YAHUSHA'S REIGN (JOSH.8)
IN JOSHUA 7 AND 8 WE SEE YAHUSHA’S TREASURED PEOPLE FACING THE REALITY OF HIS ANGER WHEN THEY ACT IN SELF-CONFIDENCE, REFUSING TO LOOK TO HIM FOR DIRECTION OR GIVING HIM ESTEEM FOR THEIR VICTORIES. THE LESSON LEARNED BY THEIR FATHERS (THE PATRIARCHS) HAD NO EFFECT ON YISHARAL IN THE PROMISED LAND; THEY HAD TO LEARN THESE LESSONS ALL OVER AGAIN. THE PEOPLE OF YAHUSHA WILL NOT ALWAYS TRAVEL GIDDY WITH JOY AFTER CROSSING THROUGH THE JORDAN ON SUPERNATURALLY DRIED GROUND, AND MARCHING AROUND A DOOMED JERICHO THAT STOOD NO CHANCE AGAINST THEM. OFTEN YAHUSHA’S PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES IN UTTER DEFEAT, FALLING BEFORE YAHUSHA DESPERATE FOR MERCY AND RENEWAL.
THROUGH THE AGONIES OF DEFEAT BY THEIR ENEMIES AND BATTLING AMONG THEMSELVES YISHARAL LEARNED WHAT IT MEANT TO BE THE BLOOD-COVENANT PEOPLE OF YAHUSHA. COVENANT MEANT MORE THAN SIMPLY ACCEPTING WONDERFUL PROMISES OF YAHUSHA TO MULTIPLY THE NATION AND EXTEND HER POWER INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN. IT MEANT MORE THAN GOING THROUGH THE RITUAL OF CIRCUMCISION AND THE CELEBRATION OF THE YEARLY FESTIVALS. IT MEANT ADOPTING THE DIVINELY ORDERED LIFESTYLE & BEHAVIOUR EVERYDAY. IT MEANT MAKING EACH DECISION OF LIFE IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE LEADERSHIP, NOT IN THE DARKNESS OF PERSONAL SELF-CONFIDENCE OR MAN-MADE RULES.
And Yahusha said to Joshua: “Don’t be afraid or discouraged by what happened at the town of Ai. Take the army and attack it again".
ACHAN HAS BEEN DESTROYED AND THE SET-APART PROPERTY RETURNED TO YAHUSHA, JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE, AND THEREFORE RESTORATION HAS HAPPENED, AND WITH YISHARAL NOW ON GOOD-TERMS WITH YAHUSHA, HE TELLS JOSHUA, “DO NOT FEAR AND DON’T DESPAIR!”
FEAR IS BOTH LEARNED AND INSTINCTIVE. MOST YOUNG SOLDIERS, UNTESTED, HAVE LITTLE FEAR OF BATTLE. OH' THEY’RE NERVOUS, NOT REALLY KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT, BUT MOST YOUNG MEN CAN’T WAIT TO EXPERIENCE IT AND HAVE A CHANCE TO PROVE THEMSELVES. THEY ARE CERTAIN THAT THEIR YOUTH, TRAINING, STRENGTH, PASSION AND BEING ON THE SIDE OF RIGHT, WILL GIVE THEM VICTORY AND PROTECTION; THEY DON’T SEE THEMSELVES AS MORTAL NOR HAVE THEY STOOD NEXT TO THE STENCH OF DEATH.
IT WAS LIKE THAT FOR YISHARAL AS THEY ENTERED CANAAN. THIS WAS THE 2ND GENERATION OF THE EXODUS. THEY HAD NOT EXPERIENCED THE DEGRADATION AND SERVITUDE OF THE 1ST GENERATION WHO HAD LIVED IN EGYPT. THEY HAD NOT FLED ACROSS THE SINAI WITH PHARAOH’S SOLDIERS NIPPING AT THEIR HEALS AS HAD THEIR PARENTS. THIS GROUP KNEW ONLY OF VICTORY. THEY HAD DEFEATED THE ARMIES OF THE TRANS-JORDAN. THEY EXPERIENCED A MIRACULOUS CROSSING OVER THE JORDAN RIVER, NOT EVEN GETTING THEIR TOES WET. THEY KNEW ONLY OF MAKING A PROCESSION AROUND THE DANGEROUS FORTRESS OF JERICHO, AND THEN WATCHING WIDE-EYED AS THE CITY WALLS FELL WITHOUT EVEN SHOOTING A SINGLE ARROW IN ANGER. THEY SAW JOSHUA AS THEIR INVINCIBLE GENERAL, WITH HIS BRILLIANT BATTLE STRATEGIES, LEADING AN ENORMOUS YISHARALITE ARMY AND EASILY DEFEATING THEIR OUTCLASSED CANAANITE FOES.
BUT THEN IT HAPPENED: THWACK!!! THROUGH ACHAN’S THEFT, YISHARAL’S ARROGANCE AND YAHUSHA’S ANGER, THE ARMY OF YISHARAL WAS SMACKED DOWN AND STUNG BY DEFEAT OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF AI. AND NOW THEY KNEW REAL FEAR. AFTER SELF-EXAMINATION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE GUILTY PARTY (ACHAN), SATISFYING YAHUSHA’S JUSTICE, HE ORDERED JOSHUA TO AGAIN ATTACK AI. NATURALLY THE FORMERLY FEARLESS TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES WERE AFRAID BECAUSE OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEM JUST DAYS EARLIER; SO YAHUSHA TOLD THE PEOPLE NOT TO DESPAIR (NOT TO FEAR) BECAUSE, LIKE JERICHO, HE HAD ALREADY GIVEN AI OVER TO THEM. ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS TO BE OBEDIENT, GRATEFUL, AND DO AS INSTRUCTED. (TURAH OBEDIENCE = VICTORY!)
"But first, have part of the army set up an ambush behind the town. I will help you defeat the king of Ai and his army, and you will capture the town and the land all around it. Destroy Ai and kill its King as you did at Jericho. But this time you may keep the livestock and everything else you want”.
SO YISHARAL WILL BE VICTORIOUS THIS TIME AND THERE IS GOING TO BE ONE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE: YAHUSHA HAS GENEROUSLY DECIDED THAT SOME OF THE SPOILS OF WAR WILL GO TO THE PEOPLE OF YISHARAL. SOME OF THE SPOILS OF WAR WILL NOT BE SET-APART AND DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA (AS BAN). LET’S BE CLEAR: THIS MEANS THAT SINCE YAHUSHA IS NOT ASKING FOR SOME SPOILS TO BE SET APART FOR HIM, THEREFORE THOSE THINGS THAT HE GIVES TO THE PEOPLE DO NOT BECOME SET-APART.
SO WHAT ACHAN DID IN JERICHO (TAKING SPOILS AND DYING FOR IT), CAUSING YISHARAL HORRIFIC TROUBLE, IS NOW BEING PERMITTED IN AI. WHY? WHEN IT WAS EVIL TO TAKE YAHUSHA’S SET-APART PROPERTY FROM HIS SET-APART WAR BEFORE, WHY IS IT SUDDENLY OK NOW? DID HE CHANGE HIS MIND? IS HIS WILL DIFFERENT IN VARIOUS SITUATIONS? OR IS THERE SOMETHING MORE BEHIND THIS? WHAT’S THE PATTERN?
WHEN WE INVESTIGATE WE SEE THAT THE BATTLES FOR JERICHO AND AI (CONCERNING THE SPOILS OF WAR) INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW THE (YAHUSHA-ESTABLISHED) PATTERN OF FIRSTFRUITS, IN THAT THE FIRST OF EVERYTHING BELONGS TO YAHUSHA.
“FIRSTFRUITS” ISN’T REFERRING ONLY TO FRUIT TREES (THE FIRST OF THE FRUIT-TREE FRUIT). “FRUITS” IS A SCRIPTURAL-TERM THAT MEANS `SOMETHING WHICH IS PRODUCED AS THE RESULTS OF SOME KIND OF PROCESS’. A FIRSTBORN IS THE HUMAN FORM OF FIRSTFRUITS; THE FIRST OF A MAN’S CHILDREN (A SON) IS TO BE DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA. BY WAY OF EXAMPLE, THE FIRST LAMB OF A SHEEP IS DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA, AND THE FIRST INCOME FROM A JOB OR A TRADE IS DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA, AND THE FIRST PRODUCE FROM A FIELD, OR VINEYARD, OR ORCHARD IS DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA.
THE CONCEPT IS THAT ONLY AFTER GIVING YAHUSHA THE FIRST OF WHATEVER IS PRODUCED DOES SOMEONE HAVE ANY RIGHT TO THE REMAINDER. AND WHILE YES IT IS TRUE THAT EVERYTHING INFACT BELONGS TO YAHUSHA (AS THE CREATOR OF ALL), ONLY SOME THINGS ARE DEVOTED TO HIM. AND, BY DEFINITION, THE FIRSTFRUITS OF EVERYTHING ARE AUTOMATICALLY DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA.
APPLYING THIS PRINCIPLE/PATTERN OF FIRSTFRUITS TO YISHARAL BEING GIVEN THE LAND OF CANAAN, WE SEE THAT WHILE EVERYTHING IN JERICHO WAS DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA (BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST CITY TAKEN IN THE PROMISED LAND) THE NEXT CITY TO BE TAKEN WAS AI. AND WITH AI SOME OF THE SPOILS WERE GIVEN TO YAHUSHA, BUT THE PEOPLE OF YAHUSHA COULD USE THE REMAINDER. THIS IS SIMPLY FOLLOWING THE PATTERN OF FIRSTFRUITS.
MANY TEACHERS ARE STILL USING THIS PATTERN OF FIRST-FRUITS TO DECLARE “ARE YOU HOLDING BACK THE FIRSTFRUITS IN YOUR LIFE, THE FIRSTFRUITS THAT ARE ALREADY YAHUSHA’S SET-APART PROPERTY? YOUR INCOME, YOUR SON, YOUR POSSESSIONS?” BUT THAT WOULD BE SHADOW-TALK TODAY WOULDN’T IT? YAHUSHA ACTUALLY FULFILLED THIS PRINCIPLE OF FIRSTFRUITS BY WHOLEY AND SOLELY BECOMING THE FIRSTFRUITS OF A GREAT HARVEST OF PEOPLE SOON TO COME. HE NO LONGER REQUIRES A TENTH OF OUR LIFE, OUR BODY, OUR CROP, OUR INCOME, OUR CHILDREN ETC ETC NO ... HE WANTS ALL OF IT . . . IN COMPLETE SURRENDER AND SERVICE TO HIM.
So Joshua quickly got the army ready to attack Ai, choosing thirty-thousand of his best soldiers and he gave them these orders, ”Tonight, while it’s dark, head up to Ai and take up a position behind the town. Get as close to the town as you can without being seen, but be ready to attack. The rest of the army will come with me and attack near the front-gate. And when the people of Ai come out to fight, we’ll run away and let them chase us. Then they’ll think we’re running from them just like the first time. But when we’ve let them chase us far enough away, you will then come out of hiding and Yahuah our Alahim will help you capture the town. Then set it all on fire, just as Yahuah has told us to do. Those are your orders, now go!”
YISHARAL WAS CAMPED IN GILGAL, WHICH IS ABOUT 20KM (12 MILES) OR SO FROM AI. NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES THIS TIME, JOSHUA SELECTED 30,000 MEN THAT HE CONSIDERED HIS BEST TROOPS. THEY WENT OUT IN THE NIGHT SO AS TO GO UNDETECTED. NIGHT RAIDS IN THIS ERA WERE VERY RARE; AND WHEN IT DID HAPPEN IT WAS ALWAYS BECAUSE THE ATTACKING FORCE WAS SMALLER THAN THE TARGET. THIS IS A STRATEGY THAT WE’LL SEE YISHARAL EMPLOY SUCCESSFULLY A NUMBER OF TIMES BECAUSE IT WAS SO UNEXPECTED.
So the thirty thousand soldiers went to a place on the west side of Ai (between Ai and Bethel), where they could hide and wait to attack, while Joshua stayed in the camp that night with the rest of the army.
Early the next morning Joshua got his troops ready to move out, and he and the other leaders of Yisharal led them to Ai. They set up camp in full view of the town, across the valley to the north. Joshua had already sent five thousand soldiers to the west side of the town to hide and wait to attack and now all his troops were in place. Part of the army was in the camp to the north of Ai, and the others were hiding to the west, ready to make a surprise attack. And that night, Joshua went into the valley.
The King of Ai saw Joshua’s army, so he and his troops hurried out to fight them. And Joshua's army pretended to be beaten, and fled in retreat, letting the men of Ai chase them towards the desert. And the King and his army were facing the Jordan valley (just as Joshua had planned), not realising that many more Yisharalite soldiers were hiding behind their town. So the King called out for every man in Ai to go after Joshua’s troops and so they all rushed out to chase the Yisharalite army, leaving the town gates wide open. So not one man was left in Ai or in Bethel.
So Joshua let the men of Ai chase him and his army farther and farther away from Ai, until finally, Yahusha told Joshua, “Point your spear at the town of Ai, because now I’m going to help you defeat it!” And as soon as Joshua pointed his spear at the town, the soldiers who had been hiding got up and ran into the town, capturing it and setting it all on fire. And when Joshua and his troops saw the smoke rising from the town, they knew that the other part of their army had captured it. So they turned and attacked the King and his army.
The men of Ai looked back and saw smoke rising from their town, but it was too late and they couldn’t escape, because the soldiers they had been chasing had suddenly turned and started fighting. Meanwhile, the other Yisharalite soldiers had come from the town and attacked the men of Ai from the rear. Then the Yisharalites captured the King of Ai and brought him to Joshua, chasing the rest of the men of Ai into the desert and killing them.
Then the Yisharalite army went back to Ai and killed everyone there too. And Joshua kept his spear pointed towards the town of Ai until every last one of Ai’s twelve thousand people were dead (put under the ban). But the Yisharalites took the animals and the other possessions of the town of Ai, because this was what Yahusha had told Joshua to do.
JOSHUA POINTING HIS SPEAR TOWARDS AI WAS A SIGN OF AUTHORITY AND SIGNAL FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF AI TO BEGIN. RECALL MOSES USING HIS STAFF TO COMMAND THE NILE TO TURN TO BLOOD, TO ORDER THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA. RECALL HOW MOSES SAT ON A HILLTOP OVERLOOKING THE YISHARALITES AS THEY BATTLED THE AMALEKITES, HOLDING HIS STAFF OVER HIS HEAD WITH THE HELP OF TWO ASSISTANTS. MOSES’ STAFF WAS THE SYMBOL OF YAHUSHA’S AUTHORITY IN MOSES’ HAND. THAT STAFF WAS ALSO USED TO SET THINGS OF YAHUSHA INTO MOTION (BOTH WONDERS OF DELIVERANCE AND WRATH).
MOSES WAS LIKE A MESSIAH, A DELIVERER, FOR YISHARAL. THUS HE WAS A SHEPHERD AND OF COURSE USED A SHEPHERD’S STAFF AS THE SYMBOL OF HIS RULE. JOSHUA ON THE OTHER HAND WAS A MILITARY LEADER; HE WAS A GENERAL, A FIERCE WARRIOR. THEREFORE IT WAS APPROPRIATE THAT THE SYMBOL OF DIVINE AUTHORITY PLACED IN JOSHUA’S HAND WAS A SPEAR (A SYMBOL OF WAR).
AND AGAIN WE HAVE A PERFECT TYPE OR SHADOW NOT ONLY OF YAHUSHA THE SHEPHERD BUT ALSO THE MIGHTY WARRIOR; IN HIS FIRST COMING YAHUSHA RULED LIKE A SHEPHERD LEADER, MOSES. BUT IN HIS SECOND COMING HE WILL RULE LIKE A WARRIOR KING, JOSHUA, AND REVELATION SAYS THAT MESSIAH’S ROD OF AUTHORITY (HIS STAFF, THE SYMBOL OF HIS AUTHORITY) WILL BE A ROD OF IRON. UNBENDING, UNYIELDING, HARD AND NOT DISSUADED. ARE YOU EXPERIENCING HIS ROD OF IRON AGAINST THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD?
Joshua made sure every building in Ai was burned to the ground, and he told his men to kill the King of Ai and hang his body on a tree. Then at sunset he told the Yisharalites to take down the body, throw it in the gateway of the town, and cover it with a big pile of rocks. Those rocks are still there, and the town itself has never been rebuilt.
HE WASN’T GIVEN THE HONOR OF BURIAL; HE WAS SIMPLY DISCARDED AT THE GATES OF HIS RUINED CITY, AND STONES PILED UPON HIS CARCASS AS A REMINDER OF HIS DEMISE. DON’T GET A MENTAL PICTURE OF A NOOSE AROUND THE KING’S NECK OR BEING STRUNG UP ON A POLE. RATHER “HUNG ON A TREE (OR POLE)” MEANS TO IMPALE. HE WAS KILLED AND THEN HIS BODY IMPALED ON A POLE FOR ALL WHO PASSED BY TO SEE; THE WORST SORT OF ENDING FOR ROYALTY. THIS WAS CUSTOM FOR THAT DAY, AS GRUESOME AS IT WAS.
And Joshua led the people of Yisharal to Mount Ebal, where he told some of his men, “Build an altar for offering sacrifices to Yahuah. And use stones that have never been cut with iron tools, because that is what Moses taught in the Book of the Divine Instructions (TURAH).” Joshua then sacrificed Ascending-Near and Intimate-Peace Offerings to please Yahusha and to ask His blessing. Then with the Yisharalites still watching, he copied Moses` Instructions onto stones.
THE POINT OF ALL THIS CEREMONY IS TO SHOW THAT JOSHUA WAS INDEED THE CHOSEN EXAMPLE OF A YISHARALITE MONARCH. HE DID WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, AND RULED AS HE WAS SUPPOSED TO RULE. HE FOLLOWED YAHUSHA'S INSTRUCTIONS (TURAH) AND RULED FROM THEM. HE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE BASIS FOR HIS LEADERSHIP WAS THE WORD OF YAHUSHA AND THE POWER OF YAHUSHA AND THAT WITHOUT IT, HIS LEADERSHIP WAS WEAK IF NOT BOGUS. IT SHOWS JOSHUA’S GREAT CARE TO BE OBEDIENT TO YAHUSHA, WHICH IS THE PROPER RESPONSE OF A BLOOD-COVENANT PEOPLE TO THE DIVINE-AGREEMENT YAHUSHA HAS GIVEN THEM.
THIS ACCOUNT IS ALSO THE FULFILLMENT OF MOSES’ INSTRUCTIONS TO YISHARAL IN DEUTERONOMY 27. MT. EBAL AND MT. GERIZIM ARE TWIN HILLS WITH EBAL TO THE NORTH OF GERIZIM. ON TOP OF MT. EBAL JOSHUA HAD AN ALTAR BUILT, FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT IT WAS TO BE MADE OF STONES NOT SHAPED BY IRON TOOLS. AND WITHOUT A DOUBT SOME SHAPING OF THE STONES DID OCCUR, BUT NOT WITH A METAL TOOL; RATHER FLINT KNIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN USED (REMEMBER THE CIRCUMCISION TOOLS TOO?).
IRONICALLY IN YAHUSHA'S JUSTICE SYSTEM THE DEATH OF AN INNOCENT SAVES THE LIFE OF THE GUILTY. THE PURPOSE OF AN ALTAR WAS TO PRESERVE LIFE (HUMAN LIFE) BY MEANS OF ATONEMENT. THE DEATH OF AN ANIMAL PROVIDED THE BLOOD THAT WOULD ATONE FOR THE WICKEDNESS OF MEN WHO DESERVED TO HAVE THEIR LIVES TERMINATED. SO FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON WHO AVERTS THEIR EYES AND THOUGHTS OVER THE CONCEPT ON AN ANIMAL DYING AND BEING BURNED UP, THEY SEE THE ALTAR AS A PLACE OF DEATH. NOT SO, IT IS A PLACE OF LIFE.
IRON IS USUALLY SYMBOLIC OF DESTRUCTION. IRON IS USED FOR WEAPONS, THUS IT WOULD BE TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE FOR A TOOL OF IRON (A TOOL OF DESTRUCTION) TO BE USED TO FORM AN ALTAR OF LIFE. EVEN MORE, THE ALTAR IS THE PLACE OF ATTAINING PEACE BETWEEN YAHUSHA AND MANKIND. IT IS NOT FITTING THAT TOOLS USED FOR WAR WOULD SCAR SUCH A PLACE. THIS EXACT SYMBOLISM IS BROUGHT ACROSS TO THE WELL-KNOWN PROVERB THAT IN THE DAY OF YAHUSHA WEAPONS OF WAR WILL BE BEATEN INTO PLOUGHSHARES. THIS IS SPEAKING OF IRON IMPLEMENTS. AND THE NOTION IS THAT IRON THAT HAS BEEN USED FOR WAR AND DEATH WILL BE RESHAPED INTO AN IRON IMPLEMENT USED TO BRING FORTH LIFE FROM THE EARTH (CROPS, FOOD) IN PEACE. SO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION IN YAHUSHA’S WORD WHEN IT SPEAKS OF ALTARS AND IRON, IT HAS DEEPER MEANING THAN MEETS THE EYE.
Moses had said that everyone in Yisharal was to go to the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, where they were to be blessed. So everyone went there, including the foreigners, the leaders, officials, and judges. Half of the people stood on one side of the valley, and half on the other side, with the priests from the Levi tribe standing in the middle with the Ark of the Blood-Covenant Witness. Then in a loud voice, Joshua read the blessings and curses from Moses` Book of the Divine Instructions.
And Joshua read out EVERY SINGLE WORD that Moses had written down, to the people of Yisharal.
YAHUSHA'S INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR EVERYONE, MEN AND WOMEN, SLAVE AND FREE, HEBREW OR FOREIGNER, OLD OR YOUNG. JOSHUA HAS SOME STONE MONUMENTS BUILT THAT HAVE THE WORDS OF YAHUSHA INSCRIBED UPON THEM. AND THERE IS WIDE DISAGREEMENT OVER EXACTLY WHAT PORTION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE WRITTEN ON THOSE STONES. SOME SAY IT WAS ONLY THE 10 COMMANDMENTS; OTHERS SAY IT WAS ALL OF WHAT WE CALL DEUTERONOMY (TURAH GIVEN TO MOSES); STILL OTHERS SAY IT WAS A SUMMARY OF THE 613 INSTRUCTIONS OR AN ORAL LAW. BUT WHO CARES, FOR THE ORIGINAL TEXT SAYS THAT THERE WAS NOT ONE WORD THAT MOSES INSTRUCTED THAT JOSHUA DID NOT READ. AND ANYTHING PASSED DOWN FROM (ORAL) WORD OF MOUTH WAS TO BE AS ACCURATE AS THE INSTRUCTIONS HEWN INTO STONES BY YAHUSHA HIMSELF. NO ALTERNATIVE - ONE ALAHIM, ONE WAY, ONE TURAH, ONE BEHAVIOUR!
IN THIS CHAPTER YISHARAL IS TAUGHT THE REAL MEANING OF THE INSTRUCTION TO OBEY YAHUSHA. IT MEANS TO LIVE THE DIVINE LIFE STYLE THAT HIS INSTRUCTIONS TEACH. BUT YISHARAL ALSO LEARNS AN EVEN DEEPER LESSON: IF AND WHEN THEIR IDENTITY AS THE PEOPLE OF YAHUSHA IS LOST (E.G THROUGH DISOBEDIENCE LIKE ACHAN'S) THERE IS A WAY BACK AND IT BEGINS WITH SELF-EXAMINATION AND THEN CONFESSION OF WRONG DOING. FROM THERE IS REPENTANCE AND THEN A RE-INTRODUCTION TO THE WORD OF YAHUSHA. THE RESULT IS OBEDIENCE ON THEIR PART, AND RENEWAL AND REDEMPTION ON YAHUSHA’S PART.
REIGN
(HEBREW): to ascend the throne, to induct into royalty, to take counsel, be King or Queen, dominion (abstractly or concretely), kingdom, kingly, realm, a rule, empire, kingdom, realm, reign, royal, the estate or country, realm, to have power, to inclose, to hold back, to maintain, rule, assemble, to be able, close up, detain, fast, keep (self close, still), prevail, recover, refrain, reign, restrain, retain, shut (up), slack, stay, stop, withhold (self), to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off, to vanquish, have power.
SCRIPTURE UNDERSTANDING (BYNV):
"But Yahuah abides forever, He is preparing His throne for judgement. And He judges the world in integrity, He judges the peoples in straightness. And Yahuah is a refuge for the crushed one, A refuge in times of distress. And those who know Your name trust in You, for You have not forsaken those who seek You, Yahuah. He does not forget the cry of the afflicted". PSALMS 9:7-12.
"The blessed and only Ruler, the Sovereign of sovereigns and Master of masters, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or is able to see, to whom be respect and everlasting might, Amn".1 TIM 6:16.
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its desires".ROM 6:12.
"If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also shall deny us".2TIM 2:12.
"For if by the trespass of the one, death did reign through the one, much more those who receive the overflowing favour and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the One, Yahusha Messiah". ROM 5:17.
It's pretty easy to understand here, that the Hebrew word "REIGN" speaks of an earthly kingdom or reign, or dominion over a certain area. The Scriptures above reveal to us that Yahusha is the Master of the creation/universe and that His "REIGN" is eternal. Yahusha wants us to realise that He revealed Himself to Moses on the mount and in the cloud/fire of the wilderness, through progression He moved to the Ark of the Blood-Covenant, then to the Tabernacle of David, then to the Temple of Solomon, and from there He departed because of their sin/disobedience, vowing never to return to be with the Hebrews again, and destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem.
Then 400 years of darkness passed til the Messiah Yahusha's presence re-appeared on this earth, and He showed us His new Dwelling Place in our bodies through the portal of our circumcised hearts and declared I WILL NOT DWELL IN TEMPLES BUILT BY MEN, BECAUSE YOUR BODY IS NOW THE TEMPLE FROM WHERE I WILL REIGN. THIS WORLD HAS PUTRIFIED ITSELF BASKING IN WICKEDNESS BEFORE MY FACE, AND MUST BE CLEANSED WITH FIRE.
Yahusha talks to us about His "REIGN" in the form of parables. In Matt 25 He said, "Then the "REIGN" of the shamayim shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom". Going through this parable we find that half those who say they believe are lying. What a shock and disappointment! His message is obviously giving us a warning. Yahusha gave The Behaviour Revolution the 3 Rules which opens our minds to see behaviour that is apart from this instruction.
DID THE WISE MAIDENS 'TELL OFF' THE UNWISE FOR BEING FAKE, NO, THEY JUST WAITED FOR THE MOMENT THAT THEIR OIL WOULD RUN OUT!
The wise maidens knew it was impossible to buy the precious dwelling of the oil of the spirit and left with the Master for His eternal REIGN.
Yahusha wants His Bride to make up her mind about His Instructions for living Turah and do it, rejecting the temptations of a worldly life. This is the true wisdom.
Infact when we investigate the making of the flaxen linen wicks that were used for the lamps (that the maidens carried), we see the massive process that the flax goes through to become our wick. The flax seeds are planted, grown, and then harvested, all in accordance to timing of the seasons. Flax seeds are most nutritious and healthy for the body and they can be ground to a meal and crushed to make oil, also to make linen.
To make the linen and wicks, it must go through a piercing and a hetchelling process and what is left over is called a "tow" which is what the wicks are made from. This "tow" then goes through another process of plating and twisting with other additives, then boiled in salt and dried out, to be stiffened. If these processes are not followed the oil cannot travel up the wick to ignite the flame to give light. REMEMBER IN THE WORD `TROUBLE' WE DISCOVERED THAT THE BRIDE MUST BE STRETCHED, WHIPPED, BEATEN, BOILED, FLOGGED AND DISCIPLINED TO BE PERFECTED??
When the ten maidens were told to wake up to meet the bridegroom, the very first thing they did was to trim their lamps so the oil would flow up the wick and ignite their light. Those who had not prepared extra oil . . . their lamps went out!
The process the flax goes through is like our lives in Yahusha, as He teaches us to overcome the world within us, with floggings, goadings, rebuking, and discipline, to come into His peace. HOW COULD WE GIVE THE OIL OF OUR PRECIOUS EXPERIENCE AND TRAINED BEHAVIOUR TO THE UNWISE . . . IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!
If they were unprepared (disobedient) He will say "I never knew you". The word "TOW" has also been used to describe an abomination and idolatry.
There are only two ways to walk His path: OBEDIENT or DISOBEDIENT!
So Brothers and Sisters, use the 3 Rules to check your own behaviour and you won't be snared into an unwise situation. Remember Yahusha went through the piercing and hatchling process long before us!
