Moses and Jesus

 

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 

While listening to a sermon recently on Moses coming down from the mountain with the ten commandment tablets, .. only to find his people were partying and fornicating lewd dances around a golden calf idol  the Holy Spirit impressed on me how Moses represents Jesus Christ, and the Isrealites represent we Christians having yet one foot in the World (Egypt) and one foot with Him.

Like Jesus, Moses interceded for the Isrealites time and time again.. even putting his own life in the breach, asking the Father to take him and spare the people… JUST as Jesus did for all mankind.  Moses , discouraged at the behavior of the people after they were shown so many miracles and deliverances directly from God, Himself,  threw the tablets on the ground in disgust.    Jesus was tempted in this, but He did not give into that temptation.. (We see a bit of His temptation, when He mentioned, ‘Now is My soul troubled, but what should I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour? ”  No! For this hour I have come.”)

The Lord called the Isrealites out of Egypt.. which represents the World and the World System in every age.  If you notice,  it is not a coincidence to this day that the ancient pyramid is one of the symbols on our dollar bill.     The Isrealites were taken out of the World by Moses, but yet , just as Christians who only accept Jesus as their Savior, but not yet their Lord and King,   they quickly gave into their flesh and self-life.     They began to doubt if Moses would ever be seen again, so they reverted back to their old habits.

Like Moses who went up the mountain toward the Father,  Jesus Christ also rose up into Heaven to go to the Father.     In Acts 1:11, we see the disciples looking up toward Jesus being taken up into Heaven, while two men from Heaven (or angels) appeared and informed them:    “… men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into Heaven?  This Jesus who was taken up from you into Heaven will come in the same way as you saw Him go into Heaven…”

As with the Isrealites, we can be in danger as well in losing our focus and doubting Jesus will ever return “down that mountain”, and begin to serve Him as we think seems right to us, making allowances with idolatry and excusing ourselves..   and not really believing He will ever return back.    Like Moses, Jesus will one day return, but will He find faith upon the Earth when He returns?  Will He find His children caught up with this World, with the lusts of this World and worshipping that “golden calf”?

Like Moses, our Lord Jesus ever makes intercession for His Body.. His Bride.  May we never put Him to the test as the Isrealites did with Moses and the Father in the Wilderness.       We are in exile in the Wilderness now in this life, before He returns.   May the Wilderness serve to prepare us for Him.. and may we not allow it to make us complain, murmer or stray from Him!

I asked our Lord if He would permit me to open up to something of His   words to Gabrielle Bossis, recorded in “He and I”, and as I opened the pages, my eyes fell on the following:

11/11/43   “Do you realize that you are in exile, waiting for the return of the Beloved?  Listen from afar.  Say to Him, “Breathe on this breath of mine which is Yours.  Your Home will be my home.  I could no longer live without Your step in mine and Your voice in my voice.”

 

Ahitophel & Judas/ King David & Jesus Christ -Part II

“.. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. (John 13:18)

I want to share with you a portion of Ken Gire’s Devotional book, “Moments With the Savior”, which speaks so intimately of Jesus’s betrayal by Judas, and the suffering Jesus felt in His soul because of it..    I will record here a portion of that chapter that really touched my heart. (It is no coincidence that I had come to this part of this devotional right after what the Lord had shown me of the same incident in the Scriptures.):

“When the tide of popularity had turned against Jesus, Judas had started looking ahead, taking precautions to protect himself. , Socking away a little more money here and there.. just in case.

For Judas was a practical man.” (……..)

“…This Passover, Jesus and the Twelve withdraw to an Upper Room.  It is a quiet respite from tonight’s teeming crowds- and from the turbulent storm that awaits tomorrow.

In His soul, Jesus feels the sharp winds which harbinger that storm.  He feels the chill of betrayal, of desertion , of denial.

Jesus and His disciples gather around a low-lying table to celebrate the feast.  John reclines to the right of Jesus;  Judas, to the left at the place  of honor.  They stretch slantwise on padded mats, propping themselves on the left arm, leaving the other free to handle the food.

Each portion they handle is a sermoned echo of the nation’s first Passover.  The bowl of bitter herbs, vinegar and salt is a reminder of the bitter years of slavery.  The flat cakes of yeastless bread are a reminder of their hurried exodus.  And finally, there is the roasted lamb, a symbol of deliverance.

What broke Pharaoh’s oppressive fist that first Passover was a final climactic plague- a visit from the angel of death to kill every firstborn son.  To spare the Jews from that fate, God instructed them to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes outside their homes.  When the angel of death saw this evidence of faith, it passed over that house and traveled on to another.

Tonight Heaven will be preparing its Passover Lamb.  An innocent Lamb, without spot or blemish.. led to the slaughter, silent before its shearers.. stricken, pierced for our transgressions.

His blood will be sprinkled on wooden crossbeams outside the city, and all Jerusalem will behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Several oil lamps dot that Upper Room, sending a gallery of shadows to watch from the walls.  Satan is among them, watching, gloating, waiting for the opportune moment to step from behind those shadows.

Earlier in that room, Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, teaching them a final lesson about serving.  Two of those feet belonged to Judas.  So callused the heels.  Yet so warm the water, so soft the towel, so tender the hands that washed them.  How convicting it must have been for Judas.  And how crushing for Jesus.

Seated now at the table, Jesus’ forehead is furrowed, His brows knit, His eyes intense.  He has so much to tell His disciples.  But so little time.  A hush falls over the room as He speaks, “…He who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.”

It has been said that forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that crushed it.  Could there be a fragrance as sweet in all the world as that of Jesus washing the very heel that was poised to crush Him?

Many things have been said against Jesus. But not even the Pharisees accused Him of not practicing what He preached.  In these last minutes with His betrayer, the Savior exemplifies His own exhortation from the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy” But I say unto you:  “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

A tremor of remorse quakes within the Savior’s spirit.  It is His task to unmask the traitor.  An unsettling task He takes no delight in.  No longer will Jesus cloak His words in metaphors.   “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray Me.”

At the mention of a traitor in their midst, the disciples recoil, shadows miming every move.  At first, there is only a tense, breathless silence.  Then the table is abuzz with whispered questions regarding the traitor’s identity.

“”It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”

It was customary for the master of the feast to put bits of lamb onto a piece of unleavened bread, dip it into the bitter herb sauce, and hand it to his guests. And it was customary to offer the first piece to the most honored guest.  He hands the bread to Judas.. to take.. and to eat.

The dramatic moment is not only an unmasking of the traitor but a final offer of salvation.  Judas’s pulse quickens, and his face flushes hot and red.  For an awkward but tender moment, the eyes of the betrayer and the Betrayed meet.  A knife of regret cuts an opening in Judas’s soul.  Haltingly he takes the rolled-up piece of bread.  but he can’t quite bring it to his mouth.    Sweat gather’s at his hairline.  He bites his lip.

From the shadows Satan sees the quivering hand.  He sees his pawn is vulnerable.  The prince of darkness counters with a strategic move and enters Judas.

Judas puts down the bread and reaches for his pouch.  The opening is closed.  The pawn is safe.

“What you are about to do, do quickly.”

With those words, Jesus seals His fate.  And the fate of Judas.  They would both go their separate ways.  To separate trees.  To separate destinies.

“What you are about to do, do quickly.”

It would be the the last command Judas would obey. And it would be the last intimate moment he would spend with the Savior.

Ever.

For Judas was a practical man.

---

P r a y e r

DEAR MAN OF SORROWS,

How painful that Last Supper must have been for you.  How your heart must have ached……

…”Oh Lord, help me to love my enemies and to pray for those who persecute me or who , in some way, betray me.  Help me not to trade insult for insult, or injury for injury.  Help me to give a blessing instead.  Help me to be a friend who loves as you did at that Last Supper- a friend who loves to the end, even when that love is refused…”

 

Ahitophel & Judas/ king David and Jesus .. part I

 

There is so much in the Old Testament that is prophetic of Jesus and what He would endure during His life on Earth, that it would be wise never to discount the Old Testament.. but read it prayerfully,  asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to us glimpses of Jesus.   In its chapters, we  see Jesus revealed not only through the prophets, but also the patriarchs,  and the other blessed men and woman recorded there..  Especially king David,.. whom Jesus is named after as “The Son of David”.     I can imagine to this day that king David still cannot get over how the very Son of God condescended to be called “The Son of David”  after his own name,. knowing that he is but a sinner in need of our Savior.

In 2 Samuel 17-4,  an account of Jesus’s betrayal by one of His 12 apostles is prophesied through king David’s closest men of his court.. Ahithophel.    David’s son, Absalom (who represents satan without him realizing it-  as he was very full of himself)  had plans to overthrow his father and take over his father’s kingdom.  Ahithophel, whom David had trusted, allied himself with Absalom, and was in agreement with Absalom’s agenda.. even assisting him in his plans.     In this chapter, we read the following:

 “…moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men and I will set out and pursue David tonight.  I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic;  and all the people who are with him will flee.  I will strike down the king only and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband.  You seek the life of only one man and all the people will be at peace.  And the advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.”

As was mentioned, Absalom represents Satan, and just as Absalom planned on overthrowing his very own father so he could take over the kingdom, eons earlier, Satan planned on also pushing God off of His Throne and taking over Heaven.   Sadly, Satan seduced many other angels to side with him, and all of them were cast out of Heaven.  Both Absalom and satan were given much by God..   charisma, physical beauty, gifts, privileges, status, but neither of them used their gifts and talents to give back to God.  They used these gifts to glorify themselves instead.

Ahitophel’s and Absalom’s plans were halted by the Lord, Himself, and Absalom lost his life in what we would consider a “freak” accident.., as his thick sexy long hair got caught in some tree branches while riding horseback,  resulting in him strangling to death.   With David’s grief over Absalom’s death, we see a glimpse of our Heavenly Father’s own   grief, over losing satan to his own pride.     “Oh Absalom, Absalom!”, David cried in tears, hearing that his son (whom he knew planned on killing him) had died.  This alone, shows how king David truly lived up to the title given him by the Lord, as “The man after God’s own heart”.

Centuries later,  we see the same plans of Ahitophel acted out again through Judas as he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver with the Pharisee elders.  These same “elders” (scribes, Pharisees, etc)  were as the “elders” of Jerusalem that Ahitophel spoke with ..who were with Absalom. .. ( with satan in the background.)

In 2 Samuel, the incident eerily plays out again with Jesus., the Son of David, as Judas tells the Pharisees he will show them where to find Jesus.

Ahitophel to Absalom and the elders:  “I will come upon him while he is weary and throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee”. (2 Samuel)  

  Judas to the Jerusalem elders:   “ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.  And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.   They were delighted and agreed to give him money.  He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.” (Luke 22)

With David, Ahitophel’s plans did not come into fruition, because they would occur centuries later with Jesus.    In Gethsemane, Jesus was indeed weary and under extreme stress due to an unexpected spiritual attack by satan, where He had to plead with the Father, “Father, if it is Your will, let this cup pass before Me..  “Not My will, but Thine be done”.   An angel was sent to minister to Jesus afterwards, after this extreme spiritual attack brought on by Satan., so He was truly weary..    His disciples gave into this very weariness as they kept falling asleep , after Jesus had asked them to “watch and pray with Me”.

Jesus’s disciples “(men with Him) also fled, just as Ahitophel unknowingly prophesied., leaving Jesus all alone before His captures .. Ahitophel’s “12,000 men” later represented the temple servant’s and officers who went with Judas to seize Jesus and hand Him over.

“…I will strike down the king only, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband.  You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.”  Ahitophel said to Absalom.    Wowww, did he ever discover how prophetic his very words were and ARE!

These promises of betrayal and attack against  king David were not permitted to occur, because later, they would come to fruition against God’s own Son, Jesus Christ., who would be the Shepherd struck down , while His sheep would be scattered (Matthew 26:31).  And because of Jesus,  that “One Man”, all the people would truly find true peace.. not as the World gives, but as HE.. Jesus Christ, gives,  … because Jesus GAVE Himself as that “Grain of Wheat” that “fell to the ground”, so that it could produce fruit., so that His Bride.. can come HOME to Him!

Amen, and may our Lord Jesus be honored and glorified!♥

I Go To The Father

 

  “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever–“He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. But you recognize him, because he lives with you and will be in you”    (John 14:16-17)

I am currently reading a chapter each morning from Ken Gire’s inspired book, “Moments With the Savior”, which is set in devotional style, giving  scripture and a meditation on Jesus’ for each chapter..  basically each event in Jesus’s earthly life.    I was very impressed with Ken’s book, as I can tell by reading this that Ken Gire truly loves Jesus, and is a man who contemplates our Lord .. allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to him glimpses between the lines of Jesus’s earthly life.

The following from His book, Moments with The Savior caught my interest:

“The disciples experienced two physical storms in their three-and- a-half year residency with the Savior.  In the first storm, Jesus was present- only asleep.  But in the next one, He withdrew to a distant hill.  And although He could see them, a blindfold of night prevented them from seeing Him.  Why the withdrawal?  To wean the disciples from sight to faith.  To force them to rely less on their physical eyes and more on their spiritual ones.  If they were ever to walk by faith, Jesus had to withdraw from their sight…”

I had never considered that before, and the Lord made me see that this is the case even with all those who were a part of Jesus’s earthly life.  For a little over 3 years,  all were blessed to be in Jesus’s presence, to hear Him audibly speak, to see the expressions on His face, and to literally touch the physical hem of His garments. But there would come a time they could no longer remain in the visible in regards to Jesus.   A new walk would be required of His followers.. A walk by faith, with grace provided by the Holy Spirit.

When He knew it was time for Him to surrender His life to His enemies, He told His disciples,  “For I have proceeded from union with The Father and I have come into the world, and again I leave the world, and I am going to join The Father.” (John 16:28- Aramaic version in Plain English)

As Jesus lived, so to His disciples..   Jesus walked His 33 years on this earth totally by faith.., not seeing His Father visibly, but nevertheless in total communion with the Father through the Holy Spirit.  He left His literal place in Heaven with the Father to serve Him on Earth.. exiled from Heaven physically but never spiritually.