Holiest

There are many holy places across the world. All faiths have them. Sometimes they are buildings, shrines, altars, sometimes patches of ground, rocks, trees, caves, grottos, lakes, waterfalls, stars and planets, statues, and sometimes even animals. Sometimes these places or things are listed as most holy, second holiest, third holiest - leave it to religious mankind to measure holiness on a sliding scale! But holiness is an absolute, and there is only one measure of it, which is the holiness that is the person of God.
People make pilgrimages to these holy places and things by the thousands. Often men fight over them, even being willing to go to war over them. Terrorists seek to destroy them. Evil men are drawn to defile them, or claim them for their own. The Antichrist, the son of perdition (Gr.- "apoleia": destruction, death, damnation, eternal misery in hell) will enter the yet-to-be-built Third Temple written of by the prophets, in order to declare himself to be God. Even the Devil covets the holy mountain of God:
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit."   Isa. 14:12-15
Lately, violence and terrorism have been aimed at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This site is an eternal point of contention, and prophetically significant in these Last Days. The Jews built two temples on the site, which was Mount Moriah, where Abraham had offered his son, Isaac. That temple was so holy to the Jews, that they would swear upon it when they took an oath (Mt. 23:16). The Muslims built a mosque there later in history. During the Crusades, the Christian armies captured it, and turned the mosque on the site at the time into a church, and then it later became a mosque again.
This morning, I was praying and thinking of this holy site, and the other places of the world that men have called "holy". Suddenly, I was brought to a halt, I was brought to silence and tears. I became touched that God's greatest temple, containing His most wonderful, holy, awesome presence, His glory, is now a different kind of temple. While men struggle, fight, kill, and persecute over holy sites, buildings, and things, God has done "something completely different", as Monty Python would say, something almost completely overlooked. He made me His temple. He made you His temple. He made us the holiest place on earth.
As Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well, in His conversation with her, He revealed truths that must have seemed revolutionary to her. Jesus told her things that would never have been considered acceptable to either the Jews, nor to the Samaritans of the time. The Jews and Samaritans had been divided for generations over the issue of which mountain they must go to in order to worship and sacrifice. The Jews held one mountain in Jerusalem to be the only acceptable place, while the Samaritans held another mountain holy that was within their country. In fact, as Jesus spoke to the woman, He was sitting on that very mountain in Samaria.  Both the Samaritan woman and Jesus referred to the place where they were speaking as "this mountain" (Jn. 4:20). One would think that Jesus, born a Jew, would contend with the woman that naturally, Jerusalem is the only acceptable place of worship and sacrifice. However, He said this instead:
"Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
                                                                                            John 4:21-24
Paul taught this same revelation as he wrote, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?...the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."  1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19-20
"...for you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore, "Come out from among them and be separate says the LORD. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you, I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty."    2 Cor. 6:16-18 (Ezek. 37:26-27)
"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us."    2 Cor. 4:6-7
As sacred as man has held various buildings, grounds, and other natural or man-made elements in order to make the holiness of God "visible", God has placed the greatest temple of all inside of me. His Holy Spirit in me, and in you, has made these earthen vessels into vessels that contains the light, the knowledge of glory, the face of Jesus Christ, the wonder of God.
As important as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is, and will be, in prophetic fulfillment, and as important as the other holy places and things on the earth may be to many, nothing compares to the miraculous work of salvation that God, through His Son, Jesus, has created in my life, and in your life. There are no places on earth that are holier than the living temples that He has planned and desired to build in each one of us. How much more does this temple surpass any building of stone that man can build, regardless of how magnificent! How great God is! How can He want to create this miraculous temple in small, unworthy men? That is Who He is, and I am overwhelmed by Him. I want to do those things, and be that, which honors what He has done in me.

Our Father has made us living temples, and dwells among us.


"Instrument of Peace"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBc4uxiXsfc

"Take Me In"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb1k3DxnpVQ

"Bow Down"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ii6a5PW04w

Sprinkle

I kept hearing in my spirit "Sprinkle the people." One might think this would mean the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, with which I was more familiar, but I knew this was about a different sprinkling. I felt the sprinkling was with water this time.
I looked into this idea of water "sprinkling" and found that there is a sprinkling with the "water of purification" in scripture. This fit more with what I was sensing. According to Torah scholars, the water of purification was used to remove the most severe of impurities-the impurity dealing with death. The water of purification was made by the command of God to Moses (Num. 19), using spring water (living water) combined with the ashes of a red heifer, bringing together the forces of water and fire. The red heifer was killed outside the camp, and those involved with the sacrifice became themselves unclean, and had to be cleansed afterward. The ashes had to be kept outside the camp as well. "...and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin." (v. 9). These ashes, combined with the spring water, were used to cleanse anyone who had come into contact with a dead person, or the tent in which a person had died, or a grave (v. 18).
To learn more about the instruction, "Sprinkle the people", that I was hearing, I turned to a passage in Ezek. 36 where the LORD prophesies:
"Then I will sprinkle clean (purging, purifying, ceremony of cleansing, to shine, to be bright) water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness (utterly defiled, polluted) and from all your idols (trusted images).
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone (stones, weights such as divers' weights, hailstones, sinking stones, petrified with terror, perverse, hard heart) out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (root meaning: publish, preach, gladden with good news, announce salvation).
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes...Then you will remember your evil ways...and you will loathe yourselves...for your iniquities and abominations....
On that day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt."  Ez. 36:25-33 (excerpt)
First in the prophecy comes the sprinkling of cleansing water, then, as a result, the hearts are changed, and can receive the "good news". Repentance now moves in these new hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit. Not only is the individual changed, but even the land is changed as a result, from desolation to abundance:
"The desolate (appalling, causing horror, ravaged, devastated, ruined) land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, "This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden..."  (v. 34-35)
The earth that is man is changed, and then the natural earth is also changed.

"Sprinkle the people", is instructing me to spiritually sprinkle through intercessory prayer with the cleansing water of purification to prepare the people to receive the message of salvation which will bring to repentance those who receive it, and result in healing and restoration. This means that the spiritual condition of man is such that it is so hardened, fouled, polluted that man cannot even come to the place of repentance yet. Our land and the people are covered with the defilement of death. Death has been allowed to rule, and almost every soul has "touched" it. Have you wondered why there is no repentance in the land? From the lowliest to the highest person, there is no repentance, even within God's own people. When this is the case, according to the Ezekiel prophecy, hearts need to be changed even before they can repent.  Even as God uses the spring rain to soften up the hardened soil in order to prepare it to be worked, and to receive seed, He uses the water of purification to soften the hardened hearts to receive the work of His Spirit, and the seeds of His salvation, Jesus.
At the first coming of Christ, the Father similarly prepared the hearts of the people with the baptism of John. It was a water of purification that prepared the way for the salvation work of Christ:
"Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple..."  Mal. 3:1 (Mk. 1:2-4)
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God....The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."  Isa. 40:3, 5 (Lk. 3:4-6)
John called this the baptism of repentance (Mt. 3:11, Mk. 1:4). In fact, the water of purification commanded in the Book of Numbers was applied with a hyssop branch. Hyssop also means "to be hairy", and John the Baptist wore clothing of camel's hair (Mt. 3:4, Mk. 1:6). This baptism had to precede Christ's public appearing (Jn. 1:15), that all through him, that is John, might believe (Jn. 1:7). Similarly, with the soon return of Christ, it shouldn't surprise me that the Father would continue the pattern, and release another spiritual cleansing in order to prepare hearts for the End Time move of salvation and harvest before the return of Jesus:
"Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people...build up the highway! Take out the stones...Say to the daughter of Zion, "Surely your salvation is coming..." 
                                                                                                Isa. 62:10-11
The wonderful news then is that God is getting ready to do a great work in people's hearts, and our "sprinkling" prayers of the water of purification will prophesy, proclaim, and prepare the way for the promise.
Father, we sprinkle the hearts of the people with Your cleansing water of purification. I sprinkle in all of the directions: to the north, the south, the east, and the west. I sprinkle all people, from every nation, kindred, and tongue. Wash away the defilement of the ways of death that have hardened the hearts of men. Prepare and replace these hearts, soften them, to receive the saving work of Your Son, and Your Spirit in these Last Days, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Our Father desires to sprinkle the people.

"Wash Me Clean, Oh Lord"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXAntEk7o3s

Man

After looking more closely at God's Sabbath rest in the previous entry, I felt the need to look again at the finished work of the creation account in Genesis Chapter 1. There are many things I needed to learn. Of those many things to discover in this chapter, I would like to look specifically at the creation of man for this entry:
"And God said (bara: say, command, promise, avow, require, certify, appoint), "Let Us make (asa: make, shew, accomplish, celebrate, appoint, ordain, press, squeeze, bruise, prepare, provide, practice) man (adam: man, mankind, red, rubbed red. root-dam: blood) in Our image (teshlem: shade, phantom, illusion, resemblance, representative figure, shadow), after Our likeness ( demuth: model, shape, resemble, compared): and let them have dominion (rada: tread down, rule, prevail against, subjugate, crumble off) over the fish (degah: prolific, squirming) of the sea (yam: roar), and over the fowl (ofe: flying creature, to cover with darkness, dimness, obscurity, weary from the darkness) of the air (shamayim: lofty, sky, seen universe), and over the cattle (behama: mute, dumb beast, unable to speak, beast of burden), and over all the earth (eretz: world, wilderness, Sheol, underworld), and over every creeping thing that creepeth (ramas: walk on all fours, crawl, swarm) upon the earth."
So God created (bara: choose, make, done, cut, carve out, polish, separate) man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female*, created He them.
And God blessed (barak: bless, praise, congratulate, be adored, make kneel) them, and said unto them, "Be fruitful (grow, bear fruit, increase), and multiply (rava: abundance, make great, be in authority, heap, gather, nourish), and replenish (mala: consecrate, accomplish, satisfy, fulfil, overflow, have wholly, fill the hand) the earth, and subdue (kavash: bring into bondage, keep under, force, make subservient, dominate, tread down, trample under feet, stones of the sling, subdue enemies, slaves, hostiles) it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing (khahe/khaya/khavah: sustain life, revive from sickness, discouragement, faintness and death, restore to life, repair, save, revive, be whole, tell, declare, show, make known, explain, breath) that moveth upon the earth."    Gen. 1:26-28
To sum up the Hebrew meaning of the above verses, God was fulfilling a prophetic promise when He created man, and He celebrated that fulfilment. He cut and molded man from the ground of the earth, ordered man to increase, and ordained man to rule over the described creatures. He created man to be a shadow, or pattern of God, Himself. Man was not only to rule, but to subdue forcefully. The creatures of Gen. 1 are described in natural terms, but the meaning behind them is also of spiritual powers on the earth, above the earth, and beneath the earth. While man was to rule and subdue those, he was also ordained to sustain, revive, restore, and repair all things pertaining to life, and to be the declaration of that revival and restoration.
There is also something very important to learn from God's description of man as "male and female" in the above verse. "Male" is zakar meaning a memorial of the parents, bring to remembrance, record, call to mind, to be recognized. The male causes creation to remember and recognize the One of whom he is the shadow and pattern. "Female", or nekava/nakav, tells us the image of God that man is to carry in the earth, and remind creation: pierce, pierce through, strike through, perforate, curse, blaspheme name, puncture, libel, perforate with violence.
The image pressed upon the man, to be a reminder in the earth, was that of the crucified Christ, slain before the foundation of the world. What an awesome truth to find in the creation account.
This shadow and pattern fulfilled by the man is of the promised Savior who rules, reigns and subdues. As we picture Jesus upon the cross, we might not associate it with ruling dominion, and the subjecting of powers, but several things are brought to mind. Pontius Pilate's plaque upon the cross of Jesus declared, "Jesus of Nazareth (one separated), King of the Jews" (Mt. 27:37, Mk. 15:26, Lk. 23:38, Jn. 19:19). Upon His head was placed a crown (of thorns). From the cross, Jesus issued decrees with authority:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Lk. 23:34
To the thief: "Verily, I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." Lk. 23:43
To His mother, and disciple, John: "Woman, here is your son.", and "Here is your mother."   Jn. 19:26-27
To His Father: "Into Thy hands I commend My spirit."  Lk. 23:46
Jesus determined His own moment of death, saying, "It is finished."  Jn. 19:30

Did He also subdue, and subject spiritual powers from the cross? There was great darkness, and an earthquake during the crucifixion, so warfare may well have been taking place in the heavenly realm, and in the earth. Regarding this, scripture says that when our sins were blotted out, and nailed to His cross, He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it (Col. 2:14-15). Also, had the princes and wisdom of this world known before time the resulting subjection by the work of the cross, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:6-8).
Considering these things I have learned, it is now more understandable and more poignant that Adam was called "the son of God" (Lk. 3:38). However, it seems clear from the choices made, and the words spoken by the first man, that he did not understand, or perhaps did not accept, the eternal importance of the image of the crucified Christ which he carried. Most of us welcome the idea of walking "in His image"- but not that image. Yet this is the very image in which Jesus commanded us to walk: "...let him take up his cross and follow Me." (Mt. 16:24, Mk. 8:34, 10:21, Lk. 9:23). How do we achieve that? Jesus said in the same verses that one must "deny himself". In the Greek this means, "to forget, to lose sight of one's self and one's own interests, to have no acquaintance or connection to one's self, to reject, refuse, disregard one's own interests". Walking in the image of God and Christ requires walking in exactly this crucified image.
I am certainly not successful in this. Studying these things makes me see how unlike Christ's image I really am. However, this was our purpose in the earth from the beginning, and even before the beginning, according to the details given to us in the creation account. We can choose to be that shadow and pattern of the very image of God, a declaration and reminder of Christ, our Savior, to the creation, or, like Adam, we can choose to refuse that image. It is a daily, and even moment by moment, choice. As Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I now live by faith in (of) the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me". (Gal. 2:20).
In listening to that lying serpent, the first man desired to empower himself, and by making that choice, he turned away from the greatest power-the image of the Crucified Christ.
I need to be more conscious of this, more attentive to it, and keep this in prayer, and in repentance. It is not just about sin. It is also about self.
If we understand and accept, and become this image of Christ, it is a purpose to celebrate and adore, as God did when He created man.

Our Father created man as a shadow and model of Christ.

"The Anthem"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24apOa9CZuU

Rest

The Sabbath rest is something that is very important to God, and to man. It was so important to God that He made it one of the Ten Commandments, and also one of the feasts of the LORD, one of the holy convocations that God revealed to Moses:
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."  Ex. 20:8-11
And:
"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: "The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath  of solemn rest, a holy convocation, You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings."  Lev. 23:2-3
This very important holy day of the LORD's is associated with the rest that He entered on the seventh day, at the conclusion of the six days of creation. There is, however, something deeper here. The completion of the manifested, physical creation, and the subsequent day of rest, is really a shadow and type of an even greater spiritual work, and rest, which we will see. Unfortunately, the Sabbath became, instead, an occasion for religious legalism regarding what can or cannot be done on that day, or, even worse, it has been totally disregarded as a feast of the LORD, and removed from its proper context as such by the Church.
All of the feasts of the LORD, including the Sabbath, also have a prophetic significance, which is revealed in the Hebrew word for convocation. The apostle Paul tells the Church that there is prophetic meaning when he says that the convocations shadow "things to come", and he also tells the Church that the substance, or Body, of these convocations is Christ, Himself (Col. 2:16-17).
Jesus certainly directly connects Himself with the Sabbath by saying, "For the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath (Mt. 12:8, Mr. 2:28, Lk. 6:5). He also said, "Come to Me, all you who labor (exhausted, troubled, beaten with grief and sorrow, wailing in mourning) and are heavy laden (overburdened, carrying spiritual anxiety), and I will give you rest." (Mt. 11:28). As Paul told us, Jesus is indeed the Body of this feast.
One of the reasons given for many having rejected Jesus as Messiah at the time of His coming, was because He did not observe the man-made religious legalisms that had been loaded onto the Sabbath (Jn. 9:16). Jesus instead turns their understanding of the Sabbath on its head by telling them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." What is Jesus telling us? Why is God so insistent that we not only consider the Sabbath holy, but do no work on the Sabbath, not even our animals, nor our servants (employees), nor the stranger that might come across our household? When God talks about the six days of creation, and the seventh day of rest, what is He really revealing to us? And if the convocations are also prophetic, what is the prophetic depth of the Sabbath?
The Book of Hebrews gives us great understanding of the epic, eternal, depth of the Sabbath of the LORD. In Heb. 4:3-11, the Word reveals that although the work of the LORD was manifested and represented in the six days of creation, the actual creative work was begun and completed before the foundation of the world. The reason why the Israelites in the wilderness were not allowed to enter into God's rest (Ps. 95:11), was because they did not believe that He had completed the work regarding them, and that He had rested from it. Entering into the Sabbath rest of the LORD, the holy convocation, requires that we understand and believe that all of His work had already been begun and completed, before the physical world even existed. The past, present, and future has already been created, set into place to such a complete extent that God has rested. This is the rest that the LORD has called us also to enter: the knowledge that all has already been done, already completed:
"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (the Israelites' unbelief)."  Heb. 4:11
The prophet Isaiah also revealed the eternal dimension of the Sabbath:
"Remember the former things (beginning, first, before, aforetime) of old (perpetual, always, continuous existence, indefinite, unending future, eternity)  for I am God (El), and there is no other; I am God (Elohim), and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from the ancient times (before, anticipate, precede) things that are not yet done, saying "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure...I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it."  Isa. 46:9-11).
When Jesus compels those who labor, and are heavy laden to come to Him, He is talking about the place in Him of this eternal completion, that all of those efforts and burdens are gone in the knowledge that it is already finished. This is the Sabbath rest.
Jesus is the eternity of completion from the beginning to the end, or rest- the work completed before the foundation of the world:
"And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."  Rev. 21:6
"Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." Jn. 17:24
"He (Christ) indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."  1 Pet. 1:20
The atoning work of the cross was completed before the world was physically created:
"All who dwell on the earth will worship Him (Jesus), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world".  Rev. 13:8
We also are part of this eternal, completed work:
"...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame before Him in love..."   Eph. 1:4
Of those who were called:
"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image  of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."  Rom. 8:29
The holy Sabbath rest is not just a day for going to temple, or church as usual (most churches have changed the day, and context of Sabbath anyway), and it is definitely not a set of religious rules regarding what is allowed on the day. It is something much deeper than that. The Sabbath feast of the LORD, commanded by Him and revealed to His prophet Moses, is the place where we are to enter by the faith, with the understanding, the assurance in Christ, that everything concerning us, our household, our circumstances, our conditions, our salvation, our perfecting into His image, has been begun and completed by the Father and the Son, before the world was even manifested. Therefore, we can join Him in His rest, and accept that the work is finished. The manifestation of that creative work in us and around us, will follow. The Sabbath is not just a day, it is a picture of eternity. To believe less is to refuse to enter into His rest.

Our Father wants us to honor, enter into, and keep His Sabbath rest.

"Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq59iE3MhXM

"Rest In The LORD"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiKWeK37C6Q

Revealed

As I was reading Job 39, I began to feel that there was more here than first met the eye. The animals that God discusses with Job, and the mysteries God was revealing about them, seemed to have more meaning than a surface reading would suggest. As I looked at the key words of the chapter in Hebrew, I was touched at the profound revelation that God was giving Job. The Hebrew here depicts a detailed picture of the Gospel of the Messiah. I cannot give a word by word breakdown in this limited space, but will give a summary of each section from what I was able to discover, and  was able to understand.
Verses 1-4 deals with wild goats and hinds:
From eternity, the Prince who is ascended on high, travails to birth. The mighty Ram of the Tabernacle, the Ram of sacrifice, who is the doorpost and lintels of the Tabernacle, was wounded, grieved, and anguished. The Son stretched out, pierced, shredded, in pain, pangs and sorrow. The Son restores and increases in number the chosen, purified, shining selected and leads them out, brings them out, to the storehouse. They are risen, escaped, delivered.
Verses 5-8 deals with the wild ass:
There are two different words used for "wild ass" in verse 5 as the term is repeated. One, pere, is associated with the freeing of slaves, opening of prisons, breaking the yoke, throwing open the grave.
The second word used for "wild ass" in this section is arode, which indicates the exact opposite, or opposing force: the oppressor, Sheol, prison, dungeon, whose permanent dwelling is the salted, barren, a dissipated grave. He scorns and mocks the great number of people who live in the walled and protected cities (because they are not safe from him), and disregards those in authority. The heights are his feeding and resting place, and he searches out to consume all life.
Verses 9-12 discusses the unicorn (KJV):
Though He is high, and lifted up, He willingly consents to be a servant. He dwells forever in a manger. He is bound by interwoven, braided foliage. He levels and smooths the most unsearchable, profound depths. Trust and take refuge in His great power. He is the Captain of tens of thousands. Loose Him to see the result of His labor. Trust Him to restore, deliver and recover the seed, and to gather and harvest it into the smooth place, or barn.
Verses 13-18, the Peacock/Ostrich:
A piercing, exulting, rejoicing cry of overcoming, with covering wings that soar, the Holy One who loves the saints. The King in fine, white bright linen of kingly apparel, was in the earth. Those who should have loved Him with a maternal love, instead treated Him roughly, severely. The Ram of sacrifice removed wisdom and understanding from them. Eternally, they mocked, whipped, lashed Him, rebelled, derided, scorned  and made sport of the One who would have carried them in joyful flight.
Verses 19-25, the Horse:
Consecrated and appointed, leaping with joy in the strength of the mighty deeds of God. Victorious, valiant champion and warrior who prevails. He roars at adversaries who bring distress and siege. He is not moved back by the swarm, but breathes, His breath (ruach), is majesty, honor, beauty and splendor. He searches the deepest places, rejoicing in strength as He brings out and delivers, even as He encounters the weapons of battle. He laughs at, and does not withdraw from the Destroyer, the waste, and the desolation. He swallows up Sheol, with great rage and commotion, not caring about the alarm cries of the enemy. He breathes understanding and knowledge from long ago, and from a great distance, that He will prevail, overcome, devour the roars of the princes, powers and lords.
Verses 26-30, the Hawk/Eagle:
Soaring, shining with understanding, spread out at the right hand, at the right side, lifted up, preparing a chamber. to remain forever in the stronghold of defense and provision.
Digging a great pit to devour, to burn up. Seeing from a great distance and time. To remove, break forth, swallow up and utterly cut off the polluted, profane, and defiled. Where they are, He is also (they cannot escape from Him).

At the end of God's discourse with Job, which includes chapters 38-41, Job is stunned and confesses to God:
"I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee."  Job 42:5
Job was given an incredible depiction of the great power of the Gospel of the Savior, Jesus Christ, the redemptive, victorious, just, powerful Son, Who desired to be a servant to His Father.

Our Father takes joy in revealing His Son.

"High Praise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeORL0ZThWA

Thorn

I found myself in a place this morning, spiritually speaking, that I hadn't expected. I didn't stay there long, because it was a lot to think about. The starting point was in the following verses:
"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient (arkeo-to be possessed of unfailing strength, to defend, to lift up from the ground, to rise up, elevate, to ward off, to carry what has been raised up) for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure (good pleasure, willingly prefer, choose rather, be well pleased with) in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Cor. 12:7-10
I never really gave this the thought it deserved, nor did I really understand it.
As Paul also did initially, I spend a great deal of time involved in trying to remove the "thorn", even the comparatively small thorn, that brings me discomfort. My knee-jerk reaction was that the thorn must be removed. Common natural wisdom says that if you get a thorn, you take it out. I had not considered the fact that it is that very thorn that causes the grace of God to flow. Paul says that even though the thorn's origin was Satan, it was an essential part of a work of grace in his life. The thorn actually helped to defend Paul against a greater enemy that would have destroyed him- the pride of revelation. It makes sense since Paul concludes by saying that he takes pleasure in, and gladly chooses the thorn, because of what it provides and brings to him. From what greater evil is God using the thorn in my life to save and preserve me? Does my victory lie in this understanding?
How difficult it is to believe this in our lives, yet Paul insists that this is the case:
"Likewise the Spirit (also called the Spirit of grace, see Heb. 10:29) also helps in our weaknesses...Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good (useful, good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, excellent, distinguished, upright, honorable) for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..."   Rom. 8:26-29
Even those things that originate from evil, meant to limit, harass, and weaken us, are worked for our good, even for our blessing and advantage.
I began to think of Moses. God commanded him to return to Egypt, and demand from Pharaoh to let the Hebrew slaves go to serve God. Moses had a thorn, as Paul might describe it. Moses was afflicted in speech (Ex. 4:10). Because of this affliction, he told God that he was not eloquent (dabar), and asked God to find someone else to send even after God assured him, "I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." (v. 12). If Moses had not been so afflicted, God would not have been "with his mouth".
Perhaps this affliction in speech, this thorn, actually helped to preserve Moses as he was raised in the very household of Pharaoh. The households of kings are dangerous, treacherous places, full of the schemes of men. Could this thorn have kept Moses, a child of the despised and feared Hebrew slaves, safely overlooked, even right in front of Pharaoh's face?
There is an example from history that very much mirrors this possibility. The Roman emperor Caligula died without a son, and conspiring men took advantage of that opportunity to grab power. They began to kill what was left of the imperial family of Caesar (those whom Caligula hadn't already done away with), so they could seize the power of the throne. They came upon a last living royal family member who was cowering in hiding. He was the uncle of the dead emperor. They were about to kill him also when one of the conspirators stopped them by saying that this uncle was "a harmless idiot", whom they could use as a puppet emperor. These conspirators would be able to become the real rulers of Rome using this man. They thought this uncle of the deceased emperor was mentally impaired because he had a severe stammer, and had palsied movements in his limbs. So this "idiot" was spared- the only family left of the emperor, and he became the emperor Claudius. The murderous conspirators soon found out that Claudius was neither harmless, nor an idiot, nor anyone's puppet. The thorns of speech and physical afflictions hampered Claudius all his life, but it was because of these very things that he survived both the reign of the mad Caligula, and the conspirators that followed, and went on to rule all of the Roman empire.
We may not understand how these thorns, these messengers of Satan, actually lead to the work of Grace in our lives, but our end is better than our beginning because of them.
As I thought about this, I began to wonder, if another work of thorns, but of a far deeper nature, the crown of thorns, and the nails through Christ's hands and feet, were also then a work of grace. Jesus certainly could not be "lifted up from the ground, elevated" (the sufficiency of grace) without them. It is also these very thorn and nail piercings that move us to bow our heads in pity and repentance. Because of those thorns, which Christ willingly chose to bear, grace flowed from Him to me. It is by those thorn and nail piercings that all the world identifies Him, and will identify Him:
"...They pierced My hands and My feet;"  Ps. 22:16
"...Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."  Jn. 20:25
"...then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son..."  Zech. 12:10
"...and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen."   Rev. 1:7
Those thorns and piercings are the very identification of Christ as Grace (Jn. 1:16-17). Thorns and piercings must then also identify me as a receiver of Grace. Is it possible that the thorns that hamper me may not just keep me from a greater harm, as they did Paul, but actually cause grace to flow to others, besides myself? If so, then I think I might actually be able to rejoice in those thorns, as Paul reveals, rather than despise or avoid them.
The Hebrew word that means "thorn" in scripture is khoa akh,  חוֹחַ  .
The Hebrew letters used are cheth, vaw, and cheth again. Cheth, as a pictograph, is a tent wall that separates, and protects. It divides the inner chamber from the outer chambers. Vaw, is a tent peg or a nail that joins together and makes secure. Even the fact that the two cheths are positioned at either end of the three-lettered word, gives the impression of being walled in. These walls limit, which we don't always like, but they also separate and protect. The kho akh thorn, therefore, acts as a separating wall, keeping me from going where I am not supposed to go, and keeping out what is not supposed to come near me, securely joining me together with Christ, and His Grace.
I could just begin to get a small glimpse of why Paul would say that he would willingly choose, and take good pleasure in the thorn in his flesh. What I am also seeing is that I underestimate the power of God. I don't understand His sovereign power, and enfolding love over ALL things concerning me. I don't really trust Him to make ALL things work together for good. This is a big failing on my part. It is almost too easy to admit that as I consider my short, slightly annoying thorns, but what about the people who are suffering with long, painful thorns? I hope this glimpse will help them also.

Our Father's grace begins with a thorn.

"Crown of Thorns"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JG0ZpiRRhQ

Pitfall

I think that the most awesome thing on earth is the Word of God. After many years, I'm still exploring the scriptures in amazement and joy. There is always something new to discover, and examine. Even if I memorized the Bible from cover to cover, and continued to study it for decades more, there would still be something new to be revealed- something new that the Lord is speaking through the scriptures. This quality is just one of many that makes the Bible a "living" Word. That very fact brings me to a cautious place, however. It means that at any given moment, my knowledge and understanding of the Word is imperfect, and incomplete. There is a saying, "He knows just enough to be dangerous." That idea comes from a quote by the English poet, Alexander Pope, who said, in part, "A little learning is a dangerous thing."
The scriptures are a wonderful gift to us from God. They are life, and wisdom, and Jesus, Himself. The washing of the Word transforms us, and renews us. However, the minute we think we are "expert" in the Word, or even "knowledgeable" in the Word, we really only know just enough to be in danger, and dangerous, on the edge of a pitfall. The Word is not the danger, only our own confidence, or self-assurance, in our knowledge and understanding of the Word is the danger. We could study scripture all of our lives, and we would have only scratched the very top-most surface of the riches found in its depths. If we seem to know and understand one level, there are infinitely more levels underneath waiting for us to explore for the first time:
"Great is our LORD, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite."  Ps. 147:5
However, the Word is so powerful, that even the limited knowledge that we may possess at a given time can save, heal, and deliver to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). We are called to know, and understand the Word of God. It is God's will for us to know the deepest things (1 Cor. 2:9-10), but this is a process that will continue throughout our lives. Because of this, the conclusion we must come to in all of our study is "the more I know, the more I find out how much I don't know." Every new revelation also reveals what we didn't know the day before. As I judge or evaluate situations, myself, and, God help me, other people, according to the Word of God, I do so with an imperfect understanding and an incomplete knowledge. It must be so. It is this that can also be dangerous.
The Apostle Paul talks about his "abundance of revelation" (2 Cor. 12:7), and his years of study under the most eminent rabbis (Acts 22:3), yet he also tells us that however much we may know, it is partial knowledge at best:
"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect (complete, of full age, uttermost, ending, purpose) has come, that which is in part will be done away....Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."   1 Cor. 13:8-12
I think there is a powerful example of this in the story of Job. He was a man whom scripture describes as blameless and upright (Job 1:1). As we know, Job became greatly afflicted, and in the midst of the affliction, he struggled with his knowledge of God. Job describes his love for the Word and ways of God: "I have not departed from the commandments of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."  Job 23:12    
Job also had great revelation from God, only one of which was about His Savior. Job spoke of his yearning and love for his Redeemer, Whom Job knew lives, Whom Job knew would walk on the earth, Whom Job knew he would see even after his death (Job 19:23-27). Like Paul, Job walked in revelation that he did not receive from men, but that he could only have received from God (Gal. 1:12). 
In Chapter 29, Job talks about his life before he was afflicted, when God's "lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light, I walked through darkness." The Almighty was with him, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for him. With the esteem of other men, Job sat in the gate of the city, and in the open square, because of his great knowledge of God. Job was so knowledgeable, that princes and nobles sat quietly to hear him. By his Godly wisdom and knowledge, he delivered many poor and fatherless. Righteousness and justice clothed him. He said, "I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know...Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel...They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain...I chose the way for them, and sat as chief..."
Not only was Job learned in the commandments of God, and filled with His knowledge and wisdom, he was also anointed and did works of deliverance. All who knew him recognized that Job was a man of God, full of wisdom and counsel. None had more knowledge and understanding than Job. Most of us, even after the Cross, do not walk in the kind of understanding and anointing in which Job walked before the Cross.
Yet the LORD, when He finally speaks to Job in the middle of his affliction, starts by saying of Job, "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?"   Job. 38:1-2
God continued to challenge Job in his ignorance, asking Job, "Where were you when...?", and "Do you know...?". He tells Job all that Job doesn't know. God reveals things in chapters 38-41 that even our modern science, to which the world gives so much honor, belief, and dependence, has only just recently discovered a small portion. 
Job's friends, who came to try to reason out with Job why he was afflicted, couldn't tell Job anything he didn't already know, hadn't already considered, and eliminated. Job's deliverance did not come from the great store of knowledge and understanding that he had. It came in the moment when he bowed his head before the even greater that he didn't know, and didn't understand:
"I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from You. You asked, "Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?" Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know....I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."   Job 42:1-6 (Jn. 14:9, Lk. 5:8)
Job was brought to a deeper understanding through a very difficult path. It is a testimony to the greatness and kindness of God, Who, though He corrected Job, gave an even greater revelation to Job. Before this, Job knew of the Redeemer, Jesus, by revelation. Now, he saw his Redeemer with his eyes. Seeing his Redeemer brought Job to a place of deliverance through repentance.
The one thing Job hadn't considered, because he was so confident, and had been so honored by men for his great knowledge and wisdom, was that before God, he was really quite ignorant, as are we all.
Every time I open the Word of God, I want to do so with the understanding and acknowledgement of all that I don't know. When I speak to others, I want to keep in mind that I do so with a partial knowledge and understanding at best, keeping my head bowed before all that I do not know, nor understand. If I forget this, then I teeter at the edge of a great pitfall, and may even pull in others after me.

Our Father is all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

"Teach Me, Lord"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L30y4zQWyEo