The meanings of the children's names are changed, and they are to plead and contend with their mother, Israel, represented by Hosea's wife, Gomer, pulling on her to turn from her harlot ways, and go back to her first husband, the LORD her Salvation. (Hosea 2:7). Because of this, the LORD will "allure" His harlot wife into the wilderness (midbar: see above) to remove her from those things that draw her away from Him. The LORD planned to get His wife, Israel, alone. The LORD prophesied to Hosea that He would restore Israel to one who is His faithful betrothed (Hos. 2:14, 20). The LORD will answer the heavens, and cause the heavens to answer the earth. "The earth will answer with aleph-tav grain, with aleph-tav new wine, and with aleph-tav oil (yishar/sahar - oil, anointed, fresh new oil, to shine/press oil, glisten). They shall answer Jezreel ("God will sow/scatter"). Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!" (Hos. 2:21-23). The three things mentioned in the verses above: the grain, the new wine, and the oil, not only represent the LORD's renewed blessing and favor upon the land, but the spiritual blessing of restoration and communion, salvation and the glory of the anointing, and the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, or Christ in Greek. There was a prophetic warfare (pleading, contending, pulling) entered into through the naming of the three children of Hosea, but their names also represented another hidden participant in this spiritual warfare for the restoration of Israel. As we look at the names of these children, we are reminded of a scripture from Peter regarding those who have received salvation in Christ: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who one were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10). Paul referred directly to the verse above from Hos. 2:23 when he wrote: "...that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy...even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea: 'I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called sons of the living God." (Rom. 9:23-26, Hos. 2:23, Hos. 1:10). We have a warfare role to play, as Hosea's children did, in the restoration of their mother, Gomer, who represented the wife of God gone astray, Israel. As believers in Christ, we do not replace Israel or the Jewish people, but we are spiritually joined with them as brethren, which completes both of us. One is incomplete without the other. As God promised, "All Israel shall be saved...that through the mercy shown you (meaning the Gentiles) they also may obtain mercy." (Rom. 11:26-31, Isa. 59:20-21). Paul makes a direct connection here between our salvation through Christ, and Israel's. This also is the spiritual warfare to which we have been called. The joining of Jews and Gentiles together in salvation will be nothing short of "...life from the dead...remember that you do not support the root (the Jews), but the root supports you." (Rom. 11:15,18). Although Jesus stated clearly: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He then also ministered to a Gentile woman who cried out to Him in desperate need of a healing miracle for her daughter (see Mt. 15:21-28). From the double presence of the Cross within, and encamped around, the tabernacle "in the wilderness" that was set in the middle of the "armies" of Israel, to the prophetic warfare children of Hosea, to the spiritual warfare written of by the apostles, to the armies that accompany the return of Christ, the scarlet thread of salvation joins Jews and Gentiles together, as is the will of God through Christ. If you would like to learn more about this very special purpose in the "army" of God, you can pray with me: "Father, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Israel, lead us in the restoration and salvation work that You have established through Your Son, Jesus, for Jews and Gentiles alike to be joined together into one new man (Eph. 2:12-18). Bring this completeness to Your Body, Your army in the earth, as it is written in Your Word. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, because as always, You are our victory, You are our strength, and we praise You. We ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Warfare

The tabernacle has great meaning for all of us. Its structure and ministry are a pattern of Christ and His sacrifice for sin, and also His believers who form, individually and corporately, a living tabernacle, with the glory of God through Christ within. The entrances into the court of the tabernacle, and each of its two inner chambers, were called The Way, The Truth, and The Life, according to Jewish tradition. Jesus identified Himself with these entrances of the tabernacle into the presence of God: "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (Jn. 14:6). Even though the Israelites numbered many hundreds of thousands at the time when the tabernacle was assembled, there was only one entrance into the court of the tabernacle. Although many in the world believe that God may be approached in a variety of ways and religions, the design of the tabernacle shows that there is only ONE way to come to the Father, and that is through His Son. There is only ONE door for the sheep to enter (Jn. 10:7). The tabernacle is not about a religion, it is about a way. That way is paved with redemption from sin: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine...For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you...Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel...I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King...I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins." (Isa. 43). Isaiah in the verses above refers to the LORD's "calling" of His people by name. The title of the Sabbath reading for this week is Va-yikra, meaning "And he called". As the tribes of Israel were assigned by God to their encampment positions around the tabernacle (see Numbers 2), the encampment of the tribes formed the shape of a cross if viewed from the air. These groupings of tribes placed on the north, south, east, and west of the tabernacle were called "armies", and the tribes were numbered by their young men over twenty years of age, who were old enough for battle. The armies of warfare were assembled around the tabernacle. In the previous post, I mentioned that everything connected to the structure and the ministry of the tabernacle, according to Jewish tradition, was to accomplish "God's unity and the rectification of our souls and the world". This is referred to by the Hebrew word tikkum, a word which also happens to mean "warfare". What role does the tabernacle of God play in spiritual warfare , and therefore our warfare as living tabernacles of God in our current time? We are assured in scripture that evil men will grow worse. There is and will be deception and lies, betrayal and persecution, and corruption and violence. The earth quakes and erupts, and nature itself seems to be turning against the sins of men. Jesus prophesied all of these things in Mt. 24, and Lk. 21. In reading articles on some of the current and future developments and plans of science and government, the word "abominations" is too mild to describe them. It hurts our hearts just to look all around us and consider all of the evil working through the minds and hearts of men. The tabernacle tells us that the first place to begin the ministry of reconciliation between creation and God is within ourselves, His called people. This is the "rectification of our souls" described as part of the purpose of the tabernacle. When Solomon's temple was dedicated, the LORD promised Solomon that even in the middle of His catastrophic judgment, "If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I shall hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14). God's people were taught the covering power of the blood sacrifice (of Christ) through the tabernacle. The Sabbath readings for this week include Leviticus 2, 4-5, the offerings that cover sin. We, His called people, understand that the ministry of offerings and sacrifices of the tabernacle are fulfilled by the sacrifice of Jesus for the sins of the world to those who will accept that sacrifice. In the tabernacle, we are taught that the priest must make the covering sacrifice for himself first, before he can minister the sacrifice on behalf of the people. We also must sanctify ourselves, and allow ourselves to be cleansed first, before we can deal with others. This is our first stand in spiritual warfare. We start with ourselves. I have read and heard many comments that the failure of God's called people to start the warfare with ourselves has resulted in some having no interest in Christ or Christianity. They cry, "hypocrisy!", and they are not wrong. By failing to begin our warfare within ourselves, as the tabernacle teaches, we become a stumbling block to the acceptance by others of faith in Christ. By not beginning with ourselves first, we fall out of our "cross formation" in warfare. Moving on, as mentioned above, the "armies" of Israel were encamped in the specific pattern of a cross, with the tabernacle and all it represents, in their center. So now, with Christ set firmly within us, let us begin to turn our vision outward to the "rectifying of the world". David talked about the wicked who were around him, who come against him "to eat up my flesh". He spoke of the enemies and armies that were encamped against him, the war they brought to him, a time when father and mother forsake him, when the will of his adversaries and "false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence". David said that because of the natural and spiritual warfare against him, "I would have lost heart". What caused him to inhabit a place of victory inspite of all of these attacks and challenges? "One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a Rock. And now my head shall be lifted above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD...When You said, "Seek My face", my heart said to You, Your face, LORD, I will seek." (Psalm 27, excerpts). The tabernacle, and what it represents, was the place of David's courage, strength and victory. So why do we ignore the important lessons of the tabernacle? Another Psalm, which was written by Asaph, also mentions the tabernacle. (note: Asaph wrote 12 Psalms. The number 12 has significance with repeated mentions both in the Old and New Testaments. In Hebrew teaching, the number twelve means "totality, wholeness, the completion of God's purpose". The name Asaph in Hebrew points to the called people of God: "gatherer, gather in, assemble, to gather and take away, harvest, rearguard".) In Psalm 73, Asaph wrote, "...my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked...pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance...They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth...Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease...When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me (thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind) - Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end...I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." (Psalm 73, excerpts). In this case, the evil that Asaph saw all around him, enlarged in pride because it seemed to go unpunished, caused Asaph to nearly stumble in his faith. Similar to the evil of our day, what Asaph saw hurt his heart and vexed his mind...until he entered the sanctuary of God. In the presence of God, Asaph was able to see the end as God knows the end. Like David, Asaph found that the presence of God in the sanctuary gave him the surety, and the peace that comes from that knowledge of "the completion of God's purpose", which is glory. This was Asaph's victory in spiritual warfare found in the tabernacle of God. One of this Sabbath's haftarah portions is from Isaiah 33. The chapter opens with woes to those who plunder and deal treacherously, and the disasterous effects upon the earth because of them (v. 9). Sadly, also mentioned in the same company as the plunderers and the treacherous, are those who are sinners and hypocrites in Zion, who shall live in fear (v. 14). However, rather than these things being the focus of our attention, for God will deal with them, Isaiah directs our eyes elsewhere: "The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the LORD is His treasure...Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken. But there the majestic LORD will be for us..." (v. 20-21). Part of our warfare tactics is about where we keep our eyes. It is easy for our attention to be consumed by the evil of our times, but that will not bring the victory in our warfare. The LORD assures us in Isaiah that evil will be dealt with. Our victory is in keeping our focus on the eternal things, and the tabernacle of God is one of those, never to be dismantled, but always the center of Zion and Jerusalem. This is the ultimate victory in spiritual warfare that the tabernacle teaches. Regardless of the increase in the evil around us, we have the sure knowledge that the completion of God's purpose will be glory. Our Father will complete His purpose in His eternal and living tabernacle. May God's called people bless His glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory, Amen, and Amen. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Ps. 72:19, Hab. 2:14). If you would like to know the living tabernacle of God, you can pray: "Dear Father, I believe that You have given Your Son, Jesus, as the eternal sacrifice for my sins, as found in the pattern of Your tabernacle. I believe He died for me, and rose from the dead. Your Word promises that He is coming again to reign over the earth. Your Word also promises that the whole earth is filled with Your glory. You will make Your tabernacle with men. Forgive me, and cleaanse me from all sin, pride, and unrighteousness. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can be the tabernacle of God's glory. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."