THE PATHWAY TO CHRIST
Jos 2:1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.
Jos 2:8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
Jos 2:9 and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
Jos 2:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
Jos 2:11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
Jos 2:23 So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them.
Jos 2:24 And they said to Joshua, "Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us."
THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S
Jos 6:1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
Jos 6:2 And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
Jos 6:3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
Jos 6:4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
Jos 6:5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
Jos 6:10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout."
Jos 6:11 So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
Jos 6:14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
Jos 6:15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.
Jos 6:16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!
Jos 6:17 Now the city shall be doomed (accursed) by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
Jos 6:18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things (set apart and devoted to God, and sometimes for destruction), lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
Jos 6:19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD."
Jos 6:20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Jos 6:21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
Jos 6:24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
Jos 6:25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Jos 6:26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates."
Jos 6:27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
ONE MAN’S SIN AFFECTS THE WHOLE NATION
Jos 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.
Jos 7:2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, "Go up and spy out the country." So the men went up and spied out Ai.
Jos 7:3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few."
Jos 7:4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.
Jos 7:5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Jos 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Jos 7:7 And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
Jos 7:8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?
Jos 7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?"
Jos 7:10 So the LORD said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?
Jos 7:11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.
Jos 7:12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.
Jos 7:13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: "There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."
Jos 7:14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes (chooses) shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
Jos 7:15 Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.' "
Jos 7:16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
Jos 7:17 He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
Jos 7:18 Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
CONFESSION & REPENTANCE
Jos 7:19 Now Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
Jos 7:20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
Jos 7:21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it."
Jos 7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
Jos 7:23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
Jos 7:24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor.
Jos 7:25 And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day." So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
Jos 7:26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.
THE MERCY OF GOD
Jos 8:1 Now the LORD said to Joshua: "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
Jos 8:2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it."
Jos 8:3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.
Jos 8:24 And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.
Jos 8:25 So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai.
Jos 8:26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
Jos 8:27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the LORD which He had commanded Joshua.
1 Sam 15:22-23
22 So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."
THE PATHWAY TO CHRIST
Josh 1:1-9
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying:
2 "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Josh 3:1-4 (New Internatinal Version)
1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp,
3 giving orders to the people: When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.
4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.
Josh 3:5-17
Jos 3:5 And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."
Jos 3:6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
Jos 3:7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
Jos 3:8 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.' "
Jos 3:9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God."
Jos 3:10 And Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites:
Jos 3:11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan.
Jos 3:12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.
Jos 3:13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap."
Jos 3:14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
Jos 3:15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),
Jos 3:16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
Jos 3:17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
Jos 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying:
Jos 4:2 "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
Jos 4:3 and command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.' "
Jos 4:9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
Jos 4:10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.
Jos 4:15 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,
Jos 4:16 "Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan."
Jos 4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan."
Jos 4:18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.
Jos 4:19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
Jos 4:20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
Jos 4:21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?'
Jos 4:22 then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land;
Jos 4:23 for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over,
Jos 4:24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."
Jos 5:1 So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS – FOLLOW HIM
Mat 10:38
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Joh 10:27
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Heb 12:1-2
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
CONFIRMING THE COVENANT
Jos 5:2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time."
Jos 5:3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
Jos 5:4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.
Jos 5:5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.
Jos 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk and honey."
Jos 5:7 Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.
Jos 5:8 So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.
Jos 5:9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
Jos 5:10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
Jos 5:11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.
Jos 5:12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
COVENANT OF HEART - SPIRIT
Rom 2:28-29
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Phil 3:3
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh
GOD’S WORD IS ALIVE
Jos 1:8
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Col 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Mat 4:4
4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
THE PATHWAY TO CHRIST
Deut 6:1-3
1 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
2 that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—'a land flowing with milk and honey.'
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD!
Deut 6:4
4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
These words form the beginning of what is termed the “Shema” (“Hear”) in the Jewish Services, and belong to the daily morning and evening office. They may be called “the creed of the Jews.”
The Lord God of Israel is absolutely God, and there is no other. He, and He alone, is Jehovah (Yahweh).
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT WHAT THE HEART LOVES
Deut 6:5-19
5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 "So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build,
11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—
12 then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13 You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you
15 (for the LORD your God isa jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 "You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah.
17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you.
18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers,
19 to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.
BLESSINGS FROM OBEDIENCE
Deut 28:1-14
1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in His ways.
10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.
11 And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
CURSES FROM DISOBEDIENCE
Deut 28:15-45
15 But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
19 "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 "The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.
21 The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.
22 The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
23 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.
24 The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.
27 The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.
28 The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.
29 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
30 "You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.
31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them.
32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.
33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.
34 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.
35 The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
36 "The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone.
37 And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.
38 "You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.
39 You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
41 You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.
42 Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
43 "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
Deut 28:58-59
58 if you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,
59 then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.
THE PRINCIPLE IS THE SAME IN THE NEW COVENANT
Rom 2:6-10
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,
9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
2 Cor 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Gal 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Rev 2:2
2 "I know your works…” (Jesus spoke this phrase 7 times in Rev 2-3 speaking to each of the 7 churches)
Rev 20:12
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Mat 6:33
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you – Deut 28:2)
Lev 25:8-14
8 And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.
10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
11 That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.
12 For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.
13 'In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.
14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another.
The word “Jubilee”—literally, “the blast of a horn” in Hebrew—is defined in Leviticus 25:9 as the sabbatical year after seven cycles of seven years (49 years). The fiftieth year was to be a time of celebration and rejoicing for the Israelites. The ram’s horn was blown on the tenth day of the seventh month to start the fiftieth year of restoration and release.
The Year of the Jubilee involved a year of release from indebtedness (Leviticus 25:23-38) and all types of bondage (vv. 39-55). All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners. In addition, all labor was to cease for one year, and those bound by labor contracts were released from them. One of the benefits of the Jubilee was that both the land and the people were able to rest.
JESUS’ COMING WAS THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF JUBILEE
Lk 4:16-19 (New King James Version)
16 So He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: (Is 61:1-2)
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Lk 4:18-19 (New International Readers Version)
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has anointed me to tell the good news to poor people. He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners. He has sent me so that the blind will see again. He wants me to free those who are beaten down.
19 And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free."
Lk 4:18-19 (The Passion Translation)
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, freedom for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’
19 I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.”
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me
… to preach the gospel (good news) to the poor; (finances and possessions, but primarily soul and spirit)
… he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, (crushed, shattered, bruised, depressed, hopeless)
… to proclaim liberty to the captives, (sin, flesh and demonic forces)
… recovery of sight to the blind, (spiritual realm, true reality)
… to set at liberty those who are oppressed; (beaten down from natural and spiritual sources)
… To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Act 3:19-21
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
THE TIMES OF RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS
2 Cor 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Rom 6:6-8
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him
Rom 8:1-2
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Col 2:13-14
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Eph 1:3-14
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 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,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence (understanding),
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10 that in the dispensation (administration, stewardship, management) of the fullness of the times (completion) He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Jn 8:36
36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
THE PATHWAY TO CHRIST
MAKE EVERYTHING EXACTLY LIKE THE PATTERN
Ex 25:8-9
8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
Ex 25:9b (New International Readers Version)
9b Make them exactly like the pattern I will show you.
Ex 25:10-19
10 "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around.
12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side.
13 And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them.
15 The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
16 And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width.
18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.
GOD WILL MEET HIS PEOPLE WITH MERCY AT THE PLACE OF WORSHIP
Ex 25:20-22
20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
PRIESTS ANOINTED TO MINSTER TO THE LORD
Ex 28:1, 2, 7
1 Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron's sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him.
DAILY SACRIFICE OF WORSHIP
Ex 29:38-46
38 Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually.
39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.
40 With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
41 And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.
44 So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests.
45 I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.
46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
ALTAR OF INCENSE – PERPETUAL WORSHIP
Ex 30:7-9
7 Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.
8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 You shall not offer strange incense (unauthorized) on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.
THE INCENSE IS ONLY FOR THE LORD – TRUE WORSHIP
Ex 30:34-38
34 And the LORD said to Moses: "Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each.
35 You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.
36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.
37 But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD.
38 Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.
DIVINE ORDER AND HOLINESS
Ex 20:23-26
23 You shall not make anything to be with Me (in place of Me) — gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.
24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.'
Lev 22:2
2 Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the LORD.
Num 4:15
15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.
OBEDIENCE AND FAITHFULNESS
Deut 12:1-8
1 "These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.
2 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
3 And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place.
4 You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.
5 "But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
8 "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today — every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes
Jn 4:24
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
The Tabernacle was meant to be a holy place where God's presence dwelt among His people. By following God's detailed instructions, the Israelites would honor His holiness and show reverence for His divine order.
Each part of the Tabernacle had symbolic meaning and was a foreshadowing of spiritual truths. For example, the Ark of the Covenant represented God's covenant with His people, and the altar symbolized the need for atonement and sacrifice.
God wanted the Israelites to demonstrate their obedience and faithfulness by carefully following His instructions. This was a test of their willingness to trust and depend on Him completely.
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JESUS IS THE PATTERN OF HEAVENLY REALITIES
Mat 16:16-18
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The “rock” is the revelation of Jesus Christ
Heb 8:1-2, 4-5
1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
4 For if He (Jesus) were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
Heb 9:11
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
Heb 10:1
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
IN CHRIST THE CHURCH IS NOW GOD’S PATTERN ON EARTH
1 Pet 2:4-5
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:19-22
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Eph 4:13
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the Knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
Heb 8:5b
5b For He said, see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
THE PATHWAY TO CHRIST
Ex 19:1-22
1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.
3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.
8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.
9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever." So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.
10 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain."
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.
15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives."
16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.
20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish.
22 Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them."
Ex 20:1-3 (Commandment 1)
1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
LORD - Yehovah, also known as Jehovah, is a name used in the Bible to refer to the supreme Being. It signifies self-derived and permanent existence. The literal meaning of the name is "I am the one who is" or simply "I am".
Deut 4:39
39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
1 Cor 10:19-20
19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?
20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
Ex 20:4-6 (Commandment 2)
4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Rom 1:22-23
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man— and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Ex 20:7 (Commandment 3)
7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Mat 6:9
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Hallowed (hagiazō) – make holy, venerate, deeply respect, honor
Ex 20:8-11 (Commandment 4)
8 Remember the Sabbath day (shabbâth – cease, rest), to keep it holy (qâdash – set apart).
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 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.
11 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 20:12 (Commandment 5)
12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Ex 20:13 (Commandment 6)
13 You shall not murder.
Ex 20:14 (Commandment 7)
14 You shall not commit adultery (engaging in sexual relations with someone other than one's spouse).
Ex 20:15 (Commandment 8)
15 You shall not steal.
Ex 20:16 (Commandment 9)
16 You shall not bear false witness (lie) against your neighbor.
Ex 20:17 (Commandment 10)
17 You shall not covet (intense longing, desiring or craving) your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
Gen 22:14
14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
Phil 4:19
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Ex 20:18-21
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking,; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
19 Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."
20 And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin."
21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
The Law was God’s conscience to educate His children. It involved:
The Ten Commandments - the core ethical guidelines, in relating to God and man.
Ceremonial Laws - the religious rites, festivals, and ceremonies. They detail how sacrifices should be made, the roles and responsibilities of priests, and the proper observance of religious festivals.
Civil Laws - the regulations for daily living and societal governance. They cover a range of topics from property rights and restitution to the treatment of servants, as well as laws about marriage.
Moral Laws - the directives on honesty, justice, and interpersonal relationships.
The Law included Blessings & Cursings according to a person’s obedience from the heart.
Numerous Sacrifices & Offerings were expected in lining up with God’s Conscience.
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Rom 10:4
4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Gal 3:23-26
23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the Law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
24 Therefore the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Rom 8:3-4
3 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Rom 13:8
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law.
Mat 5:17-18
17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled.
Jesus, the Man, perfectly lived, and revealed, the heart and conscience of His Father, found in the Law.
Eph 4:13
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
Gen 2:4-15
4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;
6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
A SECURE PLACE TO BEAR MUCH FRUIT
garden (gan) fenced, hedged around, protected, defended
Eden (Ēdhen) pleasurable, prosperous, delightful, fruitful
MANKIND BEGAN IN THE GARDEN AND ENDS IN THE GARDEN
Rev 22:1-2
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
GOD’S CHILDREN BECOME THE GARDEN
Is 5:1-7
1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His (God’s) vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
4 What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?
5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it."
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.
Is_51:3
3 For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
Is_58:11
11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Ez_34:29
29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore.
Ez_36:35
35 So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.'
Song_4:12-16
12 A garden enclosed (protected) Is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices—
15 A fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And streams from Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind (Holy Spirit), and come, O south! Blow upon my garden, That its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant fruits.
Song 5:1
1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!
Song_6:2
2 My beloved has gone to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed his flock in the gardens, And to gather lilies.
Jn 15:1-8
1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Gal 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Ez 47:12
12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.
Rev 22:1-2
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The Garden Church
4155 S Nature Center Way, Springfield, MO
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