Men of Renown
Part xiii
Balaam –Â The Third Parable – The Love of God
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4) And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
  This series called Men of Renown will begin with these verses in Chapter 6 of the book of Genesis because it is the perfect scene setter for whatever and whoever follows that enables men of renown to act in conflict against God and His Word. Genesis 6, verses 4 and 5, are an accurate definition of men of renown.
  The phrase ‘men of renown’ occurs in the Bible only two times. The second and last mention can be found in the 4th book of the Pentateuch (the book of Numbers) Chapter 16. This last mention of ‘men of renown’ goes beyond the definition of men of renown and expands what ‘men of renown’ are not only capable of, but what lurks in the inner most recesses of their thoughts.
  Although most readers will probably not begin with Men of Renown Part i, ii, iii, iv and v, I suggest that to get more from this particular article, Part xii, that you should first read Balaam Part vi, and maybe vii, viii, ix, x, xi, and xii, but that’s just my opinion. . . . and in case, you ignore my suggestion, let me make just one more suggestion, at least read the previous article Balaam Part xii.
The Third Parable of Balaam
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! (Numbers 24:5)Â
As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)Â
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. Numbers 24:8)Â
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. (Numbers 24:9)
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As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)
  If you ignored my suggestion to read the previous article then I must add that the word ‘they‘ in Numbers 24:6 refers to the tents of Jacob, and the tabernacles of Israel. (Don’t make me do that again! I am not going to back track for you again! Remember that my snarky former schoolteachers’ attitude sometimes resurfaces.)
  As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. What a delightfully restful and peaceful scene the Holy Spirit of God presents to us in describing blessings on the nation of Jehovah, Israel, in prophecy. The nation will certainly spread over their land of promise, but not quite yet, for they have (at this particular time) to wander many more years in the wilderness.
  Notice that the lign aloes which the LORD hath planted reminds us of God’s creatorial power. It is God who plants. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
  The first time that the word planted is noted is in Genesis 2:8. (Here in the number two (2) we have witness, and in the number of eight (8) we have a new beginning: the beginning of the origin of mankind.) Mankind was first planted and placed in a garden. This was our original homestead, a pristine garden fragrantly and visually enriched sensorially far beyond our experience.
  But, Adam, the Federal Head of Mankind, deliberately rebelled and was cast out of this garden of goodness, and then his first-born son, Cain, deliberately rebelled and was cast out from his family, and in Cain’s defiant state built the first city of man. Garden to a city, perfection to chaos, from a conservationist to an abuser and destroyer of natural resources, this became Cain’s mission to destroy all that God created, even destroying his own body. (We witness the evidence of man’s attempt to destroy his own body every day . . . he may hide his mutilated body under the weak disguise of being an art form, or freedom of expression; nevertheless, hatred of God is evidenced through hatred of his own body.) The first three times that we see the word planted is interesting.
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
And Noah began [to be] an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: (Genesis 9:20)
And [Abraham]Â planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (Genesis 21:33)
  The second time we encounter the word planted is in Genesis 9:20 when Noah became a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard. What Noah is noted for in this verse was also his undoing, which led to the line of Ham, a son of Noah, being cursed by God. If you are interested in this particular thread of Ham becoming an enemy of God, then click on this link.
  The third time we see the word planted is in Genesis 21:33 when Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba. The following link connects you to an article that will hopefully show you more about Abraham and a place called Beersheba. But for now, let us stay focused on the word planted. The name Beersheba means ‘well of the oath,’ or ‘well of seven.’ What well? What oath? The first time that the name Beersheba appears is in Genesis 21:33. It was here that God saw the distress of Hagar (the Egyptian servant to Sarah) and through the everlasting mercy of God He led her and her son (Ishmael) to water. It was here at Beersheba that the Philistine king Abimelech and Abraham made a covenant of peace. And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (Genesis 21:33)
Side Note: Beersheba. Beersheba did not only indicate the northern most border of Judah at the return of the Babylonian captive, but it also indicates a spiritual condition of heart: the heart of man and the heart of God. It was at Beersheba (before the well was dug) that a broken-hearted Gentile Egyptian servant girl and her son were blessed by God, thus the heart of a merciful God was shown to all, Jew and Gentile. It was here at Beersheba that God brought peace to both Jew and Gentile. Beersheba ‘well of the oath’ expresses the God of the oath, God’s promises, and God’s faithfulness to His Word. It was at Beersheba when man’s heart was opened to God in despair as in Hagar, and as with Abraham troubled by the enemies of God taking away the waters of sustenance and survival that God stepped in and brought peace. When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7) It was here at Beersheba in the land of Judah, the land of ‘Praise’ that . . . Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (Genesis 21:33) Beersheba was a place that began with the mercy and promises of God confirmed by an oath. ♦ End of Side Note – Beersheba
  So far all seems well with the word planted; however, whatever man touches and attempts to approve upon always ends up working against the purposes of God. Yes, even in the word planted. Noah planted a vineyard, and from the fruits of this vineyard grew discord, a curse, and a family divided. Abraham planted a grove and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. All was well, and all was accepted by God. There is no mention of an altar here, only that Abraham called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. Good so far! However, as it is in the sin nature of man to attempt to improve on previous actions especially on the actions of those who obey and love God, read what God later said in Deuteronomy to Israel as they were about to enter into the land of the promise.
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. (Deuteronomy 16:21) Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth. (Deuteronomy 16:22)
  This commandment was ignored (as all the commandments that God gave). The following verses show how man not only ignores God’s commandments, but he deliberately counters all of God’s commandments. Notice the progression of sin, they reared up altars, made groves, and then worshiped and served the hosts of heaven. After disobeying one commandment, it becomes easier and easier to further disregard God’s word.
For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. (1st Kings 14:15)
And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. (1st Kings 16:33)
For he (Manasseh) built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. (2nd Chronicles 33:3)
  Cain also planted; he planted evil. The following reference verse describes mankind throughout his history, and especially Adam and Cain’s descendants in our current time frame. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. (Haggai 1:6) Most people today know very little about husbandry . . . . the only thing that they can grow is a rock garden. It takes physical work, knowledge, perseverance, and patience to plant a seed, to nourish that seed, to watch it grow, to protect it from invaders bearing disease and death, and to harvest the fruit from that seed. Since man lives in a temporal world, he sees planting only as a tedious laborious necessity of survival.
  When God plants it involves both the temporal and the spiritual realms. God plants so that man may live, God plants so that man may enjoy what God has planted, God plants to enrich man spiritually and physically, but primarily, God plants so that man may flourish in His love. Mankind is surrounded by the temporal evidence of God’s love. God, in His love for His creatures and His creation, centers His love in the Son of His love, the Lord Jesus Christ. Although man is surrounded by the spiritual evidence of God’s love, man without the Spirit of Christ is blind and cannot see the spiritual evidence of His love. This is where the Spirit of God works through His word to reveal (through words, numbers and symbolism) the love of God. In the third parable of Balaam, God’s love for Israel is revealed in Chapter 24, verses 6 and 7. Read these verses slowly, looking with temporal eyes through the spiritual eyes of understanding, to see the love of God for His people, His nation, Israel.
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As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)
  The spreading rich valleys watered by the springs of God’s love generates abundantly productive gardens nourished by the rivers of God’s love and graced with trees of perfume and incense which the LORD planted by His love, and lastly it is all strengthened by the trees of cedar fed from the waters of God’s love. Valleys, gardens, lign aloes and cedar trees, the river and the waters all are spiritually symbolic of God’s love. Before we continue on with the theme of God’s love in Numbers 24:6, consider the following verses. (CLICK HERE to read about the book of LOVES.)Â
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1st Corinthians 2:13) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1st Corinthians 2:14)
Since man (through his rebellion and sin) ruined his perfect garden home, God (through His foreknowledge) has prepared another NEW PERFECT home.
 How did God express His love for His creatures and creation? First, God planted a garden (a perfectly created garden) for man to enjoy. In this perfect setting God (in His love) walked and verbally communicated with man. (Words fail to completely express what walking and communicating with our Great Creator means.) The closest that I can come in understanding is that from God’s side, His desire is to continue to walk, dwell and communicate with His creatures. Since man (through his rebellion and sin) ruined his perfect garden home, God (through His foreknowledge) has prepared another NEW PERFECT home.
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)
 However, this time, man will also be NEW and PERFECT because man (in Adam) will be no more. God prepared in Christ Jesus, a second man, a Perfect Man, a Holy Man to replace the first man, and that was/is Jesus Christ.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. (1st Corinthians 15:45) Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. (1st Corinthians 15:46) The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. (1st Corinthians 15:47)Â
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:Â (Hebrews 10:5)
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9)
Side Note: The Old Man and The New 100% PURE MAN. What I have written is absolutely refuted by religious people, and most people of ‘the clothe.’ It is totally contrary to what mankind believes. Their erroneous belief is that mankind can be improved, renovated, and in time and through religious conversions, and in church attendance, and in doing ‘good charitable deeds,’ and maybe (just maybe) by placing money into the hands of church and religious ministers of authority that somehow man will attain the righteousness and holiness that God requires. NOT! Yup, finally man can become ‘more good’ then he is evil. That man can become ‘gooder,’ and ‘gooder’ is a total delusion. This delusion is rooted in the refusal to understand what man is, and what sin is. As the world spirals deeper into depravity and corruption, most individuals desperately cling to the goodness of man. God, through His Holy Spirit, has clearly written what He thinks, and knows about mankind.
They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:3)
Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 53:3)
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:Â (Romans 3:10)
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;Â (Romans 3:23)
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God. (Mark 10:18)
 What did God in Christ mean when He said through the pen of Paul . . . . He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9) The temporal Adam will never have a place in heaven. The old man (Adam) will never walk with God in the place that God has prepared. Adam must take on a divine nature to replace his sin nature, and this can only happen ONE WAY. Whereby are gi m ven unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2nd Peter1:4) From the sin nature to the divine nature can ONLY happen ONE WAY. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection: (Romans 6:5) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6) A new world, a newly created being that surpasses anything human, a new paradise, a new dwelling place, a new home . . . . In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3) We (meaning both Christians and unbelievers) are so tied and grounded to this world that our minds cannot see past out feet. God has a place that has been prepared especially for His people, His children, His loved ones beyond all earthly comprehension. This new world is proclaimed in both the Old and New Testaments. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. (Isaiah 64:4) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1st Corinthians 2:9) The New Testament reaffirms the truth of the Old Testament as recorded in Isaiah 64:4. . . But as it is written. Reread these two verses . . . read them again . . . read them again . . . see the love of God your Creator. This new dwelling place where the law of the realm is righteousness and holiness. Yes, there are divine laws in the world of the eternal realm of the righteousness of God. ♦ End of Side Note: The Old Man and The New 100% PURE MAN.
Side Note of a Side Note: Law of God, Law of Christ, Law of the Spirit, Law of Liberty
• The Law of God – The phrase the law of God in the Old Testament in recorded four (4) times. (Joshua 24:26; Nehemiah 8:8, 18, 28) The message: since the number 4 symbolizes the world, it is fitting that the law of God should be for the entire world. God’s Law goes beyond the laws of God written by Moses. The laws of God in the Old Testament addresses laws for the individual, for nations, and were given to reveal to man that he could not attain the law.
• The Law of Christ – The phrase the law of Christ only appears one time in the entire Bible in Galatians 6:2, Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. This also is quite fitting as there is ONE CHRIST, and the Lord Jesus Christ gave one commandment to His own in the gospel of John, Chapter 15, verse 12, This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
• The Law of the Spirit – This phrase the law of the Spirit is also recorded once in the entire Bible in the book of Romans, Chapter 8, verse 2, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. It is very fitting that this phrase is only mentioned one time because it is only through the Spirit of Christ in God that a repentant sinner is given life. There is only ONE life eternal. There is only ONE life giver. There is only ONE Godhead bodily.
 Note that there are only eight (8) reference points in Scripture that connects the Spirit of God with LIFE: It is the spirit that quickeneth, the Spirit of life sets man free from the law of sin and death, the Spirit is life, the Spirit giveth life, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting, the Spirit gives the tree of life to the overcomer, the Spirit of life from God, and And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. A new beginning is symbolized by the number 8; again, it is fitting that the Spirit of God is connected to life, eternal life, allowing man to begin again as a NEW MAN, a new beginning for a new creation in Christ. (See how the Spirit of God intertwines numbers, words, concepts, and phrases to draw out the divine principles of God.)
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. (John 6:63)
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2nd Corinthians 3:6)
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:8)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. (Revelation 11:11)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
• The Law of Liberty – This phrase is only recorded twice in the Bible, and both are found in the book of James.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:25)
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. (James 2:12)
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. (2nd Corinthians 3:17)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1) ♦ End of Side Note of a Side Note: Law of God, Christ and of the Spirit and the Law of Liberty
  The universe is alive with active pulsating laws: the laws of magnetism, the laws of physics, the laws of motion, the laws of gravity, the laws of light, the laws of mathematics, even laws that we have not yet been made aware of. We too often forget that the main concept of a law is that in order for law to be active it must have the authority of a law giver. Behind all laws is a Law Giver, a Controller, an Authority of power. There is also another concept that we often disregard, and this is the concept of chaos. The message in chaos is that within any organized state of matter chaos often unfolds. Our universe is a realm that can be seen and unseen. We can only see what our earthly limited eyes can actually see, and we can see further by instruments of measurement and magnification, however, the universe is also closed to us in the things that we cannot see, the things that are far away beyond our eyes, our minds, and our understanding. Within this system of movement and life, we are made aware of chaos by rogue comets, and fugitive asteroids that often leave behind them destruction and death. God teaches us (in many ways) not only about Himself, but also about us. His lessons of love, judgment, sin and death swirl around us every moment. We spin through His universe by His grace and mercy on a course controlled by His physical and spiritual laws. Our eyes are so glued and focused to the earth that we rarely look into the school of heaven.
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As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)
 The blessings and love of God shown through these two verses show a connection to the word waters. We have the plural twice in the word waters, and the word water once. He shall pour the water out of his buckets . . . . water in Scripture is mostly connected to God the Holy Spirit in His cleansing work of salvation. In the gospel of John in Chapter 4, verses 10 – 14, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of living water.
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10)
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? (John 4:11)
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? (John 4:12)
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:Â (John 4:13)
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)
  Then in the same gospel, in Chapter 7, verses 38 and 39, the Lord Jesus reveals that the phrase living water refers to the Holy Spirit of God.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)Â (John 7:39)
  Let us look again at the phrase living water. This phrase occurs three (3) times in the New Testament, and only in the New Testament. Three (3) being the number of God in His fullness: the Godhead bodily being God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Living water flows as an eternal source of life eternal. Here the spiritual principle of everlasting life is expressed through the power of living water, cleansing water, pure water, satisfying the thirst of dying man.
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10)
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? (John 4:11)
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)
  Then in Jeremiah 2:13, we read, For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, [and] hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. In this reference we have the phrase living waters (plural). Not living water, but we have living WATERS. This is the only mention of living water, or living waters in the Old Testament. Interesting indeed. There are three (3) references in the New Testament because it is in the New Testament that the Godhead is openly revealed: God the Father sent His Son in the fullness of time to accomplish (through His determinate counsel) God’s redemptive plan. And it is through the New Testament that the Holy Spirit of God is also revealed as the Comforter (yet to come) and as the cleansing agent in action in God’s great plan of salvation. Therefore, the phrase living water is perfectly presented in principle, in truth, in its numbering sequence, and in its definition.
  There is only ONE reference in the Old Testament because Jehovah first sets the principle of ONE GOD to His nation, Israel . . . He is the fountain of ALL living waters. Deuteronomy Chapter 6, verse 4, reads, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD. It is in the Old Testament that His Son is seen through the sacrifices and offering. God teaches line upon line, precept upon precept, He slowly builds (as a Master Teacher) His precepts to the point of fulfillment that comes in at the fullness of time in the New Testament. Consequently, Jeremiah 2:13, enfolds that Jehovah is THE FOUNTAIN from which living waters flow. He is the Head of the fountains of living waters: ALL FLOWS FROM HIM. The HEAD of a river or stream is where everything begins, and then the waters flow out into channels or streams; therefore, the Holy Spirit of God through the word of God teaches about Himself not only through creation, but He also teaches spiritual truths through creation. There is no end to the word of God. At every word, and phrase, and number sequence there is more and more to be learned about our Creator God. Bible study is endless.
  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38) The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed that IN Him and THROUGH HIM flowed living waters of everlasting life, and He confirmed this when He spoke to Philip.
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. (John 14:8) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:9)
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. (John 6:45) Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. (John 6:46) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:Â (Colossians 1:15)
  The Lord not only confirmed that IN Him flowed the waters of eternal life, but He also added to in the gospel of Mark, Chapter 12, verses 29 and 30, that there is ONE God and ONE Lord.
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:Â (Mark 12:29) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30)
  Then again in the gospel of John Chapter 20, verses 28 and 29, the resurrected Savior accepted and acknowledged the worship of Thomas when Thomas uttered the words, My Lord and my God.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (John 20:28) Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:29)
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He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)
  Within this reference verse there is prophecy, there is the physical realm and there is the spiritual realm and let us not ignore that there is also history in the name of Agag. Also, notice these words: his buckets, his seed, his king and his kingdom. The sovereignty of God: HIS vessels, HIS Seed, HIS King, and ALL IS HIS KINGDOM.
HIS Vessels
Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3)
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God. (Revelation 21:3)
HIS Seed
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;Â (Romans 1:3)
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
HIS King
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2:6)
The LORD [is] King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. (Psalm 10:16)
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. (Psalm 24:7)
Who [is] this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. (Psalm 24:8) Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift [them] up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. (Psalm 24:9) Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he [is] the King of glory. Selah. (Psalm 24:10)
For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods. (Psalm 95:3)
I [am] the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. (Isaiah 43:15)
Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? (John 18:33)Â Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? (John 18:34)Â Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? (John 18:35)Â Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (John 18:36)Â Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. (John 18:37)
HIS Kingdom
Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all [that is] in the heaven and in the earth [is thine]; thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1st Chronicles 29:11)
The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. (Psalm 103:19)
  Another interesting point is in the first mention of Agag, a king of the Amalekites . . . . and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. The name Agag is mentioned in only six verses in the entire Bible. Here in the book of Numbers is the first mention, and in 1st Samuel, Chapter 15 we have Agag mentioned in five verses. Again, the number six is the number of man; however, although there are six verses, the total number of times that Agag is mentioned is eight (8) times. Agag is an extremely interesting name: one root meaning is ‘I will overtop,’ and another root meaning is ‘flame,’ and ‘warlike.’ Does this pique your curiosity? Come on now, when you read ‘I will overtop’ what is the first thing you think of? Of course, it is the statement by Lucifer as recorded in the book of Isaiah verses 13 and 14, For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (Isaiah 14:13) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:14)
  Agag is a dynastic name for kings of the Amalekites, as the word Pharaoh was the name for all the kings of Egypt. The Amalekites were descendants from Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. If you have been following the articles of Giants in the Earth and Men of Renown then you are familiar with Esau and Jacob; therefore, I will just focus on Agag.
  This king of the Amalekites was a type of Lucifer in his rebellious war against his Creator God. ‘I will overtop,’ ‘flame,’ and ‘warlike,’ describe the sin of the angel (first called) Lucifer. Here in this particular type of Lucifer/Satan we have a person of the earth described as a being of the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit of God often described men of the earth by using the spiritual realm, and also beings in the spiritual realm are also often summarized in earthly types and terms. The spiritual world seen through the temporal world, and the temporal world seen through the spiritual world occurs more often then we realize. CLICK HERE to read more about this theme in Scripture.
  The following reference verses at first glance is all about the king of Tyrus, however, the king of Tyrus (a knife or sharp stone, a rock) was never actually in the garden of God, Eden, but Lucifer/Satan was. First, read the following references.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 28:11)
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28:12)
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. (Ezekiel 28:13)
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:14)
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. (Ezekiel 28:15)
By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:16)
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. (Ezekiel 28:17)
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. (Ezekiel 28:18)
All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (Ezekiel 28:19)
  These nine (9) verses are all about Lucifer/Satan. Now, read ten (10) verses in Ezekiel Chapter 28, verses 1 to 10.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 28:1)
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: (Ezekiel 28:2)
Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: (Ezekiel 28:3)
With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: (Ezekiel 28:4)
By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: (Ezekiel 28:5)
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; (Ezekiel 28:6)
Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. (Ezekiel 28:7)
They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. (Ezekiel 28:8)
Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. (Ezekiel 28:9)
Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 28:10)
  God (through His prophet Ezekiel was speaking to the prince of Tyrus . . . thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God. Although these words were directed to a specific individual, prince of Tyrus, they are also directly intended to every ruler, every king, every prince, every monarch, every president, every Pharaoh, every Caesar, every political power-hungry tyrant, and to every person of extreme financial wealth with an insatiable thirst for power and control over others. Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God (and to ALL of mankind) Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God. (Note: Chapter 10 of the book of Daniel records the spiritual world in the words prince of Persia, and prince of Grecia in verses 13 and 20.) The failure of the angel Lucifer became the failure of man. The sin of Lucifer became the sin of man. The destiny and doom of Lucifer became the destiny and doom of man. The end of Lucifer will be the end of man.
  Ezekiel Chapter 28 allows the reader to connect the concept of types and shadows by applying spiritual applications to temporal beings, and temporal applications to spiritual concepts. The heart and actions of the prince of Tyrus can be applied to all of humanity, and the covering cherub who was in the garden of Eden (the garden of God) and on the mountain of God also can be linked to all of mankind. Through Ezekiel Chapter 28 the threads of the temporal (the warp, the horizontal threads) and the spiritual (the weft, the vertical threads) are joined together and held together by tension as one is restrained and the other is contained. Mankind and Satan are linked together as threads on a loom and sin is the shuttle that binds them (in tension) together. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)
Side Note: The Earth Before Sin. I am always amazed whenever speaking to the confused and lost because their focus always seems to be on the kind of fruit instead of what was the fruit actually? And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (Genesis 2:16) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17) Notice that God speaks of the tree, but Eve speaks of the fruit. (Here is the spiritual and the temporal worlds presented to us.)
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)Â
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (Genesis 3:2)
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 3:3)
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (Genesis 3:4)
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:6)
  Then in Genesis 3:6, Eve sees the tree as only being GOOD FOR FOOD (the temporal) and PLEASANT TO THE EYES (the vanity of the temporal) and TO MAKE ONE WISE (the wisdom of the temporal). Adam and Eve already had the best of food, they were already surrounded with the beauty of a pristine utopia, and if they had lacked wisdom then the epistle of James 1:5 supplies the answer to Eve’s desire for wisdom. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
  What did this tree of the knowledge of good and evil produce? What was the fruit from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What was the result of Eve and Adam turning to this tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Although they already knew good and the goodness of God they desired to know evil; thus, to know evil is to experience evil, they had to eat evil, they had to take evil into their beings; thus, they became evil, and they became sin.
  Before sin, they existed in a world that we cannot comprehend: the spiritual world and the temporal world in harmonious interaction. Their Creator God communicated to them, walked with them, spoke to them, interacted with them. God of the spiritual realm manifested Himself to His creatures of the temporal world. Adam and Eve (creatures of the temporal world) were created to agreeably and pleasantly interact with the supernatural realm. Since their Creator God physically (temporally) acted in their special world, there was no need for God the Holy Spirit to indwell them as in our sinful natural world. Our minds are limited to the things of the earth, it is only through the love of God to His born ones that He (through the Spirit of Christ) indwells all believers.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1st Corinthians 3:16)
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: (Ephesians 2:21)
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)Â
 Before sin we have the world of the seen and the world of the unseen (the supernatural and the temporal worlds) harmoniously interacting. After sin, man in conflict against God (without the Spirit of God within) cannot differentiate correctly between spiritual and temporal. Trying to fit a circle into a square hole just doesn’t work. Think laterally . . . think outside the mind of man, think through the mind of the Spirit of Christ; the fruit, the result, the product, and the consequence of disobeying the FIRST commandment ever given to man was death; THE RESULT, THE PRODUCT and THE FRUIT was sin and death.
  Sometimes when the Holy Spirit of God selects a word, man just cannot get his mind around it ONLY being of the world, he cannot see or understand the spiritual aspect. For instance, when the Lord Jesus spoke to the Jews in the gospel of John 6:53, He was not talking about the physical flesh, but His spiritual self. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6:53) When the Lord Jesus said in John 10:7, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (CLICK HERE to learn about the revelations in the words Verily, verily in Scripture.) He again was speaking that He was the only entrance, the only portal and the only way into the presence of God, not that He was a physical tangible door (spiritual versus temporal again). The false ministers and propagandists of Satan deliberately make the temporal into spiritual and the spiritual into the temporal. (The New Age cult followers base their teachings on this confusion of mixing both realms. Spiritualists and the occult world also are based on mixing the temporal INTO the spiritual and the spiritual INTO the temporal.)
BEFORE SIN man spoke DIRECTLY with God face to face.
  Let us attempt to draw a conclusion: in the earth BEFORE SIN, both worlds interacted with each other, but not equally. They were harmonious, but not equal. The spiritual realm ALWAYS preceded the temporal, and ALWAYS was sovereign over the temporal. The main point is that BEFORE sin, man (the temporal world) did not require or need to have an intermediary in order to interact with the spiritual world. BEFORE SIN man spoke DIRECTLY with God. The spiritual realm neither can MIX, nor INTERMINGLE into the temporal world, as the temporal world neither can MIX, nor INTERMINGLE into the spiritual world. Whenever (in Scripture) we have the supernatural interacting into or to the natural world, it is always by The Angel of the Lord, or through a distinct supernatural Agent of the spiritual world, such as Gabriel, and the archangel Michael. There is never any time that a supernatural agent becomes an actual human being with all of man’s sin nature, or a human with the sin nature of a human being becoming a supernatural entity. There is a big difference between an angel appearing in human form and actually being a human being. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (Hebrews 10:5) When Christ was manifested on earth, He had a body that had been prepared for Him, He was God manifested in human form only, His body would be able to suffer and die physically, but He would not be capable of sin. (Being human means being sin, and this is the difference right there between being human and being of God’s supernatural realm.) It is SIN that is the key that separates ALL from the face of God. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2nd Peter 2:4) Sin in heaven was quickly and decisively cast down immediately into hell, where the perpetrators of rebellion against God await their finally judgment.
 Christ was always God. He didn’t become God after birth because He was God before conception, and after conception and birth. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
 Here is one of the many errors of falsely so-called fallen angels sexually mixing into the bodies of those of the temporal world. This is also the other doctrinal error that the Lord Jesus Christ was a man and later became God. And this also takes in the error that mankind can improve himself in order to be accepted by God, and to enter into His presence. Much of what we have come to accept as truths are really falsehoods because of our lack of biblical truths, and for many they easily accept falsehoods not distinguishing the differences in the realms of the supernatural, the spiritual and the temporal.
  Through the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil God presented to these two individuals (Adam and Eve) life and death. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; (Deuteronomy 30:15) From the fifth book of Moses from the Pentateuch we see what every person is presented with: life and good, and death and evil.
  Our parents had access to all the bounty of God, and especially to the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They had been given authority by God to access the portal of life through the tree of life, life eternal . . . . into the spiritual realm of the Eternal City of God. Revelation Chapter 22, verse 14 is the last mention of the tree of life. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. However, they were not drawn to the tree of life. They were content, comfortable and safe with the status quo . . . they already had life (they thought). Maybe their familiarity with the realm of the spiritual world insulated them from the realization of their temporal nature. Many call this period of time before sin a state of innocence, but because I live in a state after sin, I cannot begin to image what Adam and Eve understood or realized about their temporal nature; therefore, I can only term it as the period before sin.
  Eve’s eyes were fastened on the tree that had been prohibited. This is one area that I can comprehend. A magnet either draws or repels, and any forbidden object naturally becomes a forceful magnet drawing the heart of man to the forbidden object. ♦ End of Side Note: The Earth Before Sin.
Divine spiritual laws have always had command over both the spiritual and the temporal worlds from the beginning.
Side Note of a Side Note: The Earth After Sin. AFTER SIN, mankind was no longer permitted to approach God directly, man was barred from the presence of the Almighty God. Sacrifice was the only portal now for man to be accepted by God. And not any type of sacrifice, and not every sacrifice would be acceptable to God. There were now set laws of sacrifice. Divine spiritual laws have always had command over both the spiritual and the temporal worlds from the beginning. Now, after sin, God’s divine laws began with the understanding by man that sacrifice was essential for the acceptance by God. The sacrifice MUST be a blood sacrifice. It HAD TO BE a blood offering. God would accept nothing less. ♦ Side Note: The Earth After Sin.
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He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)
  Balaam was unable to stop nor change the words flowing from his being . . . and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God creates and it is created, God speaks, and it is fulfilled, God sets His king higher than Agag king of the Amalekites (the enemies of God) and it is accomplished. Why did the Spirit of God select Agag in this prophecy? He could have used Og, or any ruling head from any of the nation enemies of God. So why Agag? Agag was a descendant of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob whom God had chosen to be His servant.
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. (Isaiah 41:8)
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:Â (Isaiah 44:1)
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, (Malachi 1:2)
  Most generational hatred has originated from rejection, although God didn’t actually reject Esau, but Esau was blessed by God; however, Esau (although being the first born by minutes) was not selected by God to inherit the promises of God. Esau was deeply affected by what he perceived as rejection and through his eyes he could not accept that God had the right to select who He will. This is how man thinks. He thinks that he should have some control or influence over God’s actions. I direct you to the series called Men of Renown to aid you in understanding generational hatred. It is not surprising that Esau’s descendants would harbor enmity against God and against His chosen people Israel. From the moment that Israel came out of Egypt, the Amalekites (the blood line and brothers of Israel) sought to keep them from their land of promise and to annihilate them from the face of the earth. Betrayal is a hard thing to experience, but the hardest to experience is hatred and betrayal from your own family blood line. The Amalekites joined with the Canaanites, Midianites, Amorites, and the Jebusites. And fought alongside these enemies of God against God.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exodus 17:14)
For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:16)
And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. (Numbers 24:20)
  This is why God (through the Holy Spirit) chose Agag as His example to overtop, and to manifest His power through the flames of war in destroying Agag. The Holy Spirit in His use of the meaning of the name of Agag . . . . ‘I will overtop’ . . . ‘flame,’ . . . and . . .’warlike’ brought the very meaning of Agag’s name back upon him . . . . Agag had been definitely and permanently OVERTOPPED.
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God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. (Numbers 24:8)
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. (Numbers 24:9)
  Verse 8 of Chapter 24 speaks of the strength of an unicorn. If you are new to this series then I suggest you click on to the previous article because in that article the unicorn was first mentioned. CLICK HERE.
  This unicorn was a spiritual picture of God’s strength and power, and as a strong beast-like animal, He will eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. Wow . . . no writer can ever write as expressively like the Holy Spirit of God. This statement he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows wasn’t a threat, it was a promise, it was prophecy. This was directed to the nations his enemies. Believing that in numbers is safety is a delusion. The nations of the earth have always been enemies of God. What little I know about world history confirms this truth. Even in the best of the best of nations at their best fought against the purposes of God, and therefore, were the enemies of God.
Side Note: Not Our Nation. You may think that your nation is not an enemy of God. You may believe that your nation is a Christian nation. You may believe that your nation is strong spiritually. Whatever you believe . . . the nations are his enemies. There are three hundred and twenty-one (321) reference verses with the word nations. I have selected only the following verses from these three hundred and twenty-one verses as a summary of nations.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. (Genesis 10:5)
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them [again]. (Job 12:23)
The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)
Put them in fear, O LORD: [that] the nations may know themselves [to be but] men. Selah. (Psalm 9:20)
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)
All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. (Isaiah 40:17)
Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. (Jeremiah 51:7)
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:9)
Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. (Acts 14:16)
 The nations of Great Britain and the United States (being spiritually active in the work of the gospel) have an entirely different spiritual history. Their differences being in the time frame of their spiritual development. From Great Britain we not only have been blessed with godly men who built orphanages by faith as George Muller of Bristol, but the list of godly names of men who wrote about the gospel, promoted the gospel of God, taught the word of God, and preached the truth of the gospel, is extensive and ranges for centuries.
As both nations grew in monetary and military corruptive power and influence, their gospel power and influence diminished. In the formative years of the gospel of both nations are similar in how the gospel took hold in each nation; both nations suffered conflict through tyranny, religious oppression, and absence and removal of the truth of the word of God. The time period differs from nation to nation (Great Britain and the United States). However, the age of Christian Enlightenment is summarized in the church of Philadelphia in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chapter 3, verses 7 thru 13. When the word of God was made available to all then the light of the glorious gospel presented nations with a channel of enlightenment: THE WORD OF GOD could not be hidden again from the masses.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;Â (Revelation 3:7)
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8)
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. (Revelation 3:9)
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11)
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Revelation 3:12)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:13)
  As both nations flourished, and the gospel was proclaimed, something else was also flourishing, corruption from within. Both political and religious corruption became the norm, and the Christian became the rarity and the exception. There are still many who remain faithful to dead bones and to the catacombs that hold these dead bones because corruption is the decay and rot of what was once alive and vibrant. I understand that at this time in Great Britain many old churches are no longer used as places of Christian worship and instruction of the word of God. (And this is a good thing.) If it’s dead . . . it needs to be buried because of the stink. However, on the other side of the pond, we have what may seem to many as Christian growth and development because on many street corners there is a church. BUT . . . there is still the same old stink and rot. New buildings upon new buildings, but with each new building there is another unscriptural doctrine, another truth, another Bible, another following, another group of faithful followers following a person, a personality, a social justice agenda, a new type of country club for the poor, and those in need of companionship unable to be satisfied with Christ and Christ alone, and confusing companionship with Christian spiritual fellowship.
 In Great Britain the spiritual battle is still raging to remove the knowledge of the holy from the masses. Buildings may now serve different purposes and many places of Christian worship have been removed, and those who preach and teach the gospel are fewer, but the Word of God and His Christ can never be removed. It is because of the increase of religious buildings in the United States that we have the same spiritual battle. Most look on the buildings as proof of Christian success, but it is actually proof of Christian failure. WHY? Simply because our eyes see only the temporal and not the spiritual. The temporal has attempted to replace the center of our spiritual strength with the temporal. As those in Great Britain looked on their ancient buildings as their strength, they could not see that it was neither the buildings, nor those who were employed to maintain the, that gave them strength . . . it was Christ who was (and is) their center and strength. And now in the United State we are faced with the same failure. Man (without the Spirit of God within) cannot differentiate correctly between spiritual and temporal; thus, man too often confuses the two realms. Believe me when I write that there are many who HATE what I have written because they LOVE their buildings more than they LOVE Christ. Without their new buildings they do not have a faith, they do not have a religion, they do not have salvation, because their entire empty spiritual and temporal lives revolve around church attendance, church activities, church socials, oh, and yes, church bible studies. If you are growing and you are encouraged and stimulated to develop spiritually then remain in your spiritual zone. If your spiritual surroundings are not gathered as a unity around the divine principles of God, His Word, and not centered on His Christ alone, then change your surroundings. ♦ End of Side Note: Not Our Nation.
Side Note of a Side Note: Where to Find Fellowship. I have drawn the line in the proverbial spiritual sand . . . without a church building where is your fellowship, without a church building where can you worship, without a church building where are you welcomed?  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.(Hebrews 10:25) Paul wrote this to the Hebrews in exile, while living among the Gentiles, being spiritually torn by questions and doubts. The book of Hebrews presents God to them in His Son Jesus Christ as God, as Creator, as Prophet, and King and as Priest. He assayed to ease the Hebrews by showing them the beauties and treasures within Christ Jesus the Lord. As all Scripture is relevant to all time and ages, this is also relevant to use today in the Age of the Falling Away.
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2nd Thessalonians 2:1) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (2nd Thessalonians 2:2) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2nd Thessalonians 2:3)
  Read these verses again especially 2:1, and by our gathering together unto him, God is gathering us together to Himself. This is the true Church of God; this is His body that we are gathered to. This is not a building! For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (2nd Timothy 4:3)
  Guess what the time will come . . . and this is the time . . . when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. 1st Timothy 4:13 gives us direction that until Christ comes to gather us to Himself, we are to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine . . . I do not see give attendance to attendance. This can be a scary time for you, right? Have you been uncomfortable in your church building scene? Have you seen things and heard things that have disturbed God’s Spirit within you? Are you uneasy, and cannot understand why? Do you have an inner sense of something not quite right within your social so-called fellowship of church building goers? Do you feel alone among your church building group? Have you been kept so busy that you cannot spend time in the word of God? Do you doubt that God can keep you if you move away from your anchor church building? Are you afraid of losing friends, family, and social comforts? I’ve been there! God always supplies. God always keeps. God never fails His child.
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, (Mark 10:29)
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (Mark 10:30)
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37)
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:29)
 God doesn’t set us out alone on a dark and stormy sea on a ship with holes without His presence. Beside the importance of being alone with God and in His Word, God supplies encouragement, and teaching in other ways outside of the temporal facade. Is there a cost in obeying God? Oh, yes! But the rewards are greater than the loses! Serving God in His plan and in His purpose has rewards beyond our dreams. Remember, you can lose your religion, but you cannot lose your Christ. Religion slowly strangles life out of you, while Christ gives you liberty and life. Man (without the Spirit of God within) cannot differentiate correctly between spiritual and temporal; thus, man too often confuses the two realms. Religion is of man (temporal). Christianity is of Christ (spiritual). (CLICK HERE for more about religion and Christianity.) If you have been troubled it maybe because the Spirit of God (who dwells within you) is troubled because you have confused the two realms, and you are beginning to become engulfed by the temporal. The following verses have been specifically selected to provide guidance through difficult times and in different time periods (I do not mean ‘time’ as in the measurement of time), but the Word of God guides through ages of spiritual enlightenment and through the ages of spiritual corruption.
• For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20) Written specifically for those in the age of Christ’s sojourn on earth, when those who followed Christ were only twos and threes, as the two on the Emmaus Road. However, this also applies to all ages of the Church Body as the followers of Christ have always been in the minority.
• Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2nd Timothy 3:5) As the corporate church grew, many true Christians were caught up into the corruption that marked this church; therefore, Paul’s epistle to Timothy encouraged Christians to turn away from all that distinguished this church from the Body of Christ. As it also encourages those of ALL ages to turn away from corruption in the visible meeting of so-called Church.
• Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (2nd Corinthians 6:17) Again, we have another warning and the responsibility to recognize and discern corruption within; thus, separation is not only urged, but it is commanded. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. (Isaiah 52:11)
• Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25) This has previously been addressed but let me add this: in order to assemble together, ALL must be of the same mind, and heart, and worship the same Christ of the cross. This verse does not say that assembling together cannot be by two’s or three’s and it is to exhort one another, to encourage and to stimulate. I believe that those who come on this site are assembling together, and hopefully, these articles encourage and exhort, and by your sharing these articles with others, you also in turn encourage and exhort. This verse does not say that assembling together must be in a formal setting, nor an organized venue.
• Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20) This is the last message to those of the Laodicean church, US. This is the last church in the Age of the Church, so therefore, wherever you are in this day, we are all in the age of the Laodicean church. The Lord’s call was and is to the individual, the one, anyone, someone, to open the door to Him, and He will sup with you. It is an individual call. It is God’s Final Call to the single individual.
 This side note is titled, Where to Find Fellowship. God never leaves a child of His out in the cold alone. You say that you have faith, well, here is the opportunity to bolster your faith, to grow in your faith as a challenge to see that you place your actions where your mouth is. Before you rush out looking for another place of fellowship, Read the Bible, Pray, Talk to God, Patiently wait for Him to encourage you. I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He is your fellowship, He is your Teacher, He is your Guide, He is your Lord and God, ever faithful to His children. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5) ♦ End of Side Note of a Side Note: Where to Find Fellowship.
♦
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! (Numbers 24:5)
As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7)
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. (Numbers 24:8)
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. (Numbers 24:9)
 Why repeats the entire 3rd parable of Balaam? I deliberately repeat sections and the entire 3rd parable because of our short memories. It is always good to bring us back to where we began, especially in this 3rd parable because God the Holy Spirit began with O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! This parable is not only about Jacob and Israel, but God intertwines His people, His nation, Israel, with Himself. Remember that all the tribes of Jacob came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, bearing the bones of Joseph, God (through His Word) also speaks of Christ as a young child coming out of Egypt under the leadership of His earthly father, Joseph. (Many like to use the word ‘identify’ today to explain their sinful and deliberate actions, as they hunger to be someone or something else rather then themselves. This is rebellion against God, identifying as something else then what God has created them to be.) However, note that God identifies Himself WITH His people. This is LOVE. God brought him forth out of Egypt. His people came out of Egypt, and His Son, Jesus Christ, came out of Egypt. Here in this 3rd parable of Balaam we have this combination of identification multiple times. If you read quickly through this parable, you may see Israel being spoken about, or you may see God in Christ, or Christ alone, or God alone working, but the Holy Spirit is drawing us to understand the love of God in His use of identification with Israel, with His King, His Seed, His seed, His Kingdom, and as a Lion, and a lion. The following verses will help you to understand further the heart and mind of God in LOVE.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. (Matthew 2:13) When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: (Matthew 2:14) And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (Matthew 2:15)
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (Hosea 11:1)
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: (Exodus 4:22) And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. (Exodus 4:23)
  Most of us know the phrase that Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘let my people go.‘ This phrase was referenced nine (9) times and only in the book of Exodus. (Exodus 5:1; 7:16; 8:1, 20, 21; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 4) And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. (Exodus 5:1) The connecting interesting piece of information is when the Lord referred to Israel as my son. The phrase Let my son go only is referenced in one verse, Exodus 5:1. One reference because Jehovah had selected ONE nation as His own: Israel. One reference because Jehovah had ONE BELOVED SON: His Messiah, His Anointed One in Jesus the Christ.Â
  Another interesting sequence of numbers is in the phrase my beloved Son. It is referenced nine (9) times in the New Testament; however, one was in a parable, and the other by Paul to Timothy. Here is the interesting point SEVEN (7) times my beloved Son is recorded in the New Testament. Of course, it HAD to be SEVEN, because SEVEN represents or symbolizes God’s perfection, God in His COMPLETE PERFECTION. Of course, it HAD to be SEVEN when speaking of His beloved Son because the Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect work of God on the cross of Calvary, He is the perfect Christ as the Creator, He is the perfect Christ in our rest. Christ is the perfection of the divine accomplishment of the Godhead bodily; therefore, Christ is the perfection in the number seven.
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5)
And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mark 1:11)
And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. (Mark 9:7)
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22)
And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. (Luke 9:35)
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (2nd Peter 1:17)
 Then the last time that the phrase my son is referenced is in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ in Chapter 21: and guess which number verse? NUMBER 7, God draws us to Himself through the sacrifice of His PERFECT Son, that we are not only children of God, but we are sons of God. Here is God’s plan of redemption PERFECTED through His PERFECT Son, Jesus Christ. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Revelation 21:7) This is true identification. God identifies every Christian as a son.
  While men seek to be as gods through their own imaginations and religious imaginations, God has made the new man in Christ, the born-again ones not as gods, but as sons of God . . . this is a huge difference. Ready for another phrase journey . . . the phrase sons of God in the New Testament is documented six (6) times. Why six? Duh . . . although born again, we are still of the earth, and still of the flesh, still in sinful form. God (through the Spirit) definitely has His ways (in numbers) to always remind us of our beginnings, and what we (as human beings) are in His sight. Until death or translation, the redeem live in a body of earthly form (clay) but through the indwelling of God’ Spirit we have are partakers of the divine nature. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2nd Peter 1:4)Â
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Romans 7:14)
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. (Romans 7:15)
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. (Romans 7:16)
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (Romans 7:17)
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (Romans 7:18)
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (Romans 7:19)
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (Romans 7:20)
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (Romans 7:21)
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (Romans 7:22)
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:23)
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24)
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:25)
  Do not think that there is any pride in the statement that we are sons of God? It is just the opposite of pride. When one is born again, and although you have become a son of God, the very present realization of the greatness of God is overwhelming . . . the LOVE of God overwhelms, His mercy and grace overwhelms, His ever-present indwelling of His Spirit overwhelms . . . . His greatness takes the breath away in awe and reverence . . . . this is when words fail . . . . our words may fail, but the words of God never fail to express exactly His heart and thoughts.
1. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)
2. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
3. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)
4. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; (Philippians 2:15)
5. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1st John 3:1)
6. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1st John 3:2)
  This phrase the sons of God is recorded six (6) times in the New Testament; thus, tying man (in the number of six) to mankind . . . . here is the love of God that He should consider man in his unworthy state and because man is not worthy of anything besides death God has deemed that through His redemptive plan man would be conformed to the image of God. The redeemed have been given more liberty and more life than the first man in Adam. This is beyond going full circle to the beginning of life on earth in Adam. What Adam lost in his rebellion; the sons of God gained much more. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Revelation 21:7)
  There is still much to discover about the sons of God. Let’s turn to the Old Testament and see what is in store for us there. First, this phrase the sons of God is recorded five times . . . . five is the number of grace, but what else will we find in this phrase? I am going to divide these five references into two sections.
1. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. (Genesis 6:2)
2. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)
 This is one of the most well-known sections in Scripture, and it is one of the most twisted and deeply entrenched error not only in the so-called church, but also in almost all secular understanding. If you want to do a deep dive into the sons of God and giants in the earth and men of renown, I recommend the following articles . . . . follow the clicks . . . . giants in the earth . . . . men of renown.
  For those of you who do not like to follow recommendations, this is the sum: the sons of God were the children of Seth, the giants in the earth were the children of Cain, and the men of renown were the offspring and descendants of Seth and Cain intermingling with each other (the righteous seed coupling with the seed of evil). Genesis Chapter 6 is ALL about MAN . . . . how the sons of God (the spiritual seed) were overcome by the children of Cain (giants in the earth, the seed of the devil) which led to only one man left on the earth who found grace in the eyes of the Lord: Noah. Chapter 6 is about MAN . . . . how and why MANKIND was marked for destruction. Also be aware of the unseen message in the numbering sequence again: Chapter 6 (MAN) has two (2) reference verses concerning the sons of God . . . . TWO is the number of witness . . . God the Holy Spirit drew out in words, and symbolically in numbers that this Chapter in Genesis witnesses to us about MAN and the destruction of MAN.
  Let us now examine this second section in the book of Job dealing with the sons of God. From these three reference verses, two are directly connected to Satan presenting himself before God.
3. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (Job 1:6)
4. Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (Job 2:1)
  The time frame here is of the earth. This event did not take place in heaven. How do I know? Easy . . . . there is no time in heaven . . . . Now there was a day . . . . Again there was a day. (Again, in the number two, God witnesses of the location.) The location is set: earth. The time is set: a day. When anyone presents themselves, it is always to a higher and superior authority; thus, the LORD is the One who is the greater in this scene. This scene is a formal setting, an agreed time and place set for the sons of God (human beings) to present themselves before the LORD GOD in worship. As the book of Romans 12:1 and Jude 1:24 describes the sons of God being presented to God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (Jude 1:24)
  You may say, But Satan was also among them . . . . yes, he was, and he is. . . . and Satan came also among them . . . . and Satan came also among them. In this scene in the book of Job we have the unseen and the seen (the temporal) and (the supernatural). In the supernatural we have the prince of the power of the air (Satan) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2) also referred to as prince of this world (Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out – John 12:31; John 14:30; 16:11) he is the supernatural in evil, and we have the LORD God who rules over ALL realms: the supernatural and the natural.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. (Acts 20:29)
For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. (2nd Thessalonians 3:11)
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (2nd Peters 2:1)
  Where is one of Satan’s favorite places to lurk in? Of course, he enjoys working among the children of God. Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2nd Corinthians 11:15) The unseen is ALWAYS around the seen, but the GREAT UNSEEN is over all.Â
  Then we come to the last mention of the sons of God in the book of Job, and in the Old Testament. This reference verse has always been intriguing. Again, let us set the location, the time, and the entities involved. The verse is set apart from all the other previous and later references concerning the sons of God. In order to understand the location, time frame and entities in verse 7 of Job Chapter 38, it is needful to read the entire 38th Chapter of the book of Job.
5. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)
  This Chapter is more than a primeval scene. It is set before the foundations of the earth. This is before Genesis 1:1, before In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Why is this important to note? It is very important because the error has always been to draw every mention of the sons of God such as in the first mention of the sons of God in Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 and say that these the sons of God were fallen angels, not men. Angels were never men, and men were never angels. Angels were never called the sons of God. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5)
  The first seven (7) verses of Job Chapter 38 are clearly seen as pre-earth creation, before time, and before man.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, (Job 38:1)
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 38:2)
Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. (Job 38:3)
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (Job 38:4)
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? (Job 38:5)
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; (Job 38:6)
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)
  Here is the BIG question, if this scene is BEFORE -creation of the earth, and BEFORE time and BEFORE man, then how come the sons of God here in verse 7 is not referring to angels? Buckle up . . . . here we go . . . . there are two entities mentioned in Job 38:7, morning stars and the sons of God. This collective group called morning stars is only mentioned in the Bible once; however, there is also ONE morning star, and it is the Lord of glory. (There is a distinct difference between singular and plural in words.) The phrase morning star is mentioned only twice in the Bible and both references are found in Revelation 2:28, and Revelation 22:16.Â
And I will give him the morning star. (Revelation 2:28)Â
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star. (Revelation 22:16)
  Those who follow the morning star are morning stars. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2nd Peter 1:19) The seventh verse in the book of Job in Chapter 38 not only describes an event BEFORE time, and BEFORE the foundation of the earth, but it is also a scene describing joy, unity, elation and celebration. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7) God (through Job 38:7) allows us to get a glimpse of His foreknowledge and His transcendental supernatural power, and by our finite knowledge and profound ignorance of His boundless power we cannot comprehend the monumental scale of that moment in timelessness When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Why did they sing and shout for joy? Could the morning stars and the sons of God be the spiritual realm and the future temporal realm united together in celebration of God’s greatest creation achievement, yet to come, in the redemption plan to overcome ALL sin through His coming manifestation as the Great Redeemer? Not only was God about to create a world in a solar system revolving around a massive sun, but He was about to create an earth to spiritually revolve around His glorious and divine Son. This sublime moment BEFORE creation, BEFORE His great plan of redemption became activated, BEFORE God Himself would walk into His creation as ‘elohiym, BEFORE all sin (in heaven and in earth) would be eradicated, ALL of God’s righteous spiritual realm sang together and shouted for joy. Verse 7 of Chapter 38 brings in more than what our finite minds can fully understand, it is a scene in the spiritual realm celebrated by entities not yet realized. Verse 16 of Psalm 139 allows us another glimpse of entities not yet realized. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. In the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 1, verse 5, we have another view of an entity not yet realized. Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Yes, of course, this is God’s foreknowledge, and since it is His foreknowledge, then it is also possibly that His foreknowledge encompasses and extends beyond all of our understanding of His great powers. Since the sons of God NEVER refers to angels in any Scripture reference, this phrase therefore, in Job 38:7 must refer to the moment when the Godhead bodily in FOREKNOWLEDGE, in TOTALITY, and being ETERNITY that we (the morning stars, and the sons of God) also rejoiced IN HIM, and THROUGH HIM, although we (the morning stars and the sons of God) were not yet physically manifested, but THROUGH the foreknowledge of God existed outside of time and in spirit. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them . . . . Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. Compare the following reference verse to the concept that has been laid before you . . . Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. (John 8:56)
  I stubbornly refuse to leave this train of thought, so let’s proceed further. (If you don’t like it, then either click off or scroll on.) The phrase the sons of God NEVER refers to angels. The Spirit of God ends the last mention of the sons of God in the Old Testament and connects it with the last mention of the sons of God in the New Testament. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1st John 3:2) Did you see the connection? The connection is in the word appear. We do not know yet how we shall appear, but we know that we shall be like Him. In Job 38:7 we do not know how we appeared before we were formed in the belly, but we KNOW that before we were in the belly we were fashioned, had substance although yet not realized and unperfect. (Take a break and get another aspirin because I think you may have a headache, or I’m not doing my job.)
  I am not going to end here with the sons of God in Job 38:7 without adding to your headache. (Disclaimer: Although the numbering address system of verses came well after Scripture had been written and published, the Spirit of God knew ALL about this verse numbering system BEFORE the beginning of time. Do not get caught up into numbers. I like to use them as a memory aid, and sometimes as spiritual connections to show that God is not limited.) Nevertheless, I like the address location in Job as God’s memorial to His moment of PRE-EARTH celebration in 38:7. Note the numbers: 3 (Godhead), 8 (new beginning), and 7 (God’s perfection in His completion). Seven verses tell a story, and then God proceeds further in the book of Job not only describing creation but challenging those who refuse to accept His creatorial powers with thirty-nine questions. Maybe one day we will tackle the thirty-nine questions in the book of Job.
  Why did God create? Why did the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of the Godhead create? All is based on His righteous LOVE. God (through Job 38:7) presents to us His Godhead (3) in action in a new beginning (8) (In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth) in His perfection (7) ALL was good, ALL was VERY GOOD. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)
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He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. (Numbers 24:9)
  There are two sentences in Numbers 24:9; the first sentence ties the tribe of Judah as a lion to the nation of Israel, and to the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Lord Jesus Christ.Â
Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9)
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)
  The second sentence speaks of blessing and cursing. This was not exactly what Balak wanted, nor did Balaam want to utter these words for it cursed them both because Balak wanted Balaam to curse Israel, and Balaam (having the mouth of an ass) could not curse Israel. Chapter 12, verse 3 of the book of Genesis instructs us in how closely God held His people Israel. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Through Israel would come the Anointed One of God (the Messiah), and through the Messiah (the Christ) would come blessings to all nations. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. (Galatians 3:8)
  Let’s end this article of the 3rd parable of Balaam with something Balaam fought against . . . . the blessings of God. In the last book of the Bible (the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ) the word blessing occurs three (3) times, and the word blessed is mentioned 7 (seven) times. Pretty nice, huh? (Dare to tell me that the Bible was written by men without the Spirit of God directing them. Try and prove to me that the Bible is not Supernatural. I challenge you (after reading this article) to tell me that the Bible was not written by God the Holy Spirit. From beginning to end, ALL (words, numbers, symbols, types and even the spaces between the letters are breathed by God) the Bible is God breathed!
BLESSING
• Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. (Revelation 5:12)
• And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:13)
• Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, [be] unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 7:12)
BLESSED
• Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [is] at hand. (Revelation 1:3)
• And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (Revelation 14:13)
• Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (Revelation 16:15)
• And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. (Revelation 19:9)
• Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
• Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Revelation 22:7)
• Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)
Men of renown is a companion piece to Giants in the Earth series.
© Copyright 2021, Mary Haigh
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJV)