Krypto People

Psalm 83:3. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,                                         and consulted together against Your hidden ones.

The saints of God are not a voting block, a religious  denomination, or a box you check on a census. They are hidden, found only in the secret place of the heart. Psalm 83:3 is correctly translated in the KJV as ‘hidden ones’, from the Hebrew ‘tsaphan’ meaning hidden or secret.

Romans 2:28, 29.  For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but a Jew is one inwardly; and circumcision of the heart, in the Spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Being a Jew ‘inwardly’, uses the Greek word kryptos, from which we obtain the English word cryptic, and is translated literally as ‘hidden’, or ‘secret’.  The rabbis translating Psalm 83:3 to Greek in the Septuagint used hagios(holy ones) rather than kryptos, and in translating thus interpret the people to be ‘the saints’, rather than the literal ‘hidden ones’.

Abiding in the Secret Place

Thus the true saints are of the ‘inner man’, in the spirit, not the flesh. This is beautifully expressed by Peter:

1 Peter 3:3, 4. Do not let your adornment be outward, the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

How is this spiritual Jew recognized? Paul states that their praise comes not from men, but from God.   Jesus said:

John 5:44  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?

Galatians 1:10. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:4.  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which tries our hearts.

A Secret Life of Devotion

Our personal devotions must be to the Lord, from the heart.

Matthew 6:3,4. When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

Matthew 6:6. When you pray, go into your room, and when you shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:18.  When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

When you are ‘rewarded openly’, the fruit of the Spirit manifests from the sons and daughters of God.

John 15:7, 8. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Matthew 7:15.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

When the children of God are made manifest by the Spirit, they become like ‘a city on a hill’.

Romans 8:19.  For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

Matthew 5:14.  You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden (kryptos).

John 15:16.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

1 Timothy 5:24, 25.   Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding to judgment, but those of some follow later. Likewise, the good works are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

The judgment of God for every soul shall become evident.

Luke 8:17.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known and come to light. 

Luke 12:3. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

1 Corinthians 4:5. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

The fruit of the Spiritual Gifts

2 Corinthians 4:1. We have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, not handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

1 Timothy 4:14-16. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands of the elders. Practice these things—be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be clear to all. Give attention to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things, for in doing so you will save yourself and those who hear you. 

Colossians 3:1-4. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Through the hidden life,  the saints experience the faithfulness of the Lord.

Psalm 27:5.  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psalm 31:20.  You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Job 10:12, 13. You have granted me life and favour, and your visitation has preserved my spirit. And these things you have hidden in your heart: I know that this is with You.

The Spirit of the World

Psalm 24:1.  The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

The earth (Hebrew  ‘erets) is the ‘dry land’ of creation when God gathered together the waters after establishing a firmament, or atmosphere above the waters. This earth is most important for mankind as God’s Providence for all creation that ‘has breath’. 

The world (Hebrew tebel) is derived from the word yabal, to bring forth, or flow out. The world consists of all that man has brought forth from his ‘imagination’, and the influence of angelic beings and other spiritual powers.

The world is at odds with the Will of God in countless ways, especially in regard to the impact it has on the earth and its ability to provide for all creation. For the children of God to understand the need to ‘overcome the world’, they must also understand the world as the habitation for multitudes of spirits that are contrary to the Spirit of Truth.

Ephesians 6:12.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-17.  If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he abides with you, and will be in you.

Only by abiding in the promise of the Father can a child of God hope to overcome the world. In the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, Jesus delivers seven messages to seven elect churches in Asia Minor. Each of these messages concludes with promises from the Holy Spirit for those who hear in the churches, and overcome the world. This must be emphasized!

The promises are not given to those who simply believe, but are for those who overcome. 

God’s Spiritual Provision 

The Holy Spirit is God’s Provision for our spirit, to overcome the spirit of the world. 

1 Corinthians 2:12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (meaning examined).

We cannot rightly discern good and evil by the knowledge of good and evil. We must discern the spirit, and the commendation of the Holy Spirit. It is not just the deed that establishes the good, but the spirit in which it was done. The intentions of man’s desires corrupts virtue.

2 Peter 1:3, 4. According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by selfish desire.

We are born from above and receive from the Spirit that we may live not only by good deeds, but under the direction of God’s Will, with pure intent.

1 Peter 4:1, 2. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the desires of men, but to the will of God.

John 7:17. Anyone whose will is to do His will, shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God.

Hebrews 5:11-15.  We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

The spirit of the world dwells in every source of knowledge and information. Contemporary religious doctrine is contaminated by academic beliefs and traditions of men, even as in the time of Christ in “the fullness of time”.

Colossians 2:8. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

1 John 4:1-4.  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby we know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

The Spirit brings Deliverance

Romans 8:27.  Now He who searches the heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Ephesians 2:1-5. (The Message translation.) It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing whatever we feel like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. 

The Spirit provides correction in righteousness, to avoid the ways of the world that are an offence to God.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Matthew 18:6, 7. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence comes!

Isaiah 26:9.   With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1 Corinthians 11:32. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

You must be born from above by the Spirit of Truth

John 8:23.   Jesus said unto them, You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world.

1 John 5:4, 5.  For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The power to overcome begins with this true confession of faith, and continues as we walk in the Spirit, the light of Life.

Revelation 12:11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelation 21:7.   Those who overcome shall inherit all things; and I will be their God, and they shall be my offspring.  

John 16:33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

God Assessment

Job 10:12.  You have granted me life and favor, and your visitation has preserved my spirit.       

The word visitation-pekuddah (H6486) from pakad (H6485)-to visit, provides a basis for understanding the nature of covenant promises and the hope of prophecy. The Israelites for 400 years in Egypt clung to this prophetic word from Joseph:

Genesis 50:25.  And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel saying God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here.                                 

This covenant oath and promise between Joseph and his descendants continued as a memorial and became the words used by God to introduce Moses as their deliverer. The fulfillment of this promise becomes a remembrance of God and is prominent in the narrative.

Exodus 3:16.  Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto them….”I have surely visited you and that which is done to you in Egypt.”

Exodus 4:31.  And the people believed and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.  

 Exodus 13:19.  And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath saying “God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”                       

A deeper understanding of this word is necessary to grasp the statement “your visitation has preserved my spirit” in Job 10:12.

Pakad appears 90 times in the book Numbers, and is the basis for the title. The first four chapters of Numbers recounts a series of censuses that God commanded Moses and Aaron to make of the congregation of Israel.

Numbers 1:2 & 3.   Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of names, every male by their polls. From twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel you and Aaron shall number them by their armies.         

Verse two describes a numerical count (take the sum) and means a head count; “by their polls” literally means “by their skulls”. Verse three uses the word pakad “number them by their armies”.

So what is the relationship between “to visit” and “to number” when the word pakad appears? Pakad actually means to make an assessment, to observe to determine your physical, mental and spiritual state.

The key here is the phrase “that are able to go forth to war”. This is more than a head count, but also an assessment. And so in Exodus 4:31 “He looked upon their affliction”, the visitation is concerned with the state of being.

This correct understanding of “to number or to visit” forms the basis for both ministry and fellowship.

James 1:27.   Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction to remain unspotted from the world.    

This verse doesn’t limit ministry to widows and orphans, the emphasis is upon all who are afflicted with these two as prominent examples. Visitation also defines the role of leadership in the church.

Matthew 24:45.    Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his lord has made ruler (more correct is caretaker) over his household (congregation) to give them meat [spiritual sustenance– “I have meat you know not of… -John 4:32-34] in due season. (as the need arises) 

Ministering to the saints is a visitation to preserve the spirit of the church.

Friend or Foe?

James 4:4b.   Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Man must accept responsibility for the fact that his nature has corrupted the world.

Genesis 6:11, 12. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all mankind had corrupted his way upon the earth.

The spirit of the world is common and familiar to the human spirit. We must be sanctified to serve the Lord in newness of life by the Spirit of Truth.

1 John 2:15-17.  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing  away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.

All creation groans under the burden of man’s fall from grace.

Romans 8:19-21.  For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;  because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

Jesus Christ restores our relationship with God, that was severed by sin.

Isaiah 59:1, 2.  Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Man’s nature is hostile to the divine nature, which must be received as a gift of God.

2 Peter 1:4. Thereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

To be delivered from that nature, man must be separated from the world into the Kingdom of God; to experience deliverance from corruption.

Romans 5:10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

The divine nature is not obtained by genetics, personal improvement or education.

John 1:12, 13. As many as received Him, He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Life in Christ by the Will of God separates us to be useful to His purpose. Many have placed their hope in the Grace of God, but grace without purpose leads into error.

2 Timothy 1:8, 9.  Who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

We must be born from above by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit to truly love God, and one another.

The Message: God Is Love.

1 John 4. 

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.  My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

Set Free from sin, set free to Love

 

Faithful Men

2 Timothy 2:2. And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit unto faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

The Memorials of God exist to perpetuate the memory of His intent and purpose. A faithful man understands that his commitment is not only to learn and live in the Remembrance of the Lord, but also to discipleship and the passing on of the doctrine of Christ to faithful men. This is what brought about the calling of Abraham.

To Command your Children and your Household

Isaiah 18:19.   For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

This testimony of God concerning Abraham is echoed in the testimony of Cornelius.

Acts 10:2.  A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.

A righteous man instructs others in the way of the Lord to keep right judgment.

Psalm 106:3.  Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that does righteousness at all times.

To Love what He Loves

Psalm 33:4, 5.  For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in the Spirit of Truth. He loves righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

To love righteousness and judgment is to abide in His presence by the Spirit of Truth; for “righteousness and judgment is the habitation of His Throne.”

A Righteous Nation under God

Jeremiah 22:3. Thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

We stir up our hearts by the Remembrance of His compassion for those who are afflicted.

Psalm 103:6. The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

Genuine conversion is only accomplished by the righteousness from above.

Isaiah 1:27. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

Born from Above

1 John 2:29.   If you know that he is righteous, you know that every one that does righteousness is born of him.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit through faithful men.

John 16:8.  And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

 

 

A Righteous Branch

Jeremiah 23:1, 2.  Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

Even as Jesus pronounced woes to the teachers of the Law, His voice was echoing Jeremiah with the warnings for any who would assume spiritual authority over others to their harm. 

If pastors fail to make faithful assessments of the spiritual condition of the flock, the Lord Himself will make known His assessment of that pastor.

The Lord’s Visitation

To visit is to look upon to help, benefit or care for; but can also ultimately bring forth judgment without repentance, and a failure to show mercy. Jesus describes the day of His judgment on all peoples. 

For those approved:

Matthew 25:36.  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.

For those rejected:

Matthew 25:43.   I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.

Those who rejoiced at the coming of Jesus Christ proclaimed these words:

Luke 7:16. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”

In doing so, they echoed the prophetic words of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.

Luke 1:77, 78. To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us.

All who are the servants of the Lord, not just pastors, have the opportunity to participate in the Lord’s visitation, for this is our true religion.

James 1:27.  Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.

The remnant will be gathered.

Jeremiah 23:3, 4.  But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.  I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking, says the Lord.

Every Christian should hear the voice of the Good Shepherd in the word of Jeremiah. This remnant of the flock includes the Gentiles who have put their trust in Him.

John 10:16.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

The remnant [H7611-shĕ’eriyth], is derived from the root [sha’ar, H7604], that which remains, or was left behind. This pertains to The Day of Judgment. In Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as the New Testament writings, the remnant will remain after the harvest. 

These gleanings of the Lord, which were reckoned separately. While most are very familiar with the tithe, rarely are the gleanings discussed, for they point to what will remain, after the judgment.

The Unprofitable Servant

The words of scripture are chosen very carefully for those who have ears to hear. All who are called receive their portion, but not all will be faithful.

Matthew 13:10-12. And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables?  He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Matthew 25:28-30.  So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Many seek the Lord desiring what He alone is able to give them. (The Called). Very few come to Him desiring to serve, to receive from Him what is provided for others.

John 6:26, 27. Jesus answered them and said, Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.

Judgment and Righteousness

Jeremiah 23:5, 6. Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

To be an executor in covenant, one must keep the Way of the Lord. Christ fulfilled all Righteousness through the Branch of David,  perfecting every covenant between God and man, beginning with Abraham.

Genesis 18:19.  For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to execute judgment and righteousness; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

The Stewardship of Abraham in covenant with God was not just in keeping Judgment and Righteousness, but to take command over all in his sphere of influence by keeping the Way of the Lord. The Memorials of the Lord must be passed onto the next generation. The Way of the Lord always includes this Stewardship.

Jesus Alone Is Exalted

Isaiah 5:16.  But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is Holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

For the Lord to be exalted in judgment, the Holy Spirit must be involved to counsel your decision. This is an absolute requirement when passing on the Way of the Lord. Righteousness requires our sanctification from carnal ideas.

2 Corinthians 3:4, 5. And such trust have we through Christ toward God: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.

Clothed in Righteousness

Job 29:14.  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.

1 Peter 5:5. Likewise, you younger ones, submit yourselves to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Romans 13:14. Therefore, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop making provision for the desires of the flesh.

Psalm 106:3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that executes righteousness at all times.

Establishing the Law

Isaiah 16:5. In mercy the throne will be established, and One will sit on it in Truth, in the tabernacle of David, Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.

James 2:13.  For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Isaiah 56:1. Keep justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.

Romans 3:31.  Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Jeremiah 33:15.  In those days and at that time, I will grow up unto David a Branch of righteousness; he shall execute judgment and righteousness for the earth.

Hear and Live

Isaiah 66:5. Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word.

John 5:25.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

The Son of God speaks to our spirit and gives overcoming life to those who listen and obey. This verse does not speak of the resurrection of the dead, but of being born again from above.

For immediately after, Jesus says:

John 5:28, 29.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice; and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Note in verse twenty five, the statement ‘the hour is coming, and now is’.  Jesus uses this expression to contrast His Revelation to that generation to His final Apocalypse at the end of the age. We find the same structured logos in chapter four.

John 4:21.  Jesus said to her, Woman believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 

Jesus refers to the soon destruction of the second temple and the end of Levitical worship in Jerusalem. Then He makes clear the Truth of worship. 

John 4:23, 24.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.

Worship in Truth ceased from temples built with hands, but continues in hearts united by The Holy Spirit.

Drink With A Hearing Heart The Water of Life

John 7:37, 38. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those entrusted to Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet  given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The Son of God has been glorified. The river of life flows from the throne of God to give life to those who listen and obey. This is the message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Genesis 3:8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God as they walked in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

Deuteronomy 5:24. The Lord, our God, has indeed let us see his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire. Today we have found out that God may speak to a mortal and that person may still live.

2 Peter 1:17, 18. 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. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

Revelation 3:22. To the one whose heart is open let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying now to the churches.

Revelation 22:16, 17. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.  The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him who hears say Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Ways and Means of the Lord

Ezekiel 14:22, 23. Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it.  And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,  says the Lord God.

derek aliylah=ways and means

This Word informs us that the remnant will demonstrate a right way of acting based on pure intentions from a heart directed by the Lord. Not just the ways that the people accomplish, but also the means by which they fulfill them. When people see their works, they will be comforted, that God is still with the people, even in the face of great catastrophe or hardship. The Brenton Septuagint renders this expression ‘their ways and their thoughts’, the emphasis on the reasoning behind the action being expressed.

Psalm 99:8. You answered them, O Lord our God: you were a God that forgave them, though You took vengeance of their inventions.

Rather than ‘inventions’ for aliylah here , most modern translations state ‘misdeeds’. The Septuagint is translated by Brenton as ‘devices’.   Simply punishing deeds without correcting the faulty reasoning behind the acts would accomplish very little. The Lord desires to lead in the right way. 

1 Samuel 2:3.  Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth. For the Lord is the God of knowledge;  And by Him aliylah is assessed.

This is the derek aliylah of the Lord.

Ezekiel 20:43, 44. And there shall ye remember your ways and your means, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.  And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupted means, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

What is the offense that perpetuates the falling away of the people? Not only in disregarding laws and statutes, but grievously profaning their memorials.  The Lord gave the people His Sabbaths, that they may pass down the righteous way to their children. Sin was magnified by what a chosen people passed onto the next generation.

Ezekiel 20:18. But I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.   I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them;  hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

Forty years of wandering in the wilderness resulted in an entire generation passing away before the nation entered the promised land. 

Psalm 103:7. He made known His derek to Moses, His aliylah unto the children of Israel.

A clear division was presented by how that generation worshipped, and how their children had learned to walk.  The memorials of the Torah were to ensure that this refined generation passed on righteousness to their children.

Ezekiel 21:24.  Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered [by your children], in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your aliylah your sins appear; because you have perpetuated their memory in passing them on, you shall be taken in hand.

While aliylah is most typically translated deeds, it actually strikes deeper to the reasoning and planning that precedes the action. Even if the motive seems pure, the method will be faulty without the wisdom of God. The remnant of God will ultimately declare His ways and means.

Zephaniah 3:11.  On that day you shall not be shamed for all of your wicked aliylah, in which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain.

And in that day you will say:

Isaiah 12:4.  Praise the Lord, call upon His name; declare His aliylah among the peoples.  Make mention that His name is exalted.

Psalm 9:11.  Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!  Declare His aliylah among the people.