The New Covenant

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=35 BGCOLOR="#000099" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>The New Covenant</B></div> <div> <B>The New Covenant</B>   |   <A HREF="id93.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision of Transformation">Vision of Transformation</A>   |   <A HREF="id95.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Graded Holiness">Graded Holiness</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=445 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="introduction"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="738" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="338"><div> <B>Introduction                          </B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="393"><div> <B>            </B><B>                                         </B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#contents" TITLE="The New Covenant"><B>Contents</B></A></div> <bR> <div> "[He took] the cup after supper, saying, This cup <I>is </I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the new testament</B></FONT> in my blood, which is shed for you"</div> <div> (Luke 22:20, AV).</div> <bR> <div> The Bible has been divided into two parts, the "Old Testament" and the "New Testament". The books of the Old Testament encompass Genesis to Malachi, while the books of the New Testament encompass Matthew to Revelation. The Old Testament books were written before Christ's first coming and the New Testament after.</div> <bR> <div> "Blood has nothing to do with a "will" or "testament". But it has with a covenant" (E.W. Bullinger, <I>Companion Bible,</I> p.1500, note on Luke 22:20).</div> <bR> <div> "... after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the new covenant</B></FONT> in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20, NIV).</div> <bR> <div> Using the above construct the Bible divisions should be referred to as the "Old Covenant" and the "New Covenant".</div> <bR> <div> But these designations are misleading.</div> <bR> <div> The books from Genesis to Malachi would be better referred to as the "Kingdom Covenant" and the books from Matthew to Revelation referred to as the "Church Covenant".</div> <bR> <div> The "Kingdom Covenant" - the books from Genesis to Malachi - encompass both the Old and Renewed Covenant with 'Israel the Kingdom'. The "Church Covenant" - the books from Matthew to Revelation - encompasses the Covenant with 'Israel the Church'.</div> <bR> <div> While the Covenant with 'Israel the Kingdom' has not yet been renewed there is a wealth of information in the "Kingdom Covenant" - the books from Genesis to Malachi - on the renewed Covenant that it is better to refer to these books not as the "Old Testament" or "Old Covenant" but as the "Old and New Covenant with Israel the Kingdom" or, for short, the "Kingdom Covenant".</div> <bR> <div> In the above we have referred to "Israel the Kingdom" and "Israel the Church". The symbol for a kingdom and a church is a woman. This implies that there is some sort of "theological connection" between a Kingdom and a Church and therefore between the Kingdom Covenant and the Church Covenant. As a 'woman' is a symbol for both Kingdom and Church, and that there is a "theological connection" between them, it follows that both Kingdom and Church may share the same title.</div> <bR> <div> With this in mind we will now begin to look at "The New Covenant - The Sarah and Keturah Administrations".</div> <bR> <div> <B>THE LONGEST OT PASSAGE QUOTED IN THE NT</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >"For if that </FONT><B>first </B><I><B>covenant</B></I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the </FONT><B>second</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "For finding fault with them, he saith.</div> <bR> <div> "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>I will make a new covenant</B></FONT> with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:</div> <bR> <div> "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.</div> <bR> <div> "For this <I>is</I> the covenant that I will make <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>with the house of Israel after those days</B></FONT>, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people...</div> <bR> <div> "In that he saith, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>A new </B><I><B>covenant,</B></I><B> he hath made the first old.</B></FONT> Now that which decayeth and waxeth old <I>is</I> ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:7-13, AV).</div> <bR> <div> Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant:</div> <bR> <div> "... not even the first <I>covenant</I> was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying "<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><I><B>This is the blood of the covenant</B></I></FONT><I> which God has commanded</I> <I>you</I>" (Hebrews 9:18-20, NKJV).</div> <bR> <div> while Jesus Christ, the second Moses (Heb 3:1-6), was "the mediator of the new covenant" (Hebrews 12:24, NKJV):</div> <bR> <div> "In the same manner <I>he</I> also <I>took</I> the cup after supper, saying, "<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>This cup is the new covenant in My blood</B></FONT>. This do, as often as you drink <I>it</I>, in remembrance of Me"" (1Corinthians 11:25, NKJV).</div> <bR> <div> <B>PROBLEM</B></div> <bR> <div> "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>this mystery</B></FONT>, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>to Israel</B></FONT>, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>For this </B><I><B>is</B></I><B> my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins</B></FONT>. As concerning the gospel, <I>they are</I> enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, <I>they are</I> beloved for the fathers' sakes" (Romans 11:25-27).</div> <bR> <div> God is going to make a "New Covenant" with the "house of Israel". But has not Jesus Christ already established the New Covenant? Are there two New Covenants? If this is so, is there any connection between the two New Covenants?</div> <bR> <div> <B>TWO ADMINISTRATIONS</B></div> <bR> <div> To begin to answer these questions we will look at another of Paul's teachings:</div> <bR> <div> "... ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14, AV).</div> <bR> <div> "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" (Galatians 4:21, AV).</div> <bR> <div> Those under the administration of the Old Covenant maybe referred to those "under the law" while those of the New referred to those "under grace".</div> <bR> <div> The Jews of Galatia found the transition to the new administration difficult. So Paul used an "analogy" to help them understand the new reality.</div> <bR> <div> <B>T</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000033" FACE="Verdana" ><B>WO WOMEN - TWO COVENANTS</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman [Hagar] and the other by the free woman [Sarah]... These things may be taken figuratively, for <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the women represent two covenants</B></FONT>" (Galatians 4:22, 24, NIV).</div> <bR> <div> We learn from this 'allegory' that the mothers of Abraham's sons represent two covenants. But before looking at the section from which the above scriptures are taken, there is another consideration.</div> <bR> <div> <B>ANOTHER WOMAN - ANOTHER COVENANT?</B></div> <bR> <div> But it is also written that Abraham had six other sons by another woman, named Keturah:</div> <bR> <div> "Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name <I>was</I> Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah... All these <I>were</I> the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country" (Genesis 25:1-6).</div> <bR> <div> <B>THE MYSTERY OF KETURAH</B></div> <bR> <div> "Origen, having argued that some mystery must be hid under this union of Abraham with Keturah - first, from the fact, that he who was "as good as dead" in his hundredth year, now at a hundred and thirty-seven begets many sons; secondly, from the analogy of the other two wives, both of whom, according to St. Paul, where certain principles..." (Andrew Jukes, <I>Types in Genesis</I>, p.280).</div> <bR> <div> Andrew Jukes also noted that:</div> <bR> <div> "Keturah cannot be known, for she only comes when Sarah as an outward form has passed away. But if this is done, then Keturah will come in thousands who are faithful by her spirit.</div> <bR> <div> "... Keturah [comes] ... when the truth which Sarah represents has passed from an outward form into a higher state...</div> <bR> <div> "Keturah ... is, as her name imports, "a savour of a sweet smell"..." (<I>Types in Genesis</I>, pp.279-80).</div> <bR> <div> If the "slave woman" and the "free woman", mothers of two sons of Abraham, represent two covenants then it would follow that Keturah, the mother of six of Abraham's sons, would also represent a covenant.</div> <bR> <div> <B>THE ARGUMENT</B></div> <bR> <div> It is the premise of this booklet that Keturah does represent a covenant and that the Keturah Covenant comes when the Sarah Covenant has passed "into a higher state".</div> <bR> <div> While the Keturah Covenant follows the Sarah Covenant, these two distinct covenants are two dispensations of the One Covenant. Hence the title of this booklet: "The New Covenant - The Sarah and Keturah Administrations". As we will see the two dispensations of the New Covenant follow the pattern of the two administrations of the Old Covenant - the "tabernacle" and "temple" administrations.</div> <bR> <div> This is in keeping with a Biblical principle. This concept is explained in the article "The House(s) of Israel - An Introduction to the Set-Subset Concept of the Bible". While there is "one" kingdom of Israel that one kingdom is made up of two "subset" kingdoms. These two "subset" kingdoms also picture the two dispensations of both the Old and New Covenants.</div> <bR> <div> <B>PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL</B></div> <bR> <div> "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he <I>who was</I> of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman <I>was</I> by promise.</div> <bR> <div> "Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar [Hagar]. For this <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is</B></FONT>, and is in bondage with her children. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all</B></FONT>. For it is written, Rejoice, <I>thou</I> barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him <I>that was born</I> after the Spirit, even so <I>it is</I> now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free" (Galatians 4:22-31, AV).</div> <bR> <div> Just as Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, persecuted Isaac, the son of the freewoman, now those under the Old Covenant - "Jerusalem which now is" - persecuted those under the New Covenant - "Jerusalem which is above is free".</div> <bR> <div> Note the synonymous parallelism:</div> <bR> <div> "But he <I>who was</I> of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><I><B>was</B></I><B> [born]</B></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>by promise</B></FONT>" (v.23).</div> <bR> <div> "But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him <I>that </I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><I><B>was born</B></I></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>after the Spirit</B></FONT>, even so <I>it is</I> now" (v.29).</div> <bR> <div> <B>ISRAEL - NATION AND CHURCH</B></div> <bR> <div> "Behold <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Israel after the flesh</B></FONT>..." (1 Corinthians 10:18, AV).</div> <bR> <div> "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace <I>be</I> on them, and mercy, and upon the<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Israel of God</B></FONT>" (Galatians 6:15-16, AV).</div> <bR> <div> "<B>Israel after the flesh </B>- the literal, as distinguished from the spiritual Israel (Ro 2:29; 4:1; 9:3; Ga 4:29)" (A.R. Fausset, <I>1 Corinthians - Revelation</I>, Vol.3, Pt.3, p.312).</div> <bR> <div> Israel "born after the Spirit" maybe said to be "spiritual" Israel while Israel "born after the flesh" maybe said to be "physical" Israel.</div> <bR> <div> "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also <I>is</I> Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether <I>we be</I> Jews or Gentiles, whether <I>we be</I> bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, AV).</div> <bR> <div> In the Church, the Israel of God, there are Jews, who were formerly Israelites after the flesh. This implies that those of "Israel after the flesh" that come under the New Covenant are now "spiritual" Israelites. After the inauguration of the "New Covenant" with the House of Israel, "Israel after the flesh" will also be "spiritual" Israelites.</div> <bR> <div> "As Sarah stands for "the mother of us all," i.e. of those who, by grace, are one with the true Son of promise, of whom Isaac was the type John 3:6-8; Galatians 4:26,28,29; Hebrews 2:11-13 and joint heirs of His wealth; Hebrews 1:2; Romans 8:16,17, so <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Keturah </B></FONT>(wedded after the full blessing of Isaac)<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B> and her children by Abraham may well stand for the fertility of Israel the natural seed</B></FONT>, Jehovah's wife Hosea 2:1-23 after the future national restoration under the Palestinian covenant" (C. I. Scofield, "Scofield Reference Notes", notes on Genesis 25).</div> <bR> <div> It was argued early that the books of the Bible - Genesis to Malachi - should really be designated the Old and New Covenant with Israel the Kingdom and the books - Matthew to Revelation - designated the Covenant with Israel the Church.</div> <bR> <div> Therefore, expanding Paul's allegory, Hagar pictures Israel the nation under the 'old covenant' while Keturah pictures Israel the nation under the 'new covenant'; with Sarah picturing the covenant with Israel the church.</div> <bR> <div> While having argued for different designations for the division of the Bible, the "Old" and "New" Testament designations will be retained to save confusion.</div> <bR> <div> <B>"Physical" Levites</B></div> <bR> <div> Within the Old and Renewed Covenant with Israel there was and is a covenant with the Levites.</div> <bR> <div> "... the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their brothers</B></FONT>; <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the LORD is their inheritance</B></FONT>, as the LORD your God told them" (Deuteronomy 10:8-9, NIV).</div> <bR> <div> The Levites are set apart by God, from the other twelve tribes.</div> <bR> <div> <B>"Spiritual" Levites</B></div> <bR> <div> "<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>The Tabernacle seems to be the type of Christ and His Church now</B></FONT>; <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the Temple, of Christ and His Church in resurrection glory</B></FONT>..." (Ada R. Habershon, <I>Study of the Types</I>, pp.54).</div> <bR> <div> Just as there is a "theological" connection between a Kingdom and Church, there is a "theological" connection between the Levites and the Church.</div> <bR> <div> Israel the Church under the New Covenant is also set part, by God, from Israel the Kingdom under the New Covenant.</div> <bR> <div> <B>THREE JERUSALEMS - THREE ADMINISTRATIONS</B></div> <bR> <div> "...<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem</B></FONT>, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother" (Galatians 4:25, NIV).</div> <bR> <div> Hagar corresponds with Jerusalem of the Old Covenant and Sarah with Jerusalem of the New Covenant. It follows then that Keturah may correspond with a Jerusalem.</div> <bR> <div> "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit <I>it</I> ; neither shall <I>that</I> be done any more. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD</B></FONT>; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers" (Jeremiah 3:14-18, AV).</div> <bR> <div> It would then follow that Keturah corresponds with the Jerusalem of the 'renewed' covenant with Israel the Kingdom. If so Keturah therefore corresponds to a covenant.</div> <bR> <div> "Keturah" Jerusalem will co-exist, for a while, with "Sarah" Jerusalem.</div> <bR> <div> "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away... And I John saw the holy city, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven</B></FONT>..." (Revelation 21:1-2, AV).</div> <bR> <div> "<B>Jerusalem . . . out of heaven</B> - (Ga 4:26; Heb 11:10; 12:22; 13:14; [Rev] 3:12). The <I>descent</I> of the new Jerusalem <I>out of heaven</I> is plainly distinct from the <I>earthly</I> Jerusalem in which Israel in the flesh shall dwell during the millennium, and follows on the creation of the new heaven and earth. John in his Gospel always writes [<I>Greek</I>] <I>Hierosoluma</I> of the old city; in the Apocalypse always <I>Hierousaleem</I> of the heavenly city (Re 3:12). <I>Hierousaleem</I> is <I>Hebrew</I>, the original and holy appellation. <I>Hierosoluma</I> is the common <I>Greek</I>, in a political sense. Paul observes the same distinction when refuting Judaism (Ga 4:26; compare 1:17, 18; 2:1; Heb 12:22), though not so in the Epistles to Romans and Corinthians [<I>Bengel</I>]" (A.R. Fausett, <I>1 Corinthians - Revelation</I>, JFB, Vol.3, Pt.3, p.725).</div> <bR> <div> "This shows clearly that the wonders and glories revealed here belong to post-millennial times and ages. Therefore, the city of the great King during the thousand years ... will have "passed away". There cannot be two Jerusalems on the earth at one and the same time. The <I>new</I> Jerusalem comes down on the <I>new</I> earth, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>thus taking the place of the former city</B></FONT>" (E. W. Bullinger, <I>Companion Bible</I>, p.1913).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, </FONT><B>the tabernacle of God </B><I><B>is</B></I><B> with men, and he will dwell with them</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >, and </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>they shall be his people</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >, and God himself shall be with them, </FONT><I><B>and be</B></I><B> their God</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >" (Revelation 21:3, AV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> By means of the Hagar, Keturah and Sarah Covenants God is working towards his goal: to establish a people, dwell with them, and be their God.</div> <bR> <div> The Hagar Old Covenant is crucial to understanding how the New Covenant unfolds and realises it goal. Perhaps the title of this booklet should be "The Covenants - The Hagar, Sarah and Keturah Administrations".</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Structure of the Covenant Dispensations</B></div> <bR> <div> The Old Covenant may be divided into two main stages - the 'tabernacle' and 'temple' administrations. The first of these administrations may also be divided into two stages. These stages are consecutive.</div> <bR> <div> Therefore under the Old Covenant there are three consecutive stages - two 'tabernacle' and one 'temple' administrations.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="3" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" WIDTH="460" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM HEIGHT= 28 ><NOBR><div> <B>  Hagar Old Covenant</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="18"><div> -</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM><NOBR><div>  The Tabernacle/Levi Dispensation</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM HEIGHT= 21 WIDTH="156"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="21" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="156" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="18"><div> -</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div>  The Tabernacle/Joseph Dispensation</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 21 WIDTH="156"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="21" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="156" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="18"><div> -</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div>  The Temple/Judah Dispensation</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> The New Covenant is also divided up into two main stages - the 'tabernacle' and 'temple' administrations. The second of these administrations may also be divided into two stages. The difference in the New Covenant is that the first stage is followed by two contemporary stages.</div> <bR> <div> Therefore under the New Covenant there are three stages - one 'tabernacle' followed by two contemporary 'temple' administrations.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="4" CELLPADDING="3" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="587" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="165"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="165" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="16" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM COLSPAN=2 WIDTH="145"><div> <B>Dispensations</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="16" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="181"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="181" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> <B>Sarah New Covenant</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="16"><div> -</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Tabernacle</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="59"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="59" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="16" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="181"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="181" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="165"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="165" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="16"><div> -</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="83"><div> Temple</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="59"><div> Temple</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="16"><div> -</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <B>Keturah New Covenant</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="contents"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Contents:</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="3" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="458" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="440"><div> <A HREF="#introduction" TITLE="The New Covenant">Introduction</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="440"><div> <A HREF="#abraham_to_jacob" TITLE="The New Covenant">Abraham to Jacob</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="440"><div> <B>Hagar Old Covenant</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="39"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="39" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="398"><div> <A HREF="#hagar_old_covenant___the" TITLE="The New Covenant">Tabernacle/Levi Dispensation</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="39"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="39" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="398"><div> <A HREF="#hagar_old_covenant___tabernaclejoseph" TITLE="The New Covenant">Tabernacle/Joseph Dispensation</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="39"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="39" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="398"><div> <A HREF="#hagar_old_covenant___temple_dispensation" TITLE="The New Covenant">Temple/Judah Dispensation</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="440"><div> <B>Keturah New Covenant</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="39"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="39" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="398"><div> <A HREF="#keturah_new_covenant___kingdom" TITLE="The New Covenant">Temple Dispensation</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="440"><div> <B>Sarah New Covenant</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="39"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="39" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="398"><div> <A HREF="#sarah_new_covenant___tabernacle" TITLE="The New Covenant">Tabernacle Dispensation</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="39"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="39" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="398"><div> <A HREF="#sarah_new_covenant___temple_dispensation" TITLE="The New Covenant">Temple Dispensation</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="440"><div> <A HREF="#abbreviations" TITLE="The New Covenant">Abbreviations/Bibliography</A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>  <A NAME="abraham_to_jacob"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Abraham to Jacob</B></div> <bR> <div> In Genesis 11 we are introduced to Abram (literally: father exalted") who would later have his name changed to Abraham ("father of many").</div> <bR> <div> Abraham we are informed was a "friend of God" (James 2:23). This implies relationship. In the relationship Abraham obeyed/believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.</div> <bR> <div> God's relationship with Abram/Abraham benefited Abraham but it was more than this. There was a purpose behind the relationship that transcended 'do this and you will receive this'.</div> <bR> <div> Through the development of the relationship - promise; renewed promise; covenant; covenant renewed as an everlasting covenant and covenantal oath we have the plan of God for the future.</div> <bR> <div> Looking at what God would do for Abraham we find:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 12:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... I will make of thee a great nation...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> An individual does not make a nation. God's blessing reaches far beyond one individual and one time.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 22:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 12:3</B></FONT><B> </B> And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee...</div> <bR> <div> The nations will be blessed but the blessing depends on their relationship with Abraham's nation.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Gen 18:8  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 22:17</B></FONT> ... I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which <I>is </I>upon the sea shore;</div> <div> <B>Ge 17:6 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > and kings shall come out of thee.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> This "great and mighty nation" would be a kingdom.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 15:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 15:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 15:20</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 15:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 22:17</B></FONT> ... <B>and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies</B>;</div> <bR> <div> The land of this great nation is defined. Not only was Abraham's nation to be victorious in battle, the implication, as later became reality, was that the Kingdom would also be an Empire.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Community</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 17:7</B></FONT>  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, <B>to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee</B>.</div> <bR> <div> "... the concept of a covenant inexorably demands the attendant concept of a community" (Kim Huat Tan, "Community, Kingdom and Cross: Jesus' View of Covenant", Jamie A. Grant & Alistair I. Wilson, Editors, <I>The God of Covenant</I>, p.124).</div> <bR> <div> Here we see what God is up to. God created human-beings to have a relationship with them. But not just any relationship. This relationship was to be a 'covenental' relationship. God created Adam to have an 'intimate' relationship with, but not only Adam but all of Adam's descendants. Adam and Eve sinned and the relationship did not progress to the 'intimate' level that God was seeking.</div> <bR> <div> After Adam sinned God immediately implemented a plan to restore the relationship and to develop a relationship with mankind with its attendant blessings.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 3:15 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ro 16:20 </B></FONT> And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ <I>be </I>with you. Amen.</div> <bR> <div> The 'seed' of Genesis 3:15 is both a group and the person who represents that group.</div> <bR> <div> "Eve had been promised both a "seed" and a male individual - apparently from that "seed". Now the progress of revelation with greater specification elaborated on both the corporate and representative aspects of this promised "seed"... "seed was always a collective singular noun; never did it appear as a plural noun (e.g., as in "sons"). Thereby the "seed" was marked as a unit, yet with a flexibility of reference: now to the one person, now to the many descendants of that family..." (Walter C. Kaiser Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.88).</div> <bR> <div> "[Genesis 3] Verse 15 still contains a puzzling yet important ambiguity: Who is the "seed" of the woman? It seems obvious that the purpose of this verse has not been to answer that question but rather raise it. The remainder of the book is the author's answer" (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.56).</div> <bR> <div> That 'collective' seed, from whom the individual Seed comes, was to be the instrument to restore God's relationship with human-beings, and develop it till it becomes an 'intimate' relationship. Abram/Abraham is the 'new' Adam by which God's plan would be accomplished.</div> <bR> <div> "The "covenant" ... was God's legal instrument for the redemption of his people. Through it he graciously bequeathed an inheritance of reconciliation with himself to those who were qualified heirs, those who met its condition of sincere faith in his promise (Gen 15:6; Heb 11:6). Though the instrument of redemption was first revealed in Eden to fallen Adam (Gen 3:15), it was confirmed to Noah (9:9) and to Abraham (1 Chron 16:16) and his chosen seed (Gen 17:7; Exod 19:5-6; Gal 3:29) for a "thousand generations." Its ultimate accomplishment depended on the death of Jesus Christ, the divine testator (Heb 9:15-17), an event symbolized under the anticipatory older testament by the shedding of sacrificial blood (Exod 24:6-8; Heb 9:18-22..." (J. Barton Payne, <I>1,2 Chronicles</I>, EBC, Vol.4, p.391, Note on 1 Chron 16:14-17).</div> <bR> <div> "The general purpose for a covenant is to provide a binding sense to an interpersonal relationship... Those who enter into covenant obligate themselves to that relationship and provide it with a strong sense of security. This is vividly illustrated in the marriage covenant which was instituted by God to be a model of His covenants. God hates divorce because it disannuls a covenant, destroys its very purpose and does not accurately reflect the irrevocability of the covenants by which man is redeemed (Malachi 2:14-16)" (Kevin J. Conner & Ken Malmin, <I>The Covenants</I>, p.3).</div> <bR> <div> To arrive at the 'intimate' level of a marriage it proceeds through various stages.</div> <bR> <div> Using the modern process of marriage we have (1) marriage proposal; (2) marriage vows; (3) exchange of rings and a kiss to confirm the marriage; (4) wedding supper; and (5) the consummation of that marriage when husband and wife begin living intimately together.</div> <bR> <div> This, more or less, is the pattern of covenantal relationship with God.</div> <bR> <div> God's relationship with mankind is a 'marriage' covenant. So that God's covenant with a "kingdom", through which all nations share, does not begin until God is living with his people.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 6:3 </B></FONT> And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by <I>the name of </I>God Almighty, but <B>by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them</B>.</div> <div> <B>Ex 6:4  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >And I have also established my covenant with them [Abram/Abraham's descendants]...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The implication is that in covenant God will be "known" as Jehovah, which implies knowing God on an a deeper level.</div> <bR> <div> "The special name ... "Yahweh" is defined, in its only explanation in the entire OT, as an assertion of the reality of the active existence of Israel's God (3:3-14)... [I am Yahweh] is above all a confession of authority, the authority of the real and <B>effective Presence of Yahweh </B>who rescues, sustains, calls, and, on the basis of all that, expects a positive response from humankind" (John I. Durham, <I>Exodus</I>, WBC, p.76).</div> <bR> <div> "... the most characteristic of all covenant formulas - "I will be your God, and you will be my people" - is taken from "the sphere of marriage/adoption legal terminology like its Davidic counterpart in II Sam. VII, 14" (Weinfeld, "The Covenant of Grant," p.200)" (Ronald F. Youngblood,  <I>1, 2 Samuel</I>, EBC, Vol. 3, p.892).</div> <bR> <div> God also pictures His relationship with his people as a Father-Son relationship.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 17:19</B></FONT>  And God said,<B> Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, </B><I><B>and </B></I><B>with his seed after him</B>.</div> <bR> <div> The blessing would be transmitted through Abraham's and Sarah's son Isaac, not through Abraham's and Hagar's son Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn, or through any of Abraham's and Keturah's six sons.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 28:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And God Almighty bless thee [Jacob], and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 28:4 </B> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "[Isaac] describes this blessing as the blessing of Abraham. And largely echoes the promises made to Abraham for nearly every phrase is found in the Abrahamic promises... this is the first time that Jacob has been designated heir of the Abrahamic promises..." (Gordon Wenham, <I>Genesis 16-50</I>, WBC, p.214).</div> <bR> <div> It was in Isaac's seed Jacob that the promise of the 'great' nation would sprout.</div> <bR> <div> Jacob, similar to Abram/Abraham before him, came to be called another name - Israel (Gen 35:10). But the name Israel and Jacob would be used interchangeably for Isaac's son.</div> <bR> <div> The name Israel and Jacob would also be used interchangeably for the 'great' nation.</div> <bR> <div> Jacob had twelve sons whose descendants would become a "great" nation made up of twelve tribes.</div> <bR> <div> Jacob fathered his twelve sons from four women - his two wives and their handmaids.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 29:30 </B></FONT> Jacob ... loved Rachel more than Leah... [and]<B> </B> Leah was not loved (NIV).</div> <div> <B>Ge 29:31 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 30:1 </B></FONT> When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, <B>she became jealous of her sister</B>.</div> <bR> <div> The two wives were two sisters. Jacob favoured the younger one over the older one. This ungodly favouritism by Jacob, which brought a response from God, would cause tension in the family and "great" nation. Rachel's jealousy would be her unintended legacy to the nation.</div> <bR> <div> Jacob had six sons by Leah and eventually two sons by Rachel. Leah's fourth oldest son Judah, and Rachel's eldest son Joseph play leading roles in the developing and realisation of the "great" nation.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1 Ch 5:2 </B></FONT> Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him <I>came </I>the chief ruler; but the birthright <I>was </I>Joseph's.</div> <bR> <div> It is suggested here that the blessing of birthright and rulership went hand in hand - Jesus Christ is both God's firstborn and anointed King. The birthright and rulership came to Joseph, perhaps as a result of the sin of Judah's older full-brother so that this is the exception to the rule that the firstborn son, if the son of an unloved wife, is born before the son of a loved wife, receives the birthright (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). But because the descendants of Joseph failed to live up to their side of the covenant, by failing to follow in the faithful example of their 'father' Joseph, they lost the right of leadership, but still retained the birthright. The right of rulership then descended on the descendants of Benjamin, Joseph's younger and only full-brother. With the failure of Benjamin the 'sceptre' was handed back to the descendants of Leah. Because of the 'sin' of the first three sons of Leah the scepter passed to Judah. David from the tribe of Judah, followed in the faithful footsteps of Abraham and secured the sceptre permanently for Judah and prevailed over his brethren.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 37:3 </B></FONT> Now <B>Israel loved</B> <B>Joseph more than all his children</B>, because he <I>was </I>the son of his old age...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 37:4</B></FONT><B> </B> <B>And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him</B>, and could not speak peaceably unto him.</div> <div> <B>Ge 37:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And Joseph dreamed a dream...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 37:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 37:7</B></FONT>  For, behold, we <I>were </I>binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.</div> <div> <B>Ge 37:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The brethren here may not include Joseph's younger full-brother Benjamin, for he too was a son of Jacob's old age. Typology also suggest this. See below.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 37:17 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >... Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 37:18  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Jacob's preferential treatment of Joseph ... angered Joseph's brother and turned them against him" (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2 p.227) - to the point they wanted to kill him. Jacob's aggravates the legacy of jealousy of his 'loved' wife Rachael. Jealousy and favourtism are a continuing theme in the history of the twelve tribe-nation.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 37:26 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 37:27</B></FONT><B> </B> Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.</div> <bR> <div> Judah played an important part in 'saving' Joseph. This was an anticipation and foreshadowing of a greater saving role in Judah's descendants. Judah would also later play a role of intercessor in the life of Joseph's brother Benjamin, offering to be a slave instead of Benjamin (Gen 44). As in God's test of Abraham, in which Isaac's life was not required, Joseph did not require it of Judah.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 37:36 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "What happens to Joseph foreshadows all that will happen to the sons of Jacob. They will be carried down into Egypt and will be put into slavery" (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.229).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 39:3 </B></FONT> And his master saw that the LORD <I>was </I>with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 39:5 </B></FONT> And it came to pass from the time <I>that </I>he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.</div> <bR> <div> "Joseph's sojourn in Egypt ... has resulted in <B>an initial fulfilment of the Abrahamic promise that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you"</B> (12:3).<B> Thus we are told that "the LORD blessed the house of the Egyptian because of Joseph" </B>(v.5). Such a thematic introduction alerts the reader to the underlying lessons intended throughout the narrative. <B>This is not the story of the success of Joseph; rather it is a story of God's faithfulness to his promises</B>..." (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, pp.234).</div> <bR> <div> Later God, through Joseph, would interpret the dreams of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Joseph revealed that the land of Egypt would experience seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Joseph also put forward a plan to "provide for the famine years" (Joyce G. Baldwin, <I>The Message of Genesis 12-50</I>, BST, p.175).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 41:33 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 41:34</B></FONT>  Let Pharaoh do <I>this, </I>and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.</div> <div> <B>Ge 41:35</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 41:36</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... this story describes God's control of human affairs" (Gordon Wenham, <I>Genesis 16-50</I>, WBC, p.399).</div> <bR> <div> Joseph's wisdom and administrative skills are on display here and throughout the course of the famine. Joseph's mother left a legacy of 'jealous' to the nation but her son Joseph's legacy to his descendants, as they especially walk with God, is his wisdom and administrative skills which are a major source of blessing to the future 'great' nation.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 41:39 </B></FONT> And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, <I>there is </I>none so discreet and wise as thou <I>art:</I></div> <div> <B>Ge 41:40 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 41:43 </B></FONT> ... and he made him <I>ruler </I>over all the land of Egypt.</div> <div> <B>1Co 15:27</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Joseph is second only to the king. Joseph's administers to the nation under the 'king'. Joseph, the saviour of the nations, is also a type of Christ (1 Cor 15:27).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 41:57 </B></FONT> And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy <I>corn; </I>because that the famine was <I>so </I>sore in all lands.</div> <div> <B>Ge 47:25 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And they said [to Joseph], Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> This is another example of Abraham/Israel being a blessing to the nations.</div> <bR> <div> "Joseph's wisdom is seen as the source of life for everyone in the land" (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.266).</div> <bR> <div> "... during the years of famine, Joseph proved himself to both king and people of Egypt to be true support of the land, so that in him Israel became a saviour of the Gentiles..." (C.F. Keil, <I>The Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.245).</div> <bR> <div> Abraham's Israel was to be a blessing, and a main conduit of that blessing would be Joseph. But for Israel to achieve her full potential the descendants of Joseph and the descendant of Judah would have to work together. See below the example of the forefathers working together that sets the precedent for their descendants.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 42:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 42:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 42:3 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 42:4 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Here we have a grouping of ten brothers that did not include Benjamin. Another type for the future.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 37:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ..."What is this dream you had? Will ... your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 44:4 </B></FONT> And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he <I>was </I>yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 50:18 </B></FONT> And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we <I>be </I>thy servants.</div> <bR> <div> In Egypt in the trial of 'repentance' (Genesis 42-44) that Joseph put his brothers through, Joseph's dream was fulfilled. The brothers bowing down to him had the potential to set the precedent for the leadership role for the descendants of Joseph in the future "great" nation. It is also significant that Judah is the leader among ten brothers.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 12:10 </B></FONT> And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine <I>was </I>grievous in the land.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 42:5 </B></FONT> And the sons of Israel came to [Egypt to] buy <I>corn </I>among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 46:2 </B></FONT> And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here <I>am </I>I.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 46:3 </B></FONT> And he said, I <I>am </I>God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 46:4 </B></FONT> I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up <I>again</I></div> <bR> <div> Joseph being sold into Egypt was part of God's plan that fulfilled what God foretold to Abraham. Not only that, Jacob is now following in the footsteps of Abraham. Abraham foreshadowed what would happen to Israel and the representative Israelite - Jesus Christ - sojourning in Egypt.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Gen 46:28 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Curiously, in the narrative itself it was Judah, not Joseph, who led the sons of Israel into the land of Goshen. Once again it appears as though the writer has singled out Judah for special attention over against Joseph. Although in the Joseph story as a whole it was Joseph who was responsible for the preservation of the sons in Egypt, here, within the detail of the passage, it was Judah who "pointed the way" (<I>lehorot</I>; NIV, "to get directions," v.28), to the land of Goshen. Such a special focus on Judah is part of an overall strategy of the writer to highlight the crucial role of Judah in God's role to bring about Israel's deliverance. The prominence of Judah is seen most clearly in Jacob's word's of blessing to his twelve sons (49:8-12)..." (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.263).</div> <bR> <div> The narrative is suggesting that Judah, not Joseph is the ideal ruler of Israel. The implication also is that when Joseph and Judah cooperate Israel is blessed. When they don't Israel is weakened leading eventually to the demise of the great nation.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 47:27 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "For the first time the name <I>Israel</I> is used collectively for the family of Jacob, including himself" (Joyce G. Baldwin, <I>The Message of Genesis 12-50</I>, BST, p.197).</div> <bR> <div> Israel was on the way to becoming a great nation.</div> <bR> <div> "Although they are aliens in a strange place, and although they are surrounded by famine, the Israelites are blessed. Neither geography nor natural catastrophe can throttle God's commitment to his own" (Victor P. Hamilton, <I>The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50</I>, NICOT, p.623).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Adoption</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 49:3 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Jacob said to Joseph...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 48:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  "Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 48:20</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He blessed them that day and said, "In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:</FONT></div> <div> 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.</div> <bR> <div> "... Jacob elevates Joseph's two children from grandsons to sons. To make it clear and unmistakable to Joseph what Jacob is doing, Jacob picks out his two oldest children for comparison - Reuben and Simeon. Ephraim and Manasseh may now claim Jacob as "father" as legitimately as any of his other sons. In one move Joseph's sons become coinheritors with their uncles!" (Victor P. Hamilton, <I>The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50</I>, NICOT, p.629).</div> <bR> <div> "This act of adoption does not simply make Ephraim and Manasseh Jacob's heirs but makes them the ancestors of tribes on a par with those tracing their origin back to Jacob's own sons, such as Judah and Benjamin" (Gordon Wenham, <I>Genesis 16-50</I>, WBC, p.463).</div> <bR> <div> Later God will adopt the Levites and they will have no inheritance with their brothers - God would be their inheritance.</div> <bR> <div> "... Jacob's prayer echoes the first promise to Abraham that he would be a blessing... Jacob thus clearly predicts that both Joseph's sons will prove to be outstanding examples of divine blessing" (Gordon Wenham, <I>Genesis 16-50</I>, WBC, p.466).</div> <bR> <div> In Jacob's blessing, in verse 19, he stated that Ephraim would be greater than his older brother Manasseh.</div> <bR> <div> "This blessing began to be fulfilled from the time of the Judges, when the tribe of Ephraim so increased in extent and power, it took the lead of the northern tribes and became the head of the ten tribes, and its name acquired equal importance with the name of Israel..." (C.F. Keil, <I>The Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.248).</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Future</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:1 </B></FONT> And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you <I>that </I>which shall befall you in the last days.</div> <bR> <div> "Last days" refers basically to the kingdom under the Old Covenant and New Covenant. For example, in the blessing on Simeon and Levi they were to be scattered/dispersed in the great nation. This occurred under the OC Kingdom, and will be the reality till the NC Kingdom, when their position is reversed, being no longer scattered in the nation.</div> <bR> <div> The OT Kingdom is an 'inferior' type of the 'superior' NT Kingdom - the Messianic Age. Simeon and Levi will be in a 'superior' position under the NC than under the OC.</div> <bR> <div> Judah and Joseph, the two 'leading' sons, were given the longest blessings for their descendants, with Joseph receiving the longest.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Judah's blessing</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600CC" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:8</B></FONT>  Judah, thou <I>art he </I>whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand <I>shall be </I>in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600CC" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:10</B></FONT>  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him <I>shall </I>the gathering of the people <I>be</I> </div> <bR> <div> "What Jacob raised derogatorily as a possibility with Joseph (37:10) he now affirms with Judah" (Victor P. Hamilton, <I>The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50</I>, NICOT, p.658).</div> <bR> <div> And ironically, the brothers who bowed down before Joseph, in the future, would bow down to Judah.</div> <bR> <div> "The fourth in [Leah's] line will achieve dominance over his brothers and overcome his enemies. Indeed, he is a <I>lion's cub</I>, fearing no-one, destined to be supreme, just as lions are more than a match for every other creature and dominate the animal kingdom...</div> <bR> <div> "The prophecy looks forward to a ruler who will descend from Judah, and yet be so great that he will receive the <I>obedience of the peoples</I>. While David established Judah as the ruling tribe, and set up an extensive empire, he could hardly be said to have secured the obedience of other nations... This coming ruler, moreover, will bring unprecedented prosperity, <I>binding his foal to the vine</I>... This poem is looking forward to the day when food shortages are no more, harvests are abundant, and wars have ceased because everyone gives allegiance to God's king, and enjoys the sheer bounty of his provision. God's intention for humanity is nothing less than paradise restored" (Joyce G. Baldwin, <I>The Message of Genesis 12-50</I>,<I> </I>BST, p.208).</div> <bR> <div> "It is evident that the coming of <I>Shiloh</I> is not to be regarded as terminating the rule of Judah, from the last clause of the verse, according to which it was only then that it would attain to dominion over the nations: (C.F. Kiel, <I>Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.253).</div> <bR> <div> Human kings from the line of Judah will be ruling over Israel, for the Messiah, during the Messianic Age.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Joseph's blessing</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:22 </B></FONT> Joseph <I>is </I>a fruitful bough, <I>even </I>a fruitful bough by a well...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:23</B></FONT>  The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot <I>at him, </I>and hated him:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:24</B></FONT>  <B>But his bow abode in strength</B>,<B> and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty </B><I><B>God </B></I><B>of Jacob</B>...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:25</B></FONT><I>  Even </I>by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:</div> <div> <B>Ge 49:26</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "<B>The head of him that was separate from his brethren</B> ... on the crown of the head of the prince of his brethren. <I>Nazir</I> signifies here not an individual set apart by a religious vow, or separated from others by the severity of his early trails, but a person of rank and honour, distinguished in eminence and dignity" (Robert Jamieson, <I>Genesis-Deuteronomy</I>, JFB, Vol.1, Pt.1, p.271).</div> <bR> <div> "There are obscurities of detail here, but an impressive eloquence.... the thought moves from the present, the summer of Joseph's days, back to the stresses of the past, and behind both to God, whose  array of titles forms the rich centrepiece of the oracle. Then this profusion of blessings is called down upon Joseph, carrying the thought on into the future" (Derek Kidner, <I>Genesis</I>, TOTC, p.221).</div> <bR> <div> "Large thriving families and successful farming symbolized blessing which included more besides, in particular, as Jacob goes on to depict, the awareness of having a meaningful part in God's purpose for history... All the wonderful overruling of God seen in the life of Joseph up to this point is part of a total plan for blessing now experienced by his successors. Ephraim and Manasseh inherited the most fertile areas of the land of Canaan and flourished accordingly..." (Joyce G. Baldwin, <I>The Message of Genesis 12-50</I>, BST, p.213).</div> <bR> <div> "... with presumably greater things to follow..." (Derek Kidner, <I>Genesis</I>, Tyndale, p.222).</div> <bR> <div> "The name "Joseph" imports <I>addition, increase</I>" (Robert Jamieson, <I>Genesis-Deuteronomy</I>, JFB, Vol.1, Pt.1, p.270).</div> <bR> <div> The interpreters furnish two translation for verse 24: "But his bow was broken forever ... by the hands of Jacob's Mighty One"; and "But his bow abode in strength ... by the hands of the mighty <I>God </I>of Jacob".</div> <bR> <div> "In either case, the thrust of the verse remains the same. God turned back the assaults of the wicked against Joseph; or God gave to Joseph the strength to fend off his attackers" (Victor P. Hamilton, <I>The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50</I>, NICOT, p.684; also the first translation above).</div> <bR> <div> Joseph's success and failure is determined by his response to God. The 'strong bow' implies success against enemies and that success comes from God. So that a 'broken bow' implies defeat and failure as a result of not walking with God.</div> <bR> <div> The image of a bow is drawn in the failure of Joseph in the future.</div> <bR> <div> The descendants of Joseph, and Judah, enjoying such eminence and blessing, would have to be on guard against pride - crediting their success to their own efforts.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dt 8:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Dt 8:12</B></FONT>  Lest <I>when </I>thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt <I>therein;</I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Dt 8:13</B></FONT>  And <I>when </I>thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;</div> <div> <B>Dt 8:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The Joseph narratives ... give expression to that part of the promise funded in 18:19: "that they may do righteousness and ... so that the LORD may fulfill what he has promised to Abraham" (pers. Tr.). There was a human part to play in the fulfillment of God's plan. When God's people respond as Joseph responded, then their way and God's blessing will prosper" (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.235).</div> <div>  <A NAME="hagar_old_covenant___the"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Hagar Old Covenant - The Tabernacle/Levi Dispensation</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 15:13 </B></FONT> And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land <I>that is </I>not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 15:14</B></FONT><B> </B> And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 3:16 </B></FONT> Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and <I>seen </I>that which is done to you in Egypt:</div> <div> <B>Ex 3:17 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Moses from the tribe of Levi, the third son of Leah, with the assistance of his older brother Aaron, led the budding nation of Israel out of Egypt and brought then to Mount Sinai. Like Judah leading the family of Israel to Egypt, because of the groundwork laid by Joseph, Moses was able to lead the nation of Israel out of the land of affliction because of the miraculous intervention by God.</div> <bR> <div> Moses, assisted by Aaron would lead the nation for some 40 years. With Moses and Aaron from the tribe of Levi, this period is called the 'Tabernacle/Levi' Dispensation of the OT Kingdom of God. The 'Tabernacle/Levi' Dispensation is the first dispensation, of two dispensations of the Tabernacle era.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Aaronic Priesthood</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2 Chron 13:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ...The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Glory of the Lord</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 13:17 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 13:21 </B></FONT> <B>And the LORD went before them </B>by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 13:22 </B></FONT> He took not away <B>the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, </B><I><B>from </B></I><B>before the people</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 14:19 </B></FONT> <B>And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel</B>, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them.</div> <bR> <div> "How God led the Israelites (v.17) is now explained. The single "pillar" (14:24), which was a cloud by day and a fire by night, ... was <B>a visible presence of Yahweh in their midst</B>. <B>The pillar of the cloud and fire was but another name for "the angel of God,"</B> for Exodus 14:19 equates the two as does 23:20-23... the Christ of the NT is the Shekinah glory or Yahweh of the OT. Through this cloudy pillar the Lord would speak to Moses (33:9-11) and to the people (Ps 99:6-7). Such easy movement from the pillar of cloud and fire to the angel of the Lord himself has already been met in the same interchange between the burning bush, the angel, and the Lord in chapter 3..." (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Exodus</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.385).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 3:2 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The cloud represents God's presence but also his hiddenness (see Lam 2:2)... It reveals God but also preserves the mystery that surrounds him" (Ryken, Leland, et. al., General Editors, "Cloud", <I>Dictionary of Biblical Imagery</I>, p.157).</div> <bR> <div> In the general sense the "cloud" symbolized God's presence. In the specific sense "fire" represents God's presence, often associated with the cloud. The fire at night has to do with the general sense as opposed to the specific sense.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 16:10 </B></FONT> And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, <B>the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud</B>.</div> <bR> <div> In the above there is the cloud, which is a symbol for God's presence, but in that cloud is the "glory of the Lord" which is also a symbol of God's presence.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 24:17 </B></FONT> And the sight of the glory of the LORD <I>was </I>like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 3:2</B></FONT> ...<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT><B>the angel of the LORD </B>appeared to him <B>in flames of fire </B>from within a bush.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 3:4</B></FONT>  ... <B>God called to him </B>from within the bush</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 3:6 </B></FONT> Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, <B>Moses hid his face</B>, because he was afraid to look at God.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 3:10 </B></FONT> Come now therefore, and <B>I will send thee unto </B>Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people <B>the children of Israel </B>out of Egypt.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 1:26 </B></FONT> ... upon the likeness of the throne <I>was </I>the likeness as <B>the appearance of a man </B>above upon it.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 1:27 </B></FONT> ... I saw as it were <B>the appearance of fire</B>, and it had brightness round about.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 1:28 </B></FONT> ... This <I>was </I><B>the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD</B>. And when I saw <I>it, </I><B>I fell upon my face</B>, and I heard a voice of one that spake.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 2:1</B></FONT>  <B>And he said </B>unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 2:3 </B></FONT> And he said unto me, Son of man, <B>I send thee to the children of Israel</B>.</div> <bR> <div> The "cloud" is a general symbol for God's glory/presence, while "fire", and  "fire" and "cloud", are a specific and special symbol/s of God's glory/presence.</div> <bR> <div> Ezekiel also performs as a second Moses.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Great Multitude</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dt 10:22 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 1:46</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty [men of war].</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Twelve tribal leaders</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Nu 1:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Nu 1:16 </B></FONT> These <I>were </I>the renowned of the congregation, <B>princes of the tribes of their fathers</B>, heads of thousands in Israel.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Nu 1:44</B></FONT>  These <I>are </I>those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT><B>the princes of Israel, </B><I><B>being </B></I><B>twelve men</B>: each one was for the house of his fathers.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Seventy Elders</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 24:9 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> God was going to make a covenant with the nation of Israel, that was led by Moses, a prophet (Deut 18:15); a nation that was comprised of twelve tribes led by twelve princes and assisted by seventy elders.</div> <bR> <div> Moses is also God's spokesman and covenant mediator.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant-Marriage Proposal</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 19:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 19:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 19:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The kingdom of God is a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. It has a sacred ministry of priesthood, as well as sovereignty with reference to the nations of the world. As holy, the Israelites are the subjects of their holy King, and as priests they represent Him and mediate for Him with the nations... the essential thing became the relation which they were to assume on the one side to God their king, and on the other to the nations... a ministry of royalty and priesthood. They are a kingdom of priests, a kingdom and a priesthood combined in the unity of the conception, royal priests or priestly kings" (Charles A. Briggs, <I>Messianic Prophecy</I> (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1889), p.102, quoted by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.108).</div> <bR> <div> "As the priest is a mediator between God and man, so Israel was called to be the vehicle of the knowledge and salvation of God to the nations of the earth. By this it unquestionably acquired an intellectual and spiritual character; but this includes, rather than excludes, the government of the world. For spiritual and intellectual supremacy must ensure the government of the world, as certainly as spirit is the power that overcomes the world... priesthood of Israel was the power which laid the foundation for its kingship..." (C.F. Keil, <I>Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.385).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant-Marriage Acceptance</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 19:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 19:8</B></FONT>  The people all responded together, "<B>We will do everything the LORD has said</B>." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant-Marriage Ceremony</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 24:7</B></FONT>  And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 24:8</B></FONT>  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled <I>it </I>on the people, and said, Behold the blood of <B>the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you</B> concerning all these words.</div> <bR> <div> "The blood by which the covenant was ratified and sealed was the basis for the union between Yahweh and the people" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Exodus</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.449).</div> <bR> <div> "... the blood not only became a bond of union between Jehovah and His people, but as the blood of the covenant, it became a vital power, holy and divine, uniting Israel and its God; the sprinkling of the blood with this blood was an actual renewal of life, a transposition of Israel into the kingdom of God, in which was filled with the powers of God's spirit of grace, and sanctified into a kingdom of priests, a holy nation of Jehovah (ch 19:6). And this covenant was made "upon all the words" which Jehovah had spoken, and the people promised to observe. Consequently it had for its foundation the divine law and right, as the rule of life for Israel" (C.F. Keil, <I>Exodus</I>, KD, p.424).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant Meal</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 24:5 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.</FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 24:9 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 24:10 </B></FONT> And they saw the God of Israel: and <I>there was </I>under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in <I>his </I>clearness. </div> <div> <B>Ex 24:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The blood of the lamb, the blood of propitiation, was the just 'settlement' of the wrath of God. The sacrificial basis of the inauguration of the covenant: the burnt offering, symbolizing the holding of nothing back from God (cf. Gen. 22:2, 12), and the fellowship or peace offering symbolizing communion with God" (Alec Motyer, <I>The Message of Exodus</I>, BST, p.249).</div> <bR> <div> "Through their consecration with the blood of the covenant, the Israelites were qualified to ascend the mountain, and there behold the God of Israel and celebrate the covenant meal" (C.F. Keil, <I>Exodus</I>, KD, p.424).</div> <bR> <div> ""They ate and drank" describes a covenant meal celebrating the sealing of the covenant described in vv.3-8" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Exodus</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.450).</div> <bR> <div> "... they feasted on the peace offerings - on the remnants of the late sacrifices and libations. While the fat of the victim was consumed, and its blood sprinkled upon the altar as an atonement, the rest of the carcase was, in the case of peace offerings, given to the offerer to feast upon as a sacrificial meal, symbolizing of his participating in the promised blessings of the covenant ; and as, according to Oriental ideas, eating and drinking in the house , and in the presence of a host, was an introduction to near communion and inviolable friendship with him, so the elders did eat and drink in the immediate vicinity of what was then the sanctuary or dwelling-place of Jehovah, representing in their persons the nation of Israel, introduced into the full enjoyment of the Sinaitic benefits..." (Robert Jamieson, <I>Genesis-Deuteronomy</I>, JFB, Vol.1, Pt.1, p.380).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lk 22:15 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... the Peace-offering ... <I>in it the offerer, the priest, and God, all fed together</I>. This was the case in no other but the peace-offering. In this they had something in common. Here each had a part. They held communion in feeding on the same offering" (Andrew Jukes, <I>The Law of The Offerings</I>, p.107).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 25:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600CC" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 25:8</B></FONT>  ... let them <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them</B></FONT>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600CC" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 25:9</B></FONT>  According to all that I show thee, <I>after </I>the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make <I>it.</I></div> <bR> <div> "From the start, the Lord revealed the secret of his purpose: the Israelites were to <I>make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them</I> (25:8)...</div> <bR> <div> "The vocabulary of the tabernacle is important, there are two key words in 25:8. First, the verb 'to dwell' (<I>sakan</I>), giving rise to the noun <I>miskan</I>, a 'dwelling', widely used throughout Exodus 25-40, and secondly, the noun <I>miqdas</I>, 'a sanctuary' or 'place of holiness'. In addition to these words, '<I>ohel</I>, the ordinary word for a 'tent, makes its appearance in 26:7 and occurs frequently thereafter. 'Tabernacle' has become the conventional name for the Lord's tent, intended presumably to express a sense of dignity and uniqueness, but we must lose sight of the fact that is the common word for tent used to refer to the homes in which the Israelites themselves lived. It was, in fact, as Goodings says, 'the tent God used when he went camping'. Considering simply the words, '<I>ohel</I> ('tent') points to the nature of the structure, a mobile home, <I>miskan</I> to its purpose as 'somewhere to live', and <I>miqdas</I> ('holy place') to the divine character of the occupant.</div> <bR> <div> "Each word contributes to the significance of what happened. The Israelites were living in tents at the time (16:16), and for the Lord to command the pitching of his tent ('<I>ohel</I>), therefore, symbolized his coming alongside, his identification with them and their circumstances. To call the Lord's tent his <I>miskan</I> indicates permanency, as though it were his 'address', the place where he was to be found living...</div> <bR> <div> "Even though <I>miqdas</I> ('sanctuary') is found only once in the chapters dealing with the tabernacle, its importance is immense. In common English usage a sanctuary is a place to run to for safety. This is not what the word means in the Old Testament. Rooted in the verb <I>qades</I> ('to be holy'), the noun means 'a place where holiness is', and it specifies the tabernacle as the place where the Lord in his holiness, in the full reality of the glory of his holy name, would come to settle among his people.</div> <bR> <div> "When we speak, popularly, of our church building as 'the Lord's house', we mean a place where we go to be with him; in the Bible, the tabernacle - and, later, the temple or 'house' - is where the Lord comes to be with us.</div> <bR> <div> "All this is summed up in Exodus 29:42b-46. The Tent of Meeting is where the Lord keeps his appointments with Israel (42b, 43), where he speaks with them (42b). It will be a sanctified because his glory is in it (43-44), and there the Lord will dwell (<I>sakan</I>) (lit.) 'in the middle of the sons of Israel' (45) in fulfilment of the covenant promise to be their God (Gen 17:7; Exod. 6:7). More than all this, however, the tabernacle sums up the whole divine purpose in redemption: he brought Israel out of Egypt 'so that I might dwell (<I>sakan</I>) among them' (29:46)" (Alec Motyer, <I>The Message of Exodus</I>, BST, pp.251-2).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Non-Public Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 40:17 </B></FONT> And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first <I>day </I>of the month, <I>that </I>the tabernacle was reared up.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 40:34</B></FONT><B> </B> Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.</div> <div> <B>Ex 40:35</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The account records simply that the "cloud" the symbol of "the glory of the Lord" and God's presence covered/filled the tabernacle. No mention of fire. The dwelling of God was in a 'general' sense. Moses is the only person mentioned.</div> <bR> <div> The implication then is that this was a non-public, initial type  dwelling. The house warming comes later.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Official-Public Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lev 8:31  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 8:33</B></FONT> And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation <I>in </I>seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 9:1</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF6000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>  </B></FONT>And it came to pass on the eighth day, <I>that </I>Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;</div> <bR> <div> "The <I>eight</I> day (9:1) is the first day of a new week. It signals a new beginning. The consecration of Aaron and his sons, which had occupied the whole of the previous week, is now complete and Aaron is ready to begin his ministry. But the inauguration of his priesthood heralds a change not only for him but also for the entire company of Israel" (Derek Tidball, <I>The Message of Leviticus</I>, BST, p.122).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lev 9:22 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Aaron ...came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 9:23 </B></FONT> And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and <B>the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 9:24 </B></FONT> And there came <B>a fire out from before the LORD</B>, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: <I>which </I>when all the people saw, <B>they shouted</B>, and fell on their faces.</div> <bR> <div> "God, who had revealed his glory before with a variety of climatic signs, chose on this occasion to reveal himself through fire... It was an unmistakable mark of God's acceptance of these offering, and of his acceptance of the people who had brought them..." (Derek Tidbal, <I>The Message of Leviticus</I>, BST, p.128).</div> <bR> <div> "The highest goal of worship, entrance into the presence of God himself, has been achieved... Similarly in the NT the new approach to God through faith in his son Jesus was inaugurated by a marvelous manifestation of God (Acts 2:1-4). On that day great tongues of fire rested on each person in the assembly. In both instances fire was closely associated with a might manifestation of God's presence...</div> <bR> <div> "The goal of worship then in both testaments is to enter into God's presence..." (John E. Hartley, <I>Leviticus</I>, WBC, pp.125-26).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Spirit-Inspired Speaking</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Nu 11:11 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 11:16 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 11:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Nu 11:25 </B></FONT> Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, <B>they prophesied</B>, but they did not do so again. (NIV) but see (AV).</div> <bR> <div> "... "<I>to prophesy,</I>" is to be understood generally, and especially here, not as the foretelling of future things, but as speaking in an ecstatic and elevated state of mine, under the impulse and inspiration of the Spirit of God, just like the "speaking with tongues," which frequently followed the gift of the Holy Ghost in the days of the apostles... This miraculous manifestation of the Spirit was intended simply to give to the whole nation the visible proof that God had endowed them with His Spirit, as helpers of Moses, and had given them the authority of the exercise of their calling" (C.F. Kiel, <I>The Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.698).</div> <bR> <div> 'Inspire speaking' was a confirming sign at the beginning of the 'Tabernacle' Old Covenant and 'Tabernacle' New Covenant (Acts 2).</div> <bR> <div> <B>New Beginning Warning</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lev 10:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Lev 10:2 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The incident of Nadab and Abihu has some parallel to the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). Both parties instantly died in the presence of God. Both accounts are recounted at the inception of a covenant between God and his people. These accounts serve as a warning that all who are members of the covenant community serve the Holy God" (John E. Hartley, <I>Leviticus</I>, WBC, pp.137-38).</div> <bR> <div> Compare also the 'new beginning' death of Uzzah, when David sought to bring the ark in to the City of David, a step towards initiating the Old Covenant Temple Dispensation.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Two-room Dwelling Place</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 25:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The tabernacle structure itself, made up of curtains resting on a framework, was divided by a veil into <B>two compartments</B>. The outer compartment, called "the holy place" (<I>haqqodes</I>), contained the table for the bread of the Presence, <B>the lampstand</B>, and the altar of incense... The inner compartment, called "the holy place" (<I>qodes haggdasim</I>), contained <B>the ark of the covenant</B>. Surrounding the tabernacle was a courtyard where the altar of burnt offering and the laver were located" (S. Westerholm, "Tabernacle", <I>ISBE</I>, Vol.4, p.699).</div> <bR> <div> In the general sense the "tabernacle" refers to the "two compartment" structure and "courtyard" and in the specific sense the "tabernacle" refers to the "two compartment" structure.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Ark and the Lampstand</B></div> <bR> <div> Two symbols of God's presence - Ark for Tabernacle Old Covenant; Lampstand for Tabernacle New Covenant.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 25:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > "Have them make a chest of acacia wood - two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 25:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 25:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 25:17</B> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > "Make an atonement cover of pure gold - two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 25:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 25:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ex 25:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 4:4</B> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned ("dwelleth" (AV) between the cherubim. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Nu 10:35</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 10:36</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Nothing was more intimately connected with the presence and power of Yahweh than the ark of the covenant... the "Song of the Ark" equates its presence with Yahweh's presence" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards and Old Testament Theology</I>, p.157).</div> <bR> <div> The parallel with the lampstand will be drawn in the "Tabernacle" Dispensation of the Sarah New Covenant, which is the first dispensation for the Church.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 26:3</B></FONT>  <B>If ye walk in my statutes</B>, and keep my commandments, and do them (AV).</div> <div> <B>Lev 26:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 26:12</B></FONT>  <B>I will walk among you </B>and be your God, and you will be my people. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "God promised to dwell among his people (v.11) in the tabernacle spiritually, not materially. From the word for "dwelling" (<I>miskan</I>) and its root, the later Israelites developed a name for the presence of God in the Most Holy Place - the Shekinah. The expression "I will walk among them" (v.12) is not to be literalized. It is like the NT word translated in the KJV "have your conversation." It refers to life fellowship, and behaviour. Enoch, Abraham, and many others were said to "walk with God"... God would continually fellowship with his people if they obeyed his word; he would <I>live</I> among them. The thought repeats that of his promised dwelling at v.11" (R. Laird Harris, <I>Leviticus</I>, EBC, Vol.2, pp.643-45).</div> <bR> <div> <B>To the Edge of the Promised Land</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600CC" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Nu 10:11</B></FONT>  And it came to pass on the twentieth <I>day </I>of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.</div> <div> <B>Nu 10:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai;</FONT></div> <div> <B>Dt 1:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness ... and we came to Kadesh-barnea.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The straight and shortest way from Sinai to Kabesh, on the southern border of Canaan, was only a journey of eleven days (Deut. 1:2). By this road God led His people, whom He had received into the covenant of His grace at Sinai, and placed under the discipline of the law, to the ultimate object of their journey through the desert; so that, a few months after leaving Horeb or Sinai, the Israelites had arrived at Kadesh, in the desert of Zin, on the southern border of the promised land, and were able to send out spies, to survey the inheritance of which they were to take possession" (C.F. Keil, <I>The Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.688).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Nu 32:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 32:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the LORD'S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 32:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 32:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Nu 32:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The Old Covenant Tabernacle/Levi Dispensation lasted "forty" years. With the death of Moses, who was from the tribe of Levi, the leadership of the 'Tabernacle' Dispensation was transferred to another tribe. The Old Covenant Tabernacle/Levi Dispensation ended in the "wilderness" and the Old Covenant Tabernacle/Joseph Dispensation began "in the land".</div> <div>  <A NAME="hagar_old_covenant___tabernaclejoseph"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Hagar Old Covenant - Tabernacle/Joseph Dispensation</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 41:38 </B></FONT> And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find <I>such a one </I>as this <I>is </I>[Joseph], a man in whom the spirit of God <I>is?</I></div> <div> <B>Dt 34:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "As the last chapters of Deuteronomy show, the Pentateuch addresses itself to an audience that has seen the passing of Moses, the great prophet (Deut 34:10), and yet has not seen the fulfillment of all his great prophecies. Much lay ahead yet to be fulfilled. It is to this audience that the leadership of Joshua [of the tribe of Joseph] is presented, not as a prophet, but one "filled with the spirit of wisdom" (Deut 34:9), a "wiseman" like Joseph.</div> <bR> <div> "Joseph, then, represents the kind of leadership that the readers of the Pentateuch would be called to follow ... It is hardly surprising then that one sees foreshadowed in the picture of Joseph elements that later resemble David, Solomon, and, ultimately, the Messiah himself" (John H. Sailhamer, <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, p.237).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jos 1:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 1:2</B></FONT> ... arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, <I>even </I>to the children of Israel.</div> <div> <B>Jos 1:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jos 1:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 1:7</B></FONT>  Only be thou strong and very courageous,<B> that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law</B>, which Moses my servant commanded thee...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 1:8</B></FONT> ... <B>for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous</B>, and then thou shalt have good success.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jos 11:23 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "When the writer says that "Joshua took this entire land," he means that he gained control of the whole region even though he did not take every city. The last of the Canaanites were not subjected to Israel's authority until the reign of David..."Then the land had rest from" war is a profound declaration... It is prophetic of the "rest" that will come wen all evil has been conquered and [Jesus/Joshua] Christ is made King of King and Lord of Lords (Rev 11:15; 19:16)" (Donald H. Madvig, <I>Joshua</I>, EBC, Vol.3, p.311).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dwelling Place</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Dt 12:10 </B></FONT> But <I>when </I>ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and <I>when </I>he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;</div> <div> <B>Dt 12:11 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 18:1 </B></FONT> And the whole congregation of the children of Israel <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation </B></FONT>there. And <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the land was subdued before them</B></FONT>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 18:6 </B></FONT> After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me <B>and I will cast lots for you in the presence [lit. "face"] of the LORD our God</B>. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "[Shiloh was a] town in Ephraim that was the center of tribal administration and worship for the twelve Israelite tribes from the time of Joshua until its destruction (probably by the Philistines) about 1050 B.C. The prominent tell of Shiloh, about 5 hectares (12 acres) in area, stands at the northern end of a large valley 31 km. (19mi.) N of Jerusalem, just east of the main road to Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim (Jds.21:19)..." (L.T. Dolphin, "Shiloh", <I>ISBE</I>, Vol.4, p.477).</div> <bR> <div> "The tent ['<I>ohel</I>] of meeting occurs here for the first time in the book. What is meant is the sacred tent in which the ark of the covenant was kept (Exodus. 25:8; 27:21). It was the appointed meeting place between God and his people...</div> <bR> <div> "Israel relocation of the sanctuary at Shiloh was made possible in as much as that <I>region was subdued before them</I>... <B>It may also be that motifs such as that expressed in Deut. 12:10, where the erection of a sanctuary in Palestine is connected with God's giving of "rest" to Israel, play a part in this information </B>(see also 2 Sam. 7:1-2)" (Marten H. Woudstra, <I>The Book of Joshua</I>, NICOT, pp.271-72).</div> <bR> <div> "... and there set up the tabernacle, in order that, as the land was conquered, the worship of Jehovah might henceforth be regularly observed in accordance with the law. The selection of Shiloh ... is to ... be found in the name of the place, viz., <I>Shiloh</I>, i.e., rest, which called to mind Shiloh (Gen 49:10), and therefore appeared to be pre-eminently suitable to the resting place of the sanctuary of the Lord, where his name was to dwell in Israel, until He should come who was to give true rest to His people as the Prince of Peace" (C.F. Keil, <I>Joshua</I>, KD, p.135).</div> <bR> <div> "[Shiloh] remained the cult center during the period of tribal history recorded in Joshua and Judges (e.g. Josh. 21:2; Jgs. 21:12)" (L.T. Dolphin, "Shiloh", <I>ISBE</I>, Vol.4, p.477).</div> <bR> <div> "After Israel was established in the promised land through the ministry of Joshua, her pilgrimage ended. Many of the covenant promises God had given the patriarchs in Canaan and to the fathers in the desert had been fulfilled. The Lord's land, where Israel was to enter into rest, lay under her feet; it remained only for her to occupy it, to displace the Canaanites and to cleanse it of paganism. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>The time had come for Israel to be the kingdom of God</B></FONT><B> in the form of an established commonwealth on earth</B>" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Introduction to Judges, p.325).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Geo-political reality</B></div> <bR> <div> "To call Israel under Joshua a nation would ... be a misnomer. Joshua himself was more a covenant mediator and military leader than a politician.  Real authority rested in the hands of the elders, who apparently seldom if ever acted outside very parochial limits. There was no capital city where national policy could issue, unless one think of Gilgal or even Shiloh as such. The mode of operation seemed rather to be <I>ad hoc</I>. Any emergency which called for intertribal response was met by Joshua's personal appeal for cooperation, sometimes with not much support or success" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, "A History of Old Testament Israel", p.225).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Judges</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 2:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jdg 2:10 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jdg 2:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jdg 2:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "When Joshua's contemporaries had joined him in death, the new generation accelerated down the highway to destruction. They did not know God in a vital way. They had not seen the miracles their fathers had talked about. People cannot thrive on the spiritual powers of their parents; each generation must personally experience the reality of God" (Herbert Wolf, <I>Judges</I>, EBC, Vol.3, p.394).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 2:14  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jdg 2:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The primary purpose of the Book of Judges is to show that Israel's spiritual condition determined its political and material situation. When the nation turned to God in obedience, God graciously sent delivers to rescue the people from oppression. When they disregarded Joshua's warnings and worshiped the gods of Canaan, the nation came under the control of tyrants and invaders" (Herbert Wolf, <I>Judges</I>, EBC, Vol.3, pp.378-79).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 17:6 </B></FONT> In those days <I>there was </I>no king in Israel, <I>but </I>every man did <I>that which was </I>right in his own eyes.</div> <bR> <div> "As the book progresses, Israel's plight worsens... By the end of the book, the stories of sin and all-out civil war depict a nation's desperate need for unity and order. The repeated references to a time when Israel had no king (18:1 et al.) emphasize the author's intention to show the advantage of a monarchy over anarchy. The implication is that a nation led by a godly king would experience prosperity under the blessing of God.</div> <bR> <div> "The Book of Judges shows that Israel failed to realize her divinely intended goal without a king. Israel was unable to govern herself according to the Mosaic law and thereby proved that she needed a king..." (Herbert Wolf, <I>Judges</I>, EBC, Vol.3, p.379).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Preparation for international warfare</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 3:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jdg 3:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Israel would one day confront major powers like Egypt and Assyria; so the smaller wars against the nations of Canaan provided valuable training. David, for example, not only fought against the Philistines but lived among them and learned their military skills..." (Herbert Wolf, <I>Judges</I>, EBC, Vol.3, p.396).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Judah going their own way</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 5:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song: "Then the men who were left came down to the nobles; the people of the LORD came to me with the mighty. (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 5:14</B></FONT>  Out of Ephraim <I>was there </I>a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 5:15</B></FONT>  And the princes of Issachar <I>were </I>with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben <I>there were </I>great thoughts of heart.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 5:16</B></FONT>  Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben <I>there were </I>great searchings of heart.</div> <div> <B>Jdg 5:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 5:18</B></FONT>  Zebulun and Naphtali <I>were </I>a people <I>that </I>jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.</div> <bR> <div> "There was virtually no aid from the eastern tribes, none from south of Jerusalem, and only token assistance from elsewhere... If not reflecting outright intertribal hostilities, this reaction at least revealed colossal indifference" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.226).</div> <bR> <div> "Conspicuous by their absence from the list are Judah and Simeon... distance and the beginning of sectional rivalries were already starting to undermine the nation. Judah by now may have sensed its isolation..." (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, pp.165-66).</div> <bR> <div> "The failure to maintain a hold on Jerusalem (Jdg.1:8,21), combined with the existence of the semi-independent Gibeonite tetrapolis (Jos.9; 2Sa.21:1-2), created a psychological frontier between Judah and the central tribes. Though there was no barrier to communication (<I>cf</I>. Jdg. 19:10-13)... when Judah became tributary to the Philistines (Jdg. 15:11), he appears not have appealed to the other tribes, nor do they seem to have been concerned.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 11:8 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The fact of the division seems to have been generally recognized, for by Sauls time we find the contingent from Judah separately enumerated (1 Sa. 11:8; 15:4; 17;52; 18:16)" (H.E. Ellison, "Judah", <I>NBD</I>, p.268).</div> <bR> <div> <B>End of Tabernacle Old Covenant</B></div> <bR> <div> "The age [of the Judges] ... was one marked by anarchy, an almost total breakdown of law and order on every level.</div> <bR> <div> "The principle reason for this chaotic condition was, of course,<B> covenant infidelity</B>. The people, from the leaders down, had defected from Yahweh and begun to embrace syncretism and outright paganism" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, pp.225-26).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Failure of the Line of Eli/Abiathar</B></div> <bR> <div> "For the first time in Israel, Eli combined in his own person the functions of high priest and judge, judging Israel for forty years (1 S. 4:18)" (A.C. Grant, "Eli", <I>ISBE</I>, Vol.2, p.61).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 2:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 2:27</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 2:28</B></FONT>  And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel <I>to be </I>my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 2:29</B></FONT>  Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded <I>in my </I>habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?</div> <div> <B>1Sa 2:31</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 2:34</B></FONT>  <B>And this </B><I><B>shall be </B></I><B>a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 2:35</B></FONT>  And I will raise me up a faithful priest, <I>that </I>shall do according to <I>that </I>which <I>is </I>in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.</div> <bR> <div> "Though one may not find evidence of apostasy in Eli himself, his sons in effect transformed the house of Yahweh at Shiloh into a Canaanite shrine with all the corruption and immorality associated with Baal (1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22-25)" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.176).</div> <bR> <div> God could no longer dwell in an environment of covenant infidelity.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ark/Glory Departs</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 4:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 4:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ...when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines...</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 4:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... the elders of Israel said... Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 4:4</B></FONT>  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth <I>between </I>the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, <I>were </I>there with the ark of the covenant of God.</div> <div> <B>1Sa 4:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten...</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 4:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 4:19</B></FONT>  Phinehas' wife, was with child, <I>near </I>to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.</div> <div> <B>1Sa 4:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And she named the child I-chabod, saying ...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 4:22 </B></FONT> ... <B>The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken</B>.</div> <bR> <div> The Tabernacle/Joseph Dispensation ended with the failure of one line of the sons of Aaron and the failure of one line of 'Rachael rulers.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Example of non-performance</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 12:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 12:2</B></FONT>  And Jephthah said unto them, <B>I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands</B>. </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 12:3</B></FONT>  And when I saw that ye delivered <I>me </I>not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?</div> <bR> <div> <B>Rejection of Ephraim/Joseph</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:24</B></FONT>  But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty <I>God </I>of Jacob...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ps 78:9 </B></FONT> The children of Ephraim, <I>being </I>armed, <I>and </I>carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.</div> <div> <B>Ps 78:10 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 78:57</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ps 78:60 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent ...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 78:67</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 78:68</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 78:69</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And he built his sanctuary ...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "...Shiloh ... the spiritual centre for the tribes, over whom Ephraim had exercised a kind of rule so long as the central sanctuary of the nation continued in its inheritance" (C.F. Kiel, <I>Pentateuch</I>, KD, p.255).</div> <bR> <div> "... Ephraim - which under the Judges had been the ruling tribe. "The rejection refers only to their precedency, and the presence of the sanctuary among them". God chose mount Zion "to be at once the seat of the sanctuary and of the monarch (<I>vv</I>. 69-71)" (A.R. Fausset, <I>Job - Isaiah</I>, JFB, Vol.2, pt.1, p.271).</div> <bR> <div> "This verse is best understood as a metaphor for Israel's betrayal of God's covenant (see v. 10), related to the figure of the "faulty bow" (v. 57)" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on Ps 78:9, p.867).</div> <bR> <div> "... this is probably a metaphor referring to Ephraim's failure to provide strong leadership during those years" (Bruce B. Barton, General Editor, <I>Life Application Bible NKJV</I>, Note on Ps 78:9, 10).</div> <bR> <div> "Ephraim" may be understood in the specific sense referring to the tribe of Ephraim, as in verse 67, or in a general sense to the northern kingdom, in verse 9-10, which it led.</div> <bR> <div> Earlier in Genesis it was said of Joseph, by Jacob, that "... his bow abode in strength ... by the hands of the mighty <I>God </I>of Jacob" (49:24).</div> <bR> <div> God 'strengthening' Joseph was dependent on Joseph's being faithful to the covenant. The 'strong' bow appears to be a metaphor for covenant fidelity and a "deceitful" bow a metaphor for covenant infidelity.</div> <bR> <div> The argument hear is that the failure of the tribe of Ephraim to live up to its covenental responsibilities, that is, they sinned against the LORD, resulted in Joseph losing its "rulership" of Israel, but kept the birthright. Now the baton of leadership passed to the tribe of Benjamin, descended from the youngest son of Rachael.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Return of the ark</B></div> <bR> <div> The hand of the LORD was against the Philistines until they returned the ark to Israel.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 7:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "After the destruction of Shiloh, God had no dwelling among the people. The ark, which survived the  battle was returned by the Philistines and housed at Kiriath-jearim (1 Samuel 6:1-7:2), but there was no shrine there to take the place of the one at Shiloh" (Marvin E. Tate, <I>Psalms 51-100</I>, WBC, p.294).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Last Judge</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 7:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 7:3</B></FONT>  And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, <I>then </I>put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 7:13 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 7:14 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 7:15 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The 'True' Judge</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 11:27</B></FONT>  I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me.<B> Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day </B>between the Israelites and the Ammonites. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "In 11:27, in the context of the Ammonite oppression, the Lord is described as a <I>sopet</I>. This concept may be said to form the background of the book: the Lord is the <I>real</I> Judge of His people; it is He who gives them into the hands of their oppressors; it is He who raises up deliverers for them; it is His Spirit coming upon men, which equips them for their tasks (3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14,6,19; 15:14)" (Arthur E. Cundall, <I>Judges</I>, TOTC, p.15).</div> <bR> <div> "The judges (<I>shophetim</I>) were men who procured justice or right for the people of Israel, not only by delivering them out of the power of their foes, but also by administering the laws and rights of the Lord (ch. 2:16-19). <I>Judging</I> in this sense was different from the administration of civil jurisprudence, and included the idea of government such as would be expected from a king. Thus in 1 Sam. 8:5, 6 the people are said to have asked Samuel to give them a king "to judge us," to procure us right, i.e., to govern us; and 2 Kings 15:5 Jotham is said to have <I>judged</I>, i.e., governed the nation during the illness of his father. The name given to these men (<I>shophetim</I>, judges) was evidently founded upon Deut. 17:9 and 19:17, where it is assumed that in after-times there would be a <I>shophet</I>, who would stand by the side of the high priest as the supreme judge or leader of the state in Israel..." (C.F. Keil, <I>Judges</I>, KD, p.177).</div> <bR> <div> God was the Judge of Israel. God was judging Israel in the Tabernacle/Joseph Dispensation. But God judged Israel through delegated human judges. While His glory dwelt in the Tabernacle He was not personally present with the people. Delegated 'rulership' is also the mode for the other Covenant Dispensations.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Judge to</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT><B>King</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 8:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 8:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 8:4</B></FONT>  Then <B>all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together</B>, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 8:5</B></FONT>  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now <B>make us a king to judge us </B>like all the nations.</div> <div> <B>1Sa 8:22 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The limited and occasional authority of the judges, the disunion and jealousy of the tribes under the administration of those rulers, had been creating a desire for a united and permanent form of government; while the advanced age of Samuel, together with the risk of his death happening in the then unsettled state of the people, was the occasion of calling forth an expression of this desire now" (Robert Jamieson, <I>Joshua - Esther</I>, JFB, Vol.1, Pt.2, p.152).</div> <bR> <div> "Kingship, far from being antithetical to the purposes of God for Israel, was fundamental to his salvific design. Man was created as the image of God in order to "rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Gen. 1:26-28). He was placed in the Garden of Eden to exercise his sovereignty over it and all other things. Abraham and Sarah were told that they would produce kings (Gen. 17:6, 16), and the same covenant promise was reaffirmed to Jacob (Gen. 35:11). In his patriarchal blessing Jacob announced that "the scepter will not depart from Judah, / nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, / until he comes to whom it belongs / and the obedience of the nations is his" (Gen. 49:10)" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.190).</div> <bR> <div> "The permitted monarchy was - even as foreseen in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 - to be bound by certain restrictions. The people were not to approve anyone who was not chosen by God, and the king was not to do his own will and pleasure; he was to rule according to the law of God. Thus Israel still had a theocracy of sorts where the king merely reigned as a viceroy of Yahweh, the heavenly Sovereign" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.147).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 10:20</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 10:21 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken...</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 10:23</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 10:24</B></FONT>  And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that <I>there is </I>none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.</div> <bR> <div> "... Samuel gathered Israel together at Mizpah for the public ceremony of coronation and investiture (1 Sam. 10:17-27)... Saul accepted the protocols of kingship, which presumably reflected Moses' stipulations in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Thus before Yahweh and the people a covenant had, in effect, been sworn binding Saul, the anointed shepherd of his people, to a proper course of action" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.199).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 14:47</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Sa 14:48</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The problem was not with the request for a king, but with the motivation that triggered it: they wanted to have a king so they could be "like other nations." Graciously God yielded to their request and indeed Saul had marvelous success in his first twenty years or so (1 Sam. 14:47). But after he turned away from the Lord, the Lord turned away from him" (Walter C. Kaiser Jr., <I>Mission in the Old Testament</I>, p.25).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Failure of Saul/Benjamin</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Sa 13:13 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Sa 13:14 </B></FONT> But <B>now thy kingdom shall not continue</B>: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him <I>to be </I>captain over his people, because thou hast not kept <I>that </I>which the LORD commanded thee.</div> <bR> <div> "Saul was to recognize the word of the prophet Samuel as the word of the Lord... In disobeying Samuel's instructions, Saul violated a fundamental requirement of his theocratic office. His kingship was not to function independently of the law and the prophets" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, p.392, Note on 1 Sam 13:13).</div> <bR> <div> "Saul's punishment consisted of a rejection of his dynastic succession... Only in 1 Samuel 15:28 do we hear of the rejection of Saul's kingship itself" (Ralph W. Klein, <I>1 Samuel</I>, WBC, p.127).</div> <bR> <div> "... the rejection of Saul on the part of God, which was announced by Samuel, was not followed by immediate deposition, ... Saul remained king until his death" (C.F. Keil, <I>1 & 2 Samuel</I>, KD, p.471).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 10:13</B></FONT>  So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, <I>even </I>against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking <I>counsel </I>of <I>one that had </I>a familiar spirit, to inquire <I>of it;</I></div> <div> <B>1Ch 10:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The covenant infidelity of Saul/Benjamin resulted in the 'rulership' of the 'great' nation being returned to the sons of Leah. With the 'sin' of Reuben, Simeon and Levi, Leah's three oldest sons, the baton of leadership passed to Judah.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Two Houses</B></div> <bR> <div> "The rise of the monarchy under Saul did little to heal the ever-widening breach between Judah and the northern tribes... we are told that after David had slain Goliath, "the men of Israel and Judah" pursued the Philistines (1 Sam. 11:18). It is clear that Israel and Judah were perceived as two entities following their own separate interests" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, pp.227-28).</div> <div>  <A NAME="hagar_old_covenant___temple_dispensation"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Hagar Old Covenant - Temple Dispensation</B></div> <bR> <div> "The David and Solomon of the Chronicler ... <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>must be seen not only as the David and Solomon of history, but also as typifying the Messianic king of the Chronicler's expectation</B></FONT>" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Introduction to 1 Chronicles, p.580).</div> <bR> <div> <B>David - Warrior King</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 11:1</B></FONT>  Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we <I>are </I>thy bone and thy flesh.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 11:2</B></FONT>  And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou <I>wast </I>he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 11:3</B></FONT>  Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; <B>and David made a covenant with them</B> in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel.</div> <div> <B>2Sa 5:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 5:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Without question, David's rule over all Israel was perceived as a healing, a melding of disparate and hostile elements into the mighty people of God. The long-delayed establishment of the chosen people nation under the chosen king had finally come to pass. Unfortunately, however, subsequent history was ro reveal that the pomp and pageantry of this glorious occasion was only a patina spread thinly over a political structure which could not rid itself of intertribalism and division" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.234).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Capital City for Kingdom</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ch 11:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 11:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  David then took up residence in the fortress, and so it was called the City of David.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 11:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He built up the city around it, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "David's task was clear - he must find a central site which, at the same time, would be relatively neutral. By far the best choice was Jerusalem, the largest, most impressive, and strategically situated city in the whole central region" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.234).</div> <bR> <div> "Israel took possession of the little hill of Ophel, which became known as Zion or the City of David. By building (or rebuilding) terrace like fortifications to the east (i.e., the Millo), David both expanded the size of the city and enhanced its defensibility" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.236).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Empire Building</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Sa 8:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:2 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > David also defeated the Moabites ... the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  David ... defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, [king of Zobah]</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  King David ... subdued</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 8:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued [David dedicated to the LORD].</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Though Saul had defeated the Philistines and the Ammonites early in his reign, his frenetic hunt for David deflected the army from defence of the kingdom, and his death at the hand of the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, far to the north and east of their territory, indicated this supremacy at that time. David's decisive victory over this persistent enemy has already been recorded (2 Sa. 5:17-25), and 2 Samuel 8 takes up the story where 2 Samuel 5 left off" (Joyce Baldwin, <I>1 & 2 Samuel</I>, TOTC, p.219).</div> <bR> <div> "David had not only established the monarchy upon a firm basis, but had also exalted<B> the Old Testament kingdom of God </B>to such a height, that all the kingdoms around were obliged to bow before it" (C.F. Keil, <I>1 and 2 Kings</I>, KD, Vol.3, p.13).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Everlasting Dynasty</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 5:3 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >... because of the wars waged against ... David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Sa 7:1</B></FONT> ... <B>the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him</B>. (NIV).</div> <div> <B>1Ch 22:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 22:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "God's priorities are that his own royal house, where his throne (the ark) can finally come to rest..., will wait until Israel is at rest and David's dynasty (in the person of his son) is secure" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on 2 Sam 7:13, p.433).</div> <bR> <div> "Temple building could only be the completion and crowning effect of Yahweh's creation of a kingdom" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.150).</div> <bR> <div> <B>2Sa 7:11 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Sa 7:12</B></FONT>  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, <B>I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom</B>.</div> <div> <B>2Sa 7:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Sa 7:14</B></FONT>  <B>I will be his father, and he shall be my son</B>. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Sa 7:15</B></FONT>  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took <I>it </I>from Saul, whom I put away before thee.</div> <div> <B>2Sa 7:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Next to the promise given to Abraham must rank the word of blessing poured out on David. The classical OT passage dealing with this new addition to the ever-expanding promise and plan of God was 2 Samuel 7 with its duplicate in 1 Chronicles 17 and commentary in Psalm 89. It was the account of David's proposal to build a "house," or temple, for the Lord and the revelation Nathan received with God's counter-proposal that he would not allow David to construct it. Instead, Yahweh would make a "house" out of David (2 Sam. 7:5-11)!" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.149).</div> <bR> <div> "... God will <I>establish</I> a <I>kingdom</I> and a <I>throne</I> for David's offspring (vv. 11, 12, 14). This is the major promise of the covenant. The ambiguity inherent in the Hebrew word <I>zera'</I> (v.11), like its English equivalents 'seed' (AV)/<I>offspring</I> (NIV)....), means it can apply both to the dynasty as a whole and to the individual members of it (<I>cf</I>. The use of the same word in Gn. 3:15; 12;7; 17:7, 16).</div> <bR> <div> "... David's heirs will enjoy the privileged status of God's adopted sons, with Yahweh himself as their adoptive Father (v.13). This promise which was originally given to Israel (Ex. 4:22; <I>cf</I>. Is. 55:3) is now concentrated in the Davidic line (<I>cf</I>. Pss 2:7; 89:27). Ultimately it leads to Jesus, in whom this promise is finally and perfectly fulfilled... Through Jesus too, it has amazingly been extended by adoption to every believer, so that Jesus is 'the firstborn among many brothers' (Rom. 8:29; <I>cf</I>. vv.15-17)" (Martin J. Selman, <I>1 Chronicles</I>, TOTC, pp.179-180).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ch 17:13 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 17:14</B></FONT>  I will set him over <B>my</B> house and <B>my</B> kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.'" (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "... The most striking development of the Davidic covenant in Chronicles is its explicit association with the kingdom of God (v.14)... It is only Chronicles ... (and possibly Ps. 45:6), which see the kingdom of God expressed directly in the Davidic kingdom" (Martin J. Selman, <I>1 Chronicles</I>, TOTC, p.180).</div> <bR> <div> "Thus what God stood for heaven, David was appointed to be as a symbol and pledge of God's kingdom on earth" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.161).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1 Ki 2:10 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 29:28</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 2:11 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > He had reigned forty years over Israel - seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 2:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Solomon - King of Peace</B></div> <bR> <div> "Not only is there idealization of David and Solomon, but <B>the author </B>also<B> appears to consciously adopt the account of the succession of Moses and Joshua as a model for the succession of David and Solomon</B>: Both David and Moses fail to attain their goals - one to build the temple and the other to enter the promised land... <B>Both Solomon and Joshua bring the people of God into rest </B>(22:8-9; Jos 11:23; 21:44)... Both enjoy the immediate and wholehearted support of the people (29:23-24; Dt 34:9; Jos 1:16-18)... It is twice reported that God "exalted" or "made great" Solomon and Joshua (29:25; 2Ch 1:1; Jos 3:7; 4:14). The Chronicler also uses other models from Pentateuchal history in his portrayal of David and Solomon. <B>Like Moses, David received the plans for the temple from God</B> (28:11-19; Ex 25:9) and called on the people to bring voluntary offerings for its construction (29:1-9; Ex 25:1-7). Solomon's relationship to Huram-Abi, the craftsman from Tyre (2Ch 2:13-14), echoes the role of Bezalel and Oholiab in the building of the tabernacle (Ex 35:30-36:7). See note on 2Ch 1:5" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Introduction to 1 Chronicles, pp.580-581).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Solomon God's Viceregent</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 29:23 </B></FONT> <B>Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king </B>instead of David his father, <B>and prospered</B>; and all Israel obeyed him.</div> <bR> <div> "The expression, "throne of the kingdom of Jahve," and more briefly "throne of Jahve" (29:23, or ... 17:14), denotes that <B>Jahve is the true King of Israe</B>l, and had chosen Solomon as He had chosen David to be holder and administrator of His kingdom" (C.F. Keil, <I>1 & 2 Chronicle</I>s, KD, p.569).</div> <bR> <div> God was the 'true' Judge of Israel in time of the judges; now God is the 'true' King in the time of the kings. David's throne is also God throne.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Solomon's Prosperity</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 29:25</B></FONT>  And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him <I>such </I>royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 4:25 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 4:20 </B></FONT> Judah and Israel <I>were </I>many, as the sand which <I>is </I>by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 10:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 10:15</B></FONT>  Beside <I>that he had </I>of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 10:23 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 10:24</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 10:25</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 1:15</B></FONT>  And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem <I>as plenteous </I>as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that <I>are </I>in the vale for abundance.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 4:21 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Solomon's Statecraft & Empire</B></div> <bR> <div> "Spheres of Political Influence</div> <bR> <div> "<I>The homeland</I></div> <bR> <div> The question arises, Is the term <I>empire</I> applicable to Israelite hegemony in the tenth century? If by "empire" one means sheer territorial expanse, it is not. If however, one has in view a domination over foreign lands and peoples which falls short of incorporation into the dominate state, then the situation under David and Solomon certainly qualifies. A more fruitful line of inquiry, however, might be to consider the various spheres over which David and Solomon exercised political influence. The first was the homeland itself. Israel under David had made the transition from a rather loose confederation of nearly autonomous tribes to a clearly definable national entity with a strong central government and a united diplomatic and military presence among the nations of the world. But Israel under David and Solomon was geographically coextensive with the older tribal territories; that is, she occupied only that area which had been assigned to the tribes in conquest times. Historically and eschatologically the Old Testament knows of an Israel expanded beyond the tribal borders, but this never appears to have been the case in the period of the united monarch.</div> <bR> <div> "<I>The provinces</I></div> <bR> <div> "Israel under Solomon did not, then, formally incorporate under her jurisdiction lands that lay outside her traditional border. Solomon did, however, inherit from David a complex of provinces consisting of kingdoms and states immediately contiguous to Israel. These included Damascus, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and several smaller principalities. As provinces these areas were not considered integral parts of the homeland, but they nonetheless lost their independence and were ruled directly by Solomon through Israelite governors or other subordinates. They were subject to taxation and conscription and were expected to defend Israel against hostilities. In return they could expect the protection and benefits of the central government.</div> <bR> <div>  "<I>Vassal states</I></div> <bR> <div> "The third sphere of political influence, and that makes <I>empire</I> applicable to the Israel of Solomon, was the more distant and less rigid collection of vassal states. These client nations - including Zobah, Hamath, Arabia, and possibly Philistia - were brought under Israelite control by military or diplomatic means, but were allowed to retain a certain measure of autonomy, including native rulers and internal fiscal policy. They were obligated, however, to recognize the suzerainty of the Israelite king, to provide tribute of goods and services to the king on stated occasions, and to maintain loyalty to the central government under all circumstances, especially in times of war. Solomon, as Great King, was responsible to defend these areas of his empire and otherwise to render such assistance as they might require.</div> <bR> <div> "<I>Allied states</I></div> <bR> <div> "Finally, Solomon's imperial policy included a network of parity treaties with neighboring or even distant powers with whom he was on friendly terms. These treaties, as the name implied, recognized for equality of the contracting parties and usually contained provisions for mutual defense, trade, safe passages, extradition, and the like. The best example is the relationship between Solomon and Hiram of Tyre. Neither ruler was subordinate to the other, and the provisions of their treaty were clearly to the advantage of both..." (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, pp.300-302).</div> <bR> <div> See "Greater than Solomon" below.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Temple Old Covenant</B> <B>-</B> <B>Renewing the Covenant</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Temple on Mount Moriah</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 3:1</B></FONT>  Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where <I>the </I>LORD appeared unto David his father...</div> <div> <B>1Ch 21:28</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 22:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel."</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "This is the only biblical reference identifying the temple mount with Moriah, the place of Abraham's sacrifice, "the mount of the Lord" (Gen 22:2, 14). As the same place that Abraham held a knife above his son, David saw the destroying angel with sword drawn to plunge into Jerusalem (1 Chr 22:1-22:1..." (Raymond B. Dillard, <I>2 Chronicles</I>, WBC p.25).</div> <bR> <div> "It is, in both cases, a place where God revealed himself and where special sacrifice was offered, themes especially associated with the temple" (Martin J., Selman, <I>2 Chronicles</I>, TOTC, p.305).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant-Marriage Proposal</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 6:11 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 6:12</B></FONT><I>  Concerning </I>this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:</div> <div> <B>1Ki 6:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ark to Temple</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 5:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished:</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 5:2</B></FONT>  Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, <B>to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which </B><I><B>is </B></I><B>Zion</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 5:7</B></FONT>  And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy <I>place, even </I>under the wings of the cherubims.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Non-Public Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 5:11</B></FONT>  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy <I>place: </I>(for all the priests <I>that were </I>present were sanctified, <I>and </I>did not <I>then </I>wait by course:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 5:12</B></FONT>  Also the Levites <I>which were </I>the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, <I>being </I>arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 5:13</B></FONT>  It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers <I>were </I>as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up <I>their </I>voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, <I>saying, </I>For <I>he is </I>good; for his mercy <I>endureth </I>for ever: that <I>then </I><B>the house was filled with a cloud, </B><I><B>even </B></I><B>the house of the LORD</B>; </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 5:14</B></FONT>  So that <B>the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God</B>.</div> <bR> <div> Moses brought the Ark into the tabernacle - priests brought the ark into temple - the cloud /glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and temple and both Moses and priests unable to enter.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Official-Public Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 6:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 6:4</B></FONT>  And he said, Blessed <I>be </I>the LORD God of Israel...</div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 7:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 7:2 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 7:3</B></FONT>  And when all <B>the children of Israel saw </B>how <B>the fire came down</B>,<B> and the glory of the LORD upon the house</B>, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, <I>saying, </I>For <I>he is </I>good; for his mercy <I>endureth </I>for ever.</div> <bR> <div> In the official public dwelling, no cloud is mentioned, but fire/glory of the Lord and people are present.</div> <bR> <div> "Divine approval that rested on the temple services and Solomon's prayer of dedication in particular was shown by "fire" that "came down from heaven" on the altar. It was in the same way that God had inaugurated the sacrificial services at the Mosaic tabernacle (Lev 9:22)...</div> <bR> <div> "Now all the people also "the glory of he LORD above the temple," which constituted a greater manifestation of what had already been revealed to the priests inside (5:13-14)..." (J. Barton Payne, <I>1,2 Chronicles</I>, EBC, Vol.4, p.463).</div> <bR> <div> "... Porter (75) observes that Solomon pronounced two different blessings at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kgs 8:14-21; 54-61). In so doing the king most likely followed precedent... [At the dedication of the Tabernacle] Aaron blessed the people before Moses and he entered the tent (v.22); upon leaving the Tent Moses and Aaron blessed the people again" (John E. Hartley, <I>Leviticus</I>, WBC, p.120).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant Meal</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 7:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "In addition to burnt offering, there were "fellowship offering" (KJV, "peace offerings"). The latter not only symbolized, as choice parts were burned in sacrifice on the altar, but also depicted the restored fellowship with God that comes as a result of reconciliation. Most flesh from the peace offerings was eaten by the people themselves, sitting down, as it were, as guest of the God's table, in a meal celebrating the restoration of their peace with him (Lev 7:15; cf. Ex 24:11..." (J. Barton Payne, <I>1,2 Chronicles</I>, EBC, Vol.4, Note on 1 Chron 16:1, p.389).</div> <bR> <div> "... <I>fellowship offerings. </I>This type of offering was an important element in the original ceremony of covenant ratification at Sinai (Ex 24:5, 11). It represented the communion or peace between the Lord and his people when the people lived in conformity with their covenant obligations" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on 1 Sam 11:15, p.390).</div> <bR> <div> The Covenant Meal here coincided with the fellowship meal of the Feast of Tabernacles. A dispensation later a Covenant Meal would coincide with the 'fellowship' meal of the Feast of Passover.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lk 22:15 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... the Peace-offering ... <I>in it the offerer, the priest, and God, all fed together</I>. This was the case in no other but the peace-offering. In this they had something in common. Here each had a part. They held communion in feeding on the same offering" (Andrew Jukes, <I>The Law of The Offerings</I>, p.107).</div> <bR> <div> <B>House Dwelling on Earth and in Heaven</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ex 20:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 8:12 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:13</B></FONT><B>  I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever</B>."</div> <div> <B>1Ki 8:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of Egypt."</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:27 </B></FONT> <B>But will God indeed dwell on the earth? </B>behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:29 </B></FONT> <B>That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day</B>, <I>even </I>toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:30</B></FONT>  And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and <B>hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace</B>: and when thou hearest, forgive.</div> <bR> <div> "Solomon's great question in 1 Kings 8:27, 'But will God really dwell on earth? is in intended to elicit the marveling answer, 'Yes indeed!'" (Alec Motyer, <I>The Message of Exodus</I>, BST, p.252).</div> <bR> <div> "... almost the first words of Solomon at the temple's dedication ceremony are to the effect that God is in this building... it is not quite as simple as it looks to explain what sense the statement is, and is not, true. The temple is intended to be a place for God 'to dwell in for ever' (6:2), and if we are ask a reason for the curious linking of this verse with the previous one, the Lord's own declaration 'that he would dwell in thick darkness', it may not be altogether frivolous - in fact it may be the truest answer - to point to the windowless room at the heart of the temple... Solomon is perfectly aware of the ambiguity about the darkness where God is. <B>While this preface to the ceremony calls the temple God's dwelling-place, his prayer states eight times over that God actually dwells in heaven</B> (6:21, 23, 25, 27, 33, 35, 39)" (Michael Wilcock, <I>The Message of Chronicles</I>, BST, p.143).</div> <bR> <div> "God had condescended to allow a temple to be built for his name (5:5). He had by this means identified himself with his people. This means that God had through the temple provided a place of contact between man and God, a way for sinful man to approach a holy God, to have his sins forgiven, and to live in fellowship with him.</div> <bR> <div> "... God's dwelling place, or place of enthronement (<I>yasab</I>), is in heaven. The temple, as the place where God's name is enthroned, is a type of the true heaven and at the same time the way of approach to God" (R. D. Patterson & Hermann J. Austel<I>, 1,2 Kings</I>, EBC, Vol.4, pp.85-86).</div> <bR> <div> God says he will dwell on the earth, and in a sense this is true. But he is also dwells in heaven. In the time of the Judges God was the 'true' Judge of Israel and in the time of the Kings God was the 'true' King of Israel. But in these two dispensations he was heaven.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Rev 5:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> So when it says that the saints "will reign on the earth" the principle outlined above needs to be considered in interpreting the location of the saints during their reign - "it is not quite as simple as it looks to explain what sense the statement is, and is not, true".</div> <bR> <div> <B>Light to the Nations</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 8:41</B> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name -</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 8:42</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm - when he comes and prays toward this temple,</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:43</B></FONT>  then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, <B>and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel</B>, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.</div> <bR> <div> "The prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple ... invites YHWH to pay attention to the prayers not only of Israelites, but also to those of foreigners... It is first of all significant in its simple expectation that foreigners will be attracted to come and worship and invoke the God of Israel for blessing. No explanation is given other than that they will have heard of his 'great name' - or reputation. Secondly it is amazing that Solomon's prays that God should do for the foreigner what God had never promised, in quite so many words, to do for the Israelites; namely 'whatever the foreigner asks'. And thirdly the motivation offered to God for answering such prayers of non-covenant people is expressly 'missional' - namely that 'all the people of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel'. The same chapter includes the hope, very reminiscent of Deuteronomy 4:35, 39 'that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other' - a hope immediately conditioned on God's own covenant people living in faithful commitment to obedience (1 Kings 8:60-61 - mission connected to ethics yet again)" (Kim Huat Tan, "Community, Kingdom and Cross: Jesus' View of Covenant", Jamie A. Grant & Alistair I. Wilson, Editors, <I>The God of Covenant</I>, pp.74-75).</div> <bR> <div> <B>New Priesthood Line</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 2:27</B></FONT><B> </B> So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 29:22</B></FONT><B> </B> And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed <I>him </I>unto the LORD <I>to be </I>the chief governor, and <B>Zadok </B><I><B>to be </B></I><B>priest</B>.</div> <bR> <div> See on Ezekiel 44 below.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Temple Throne</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:6 </B></FONT> And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy <I>place, even </I>under the wings of the cherubims.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 8:10 </B></FONT> And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy <I>place, </I>that the cloud filled the house of the LORD.</div> <bR> <div> The "ark of the covenant" is God's throne. God is sitting on that throne through Jesus Christ. The "glory of the Lord" pictures Jesus Christ on that throne.</div> <bR> <div> But God has another throne.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Palace Throne</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 7:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > It took Solomon thirteen years ... to complete the construction of his palace.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 10:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 10:19</B></FONT><B> </B> The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 10:20</B></FONT><B> </B> Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 9:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built </FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 9:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  She said to the king...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 9:8 </B></FONT> Praise be to <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the LORD your God</B></FONT>, who <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God</B></FONT>. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness." (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> Solomon sat on God's throne; also known as the "throne of David".</div> <bR> <div> "This "kingdom of Yahweh" which was "in the hands of the sons of David" (2 Chron. 13:8) belonged to the Lord. The king of Israel was merely God's vicegerent who owed his office to God and who symbolically continued that reign as an earnest of God's triumphal occupation of that throne. Thus to aid the sagging spirits of a down-trodden people, the chronicler revived the image of the kingdom at the height of its greatest power in order to set forth the glories of Messiah's kingdom" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.261).</div> <bR> <div> There were two thrones in Israel: (1) The temple throne, the ark of the covenant, on Mount Moriah; and (2) the palace throne, the throne of David, on Mount Zion.</div> <bR> <div> These two thrones picture the thrones of God and Christ respectively.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Seeds of division</B></div> <bR> <div> "A. Alt is probably correct in maintaining that the crowning of David as king over 'all Israel' (2 Sam 5:1-5) made him king of a dual kingdom in which Judah kept its separate identity" (H.L. Ellison,"Judah",<I> </I><I>NBD</I>, p.628).</div> <bR> <div> Jacob's favourtism towards Joseph, with his coat of many colours, turned Joseph's brothers against him; Solomon favourtism of Judah, with exemption of taxation, turned brother tribes against him.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 4:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Most remarkable of all is the omission of Judah and Jerusalem from the districting. This implies that Jerusalem and the surrounding area were considered a federal district exempt from the obligations which were attached to the remainder of the nation. That a line of demarcation existed between Israel and Judah even in Solomon's time is clear from the comments of the historian that "the people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore" (1 Kings 4:20) and that "Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree" (1 Kings 4:24). Exemption from taxation, forced labor, and other burdens can be understood given Solomon's Judahite ancestry, but it also may have been the single most important contributing factor in the division of the kingdom following his death..." (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, pp.306-307).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 11:28 </B></FONT> And the man Jeroboam [an Ephraimite] <I>was </I>a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.</div> <bR> <div> Somewhat similar to Pharaoh, Solomon put Jeroboam from the tribe Joseph over "the house of Joseph".</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 11:29</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way...</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 11:31</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Then he said to Jeroboam... thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 11:33</B></FONT>  Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do <I>that which is </I>right in mine eyes, and <I>to keep </I>my statutes and my judgments, as <I>did </I>David his father.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 11:40</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Earlier Judah "sold" Joseph into Egypt to save him from being killed. Now Solomon, descendant of Judah, forces Jeroboam, descendant of Joseph, to flee to Egypt to be saved.</div> <bR> <div> Jeroboam is an 'anointed' king who flees to Egypt and is there until the king who sought his life was dead; and who later returns to northern Israel and becomes king.</div> <bR> <div> Jeroboam and Solomon types for Jesus and Herod. Jeroboam and Christ dwelt in the north of Israel after returning from Egypt.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Divided Kingdom</B></div> <bR> <div> "The death of Solomon paved the way for one of the most decisive and traumatic events in Israel's long history - the formal and permanent division of the kingdom between the ten tribes of the north, henceforth known as Israel or Ephraim, and the tribe of Judah in the south. Though shattering in the extreme to the national psyche, this cleavage should have come as no surprise to thoughtful people, for the political and theological roots of the schism reached deep into Israels past" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, pp.315-316).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 12:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 12:2</B></FONT>  And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard <I>of it, </I>(for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)</div> <div> <B>1Ki 12:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 12:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ki 12:16</B></FONT>  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither <I>have we </I>inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 12:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 12:20</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 12:21 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Earlier it was Joseph and Benjamin now it is Judah and Benjamin against "ten".</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sin of Jeroboam</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 11:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 11:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property, and came to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 11:15</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 11:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their fathers.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... Jeroboam's most significant action was his establishment of an official cult to rival that of Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26-33)..." (John Bright, <I>A History of Israel</I>, p.237).</div> <bR> <div> "Neither the severe chastisements ... nor the love and grace ... were sufficient to induce the king or the people to relinquish the worship of the calves. This sin of Jeroboam, however, although <B>it was Jehovah who was worshipped under the symbol of the calf</B>, was a transgression of the fundamental law of the covenant...</div> <bR> <div> "Jeroboam the son of Nebat was not content with simply introducing images of Jehovah, but had even banished from his kingdom the Levites ... and had taken men out of that great body of the people, who were not sons of Levi, and made them priests, and had gone so far as to change the time of celebrating the feast of tabernacles from the seventh month to the eighth (1 Kings 12:31,32), merely for the purpose of making the religious gulf which separated the two kingdoms as wide as possible ... Thus the worship of the people became a political institution, in direct opposition to the idea of the kingdom of God..." (C.F. Kiel, <I>Hosea</I>, KD, p.13).</div> <bR> <div> It maybe of significance that Rachel, the mother of Joseph, took her father Laban's "household gods" when Jacob and his family fled from him. When Laban caught up with them Rachel did not "relinquish" the family idols to him.</div> <bR> <div> "... So markedly different in morality and religion were the lives of the kings of Israel and Judah that David and Jeroboam became standards of piety and impiety respectively. Every northern king was condemned because he "walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in the sin which he made Israel sin"... Of any good king of Judah it was said, "He walked before Me as David his father walked"..." (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Theology</I>, p.138).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Decline</B></div> <bR> <div> "Whatever its provocation, the consequences of the schism were disastrous. The empire was for the most part lost overnight. Neither Israel nor Judah, occupied with internal problems, had the power or the will to hold it or, apparently, even to try: it simply went by default...</div> <bR> <div> "Israel and Judah had become second rate states..." (John Bright, <I>A History of Israel</I>, pp.231-32).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Resurgence</B></div> <bR> <div> "Israel's resurgence began with Jehoash ... who came to the throne just as the Assyrians crippled Damascus... he is said to have recovered all the cities lost by his father (II Kings 13:25)" (John Bright, <I>A History of Israel</I>, p.258).</div> <bR> <div> His contemporary Amaziah of Judah also reconquered Edom, but fell foul of Jehoash.</div> <bR> <div> "The resurgence of the sister states reached its zenith in the next generation under the able and long-lived Jeroboam II, of Israel, and his equally long-lived and able younger contemporary, Uzziah of Judah... By the mid-eight century the dimensions of Israel and Judah together lacked but little of being as great as those of the empire of Solomon. Since full advantage seems to have been taken of the favorable position in which the country found itself, a prosperity unknown since Solomon ensured..." (John Bright, <I>A History of Israel</I>, p.256).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Geo-political Power Shift</B></div> <bR> <div> "Though they [the two independent nations of Israel and Judah] had fought with their neighbors continually, and on occasion been humiliated, they had never lost political self-determination; nor had their fortunes, although not unaffected by the current of larger world affairs, ever been dependent upon the whim of empires far away, save indirectly. The truth is that [during] the entire history of Israel ... her existence as a people had been spun out in a great power vacuum; no empire had existed that had been in a position to trouble her deeply and permanently. As a result she had never known an emergency that she had not in some way been able to master, and so to survive. After the middle of the eighth century this was never to be the case again. Assyria took the path of empire in earnest, and the cloud long lowering on the horizon became a line storm which swept the little peoples before it like leaves. The northern state snapped before the blast and went crashing down. Though Judah managed to survive for yet a century and a half, outliving Assyria herself, she was never, save for one brief interval, to know political independence again" (John Bright, <I>A History of Israel</I>, p.269).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ephraim/Israel faulty bow</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 49:24</B></FONT>  But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty <I>God </I>of Jacob...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Hos 7:15</B></FONT>   Though I have bound <I>and </I>strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Hos 7:16</B></FONT>   They return, <I>but </I>not to the most High: <B>they are like a deceitful bow</B>: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The End of Ephraim/Israel</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ki 17:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ki 17:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ki 17:23</B></FONT>  Until the L<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >ORD</FONT> removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.</div> <bR> <div> "It is little wonder that the only remedy for 210 years of covenant infidelity was to be uprooted from the land of the covenant and delivered over to the very nations for whom Israel was responsible as the servant of Yahweh. The irony is inescapable" (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.400).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Judah Alone</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ki 17:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ki 17:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Warning of End for OT Temple Covenant</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 7:12</B></FONT>  But go ye now unto my place which <I>was </I>in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.</div> <div> <B>Jer 7:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 7:14</B></FONT>  Therefore will I do unto <I>this </I>house ["temple" (NIV)], which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 7:15</B></FONT>  And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, <I>even </I>the whole seed of Ephraim.</div> <bR> <div> "... there was a view abroad that the temple itself was a guarantee of Jerusalem's inviolability. There was evidently a very great preoccupation with the activities of the cult, but a minimal concern with the ethical demands of the covenant... Yahweh was in no way obligated either to guarantee the inviolability of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, or to remain among his people if they continued to reject his sovereignty and his covenant demands. His ancient promises belonged only to a nation which kept his commandments faithfully (cf. Deut. 7:12-15)" (J. A. Thompson, <I>The Book of Jeremiah</I>, NICOT, pp.274, 276).</div> <bR> <div> "In a rhetorical fashion, the prophet invites the throngs of pilgrims at Jerusalem's temple to take a pilgrimage to Shiloh and see what happened there. It too had been a place where God's presence was established, but now it was in ruins. The reason for ruin was equally clear to the prophet, for its demise was "because of the evil of my people" (v.12). A temple or shrine, in other words, which was the symbolic location of God's presence among his people, provided no absolute security; God could be driven out of his temple by evil, and when that happened, sooner or later the place would collapse in ruin...</div> <bR> <div> "And so the termination of Jeremiah's temple sermon rings with a funereal tone: "I will cast you out of my presence" (v 15), just as he had done before to the people of Ephraim, in whose territory the shrine of Shiloh was located. The very thing which the pilgrim crowd sought, namely, the divine presence symbolized by the temple, would be gone for ever..." (Peter C. Craigie, Page H. Kelly, Joel F. Drinkard, Jr., <I>Jeremiah 1 -25</I>, WBC, p.122).</div> <bR> <div> <B>End of Temple Old Covenant</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 8:4 </B></FONT> And, behold, <B>the glory of the God of Israel </B><I>was </I>there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 8:5 </B></FONT> Then <B>said</B> he<B> unto me</B>, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now ... and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 8:6 </B></FONT> He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? <I>even </I><B>the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here</B>,<B> that I should go far off from my sanctuary</B>? but turn thee yet again, <I>and </I>thou shalt see greater abominations.</div> <bR> <div> "The four scenes provide a visual recitation of evidence justifying Yahweh's radical response to Israel's infidelity. In the end Ezekiel at least will know that if Yahweh abandoned his people, it is not without cause. In betraying him they have inflamed his passion. They have violated the fundamental principle of covenant relationship and its corollary: "You have shall have no other gods before me," and "You shall not make any idolatrous images for yourselves to worship and serve" (Exod. 20:3-6; Deut. 4:1-20; 5:7-12)... The image presents a direct challenge to Yahweh's presence. Either Yahweh alone is Israel's God (cf. v.4) or he is not their God at all" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapter 1-24</I>, NICOT, pp.283, 288).</div> <bR> <div> "He was leaving, but not because he wanted to; rather, because his own covenant people were doing <I>things that will drive me far from my sanctuary</I> (8:6)" (Christopher J. H. Wright, <I>The Message of Eekiel</I>, BST, p.100).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Glory departs</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 9:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 10:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 11:23 </B></FONT> And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which <I>is </I>on the east side of the city.</div> <bR> <div> "For Ezekiel the movement of the divine glory would have had ominous significance. It signaled Yahweh's suspension of rule and raised the possibility of departure from the city... the departure of the glory signals the end of a relationship that had existed for almost four centuries. The divine king has abandoned his residence" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapter 1-24</I>, NICOT, pp.306, 326-27).</div> <bR> <div> "This must have been one of the darkest moments of Ezekiel's ministry... He would have known the story of the departure of the glory of Yahweh from the his people when the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant - before even the temple was built - and the naming of Eli's posthumous grandson Ichabod, 'No glory', to mark that tragedy. But that was centuries ago, before all the promises that Yahweh had made in relation to his temple and this city. Yet now, in his own blighted lifetime not only had Ezekiel been expelled from his beloved city, but he had also lived to witness something even worse - the glory of his covenant God, Yahweh, leaving his temple, leaving his city, leaving his people to their destruction" (Christopher J. H. Wright, <I>The Message of Eekiel</I>, BST, pp.120-121).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenantal Curse</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Dt 31:16</B></FONT><B> </B> And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a-whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go <I>to be </I>among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Dt 31:17</B></FONT>  Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God <I>is </I>not among us?</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Hos 9:11</B></FONT><B> </B><I> As for </I>Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Hos 9:12</B></FONT>  Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, <I>that there shall </I>not <I>be </I>a man <I>left: </I>yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!</div> <bR> <div> "The departure of the symbol of God's presence from the temple was preparatory to the destruction of the city. This had been foretold in Deut. 31:17. Woe to those from whom God departs (Hos. 9:12)" (A.R. Fausset, <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, JFB, Vol.2, Pt.2, p.233).</div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ch 36:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 36:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who ... spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged...</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ch 36:18  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD'S temple and the treasures of the king and his officials.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 36:19</B></FONT> <B> They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem</B>; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Ch 36:20</B></FONT>  <B>He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword</B>, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> Jerusalem fell in 586<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >BC</FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Promised Return and New Covenant</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Zec 8:3</B></FONT>  This is what the LORD says: "<B>I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem</B>. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain." (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> The prophet and priest Zechariah, whose name means "Yahweh remembers", announced, in 518 <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >B.C.</FONT>, to the remnant of the house of Judah who had returned from the Babylonian captivity, as they were rebuilding the temple, the good news that the L<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >ORD</FONT> would return and dwell in Zion. But it would not be temple that they were building. The promised return would be in days to come.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 31:31</B></FONT>  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that <B>I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah</B>:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 31:32</B></FONT>  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day <I>that </I>I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which <B>my covenant they brake</B>,<B> although I was an husband unto them</B>, saith the LORD:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 31:33</B></FONT>  But this <I>shall be </I>the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, <B>I will put my law in their inward parts</B>, and write it in their hearts; <B>and will be their God, and they shall be my people</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 31:34</B></FONT>  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for <B>I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more</B>.</div> <bR> <div> "The new covenant is made with literal <I>Israel</I> and <I>Judah</I>, not with <I>spiritual</I> Israel <I>i.e.</I>, believers... With the "remnant according to the election of grace" in Israel the new covenant has already taken effect. But with regard to the <I>whole</I> nation, <B>its realization is reserved for the last days</B>, to which Paul refers this prophecy in an abridged form (Rom 11:27)" (A.R. Fausset, <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, JFB, Vol.2, Pt. 2, p.109).</div> <bR> <div> "... Jeremiah found no fault with the Sinaitic covenant... The problem was with the <I>people</I>, not with the covenant-making God nor with the moral law or promises reaffirmed from the patriarchs and included in that old covenant. The text of Jeremiah 31:32 explicitly pointed the finger when it said, "Which covenant of Mine <I>they</I> broke."...</div> <bR> <div> "... Why call this covenant a "<I>New</I> covenant" especially since most of the content adduced in the "New" is but a repetition of those promises already known from the Abrahamic-Davidic covenant already in existence?...</div> <bR> <div> "When the items of continuity found in the New covenant are tabulated in this passage, they are: (1) the same covenant-making God, "My covenant"; (2) the same law, My torah...; (3) the same divine fellowship promised in the ancient tripartite formula, "I will be your God"; (4) the same "seed" and "people," "You shall be my people"; and (5) the same forgiveness, "I will forgive their inequities."...</div> <bR> <div> "Thus the word "new" in this context would mean the "renewed" or "restored" covenant... We conclude then that this covenant was the old Abrahamic-Davidic promise renewed and enlarged...</div> <bR> <div> "<I>Its Brand-New Features</I>...[include] (1) a universal knowledge of God (Jer. 31:34); (2) a universal peace in nature and the absence of military hardware (Isa. 2:4; Hos. 218; Eze. 34:25; 37:26); (3) a universal material prosperity (Isa. 61:8; Hos. 2:22; Jer. 32:41; Ezek. 34:26-27); (4) a sanctuary lasting forever in the midst of Israel (Eze. 37:26,28); and (5) a universal possession of the Spirit of God (Joel 2:32ff)..." (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, pp.233-234).</div> <bR> <div> "... the climax of this wonderful section comes in the revelation that the basis of the new covenant is forgiveness of sin. Thus gratitude for forgiveness will issue in spontaneous obedience. The new covenant does not envision sinlessness but forgiveness of sin resulting in restoration of fellowship with God..." (Charles L. Feinberg, <I>Jeremiah</I>, EBC, Vol.6, p.577).</div> <bR> <div> "... the forgiveness of sins is a work of grace which annuls the demand of the law against man" (C.F. Keil, <I>Jeremiah</I>, KD, p.283).</div> <bR> <div> "Thus the New is more comprehensive, more effective, more spiritual, and more glorious than the old - in fact, so much so that <I>in comparison</I> it would appear as it were totally unlike the old at all...</div> <bR> <div> "The New Covenant was indeed addressed to a revived national Israel of the future, but nonetheless by virtue of its specific linkages with the Abrahamic and Davidic promises contained in them all, it was proper to speak of a Gentile participation then and in the future. The Gentiles would be adopted and grafted into God's covenant with national Israel..." (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, pp.233-235).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 12:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  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.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ge 22:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.</FONT></div> <div>  <A NAME="keturah_new_covenant___kingdom"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Keturah New Covenant - Kingdom/Temple Dispensation</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>One Nation</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 37:16</B></FONT>  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and <I>for </I>all the house of Israel his companions:</div> <div> <B>Eze 37:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 37:21 </B></FONT> And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, <B>I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land</B>:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 37:22</B></FONT>  And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, <B>neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more </B>at all:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 37:24</B></FONT>  And David my servant <I>shall be </I>king over them;<B> and they all shall have one shepherd</B>: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 37:25</B></FONT>  And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, <I>even </I>they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: <B>and my servant David </B><I><B>shall be </B></I><B>their prince for ever</B>.</div> <div> <B>Eze 37:26</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >   Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 37:27</B></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" > <B>My tabernacle also shall be with them</B></FONT>: yea, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>I will be their God</B></FONT>, and <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>they shall be my people</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> "The division of the nation into two kingdoms had its roots, no doubt, in the ancient jealousy existing between the two tribes of Ephraim and Judah, but its was primarily brought to pass through the falling away of Solomon from the Lord. Consequently it could only be completely and for ever terminated through the righteous government of the second David, and the purification of the people from their sins" (C. F. Keil, <I>Ezekiel-Daniel</I>, KD, p.316).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Isa 11:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The union of the two sticks into one portrayed the reunion of the nations of Judah and Israel into a united kingdom in the land of promise in the Abrahamic covenant (vv.19, 22-25; Gen 12:1-3, 7; ... 17:17-18; 28:4, 13-15). Never again would the nation be divided. The Messiah, David's greater Son, would be the only King, Shepherd, and Prince that Israel would ever have in accord with the Davidic covenant (vv.22b, 24a, 25b; cf. 34:10b-31; 2 Sam 7:13,16). This united people of God would be cleansed from their former idolatry and transgressions through the complete forgiveness provided by the Messiah's death and the ministry of the Spirit promised in the new covenant and (v.23a; 36:16-32; Jer 31:31-34). By accepting the new covenant, Israel would be enabled through the Holy Spirit to follow the righteous stipulations of the Mosaic covenant and to live by them (v.24b). Then Israel would finally be the unique, choice people that God had created for himself; and he would be their God - finally fulfilling the ideal of the Mosaic covenant (vv.23b, 27; cf. Exod 19:5-6; Lev 26:12; Deut 7:6; 14;2, 21; 26:18-19; 27:9; Jer 30:22; 31:33; 32:38).</div> <bR> <div> "The Lord would enact his peace covenant (cf. 34:25-29) with Israel at the time of her restoration to the land, when all her other covenants with God would be fulfilled (v.26). Under this peace covenant Israel would be established in her own land, her numbers would increase (cf. Gen 22:17-18), and the Lord would place his sanctuary - his dwelling place - among his people forever (vv.26-27; cf. 40:5-43:9). Then all nations would see that it was the Lord who made Israel holy. She would be set apart from all nations as God's special possession. No other nation would have the Lord dwelling in its sanctuary uniquely in its midst as would Israel (v.28; cf. chs. 40-48).</div> <bR> <div> "When all Israel's covenants have been consummated, then the Lord will enact his peace covenant with Israel. She will dwell in peace forever under the rule of her king, the Messiah (34:25-29; 37:26; cf. 38:11)...</div> <bR> <div> "Israel would return united with the Messiah as her singular ruler, with all God's covenants fulfilled" (Ralph H. Alexander, <I>Ezekiel</I>, EBC, Vol.6, pp.927-28).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ge 48:15</B></FONT>  Then he [Jacob] blessed Joseph and said, "May<B> the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, </B><I><B>the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day</B></I>,</div> <div> Ge 48:16  <B>the Angel who has delivered me from all harm</B>...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jdg 11:27</B></FONT>  I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me.<B> Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day </B>between the Israelites and the Ammonites. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> Ezekiel declares that the descendants of Jacob, in the future, will have one Shepherd over them. This is the same Shepherd that had been with Jacob all his life.</div> <bR> <div> The Angel/Messenger of God, who also was God, by implication, is God's Servant.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 2:6</B></FONT><B> </B>"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come <B>a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel</B>.'"</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Heb 13:20</B></FONT><B> </B> May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, <B>that great Shepherd </B>of the sheep.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 12:18</B></FONT>  "Here is <B>my servant </B>whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight;</div> <div> <B>Mt 12:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  In his name the nations will put their hope." (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> That same Shepherd is leading/feeding God's Church - the Israel of God - today.</div> <bR> <div> God is going to 'raise up' the Messiah, the 'true' David, as King and Shepherd of the New Covenant Kingdom of Israel.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Victory and then Rest</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 5:3 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >... because of the wars waged against ... David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "God's priorities are that his own royal house, where his throne (the ark) can finally come to rest..., will wait until Israel is at rest and David's dynasty (in the person of his son) is secure" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on 2 Sam 7:13, p.433).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 38:3 </B></FONT> Behold, I <I>am </I>against thee, <B>O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal</B>:</div> <div> <B>Eze 38:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... I will turn thee back ... and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 38:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 38:6</B></FONT>  Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: <I>and </I>many people with thee.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 38:9</B></FONT>  <B>You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud</B>, you and all your troops and <B>many people with you</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 39: 2</B></FONT>  ...and <B>I wi</B><B>l</B><B>l</B> ... <B>bring you against the mountains of Israel</B></div> <bR> <div> "Ezekiel describes an antichristian confederacy which is to assail the Holy Land <I>before</I> the Millennium<I>...</I>" (A.R. Fausset,  <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, Vol. 2, Pt.2, p.349).</div> <bR> <div> Joshua, the son of Nun, in establishing the Old Covenant Kingdom of God in Canaan, provides the type for Joshua, Son of God, in establishing the New Covenant Kingdom of God in Canaan and through out the earth.</div> <bR> <div> The campaign against the confederacy organize by Jabin king of Hazor (below) is a type of the confederacy organized by Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.</div> <bR> <div> "Only the northern cities remained to be conquered. The major battle for the hills of Galilee is fought and won against Hazor and the coalition of other northern city-states. A summary follows of all Joshua's victories in the southern and central regions as well" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on Joshua 11:1-23, p.306).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 11:1</B></FONT>  ... <B>Jabin king of Hazor </B>... sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 11:2</B></FONT>  And to the kings that <I>were </I>on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west</div> <div> <B>Jos 11:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 11:4</B></FONT>  And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, <B>much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude</B>, with horses and chariots very many.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 11:5</B></FONT>  And when all these kings were met together, they came ... <B>to fight against Israel</B>. </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 11:23</B></FONT><B>  So Joshua took the whole land</B>, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and<B> Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes</B>.<B> And the land rested from war</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 18:1</B></FONT>  And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh,<B> and set up the tabernacle of the congregation </B>there. And the land was subdued before them.</div> <bR> <div> After the defeat of Gog, Ezekiel, in his last vision, is "shown the new temple and the new organization of the services of God, together with the new division of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel" (C.F. Keil, <I>Ezekiel-Daniel, </I>KD, p.342).</div> <bR> <div> "Temple building could only be the completion and crowning effect of Yahweh's creation of a kingdom" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, p.150).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Vision of Transformation</B></div> <bR> <div> "Human geography shows that every society is organized in space. Changing the spatial organization of the society changes the society. Ezekiel 40-48 is a vision of a new society with controlled access to sacred space, based on a spatial theology of holiness" (Kalinda Rose Stevenson, <I>The Vision of Transformation - The Territorial Rhetoric of Ezekiel 40-48</I>, p.xviii).</div> <bR> <div> See also <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><A HREF="id80_human_geography.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bible Study Articles">Human Geography - A spatial theology of holiness</A></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Temple</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 40:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 40:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the house of Israel everything you see."</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 40:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... like the descriptions of the tabernacle (Exod. 25-31; 36-40) and the temple of Solomon (1 K. 6-8; 2 Chr. 2-3), the description is composite, focusing on various aspects of the complex. Except for the altar, however, Ezekiel seems unconcerned about the accoutrements and furniture of the temple. His interest is in the design of sacred space, not the objects that fill up that space" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.507).</div> <bR> <div> "[Ezekiel] meets an angelic figure who conducts him around the temple area, measuring everything with a builder's measuring-rod. He begins with a close study of the gateways to the outer court (40:6-16) before entering the outer court to see the chambers which faced inwards on to the pavement around its outer wall. After looking at the two other gateways to the outer court (40:20-27), he is led to the gateway which leads from the outer court into the inner court, where only the priests are allowed to go, and once again there are three of these, on the north, east and south sides respectively (40:28-37). The temple itself stands on the western side, so there is no gateway there, either to the inner or to the outer court... A brief reference to the special sacrificial equipment and the rooms reserved for the sacrificing priests (40:38-47) prepares the way for a detailed description of the holy place (40:48 - 41:26), after which the prophet is led outside for a final survey of the temple area (42:1-20)" (John B. Taylor, <I>Ezekiel</I>, TOTC, pp.250-251).</div> <bR> <div> "... the temple building itself, [is] in the middle of the inner court. Its special holiness is represented by its being elevated yet again above the surrounding levels of the inner and outer courts (40:49; 41:18)... The increasing holiness is also represented by the decreasing size of entrances; the further in you go, the narrower the entrances becomes: fourteen cubits at the main entrance (40:48), ten cubits at the entrance to the larger sanctuary (41:2), and only six cubits at the entrance to the Most Holy Place (41:3)" (Christopher J. H. Wright, <I>The Message of Eekiel</I>, BST, pp.331-32).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0dbd6f40.jpg" border=0 width="470" height="500" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Based on the plan in the New Bible Dictionary, Eerdman's Pub. Co., 1962.</div> <bR> <div> (A. vander Nat, <I>Plan of the Temple As Envisioned by Ezekiel</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >, </FONT>homepages.luc.edu/~avande1)</div> <bR> <div> <B>Glory of the Lord Returns to the Temple</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:2 </B></FONT> And, behold, <B>the glory of the God of Israel </B>came from the way of the east: and<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B> </B></FONT><B>his voice </B><I>was </I>like a noise of many waters: and<B> the earth shined with his glory</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:4</B></FONT>  And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect <I>is </I>toward the east.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:5</B></FONT>  So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold,<B> the glory of the LORD filled the house</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:6</B></FONT>  And I heard <I>him </I>speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:7</B></FONT>  And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where <B>I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever</B>...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:2</B></FONT>  Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because <B>the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it</B>, therefore it shall be shut.</div> <bR> <div> "Everything was now ready for His reception. As the Shechinah-glory was the peculiar distinction of the old temple, so it was to be in the new, in a degree as much more transcendent as the proportions of the new exceeded those of the old" (A.R. Fausset,  <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, Vol. 2, Pt.2, p.349).</div> <bR> <div> "The present pattern - the description of the sanctuary followed by the entrance of the divine <I>kabod</I> ["glory"] into the building - follows the pattern of two previous biblical parallels, the construction of the tabernacle (Exod. 25-40) and Solomon's temple (1 K. 6-8). In both instances, the arrival of the glory served as a visible seal of Yaweh's approval on the construction project. God had taken up residence in his palace..." (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.576).</div> <bR> <div> "As in the exodus, Sinai, and tabernacle narratives, the glory is the visible manifestation of the divine presence, a fact reinforced by Yahweh's own interpretative comment in 44:2..." (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.578).</div> <bR> <div> "..."this is the place of my throne, the place for the soles of my feet." The language is obviously royal; Yahweh is hereby declaring that the temple is his palace and asserting his claims to kingship over Israel...</div> <bR> <div> "The image of divine kingship is concretized with the description of the temple as "the place for the soles of my feet"...</div> <bR> <div> "The austerity of this assertion of divine kingship is deliberately tempered by the ... reference to Yahweh's eternal ... residence in the midst of the descendants of Israel (vv. 7.9). The verb <I>sakan</I> alludes to the tabernacle/temple as the <I>miskan</I>, "dwelling place," of Yahweh... The vision of the return of the <I>kabod</I> offers optical reinforcement of verbal pronouncements in earlier salvation oracles (ch. 34-37) that Yahweh will come back and establish his residence among them, never again to leave. Ezekiel's temple represents a symbol of his recommitment" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, pp.580-582).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:26 </B></FONT> <B>For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it</B>; thus they will dedicate it.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 43:27</B></FONT>  At the end of these days, <B>from the eighth day on</B>, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then <B>I will accept you, declares the Sovereign LORD</B>. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "After the altar of sacrifice was constructed, it would be necessary to cleanse and dedicate it (v.18). Cleansing was needed because everything associated with man partook of sin and therefore needed to be cleansed, especially if it was to be used in the worship of the Lord. A similar cleansing and dedication took place with the altar of sacrifice of the tabernacle (Exod 29:36-37; Lev 8:14-17) and the altar of Solomon's temple (2 Chron 7:9)" (Ralph H. Alexander, <I>Ezekiel</I>, EBC, Vol.6, p.971).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Isa 4:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Isa 4:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "<I>Create</I> (<I>bara</I>) is used in the Old Testament only of acts of God, things which by their greatness or newness or both absolutely require a divine agent. This supreme new reality is the Lord's own presence, signalled by the ancient symbol of <I>cloud ... by day ... fire by night</I> (Ex. 13:21-22; 19:18). His presence is of the most intimate nature, for <I>over all the glory will be a canopy</I>. <I>Canopy</I> (<I>huppa</I>) is the 'marriage chamber' in Psalm 19:6 and Joel 2:16, the canopy providing privacy as bridegroom and bride come together in love and union. <I>Glory</I> is either the Messiah united in love with his bride-people, or the holy people of Zion joined in consummated love with the Lord under the overshadowing tokens of his presence...</div> <bR> <div> "The overshadowing fiery cloud of divine presence, the bridal canopy, will be <I>shelter </I>... <I>shade </I>... <I>refuge </I>...<I> hiding place</I>. The doubling of words is deliberate, conveying the idea of 'every possible protection'. Likewise the contrast of <I>heat</I> with <I>storm</I> and <I>night </I>with<I> day </I>implies 'in every circumstance and threat' and 'at all times'" (Alec Motyer, <I>Isaiah</I>, TOTC, p.60).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Restoration of the Pillars of the Kingdom</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 33:15 </B></FONT> <B>In those days</B>, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 33:17</B></FONT>  For thus saith the LORD;<B> David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel</B>;</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 33:18</B></FONT>  <B>Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man </B>before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and <B>to do sacrifice continually</B>.</div> <div> <B>Jer 33:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The Davidic kingdom and the Levitical priesthood were the two pillars and bases of the Old Testament theocracy, on which its existence and continuance depended. The priesthood formed the medium of approach for the people into divine favour. The kingdom assured them of the divine guidance. Both of these pillars were broken with the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple; the theocracy appeared to have ceased to exist. At this time, when the kingdom ... was being dissolved, the Lord, in order to keep His people from despair, declares that these two institutions, in accordance with His people shall not fall to the ground, but shall stand for ever. By this, God own people received a pledge for the re-establishment and renovation of the kingdom of God" (C.F. Keil, <I>Jeremiah</I>, KD, p.303).</div> <bR> <div> "In those days" refers to the time, yet future, when the Messiah will "execute judgment and righteousness in the land". This is the time when the 'renovated' Davidic monarchy and the Levitical priesthood will have been restored.</div> <bR> <div> "The David and Solomon of the Chronicler ... <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>must be seen not only as the David and Solomon of history, but also as typifying the Messianic king of the Chronicler's expectation"</B></FONT> (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Introduction to 1 Chronicles, p.580).</div> <bR> <div> Solomon as king and Zadok as priest are the types for this Messianic Kingdom. There will be generations of Davidic kings ruling on the throne of the Lord and generations of the sons of Zadok serving as priests.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jer 33:20 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > "This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jer 33:21</B></FONT>  then <B>my covenant with David </B>my servant - and <B>my covenant with the Levites who are priests </B>ministering before me - can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "The enduring nature of Davidic rule and the levitical priesthood is expressed here by likening their permanence to the constant alternation of day and night, which are also secured by divine promise (Gen 8:22)" (Gerald L. Keown, Pamela J. Scalise, Thomas G. Smothers,  <I>Jeremiah 26-52</I>, WBC, p.174).</div> <bR> <div> While the regular succession of day and night implies "permanence" it may also imply a regular succession of Davidic kings siting on David's throne.</div> <bR> <div> Jesus Christ, as the Word of God, ruled Old Covenant Israel through the Davidic monarchy; and in the future Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, will rule New Covenant Israel through the Davidic monarchy.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Law of the Temple: Ezekiel 43:10-46:18</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ezek 43:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > "This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "At the center of Ezekiel 40-48 in its final form is a law code. It is the only body of law in the Hebrew Bible that is not ascribed to Moses... The law code itself deals broadly with access to the divine presence by right priesthood and right liturgy. These chapters also describe a secular leader (called the <I>nasi</I>, the term generally used in chs. 1-39 for the king), but only as his responsibilities relate to participation in, and funding of, the temple liturgy. As the title in 43:12 succinctly states, "This is the law of the temple."</div> <bR> <div> "... in the Law of the Temple, the temple is "the heart of life, the center of the world, the one source of meaning and direction"... The temple, now understood as the actual shrine on the actual mountain, is the one place where the Lord's presence can be experienced. Through the intermediation of the Zadokite priesthood, by mean of the liturgy funded by the prince, worshippers can encounter God" (Steven Tuell, <I>Ezekiel</I>, NIBC, pp.301, 342).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sons of Zadok</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 44:15 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 44:16 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The priestly service at the altar and in the sanctuary ... was to be performed by the sons of Zadok alone, because when the people went astray they kept the charge of the sanctuary, i.e., performed the duties of the priestly office with fidelity. <I>Zadok</I> was the son of Ahitub, of the line of Eleazar (1 Chron. 5:34; 6:37, 38), who remained faithful to King David at the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. 15:24ff.), and also anointed Solomon as king in opposition of Adonijah the pretender (1Kings 1:32ff.); whereas the high priest Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, took part with Adonijah (1 Kings 1:7, 25), and was deposed from his office by Solomon in consequence, so that the now the high-priesthood was in the sole possession of Zadok and his descendants (1 Kings 2:26, 27, and 35).... As he received the high-priesthood from Solomon in the place of Abiathar for this fidelity of his, so shall his descendants only be vested with the priestly office in the new temple" (C. F. Keil, <I>Ezekiel - Daniel</I>, KD, p.414).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 2:27 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... the family of Aaron was specially chosen for the actual priestly service, with the Elide line eventually assuming ascendancy within officialdom. Because of corruption within the Elide house (1 Sam. 3:11-15), under David and Solomon the Elides had been replaced by the Zadokites, who maintained their superior position until the exile, and probably beyond (cf. 1 Chr. 6:1-15). Ezekiel himself was probably a Zadokite (cf. Ezek. 1:3), as was Ezra, the leader of the spiritual revival among the returned exiles (Ezra 7:1:1-7)" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.635).</div> <bR> <div> The sons of Zadok served in Solomon's temple and they will serve in Ezekiel's temple. Joshua (Haggai 1:14) provides the type after the Babylonian captivity for the antitype after the end-time captivity.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:23 </B></FONT> And they shall teach my people <I>the difference </I>between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.</div> <bR> <div> "... cleanness is a state intermediate between holiness and uncleanness. Cleanness is the normal condition of most things and persons. Sanctification can elevate the clean into the holy, while pollution degrades the clean into the unclean. The unclean and the holy are two states which must never come in contact with each other" (Gordon J. Wenham, <I>The Book of Leviticus</I>, NICOT, pp.19-20).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:24 </B></FONT> And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; <I>and </I>they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.</div> <bR> <div> "... the focus shifts from the priests' cultic service before Yahweh to their function in Israelite society, referred to by Yahweh affectionately as "my people." Three dimensions of their public role are specified" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT p.642).</div> <bR> <div> "They had a major role in the teaching and administration of the law. <I>They are to teach my people</I>... Verse 23 is based on Leviticus 10:10-11, which records this teaching function as part of the 'ordination' of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood. Specifically, the content of their teaching was to ensure that ordinary Israelites knew the fundamental differences between <I>the holy and the common</I> and between <I>the unclean and the clean</I>. These were foundational to Israel's religious worldview. They symbolized within the everyday world of Israelites the holiness of Yahweh and all that was closely associated with him, and the distinctions between themselves and the rest of the nations. These were not merely taboos. They were badges of an identity and a mission which called for holiness of life and behaviour as well. In teaching these distinctions, the priests would have taught the rest of the Torah also, with its clear demand for Israel to live out the ethical responsibilities of their election and redemption...</div> <bR> <div> "Because of their familiarity with the law, the priests were also to be involved in its administration in the courts: 'in any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges' (24a). This role in public settling of disputes also rest on much earlier tradition found in Deuteronomy 17:8-13 and 19:15-21. Jehoshaphat, king in Judah in the ninth century BC, included Levite priests in his appeal court in Jerusalem, set up to judge difficult cases referred to them by local courts. Understandably, if the priests were to teach the law and administer it with integrity, they themselves must be models of obedient living: '<I>They are to keep my laws and my decrees</I>' (24b).</div> <bR> <div> "Putting these three duties together, then, in relation to the law of God, the priests were to be <I>teachers</I>, <I>conflict resolvers </I>and <I>moral examples</I>. Ezra provides an outstanding example of such leadership, with the added observation that he made the law a matter of personal study as well... Ezra's triple commitment to the law was to study it, to do it and to teach it" (Christopher J. H. Wright, <I>The Message of Eekiel</I>, BST, pp.350-351).</div> <bR> <div> "Under the assumption "like people, like priest" (Hos. 4:9), the burden of resolving the earlier problems (cf. Ezek. 22:26) rests on the shoulders of the priestly class. The call for a holy people begins at the top" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.643).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Non-Priest Levites</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 44:10 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:11</B></FONT>  Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, <I>having </I>charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.</div> <div> <B>Eze 44:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:13</B></FONT>  And <B>they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me</B>, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy <I>place: </I>but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.</div> <div> <B>Eze 44:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... Levites are to act as temple ministers and gatekeepers. Their duties are described (11) as (<I>a</I>) oversight of the temple gates, as part janitor and part policeman to control the crowds; (<I>b</I>) service in the temple, involving such tasks as slaying the animals brought in for sacrifice and assisting in the kitchens (46:24); and (<I>c</I>) ministering to the people and helping them in their ritual duties. They therefore <I>stand before</I> the people (11, AV), while the priests stand before the Lord. This was a down-grading of their position, brought about because of their idolatrous behaviour... Nevertheless, they were tasks which had to be done and the ordinary people were not to do them..." (John B. Taylor, <I>Ezekiel</I>, TOTC, p.271).</div> <bR> <div> "The intention is to exclude the Levites from participating in the cultic rituals performed in the inner court of this temple... They may not function as priests, to be sure, but theirs is a privileged role... after experiencing the judgment of God for gross past failures, the Levites are hereby fully rehabilitated and repatriated" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, pp.631-32).</div> <bR> <div> "So, although the whole tribe was set apart for the service of God, there was a recognition that some of the tasks involved in that service was focused on God himself, while other practical and menial tasks were necessary to preserve good order and to facilitate the people in their worship. The early church very quickly realized that a similar division of labour was needed in its own rapidly expanding organization. The people needed to be fed, physically and spiritually. But the same people could not cope with the demands of both tasks. So the apostles wisely commissioned another group pf people to take care of the practical needs while they devoted themselves to the ministry of the word. Luke is careful to emphasize that the former group needed to be just as much filled with the Spirit as the latter" (Christopher J. H. Wright, <I>The Message of Ezekiel</I>, BST, p.349).</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Reservation</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0fb35250.png" border=0 width="565" height="293" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> (Map from John B. Taylor, <I>Ezekiel</I>, TOTC, p.273).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 45:1 </B></FONT> Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer <B>an oblation [Heb: </B><I><B>teruma</B></I><B>] unto the LORD</B>... the length <I>shall be </I>the length of five and twenty thousand <I>reeds</I>...</div> <bR> <div> In 45:1 the unit of measure given for the length is in italics as there was no unit given in the text. This is an "Ellipsis; or Omission. When a gap is purposely left in a sentence through the omission of some word or words" (E.W. Bullinger, <I>Companion Bible</I>, "Appendix 6: Figures of Speech", p.9).</div> <bR> <div> To fulfil the ellipsis the two candidates are "cubits" and "reeds". For some commentators, given the present topography of Israel, "cubits" would be too small and for others "reeds" would be too big. A "reed" or "rod", is six times larger than a "cubit". Proponents for "rods" posit that "an argument [for "cubits"] is not persuasive when Zechariah and other prophets demonstrate that the whole Palestinian topography will undergo geographical modification at the beginning of the Millennium" (Ralph H. Alexander, <I>Ezekiel</I>, EBC, Vol.6, p.968).</div> <bR> <div> Points of disagreement/difficulties with topography and text are beyond the scope of this booklet. The map above is a reflection of the conundrums, but it helps in grasping what is being explained.</div> <bR> <div> The Reservation<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#00FF00" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT>is introduced here in the section dealing with the Priests and Levites; a fuller description follows in Ezekiel 48:8-22.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:8</B></FONT>  Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a <B>special gift</B> [Heb: <I>teruma</I>]  It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "The reservation is defined in fluctuating terms" (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.283).</div> <bR> <div> In verse 8 the <I>teruma</I> refers to the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordon River/Dead Sea and between the tribal areas of Judah and Benjamin.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:20a</B></FONT>  The entire <B>portion</B> [<I>teruma</I>] will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side.</div> <bR> <div> In verse 20a the <I>teruma</I> refers to the square formed by the Levites', Priests' and City/land areas combined.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:20b</B></FONT> ... As a <B>special gift </B>[<I>teruma] </I>you will set aside the <B>sacred </B>[<I>qodes</I>]<B> portion</B> [<I>teruma</I>], along with the property of the city.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:15</B></FONT>  The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common [<I>hol</I>] use of the city, for houses and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "But, most often, as the "the sacred reservation," it consists of the oblong made up by the priests and Levites' territories (vv.9, 10)" (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.283).</div> <bR> <div> The square <I>teruma</I> of 25,000 by 25,000 is divided into two: <B>the holy [</B><I><B>qodes</B></I><B>] portion</B> is the Levites' and Priests' areas combined; <B>and the common portion</B> is the City and City lands.</div> <bR> <div> The holy [<I>qodes</I>] portion is also divided into two: the "most holy" and "holy".</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:10 </B></FONT> This will be the sacred [<I>qodes</I>] portion [<I>teruma</I>] for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side.  In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the LORD.</div> <div> <B>Eze 48:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful in serving me and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:12</B></FONT>  It will be a <B>special gift </B>[<I>teruma</I>] to them from the sacred <B>portion</B> [<I>teruma</I>] of the land, a <B>most holy</B> [<I>qodes qodasim</I>] portion, bordering the territory of the Levites. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 48:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits. </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:14</B></FONT>  They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is <B>holy </B>[<I>qodes</I>] to the LORD. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "The priest's territory, which includes the sanctuary (v 10), is regarded as the most sacred area (v 12)... The two levels of holiness in the sacred reservation obviously extend the graduation that was a key feature of the sanctuary itself. As in their work, so in their living quarters the temple personal reflect their respective standing..." (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.283).</div> <bR> <div> (That two territories can reflect the same division of the sanctuary will be met later in the Sarah New Covenant Temple Dispensation).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 48:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the city property will belong to the prince... and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the center of them.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 48:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the center of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The inclusion of the city and of crown land in the reservation is a reflex of older traditions: king, capital and temple had been interconnected for centuries. Although these bonds are noticeably loosened - palace and temple no longer adjoin (43:7-8) and the city is kept a respectful distance from the temple - the influence of their unity is not allowed to fade into oblivion..." (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.283).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0e3fa910.png" border=0 width="506" height="145" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> (Map from John B. Taylor, <I>Ezekiel</I>, TOTC, p.273).</div> <bR> <div> "Depending on where one locates the priestly <I>teruma</I> and the temple within it, the distance could be (1) under 2 mi., if the temple is located in the center of the priestly <I>teruma</I>, which in turn if between the Levitical allotment and the "common" remainder (Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, p.283); (2) about 2½ mi., if the temple is in the center of the reserve as a whole (Zimmerli, <I>Ezekiel 2</I>, p.535); (3) 4-5 mi., if (as I prefer) the temple is in the center of the priestly <I>teruma</I>, which is adjacent to the allotment of Judah" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.739).</div> <bR> <div> Daniel Block prefers "cubits" to fulfil the ellipse so that the miles above need to be multiplied by six if "rods" are preferred.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Prince</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:1</B></FONT>  Then he brought me back the way of <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the gate of the outward sanctuary [G]</B></FONT><B> </B>which looketh toward the east; and it <I><B>was </B></I><B>shut</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:2</B></FONT>  Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; <B>because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it</B>, therefore it shall be shut.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 44:3</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" ><I>  It is </I>for the prince;</FONT> <B>the prince</B><B>,</B><B> </B><I><B>he</B></I><B> shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >; he shall enter by the way of the porch of <I>that </I>gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.</FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0e1c3fc0.png" border=0 width="451" height="252" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> (From A. vander Nat, <I>Plan of the Temple As Envisioned by Ezekiel</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >, </FONT>homepages.luc.edu/~avande1)</div> <bR> <div> "From the inner court Ezekiel is taken to the outer court, near its east gateway. He is able to glimpse its closed doors at the far end of the long corridor of the gate house... The shut doors, defying their natural purpose, were to be commemorate the initial point of the divine re-entry into the temple area. Though in a public place, the east gate thus shared the special sanctity of the temple itself and was off limits to the people" (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.260).</div> <bR> <div> "But there is more to this gate. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>The prophet is unexpectedly introduced to a new figure, the </B><I><B>nasi'</B></I></FONT>... in his first appearance in the Ezekiel Torah, he is a cultic figure, one signaled out and authorised to eat before Yahweh in the sacred gate..." (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.615).</div> <bR> <div> "The term [<I>nasi'</I>] applied to any ruler of God's people (Ex 22:28), to the leaders of the congregation (Ex 16:22; Josh 9:15, 18; 22:30 etc.), and to Solomon (1 Kgs 11:34).</div> <bR> <div> "Charles Feinberg believes that he is a "future scion of David's dynasty who will represent the Messiah governmentally in the affairs of the earth"" (Walter C. Kaiser, "<I>nasi</I>'" [prince], TWOT, Vol.2, p.601).</div> <bR> <div> "The prince must mean <I>the civil ruler under</I> MESSIAH. His connection with the east gate (by which the Lord had returned to His temple) implies that, as ruling under God, he is to stand in a place of peculiar nearness to God. <I>He represents Messiah</I>, who entered heaven, the true sanctuary by a way that none could... he holding the place of God in political concerns, as the priests do in spiritual..." (A.R. Fausset, <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, JFB, Vol.2, Pt.2, p.368).</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Prince, Atonement and the Passover</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 9:7</B></FONT>   <B>Moses said to Aaron</B>, "Come to the altar and <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>and make atonement for yourself and the people</B></FONT>... (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 45:13 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > This is the special gift you are to offer:..</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 45:16 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > All the people of the land will participate in this special gift for the use of the prince in Israel. </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 45:17</B></FONT><B> </B> <B>It will be the duty of the prince </B>to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths - at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>He will provide the </B><B>sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B> </B><B>to</B> <B>make</B><B> atonement for the house of Israel</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> "Specific dues are to be paid over by the people of the land to the prince, and he will have responsibility of providing the offerings and sacrifices at all the festivals. As a regulation, this is unique to Ezekiel, and it illustrates the real (though limited) cultic responsibility allotted to the civil head of the people..." (John B. Taylor, <I>Ezekiel</I>, TOTC, p.275).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Nu 15:24 </B></FONT> and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B> the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering</B></FONT>. </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Nu 15:25 </B></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven</B></FONT>, for it was not intentional and<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B> </B></FONT>they have brought to the LORD for their wrong an offering made by fire and a sin offering. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "... the burnt offering was the principle atoning sacrifice in ancient Israel. It was the sacrifice that reconciled the sinner with his creator... The purification offering dealt with the pollution caused by sin. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>If sin polluted the land, it defiled particularly the house where God dwelt</B></FONT>. The seriousness of pollution depended on the seriousness of the sin, which in turn related to the status of the sinner. If a private citizen sinned, his action polluted the sanctuary only to a limited extent. Therefore the blood of the purification offering was only smeared on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. If, however, the whole nation sinned or the holiest member of the nation, the high priest, sinned, this was more serious. The blood had to be taken inside the tabernacle and sprinkled on the veil and the altar of incense. Finally <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>over the period of a year the sins of the nation could accumulate to such an extent that they polluted even the holy of holies, where God dwelt</B></FONT>. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>If he was to continue to dwell among his people, this too had to be cleansed </B></FONT>in the annual day of atonement ceremony..." (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="verdana" >Gordon J. Wenham, <I>The Book of Leviticus</I>, NICOT, p.</FONT>96).</div> <bR> <div> "It is evident from these lists in Ezekiel's new order sin will continue to be a problem for the nation. As he had done through Moses, however, through this prophet Yahweh reveals his magnanimous provision for forgiveness and fellowship with him. Under this constitution, the <I>nazi'</I> plays a critical part; he is guardian and patron of the cult. The size of the tracts of land allocated for him reflect the importance of his role. These territories provided him with land where flocks presented to him could graze and the grain and oil could be stored, until they were required for presentation in the sanctuary" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, pp.659-60).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 45:22 </B></FONT> <B>And upon that day [the Passover]</B> shall the prince prepare for himself<B> </B>and for all the people of the land <B>a bullock </B><I><B>for </B></I><B>a </B><B>sin offering</B>.</div> <bR> <div> "... the focus of the celebration has changed... This shift parallels the change in nature of the sacrificial victims. Whereas the function of the original Passover was apotropaic, to ward off Yahweh's lethal actions, and subsequent celebrations provided annual reminders of the original event, in the Ezekielian ordinance the memorial purposes of the Passover are overshadowed by the purgative concern... its nature and significance have been changed" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.666).</div> <bR> <div> "The prince would provide a sin offering for himself and the people in commemoration of Christ's work" (Ralph H. Alexander, <I>Ezekiel</I>, EBC, Vol.6, p.985).</div> <bR> <div> But the "New Covenant" Passover may also have a future aspect.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1 Cor 5:7 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >... Christ our passover is sacrificed for us</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The Passover Lamb, the foundation sacrifice to the Old Covenant dispensation, also looked forward to the Passover Lamb, the foundation sacrifice to the New Covenant.</div> <bR> <div> The sacrifices and festivals of the "Old" Covenant looked forward to God and Christ and a new dispensation. Therefore, the sacrifices and the festivals of the "New Covenant" may look forward to God and Christ and a new dispensation, of even better "things to come" (cp. Heb 10:1).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 45:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="verdana" >  In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 45:25</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="verdana" >  During the seven days of the Feast, which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day</FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Hereafter there shall be a new Passover (<I>v</I>.21) and a new Feast of Tabernacles (<I>v</I>.25; Zech 14, 16-19) observed in Israel, with ceremonies vastly exceeding in glory those of the same feasts under the Old Testament. The anti-typical, perfect and external realities of Christ's manifested kingdom shall be set forth with observances ... which shall bring out all the heretofore hidden glories and excellencies of that law, viewed in its essential spirit..." (A.R. Fausset, <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, JFB, Vol.2, Pt.2, p.373).</div> <bR> <div> "It is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal God the Father (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) and to bring people to the Father (John 14:6). Ultimately, the Lord's work will be to apply the teaching He received from the Father (John 5:20). The Son revealed the Father in His first-advent incarnation (John 1:18; 17:4). Accordingly, it makes sense to understand that the Son will reveal the Father with His work that follows His second advent. Simply stated, the Lord Jesus Christ has been revealing the Father since creation. Why would He stop doing that in the Millennium?...</div> <bR> <div> "Whereas Old Testament animal sacrifices were shadow-Christology, millennial animal sacrifices will be shadow-Paterology" (Bob Bolender, <I>Memorials and Shadows Animal Sacrifices of the Millennium</I>, chafer.edu/journal/back_issues/v8n2_2.pdf).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Excursus - The 'subjective' efficacy of animal sacrifices</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lev 5:10</B></FONT> And he shall offer the second <I>for </I>a burnt offering, according to the manner: <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, </B><B>and it shall be forgiven him</B></FONT>. </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600FF" FACE="verdana" ><B>Eze 45:15</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000050" FACE="verdana" > </FONT>Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="verdana" ><B>the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the people</B></FONT>, declares the Sovereign LORD. </div> <bR> <div> "The majority of dispensationalists have argued that the sacrifices are memorials to the sacrifice of Christ, with no atoning character. However, the idea that these are memorial sacrifices is no where apparent in Ezekiel, and it is specifically claimed by Ezekiel that these offerings <I>will</I> make atonement (45:15, 17, 20)" (Ian M. Duguid, <I>Ezekiel</I>, NIVAC, p.521).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600FF" FACE="verdana" ><B>Eze 43:20</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000050" FACE="verdana" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="verdana" ><B>You are to take some of its blood</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="verdana" ><B> </B></FONT>and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="verdana" ><B>and so purify the altar and make atonement for it</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600FF" FACE="verdana" ><B>Eze 45:19</B></FONT> The priest is to <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="verdana" ><B>take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="verdana" ><B> </B></FONT>the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner court. </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6600FF" FACE="verdana" ><B>Eze 45:20</B></FONT> You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="verdana" ><B>so you are to make atonement for the temple</B></FONT>. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "In vv 15 and 17 [of chapter 45] the expiatory significance of the sacrifice is emphatically expressed. In 43:20 and 45:19f it can be seen that the expiatory power is especially attributed to the blood" (Walter Zimmerli, <I>Ezekiel 2 - A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapters 25-48</I>, p.479).</div> <bR> <div> "... vv 18-20, announces an annual ritual of decontaminating the inner sanctuary area... it is a counterpart of P's great day of Atonement ceremony in Lev 16, but here the rite takes place in the spring, at the start of the year. As there, the blood of the sin offering has the function of bringing about the regular decontamination of the sanctuary from the accumulation of past sins that had a polluting effect upon it (cf. Lev 16:19 "... sanctify it from the impurities of the people of Israel").</div> <bR> <div> "... it is significant that the holy of holies is not included in the places daubed with blood... V20b may want to relate this second ceremony to the whole temple area (Gese, <I>Verfassungsentwurf</I>79; Koch, <I>Priesterschrift 107</I>)", (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.266).</div> <bR> <div> "<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>It would be too much to contend that the OT offer of forgiveness repeated so often in the Levitical institution of the sacrifices were only symbolic and offered no actual cleansing from or removal of sin</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> "The only solution is to take the OT and NT statements seriously. We conclude then, with Hobart Freeman, that <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the OT sacrifices were </B><I><B>subjectively </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><I><B>efficacious</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>, in that the sinner did receive full relief based on the clear declaration of God's appointed servant</B></FONT>. But it is also clear that the sacrifices of bulls and goats <I>were not in themselves</I> expiatory and efficacious. The most these sacrifices could do was to point to the need for a perfect, living substitute who would, in the timing of God, ransom and deliver all from the debt, guilt, and effects of their sin. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Thus, the OT sacrifices were not </B><I><B>objectively</B></I><B> efficacious</B></FONT>; but then neither did the OT ever claim that the blood of these bulls and goats was inherently effective...</div> <bR> <div> "The efficacy of the OT sacrifices, then rested in the Word of God, who boldly announced that sacrifices done in this manner and with this heart attitude (Ps 50:8, 14; 51:16 [Heb 10:8]; Prov 15:8, 21:3; Isa 1:11-18; 66:3; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Amos 5:21; Mic 6:6-8) would receive from God a genuine experience of full forgiveness. Of course, everything depended on the perfect payment for this release, payment that would occur sometime in the future. Therefore, not the blood of bulls and goats but the "blood" (i.e., the life rendered up in violent death) of a perfect sacrifice finally made possible all the forgiveness proleptically enjoyed in the OT and retrospectively appreciated in the NT. Only the lamb of God could have provided <I>objective efficacy</I>, even though the subjective efficacy that had preceded it was grounded on the authority and promised work of Christ.</div> <bR> <div> "Until the death of Christ happened, the sins of the OT saints were both forgiven and "passed over" (<I>paresis</I>, Rom 3:25) in the merciful grace of God until the expiatory death of Christ provided what no animal ever could do and what no OT text ever claimed it could do" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., <I>Towards Rediscovering The Old Testament</I>, pp.133-35).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >See also</FONT><B> </B><B>The Author of Hebrews and the Use of The Principle of "Relative Negation"</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Prince, the inner court gate and inheritance</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 46:1 </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Thus saith the Lord GOD; </FONT><B>The </B><B>gate of the inner court</B><B> that looketh toward the east [G]</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 46:2 </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And </FONT><B>the prince</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" ><B> </B></FONT><B>shall enter by the way of the porch of </B><I><B>that </B></I><B>gate</B><B> without</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and <B>the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings</B>, </FONT><B>and </B><B>he shall worship at the threshold of the </B><B>gate</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.</FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0e042c70.png" border=0 width="322" height="199" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> (From A. vander Nat, <I>Plan of the Temple As Envisioned by Ezekiel</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >, </FONT>homepages.luc.edu/~avande1)</div> <bR> <div> "Closure and limited access to the head of state are predicated of both the outer (44:1-3) and inner east gates. Since the outer east gate could be approached via the other outer gates, it was kept permanently closed. However, in the case of the inner gate, it had to be opened, if the head of state was to have access, since there was no other point of entry, the inner court being off limits to all but priests (cf. v.8). The closure of both gates was to commemorate Yahweh's entry through them when he came to take up permanent residence in the new temple. The head of state had the privilege of passing through the porch at the outer end of the gatehouse (cf. 40:31, 34) and standing at the inner end, at the point to which 45:19b refers, in order to witness the priests sacrificing his offerings and to perform there a gesture of obeisance, kneeling with head pressed to the ground" (Leslie C. Allen, <I>Ezekiel 20-48</I>, WBC, p.267).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 46:18</B></FONT>  Moreover <B>the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression</B>, to thrust them out of their possession; <I>but </I>he shall give <B>his sons inheritance </B>out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.</div> <bR> <div> "In verse 18 Ezekiel secures the possession of the commoners' land holdings by prohibiting the <I>nasi</I><I>'</I> from exploitatively confiscating their divinely granted properties. If he wishes to grant his sons an inheritance (<I>nahala</I>), he may give them some of his own land, but he may not seize the property of his subjects. This prohibition affirms that while Yahweh assigns special roles to some (the <I>nasi'</I> and the priests), he is concerned about the welfare of all Israelites, here affectionately referred to as <I>'</I><I>ammi</I>, "my people." As patron of the entire nation and owner of the entire land of Israel, he has established inviolable links between families and specific lands. The aim of this regulation, as expressed in the final purpose clause, is to right past wrongs, warning the <I>nasi'</I> and his sons not to misbehave like the <I>nesi'im</I> described in Ezek. 34:5-6, 21, exploiting their subjects and scattering ... them from their lands..." (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.680).</div> <bR> <div> The princes' heir/s may not only inherit gifts of land but the oldest sons will inherit the throne of David to fulfil God's promise, foretold by Jeremiah, that "in those days ... <B>David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel</B>" (Jer 33:16, 17). With the increase in life-span during the Millennium (Isaiah 65:20), there may not be that many successions to the throne.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The 'True' Prince</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 34:23</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 34:24</B></FONT><B> </B> I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> Jacob in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh addressed his God as the God of Abraham and Isaac and also addressed Him as The Angel. This Angel was his "shepherd" all his days.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 2:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> This Angel, who also was God, also led the descendants of Jacob into the Promised Land. His presence was in the Tabernacle at Shiloh and He was also Judge in Israel (Jdg 11:27). But he "judged" Jacob through human judges.</div> <bR> <div> God will be God in New Covenant Israel, through the Angel of God - the Messiah, the 'true' David - whose "presence" will dwell in the Temple. The Messiah will be The <I>Nasi</I>' in Israel but will rule through human <I>nesi'im.</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>A NT Parallel</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jn 17:3 </B></FONT> And this is life eternal, that they might know thee <B>the only true God</B>, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.</div> <div> <B>Jn 20:28</B> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Thomas, a descendant of Jacob, also addressed the Messiah as God. Thomas understood that the Father was also his God as did Jacob.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jn 14:9 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > 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...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> God is with His people through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's presence in the Temple is also God's presence in the Temple. Christ is God's delegated King; and the <I>prince</I> is Christ delegated <I>prince</I>.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 1:1</B></FONT>  <B>The revelation of Jesus Christ</B>, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. <B>He</B> <B>made it known by sending his angel </B>to his servant John.</div> <bR> <div> "The subject of the verb ... "he made known," is ambiguous; it could be either God or Jesus Christ; though the latter is logically more probable since the revelation was transmitted by God to Jesus Christ, and it must be Jesus Christ who then further communicates the revelation" (David E. Aune, <I>Revelation 1-5</I>, WBC, p.15).</div> <bR> <div> But David Aune observes in his Notes that: "The subject of ... ["he made known"] ... is unclear, though it is logical to take God as the subject, since ... ["he made known"] is coordinated with ... ["gave"]" (<I>Revelation 1-5</I>, WBC, p.6).</div> <bR> <div> It is suggest here that both God and Christ are the subject as in the similar case in Revelation 11:15.</div> <bR> <div> God transmits the revelation through His Angel/Messenger Jesus Christ who then transmits by his angel/messenger.</div> <bR> <div> Christ is the Messenger but delegates the role to the angel/messenger just as Christ is the <I>Nasi'</I> and delegates that role to the <I>nasi'</I>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>City of God</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 48:15 </B></FONT> And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane ["Common" (NIV] <I>place </I>for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof. (AV).</div> <div> <B>Eze 45:6 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > the city ... will belong to the whole house of Israel. (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ezek 48:35 </B></FONT> ... and the name of the city from <I>that </I>day <I>shall be</I>, The LORD <I>is </I>there. (AV).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0e2f8910.png" border=0 width="504" height="145" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> (Map from John B. Taylor, <I>Ezekiel</I>, TOTC, p.273).</div> <bR> <div> "Characterizing the city as <I>hol</I>, "common" (v.15), and opening it to the masses of Israel's population, however, does not mean that it is perceived as secular, sterilized of theological and spiritual significance. On the contrary ... the city will bear a new name ... "Yahweh is there." Like Ezekiel's restoration oracles, this name announces the undoing of a past evil situation...</div> <bR> <div> "But there is something remarkable about this city bearing this new name. The center of gravity in Ezekiel's cartography of power is obviously <B>the temple</B>, <B>the place where Yahweh resides in the midst of the most sacred </B><I><B>teruma</B></I><B> several miles north of the city</B>. In comparison the city is for human habitation; it is "profane, common" (<I>hol</I>)... Like the temple, however, the city is located in the center of the (civic) band; it is also square, and surrounded by open space (<I>migras</I>). But with this new name the implicit symbolism of the design is made explicit: <B>the city reflects the presence of Yahweh!</B>" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.741).</div> <bR> <div> <B>A NT Parallel</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Rev 2:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I know where you live - where Satan has his throne... your city - where Satan lives. (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 2:13</B></FONT>  I know ... where thou dwellest, <I>even </I>where Satan's seat <I>is</I>...<I> </I>where Satan dwelleth. (AV).</div> <bR> <div> "The risen Christ knows where they live (<I>katoikeis </I>suggest permanent residence): it is "where Satan sits enthroned" (Moffat, <I>The NT: A New Translation</I>)... <B>both the believers and their ultimate adversary live in the same locality</B>..."  (Robert H. Mounce, <I>The Book of Revelation</I>, NICNT, pp.78-80).</div> <bR> <div> "The phrase "where Satan dwells" means either that someone representing Satan lives in Pergamon or that evil is present in a particular potent way in Pergamon" (David E. Aune, <I>Revelation 1-5</I>, WBC, p.185).</div> <bR> <div> Satan wasn't personally in Pergamon but the rule and conduct of the city so reflected Satan that it could be said that Satan ruled and dwelt there.</div> <bR> <div> In the future the "prince", a descendant of David, will represent God and Christ in Jerusalem, exercising godly rule; and "good" will be "present in a particular potent way", so reflecting God, that it may be said 'God is there'.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tribal Allotments</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 47:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel, with two portions for Joseph. </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 47:14</B></FONT>  <B>You are to divide it equally among them</B>. Because I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will become your inheritance. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "If Ezekiel considered himself somewhat in the role of a new Moses in the restoration of Israel's sacrificial worship at the altar (43:13-27), there is an even clearer echo of Moses in relation to the land. Just as Moses had described the boundaries of the land and allocated it in advance to the tribes of Israel before the original conquest, so Ezekiel now gives the boundaries of the land again and provides detailed tribal allocations in advance of the return from exile..." (Christopher J. H. Wright, <I>The Message of Ezekiel</I>, BST, pp. 359).</div> <bR> <div> "... Ezekiel's understanding of Israel's tribal structure follows the traditional premonarchial order: (a) The land is divided into twelve tribal allotments (cf. Josh 13-19). (b) The tribe of Levi is excluded from the allocations. (c) The twelve-tribe system is maintained by elevating Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to full tribal status and assigning a separate territory to each (cf. 47:13)..." (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, p.722).</div> <bR> <div> Ezekiel's account follows a similar pattern to Joshua's account of the division of the land.</div> <bR> <div> For Joshua the allotments to the tribes are divided into two by the setting up of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. Five tribes had their allotments prior to this and seven after.</div> <bR> <div> For Ezekiel the allotments are divided into two by the description of the holy district, which has the Temple. Seven tribal allotments are given before this and five after.</div> <bR> <div> "Ezekiel's territorial allocations respect the traditional genealogical relationships among the tribes. Distinguishing between the descendants of Jacob's wives (Leah and Rachel) and their handmaidens (Bilhah and Zilpah... The tribes descended from Jacob's primary wives enjoy pride of place, nearest the sanctuary, the eight Leah and Rachel tribes distributed equally, four on each side of the <I>teruma</I>. The tribes descended from the handmaidens are placed at the extremities, farthest from the sacred reserve.</div> <bR> <div> "...while Judah and Benjamin retain their historical positions near the sanctuary ... their positions are reversed... Although the dualities of the monarchic period remain in the north-south grouping, the disruptive regional loyalties are neutralized by assigning Judah's territory with the northern tribes and denying any tribe the religio-political centre" (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28</I>, NICOT, pp.723-24).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="162d7df0.png" border=0 width="215" height="479" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> (Map/Diagram based on (1) Bob Pickle, <I>Calculating the Circumference of the Earth</I>, pickle-publishing.com/papers/ezekiels-city-circumference-of-the-earth.htm; and (2) Philip Peter Jenson, <A HREF="id95.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Graded Holiness"><I>Graded Holiness</I></A><I> - A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World</I>, p.136).</div> <bR> <div> "It should also be noted that the site of the temple itself seems to have migrated north in Ezekiel's vision. Given that the tribal strips are equal (47:14) and that there are seven to the north of the sacred reservation and five to the south, the site of the temple ought in strict geographical terms to be located somewhat close to Shiloh, thirty miles north of its old location. Although the vision (perhaps surprisingly) does not explicitly identify the location of the heart of the sacred portion within the renewed Israel, it would not be surprising to finds that Ezekiel envisaged a change in place for the sanctuary. Given his radical assessment of defilement of the temple's former home in Jerusalem, a location in the heartland of the old traditions, such as Shiloh, may well have proved attractive. Yet the shift in theological geography may also have been driven by a simple desire to locate the temple closer to the center of the land, in the midst of the people, while still (in deference to history) slightly south of center" (Iain M. Duguid, <I>Ezekiel</I>, NIVAC, pp.544-45).</div> <bR> <div> With six tribes above Judah and four tribes below Benjamin, the former tribes of the Kingdom of Judah, while "slightly south of centre" of the nation, are, in a sense, 'over' the other tribes.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Greater than Solomon</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ps 72:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 72:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 72:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ps 72:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him;</FONT></div> <div> the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.</div> <div> <B>Ps 72:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ps 72:17</B></FONT>  His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and <I>men </I>shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ps 72:18</B></FONT>  Blessed <I>be </I>the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ps 72:19</B></FONT>  And blessed <I>be </I>his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled <I>with </I>his glory; Amen, and Amen. </div> <bR> <div> "[Psalm 72 is a] prayer for the king, a son of David who rules on David's throne as God's earthly regent over his people. It may have been used at the time of the king's coronation... implicit prayers. They express the desire of the nation that the king's reign will, as a consequence of God's endowment of his servant, be characterized by justice and righteousness, the supreme virtues of kingship. The prayer reflects the ideal concept of the king and the glorious effects of his reign" (Kenneth Barker, General Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on Ps 72, p.859).</div> <bR> <div> "The relations of Solomon's time form the groundwork of the psalm, delineating Messiah's antitypical reign" (A. R. Fausset, <I>Job - Isaiah</I>, JFB, Vol.2, Pt. 1, p.251).</div> <bR> <div> "... Solomon in all his glory fades in comparison to the golden king of Psalm 72. In a subtle interweaving of the covenantal promises to David and Abraham, the nations are said to "be blessed through him" at the same time they "call him blessed" (72:18). This is clearly a reworking of the original statement of the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3... the expectation begins to move here towards an eschatological restoration of God's original creation intention through the agency of the coming one.</div> <bR> <div> "Using a creation image, the Psalmist describes the monarch as fulfilling the intended role of humanity: "he will rule" (72:8a). The verb for rule (<I>rdb</I>) is the same used in Genesis 1:26 to describe the role of all humanity in creation. Rather than autocratic rule, however, the term most often means to bring under the authority of another - in this case, God. The monarch is here envisioned as establishing the intended creation - order - God's kingdom - throughout the whole earth: "from seas to sea and from River to the ends of the earth"" (Gerald H. Wilson, <I>Psalms Volume 1</I>, NIVAC, pp.990, 987-988).</div> <bR> <div> "<I>Sea to sea</I>... may be a reference to the promised boundaries in Exodus 23:31, 'from the Red Seas to the sea of the Philistines ... 'and from the wilderness to the River'. But if so, versus 10 and 11 make it the nucleus of an empire that is world-wide" (Derek Kidner, <I>Psalms 1-72</I>, TOTC, p.256).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Zec 8:20</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Zec 8:22</B> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."</FONT></div> <div> <B> <A NAME="sarah_new_covenant___tabernacle"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Sarah New Covenant - Tabernacle Dispensation</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mk 1:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Mk 1:15</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mt 1:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Matthew ... wanted to draw attention to the links Jesus had with David and with Abraham. Jesus is the fulfilment ... of God's promise to Abraham that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, and of his promise to David that his throne and kingdom would be established for ever before the Lord" (Michael Green, <I>The Message of Matthew</I>, BST, p.57).</div> <bR> <div> "The essential key to all Matthew's theology is that in Jesus all God's purposes have come to fulfilment..."  (R. T. France, <I>Matthew</I>, TNTC, p.38).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Mt 2:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  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.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Christ is 'walking' in the footsteps of Abraham and Israel - 'saved' in Egypt (cf. Gen 12:10 and Gen 45:9-11).</div> <bR> <div> "Matthew's view of Jesus as the one who fulfils the whole fabric of revelation is most strikingly brought to light in the large number of what may be called 'typological' allusions to the Old Testament...</div> <bR> <div> "Typology ... may be defined as 'the recognition of a correspondence between New and Old Testament events [persons and institutions], based on a conviction of the unchanging character of the principles of God's working, and a consequent understanding and description of the New Testament event in terms of the Old Testament model..." (R. T. France, <I>Matthew</I>, TNTC p.40).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Mt 2:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Mt 2:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The kingship of Jesus is thus an important theme for Matthew. Jesus 'fulfils' the institutions of kingship in the Old Testament: he is the 'son of David', the 'greater than Solomon... But that kingship, even in the Old Testament, was only a delegated one. The true king is God himself... The mission of Jesus was to establish God's kingship..." (R. T. France, <I>Matthew</I>, TNTC, p.45).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 2:15</B></FONT>  And was there until the death of Herod: <B>that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son</B>.</div> <div> <B>Hos 11:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Hos 11:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> While Matthew linked verse 1 to Christ, he could not link verse 2 to Him.</div> <bR> <div> "Hosea is, of course alluding to the historical exodus and not making a prophecy about the future. How can Matthew say that the quotation is "fulfilled"...? What we have here is a matter of typological correspondence - that is, a substantial similarity is seen to exist between two moments of redemptive history, and therefore the two are regarded interconnected, forming one larger continuity; the earlier is thus seen to foreshadow or anticipate the latter, which thus becomes a kind of realization or fulfillment of the former. The fulfillment motif is of course central to Matthew's whole perspective, given the eschatological significance of the Christ, here seen as God's unique Son. Thus, in the similarity of the son of God, Israel, and the Son of God, Jesus, both in Egypt of necessity and both delivered by divine provision, Matthew see Jesus as living out and summing up the history of Israel. In Egypt, in the exodus, and in the wilderness (see 4:1-11), Jesus is the embodiment of Israel, not only anticipating her victories but also participating in her sufferings (cf. Isa 63:8-9)" (Donald A. Hagner, <I>Matthew 1-13</I>, WBC, p.36).</div> <bR> <div> "Many have noticed that Jesus is often presented in the NT as the antitype of Israel or, better, the typological recapitulation of Israel...</div> <bR> <div> "When David was anointed king, the tribes acknowledged him as their bone and flesh (2 Sam 5:1), i.e., David as anointed king summed up Israel, with the result that his sin brought disaster on the people (2 Sam 12, 24). Just as Israel is God's son, so the promised Davidic Son is also Son of God (2 Sam 7:13-14...)" (D.A. Carson, <I>Matthew</I>, EBC, Vol.8, pp.91-92).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Mt 2:16 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The parallel between the childhood of Jesus and the experience of Moses ... is in the nature of a sub-plot, emerging in the details of the narrative, but not in the explicit quotations (which focus on Jesus as the true Israel and the Davidic Messiah" (R. T. France, <I>Matthew</I>, TNTC, p.85).</div> <bR> <div> "The parallels to Matthew's narrative in the opening chapters of Exodus are as follows (with Jewish midrashic similarities, as witnessed by Josephus and Philo, given in parentheses): the Pharaoh killed all male Hebrew infants, (Exod 1:22) (he had been forewarned, either by scribes or through a dream, of a newborn Hebrew who was a threat to his kingdom, and this possibility filled him and all Egypt with terror; at a later time, Moses fled Egypt because his life was threaten by the Pharaoh, Exod 2:15 (the infant Moses' deliverance is due to his parents actions); at the death of Pharaoh, Moses was directed to return and he obeyed, (Exod 4:19-20). In addition to there general similarities, there are some striking agreement in language: in Exod 2:15, ... "he was seeking to kill," is close to Matthew's (2:13) ... "he fled," is identical (Matt 2:14); in Exod 2:23, ... "the king of Egypt died," is close to Matthew's ... (2:19); most impressive of all, however, is the nearly verbatim agreement between Exod 4:19, ... "for all those who sought your life have died," and Matt 2:20, which lacks the ..."all," and for ... "you," substitute ... "the child" (but after, instead of before...). Clearly, Matthew has in mind the story of Moses as he narrates the story of Jesus: Herod is the antitype of Pharaoh; Jesus is the antitype of Moses" (Donald A. Hagner, <I>Matthew 1-13</I>, WBC, p.34).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dt 18:15 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me [Moses]; unto him ye shall hearken;</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jn 1:45</B></FONT><B>   </B>Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Mt 5:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:</FONT></div> <div> <B>Mt 5:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "There is probably a deliberate attempt on the evangelist's part to liken Jesus to Moses, especially insofar as he is about to present the definitive interpretation of Torah, just as Moses, according to the Pharisees, had given the interpretation of Torah on Sinai to be handed on orally. The evangelist, however, does not press the Moses typology. For him, Jesus is far more than a new Moses, and his teaching is not to be construed as a new law" (Donald A. Hagner, <I>Matthew 1-13</I>, WBC, p.86).</div> <bR> <div> "A ... parallelism was suggested by Austin Farrer, namely that Matthew 5-7 was modelled on Exodus 20-24, the eight beatitudes corresponding to the ten commandments, with the rest of the Sermon expounding and applying them as the commandments were also expounded and applied" (John R.W. Stott, <I>The Message of The Sermon on the Mount</I>, BST, p.21).</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Twelve</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 10:1 </B></FONT> And when he had called unto <I>him </I>his twelve disciples</div> <div> <B>Mt 10:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The choice of twelve disciples is full of symbolic meaning since the number corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. 19:28) and in itself suggest the fulfillment of the hope of Israel (cf. Acts 28:20); it is also establishing the identity of Jesus' disciples and the Church as the true Israel" (Donald A. Hagner, <I>Matthew 1-13</I>, WBC, p.265).</div> <bR> <div> "Like Moses, who appointed Aaron "to instruct the Israelites" (10:11), the Lord chose his apostles to "go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" and to "preach" (Matt 10:6-7)" (Gordon J. Wenham, <I>The Book of Leviticus</I>, NICOT, p.145).</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Seventy</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lk 10:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >After these things the Lord appointed other seventy ["seventy-two" (NIV)] also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The number appears to be symbolic of the nations of the world, a view based on Genesis 10, where there are seventy names in the Hebrew text and seventy-two in LXX. The gospel is for the world. Some, however, associate the number with that of the elders appointed by Moses (Nu. 11:16ff., 24f.; seventy-two with the two who remained in the camp. They see Jesus as the second Moses..." (Leon Morris, <I>Luke</I>, TNTC, p.198).</div> <bR> <div> "... there is probably symbolic meaning in the number of disciples sent out. Already Jesus had commissioned twelve out of his many disciples to be leaders of the new people of God, and if this number were to correspond to the twelve sons of Jacob, the other one would be significant in a similar way: seventy was the total number both of the members of Jacob's family when he went down into Egypt, and of the representative elders of the Israelites when they eventually journeyed out of Egypt. We might distinguish two symbolic numbers by saying that 12 = the patriarchs of Israel = the apostles; while 70 = the people of Israel = the church in general" (Michael Wilcock, <I>The Message of Luke</I>, BST, p.120).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Twelve Thrones</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 19:28</B></FONT>  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, <B>ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel</B>.</div> <bR> <div> "... the remarkable feature of this verse is that the Twelve will "sit on twelve thrones," sharing judgment with the Son of Man. The idea that believers will at the consumption have a part in judging is not uncommon in the NT (Luke 22:30; 1 Cor 6:2). What is less clear is whether (1) the twelve apostles exercise judgment over the twelve tribes of Israel physically and racially conceived, or whether (2) the twelve apostles will exercise some kind of judgment over the entire church, symbolized by "Israel" (cf. Rev 21:12-14)..." (D.A. Carson, <I>Matthew</I>, EBC, Vol.8, p.426).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Twelve Tribes</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jas 1:1 </B></FONT> James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, <B>to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad</B>, greeting.</div> <div> <B>Jas 2:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Pe 1:1 </B></FONT>  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the <B>strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia</B>,</div> <div> <B>1Pe 1:2 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Who are these <I>twelve tribes</I>? To answer we must follow ... the straight line from the Old Testament into the New. Our Lord Jesus chose out twelve apostles (Mk. 3:13-14) and looked forward to the day of his own glory when they would sit on the twelve thrones ruling the tribes of Israel (Mt. 19:28). In doing this he was not creating a 'new' Israel (either alongside or replacing an 'old' Israel); he was leading the Israel of the New Covenant, the apostolic people of our Lord Jesus Christ, those whom Paul calls 'the Israel of God' (Gal.6:16). In a word, 'Israel' is the name of the people of Jesus; it is the inalienable title of his church. Because of this Paul teaches that Christians are children of Abraham (Gal. 3:7) and that Abraham is our father (Rom. 4:11, 16)... He asserts a fact: those who have put their faith in Jesus for salvation are Abraham's children and the Israel of God.</div> <bR> <div> "Peter brings us a step even nearer to James.  He writes his first letter (1:1) to 'the exiles of the Dispersion' and goes on (1:2) to define them as people who know God ... and who have experienced the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Old Testament terms again describe New Testament people; they are God's exiles of the Dispersion. No adjustment of meaning is made, no comprise with truth, for they are God's Israel.</div> <bR> <div> "James brings these lines of Bible truth together and so sets the scene for his letter. Better than any other description could, <I>the twelve tribes</I> places the church firmly within the pressures and persecutions of this life. We can think of our ancestral tribes in the storm and stress of Egyptian slavery (Ex. 2:3), redeemed by the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:3), on pilgrimage with God through 'the great and terrible wilderness' (Dt. 8:15; <I>cf</I>. Ex. 15:22), battling to enter into what the Lord had promised (Jos. 1:2) and struggling even after to live in holiness amid the enticements of pagan culture. These are the experiences through which James would have his readers understand their pilgrim path. They are the Lord's twelve tribes and they are dispersed throughout a menacing and testing world..." (Alec Motyer, <I>The Message of James</I>, BST, pp.24-25).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 7:4 </B></FONT> And I heard the number of them which were sealed: <I>and there were </I>sealed an hundred <I>and </I>forty <I>and </I>four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 7:5 </B></FONT> Of the tribe of Judah <I>were </I>sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben <I>were </I>sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad <I>were </I>sealed twelve thousand...</div> <bR> <div> "... John next gives the number of those sealed - 144,000 - and their identification: "From all the tribes of Israel." There are two principles views regarding the identification of this group: (1) The number and tribal identification are taken literally and refer to 144,000 Jewish Christians... (2) According to another viewpoint, John is understood to use the language of the new Israel and thus refer to the complete church composed of Jew and Gentile...</div> <bR> <div> "In support of the second view, which identifies Israel with the church, is the fact that the NT identifies the followers of Christ as "Abraham's seed" (Gal 3:29), as "the true circumcision" (Phil 3:3) and the "Israel of God" (Gal 3:29...). Furthermore, John himself earlier in Revelation makes a distinction between the true Jew and false (cf. 2:9; 3:9) and that could imply that here in chapter 7 he intends also to designate the true Israel or the church...</div> <bR> <div> "By the middle of the first century, Paul made a distinction between the true, spiritual Jew and the physical descendants of Abraham (Rom 2:28-29; 9:8). Only those Jews who recognized Jesus as Messiah could rightly be called "Israel" in the strictest sense (Rom 9:6), though the term might be used with qualifications to refer to the historical descendants of Jacob ("Israel after the flesh" [1 Cor 10:18 Gr.]). Peter likewise described the church (Jew and Gentile) in terms drawn from the OT ... ("holy priesthood ... chosen people ... royal priesthood ... holy nation ... [1 Peter 2:4, 9])...</div> <bR> <div> "Also, the OT image of the people of Israel as a kingdom and priests of God is used by John of the followers of Jesus (1:6). Similarly, many of the promises to the victors in the churches in Asia (ch. 2-3) are fulfillments of OT promises to the true people of Israel. In Christ's rebuke to the churches, we have the OT imagery of "Balaam" and "Jezebel" describing error that had influenced not the OT Israel but the NT church..." (Alan F. Johnson, <I>Revelation</I>, EBC, Vol.12, pp.479-480).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Glory of the Lord in the NT</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jn 1:14 </B></FONT> The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. <B>We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only</B>, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.</div> <bR> <div> "The Word "lived for a while among us." Properly the verb signifies "to pitch one's tent;"...  In Jewish ears the word might arouse other associations. The place of worship during the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, the place where God had vouchsafed his presence, was "the Tabernacle," and that noun corresponds to the verb used here. That John wants us to recall God's presence in the tabernacle in the wilderness seems clear from the immediate reference to "glory," for glory was associated with the tabernacle. When, for example, it was first set up, "the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle" (Exod. 40:34). It is possible that we should see other symbolism here also. There seems to be no doubt that John saw Jesus as a new and greater Moses...</div> <bR> <div> "Many authors see a reference to the Sinai theophany rather than to the setting of the tabernacle. The point of contact with Exodus 33 are especially numerous:</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="4" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="662" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="311"><div> <B>Exodus 33</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 WIDTH="300"><div> <B>John 1</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="28"><div> 7</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Now Moses used to take the tabernacle</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="28" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="269"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="269" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="28"><div>  9</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="280"><div> the pillar of cloud (the Shekinah) descended</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><div> 14</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="269"><div> the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="28"><div> 10</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> all the people saw the pillar of cloud</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="28" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="269"><div> we beheld his glory</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="28"><div> 11</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><div> 17</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> the law was given through Moses</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="28"><div> 20</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="280"><div> you cannot see my face</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><div> 18</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="269"><div> no one has ever seen God</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="28"><div> 23</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="280"><div> you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="28" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="269"><div> the only begotten Son ...</div> <div> has made him known</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> "All this strengthens the view that John wants us to view Jesus as the new and greater Moses" (Leon Morris, <I>The Gospel According to John</I>, Revised, NICNT, pp.91-92).</div> <bR> <div> "It is Christ or the Spirit that reveals the glory of God in the NT era. On various occasions in the life of Christ, we read of the glory of God appearing: at Christ's birth (Luke 2:9) and transfiguration (Luke 9:31), in his miracles (John 2:11), and thus at his second coming (Matt. 16:27; 25:31).<B> Christ himself is described as the glory of God </B>(1 Cor. 2:8; John 1:14)..." (Gordon J. Wenham, <I>The Book of Leviticus</I>, NICOT, p.151).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Marriage Proposal</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jn 14:23</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The consumption of the work of redemption is the Lord's dwelling among his people - a truth brought to its intended fulfilment in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 Paul teaches the Christians, gathered and built on the sole foundation of Jesus Christ, are in their collectivity 'God's temple' and that 'God's Spirit lives' in them (v.17). And in Ephesians 2:11-22 he says that the universal company who in Christ have peace with each other and with God are being built on the foundations of apostles and prophets to become a 'dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit' (v.22)" (Alec Motyer, <I>The Message of Exodus</I>, BST, p.252).</div> <bR> <div> "The reality of Jesus' and the Father's presence would be conditioned on obedience. The bond of love that would provide the atmosphere for the fellowship would be resultant rather than conditional, for obedience is the consequence of love. Obedience is not, however, the condition of God's love for men but the proof of their realization of his love and of their love for him" (Merrill C. Tenney, <I>John</I>, EBC, Vol. 9, pp. 147-48).</div> <bR> <div> Keeping Christ's words is a covenant requirement. "If" implies decision to accept; and keeping implies acceptance.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant-Marriage Ceremony/Covenant Meal</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 26:26 </B></FONT> And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed <I>it, </I>and brake <I>it, </I>and gave <I>it </I>to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 26:27 </B></FONT> And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave <I>it </I>to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;</div> <div> <B>Mt 26:28 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "This verse [28] is rich in allusions... "Blood" and "covenant" are found together in only two OT passages (Exod 24:8; Zech 9:11)... Jesus understands the violent and sacrificial death he is about to undergo (i.e., his "blood"...) as the ratification of the covenant he is inaugurating with his people, even as Moses in Exodus 24:8 ratified the covenant at Sinai by the shedding of blood... The event through which Messiah saves his people from their sins (1:21) is his sacrificial death; <B>and the resulting relation between God and the messianic community is definable in terms of covenant, an agreement with stipulations - promises of blessing and substance and with threats of cursing all brought here into legal force by the shedding of blood</B>.</div> <bR> <div> "Luke and Paul use the adjective "new" before covenant and thus allude to Jeremiah 31:31-34... the passage from Jeremiah was almost certainly in Jesus mind, as Matthew reports him, because "forgiveness of sins" reflects Jeremiah 31:34. Matthew has already shown his grasp of the significance of Jesus' allusion to covenant terminology in general and to the "new" covenant in particular; in 2:18 ... he cites Jeremiah 31 so as to show that he interprets the coming of Jesus as the real end of the Exile and the inauguration of the new covenant...</div> <bR> <div> "It appears, then, that Jesus understands the covenant he is introducing to be the fulfilment of Jeremiah's prophecies and the antitype of the Sinai covenant. His sacrifice is thus foretold both in redemption history and in the prophetic word. The Exodus becomes a "type" of a new and greater deliverance; and as the people of God in the OT prospectively celebrated in the first Passover their escape from Egypt, anticipating their arrival in the Promised Land, so the people of God here prospectively celebrate their deliverance from sin and bondage, anticipating the coming kingdom..." (D.A. Carson, <I>Matthew</I>, EBC, Vol.8, pp.537-38).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Non-Public Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jn 20:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jn 20:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jn 20:22</B></FONT>  And with that <B>he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit</B>. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Official-Public Dwelling</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ac 2:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ac 2:2</B></FONT>  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and <B>filled the whole house </B>where they were sitting.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ac 2:3</B></FONT>  They saw what<B> seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ac 2:4</B></FONT> All of them were <B>filled with the Holy Spirit</B>... (NIV).</div> <div> <B>1Pe 4:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>2Co 6:16  </B></FONT>... for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in <I>them; </I>and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.</div> <bR> <div> "Jewish tradition associated wind, fire and voices with Mount Sinai, the three phenomena which he is about to describe" (John R. W. Stott, <I>The Message of Acts</I>, BST, p.62).</div> <bR> <div> "What is certain is that the wind was held to symbolize the Spirit of God... As in the burning bush, fire denotes the divine presence (Ex. 3:2-5)" (F.F. Bruce, <I>The Book of Acts</I>, NICNT, p.50).</div> <bR> <div> "... it is to more purpose, perhaps, to call to mind how, under the ancient economy, the descent of fire from heaven upon the sacrifices was the appointed and recognized symbol of the divine presence and favour (Gen. 15:17; Lev. 9:24; 1 Ki. 18:38; and cf. Exod.19:18" (David Brown, <I>Acts-Romans</I>, JFB,Vol.3, Pt.2, p.8).</div> <bR> <div> The tabernacle and the temple were filled with the "glory of the Lord" and so the house was filled with the Holy Spirit, as well as the disciples.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saints as Sacrifices</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Pe 2:5 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Heb 13:15</B></FONT>  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of <I>our </I>lips giving thanks to his name.</div> <div> <B>Heb 13:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ro 12:1</B> </FONT> I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye <B>present your bodies a living sacrifice</B>, <B>holy, acceptable unto God</B>, <I>which is </I>your reasonable service.</div> <bR> <div> "Although the NT believer no longer brings animal sacrifice at the Temple [because there is no Temple], the worship of God requires a complete devotion as did the worship of Yahweh. The OT believer expressed his devotion and trust by making sacrifices from his herd. The NT believer, himself a priest, must also spontaneously express his love and trust in God. In place of animals he present spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet 2:5). According to Heb 13:15-16, the believer offers the sacrifices of praise and of doing good and sharing his possessions with others. When one performs these sacrifices wholeheartedly, his offerings are acceptable to God. The concern that God accept an offering is common to both testaments.</div> <bR> <div> "Paul extends the metaphor for the believer further. He speaks of the believer's presentation of his body as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1, 2). The offering he has in mind is the whole [or burnt] offering, for the believer is to present himself entirely just as the whole offering was entirely consumed on the altar. So too the believer is to be holy as the animal had to be free from defect. For this personal to be efficacious, it, like the whole offering, has to be acceptable to God. As a living whole [or burnt] offering, a believer's life is continually pleasing to God" (John E. Hartley, <I>Leviticus</I>, WBC, p.25).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lev 9:23 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Lev 9:24 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 29:42 </B></FONT> <I>This shall be </I>a continual burnt offering throughout your generations <I>at </I>the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.</div> <bR> <div> The "fire" resting on the disciples, living "whole" offerings, pictures the "consuming" of the burnt offering at the inauguration of the Tabernacle Kingdom. The Church is now acceptable before God and can now begin their commission.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Inspired Speaking</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ac 2:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 2:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "In the Old Testament when men or women were possessed by the Spirit of God, they prophesied. So it was with Eldad and Medad when the spirit rested on them in the camp of Israel (Num. 11:26), and so it was with many another. So now the descent of the Spirit on the disciples was attended by prophetic speech, but prophetic speech of a particular kind - utterance in "other tongues."" (F. F. Bruce, <I>The Book of the Acts</I>, Revised, NICNT, pp.51-52).</div> <bR> <div> Eldad and Medah were part of the seventy/seventy-two who prophesied, when the Spirit rested on them, at their commissioning to assist Moses in carrying the burden of the people just after setting out, from Sinai, for the Promised Land.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Peter and Joel</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ac 2:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 2:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 2:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 2:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ac 2:21</B></FONT>  And it shall come to pass, <I>that </I>whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.</div> <bR> <div> When Peter links the pouring out of the Holy Spirt with the fulfillment of Joel prophecy it is a 'typological' link, similar to Matthew typologically linking Christ's/Israel's departure from Egypt with Hosea's account of Israel leaving Egypt.</div> <bR> <div> The author of Hebrews speaks of the time of Christ's first coming as the "last days" - <I>in these last days he </I>[God] <I>has spoken to us by his Son </I>(Heb 1:2, NIV). Christ's first advent inaugurates the "last days" for the Church when the Holy Spirit is poured out on those 'elect' whom God is calling into His Kingdom (cf. 1 Pe 1:2).</div> <bR> <div> The "last days" for the Kingdom refers to the time just prior to, at and after Christ's second coming.</div> <bR> <div> Joel's prophecy will be literally fulfilled in the "last days" for the Kingdom when God's Spirit will be poured out on "<B>all</B> flesh".</div> <bR> <div> <B>New Beginning Warning</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ac 5:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 5:3</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 5:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ac 5:9</B></FONT>  Peter said to her [Sapphira], "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? ...</div> <div> <B>Ac 5:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  At that moment she fell down at his feet and died...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 5:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "[Ananias and Sapphira] wanted to enjoy the acclaim of the church, as Barnabas did, without making a genuine sacrifice..." (Richard N. Longenecker, <I>Acts</I>, EBC, p.313).</div> <bR> <div> "Love of praise for (pretended) generosity and love for money led to the first recorded sin in the life of the church. It is a warning to the readers that "God cannot be mocked" (Gal 6:7). Compare this divine judgment at the beginning of the church era with God's judgments on Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:2), on Achan (Jos 7:25) and on Uzzah (2Sa 6:7)" (Kenneth Barker, Gen. Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on Acts 5:1, p.1651).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lev 10:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 5:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Light to the Gentiles</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isa 49:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... The LORD hath called me from the womb...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Isa 49:2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword...</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Isa 49:3</B></FONT>  And said unto me, Thou <I>art </I>my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.</div> <div> <B>Isa 49:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ac 1:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."</FONT></div> <div> <B>Ac 13:47</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <B>Mt 24:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Jesus Christ is the 'true' David and the 'true Israel'. God calls Christ "Israel" in Isaiah 49:3. Christ as the representative "servant" is to raise up the corporate 'servant' - Israel the Kingdom.</div> <bR> <div> While Christ is the "light" to the Gentiles he delegates that role to His servant - Israel the Church (Acts 13:47). Under the Keturah New Covenant the servant - Israel the Kingdom - will be the "light" to the nations.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ge 22:18 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The nations are blessed by the representative Seed and His agent the corporate seed - Kingdom and Church.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Warning of End for Tabernacles NT Covenant</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 2:5</B></FONT>  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and <B>remove your lampstand from its place</B>.</div> <bR> <div> The OT 'tabernacle' Covenant ended when the "ark of the covenant," symbolic of God's presence, was captured by the Philistines and taken to Philistia, out of its rightful place in Israel.</div> <bR> <div> The item of furniture, symbolic of God's presence, for the NT 'tabernacle' Covenant is the lampstand.</div> <bR> <div> "The majority of the references to lamps are to their religious or symbolic use. Lamps are most frequently mentioned in relation to the tabernacle and temple... Lamps and light are positive images in Scripture. When used to convey a negative image, it is generally through negation ("the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out" [Prov 13:9 NIV])...</div> <bR> <div> "<I>Associated with worship</I>. The lamp in the shrine at Shiloh is called "the lamp of God" in 1 Samuel 3:3; this suggests that its light symbolized God's presence...</div> <bR> <div> "<I>Blessing/Presence of God</I>. A different lamp metaphor occurs in connection with God's oath that the Davidic dynasty would endure (2 Sam7:16). Solomon's son and grandson failed to keep the covenant. "Nevertheless for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him (1 Kings 15:4 NIV). Similarly, "I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one [David]" (Ps 132:17 NRSV). Since David's men had referred to him as the lamp of Israel, the psalmist must expect another king with David's charisma. The Lord was the source of that charisma, "Indeed, you are my lamp, O LORD, the LORD lightens my darkness" (2 Sam 22:29 NRSV), and he was to come in the person of Jesus (Jn 8:12). At the end of the Bible, when the new Jerusalem is seen coming down from heaven, lamps are no longer needed because "its lamp is the Lamb" (Rev 21:23 NRSV) and "the Lord God will be their light" (Rev 22:5 NRSV). The lamps in the opening chapter of Revelation symbolize the divine presence with the seven churches. <B>Christ's warning that the lamp could be withdrawn connotes God removing his active presence from them </B>(Rev 1-3)" (Ryken, Leland, et. al., General Editors, "Lamp, Lampstand", <I>Dictionary of Biblical Imagery,</I> p.486).</div> <bR> <div> Derek Kidner provides the link for the end of three covenant dispensations:</div> <bR> <div> "'The glory had departed'. This <I>glory</I> (61) was the ark of God, captured by the Philistines, its departure a symbol of His own withdrawal (60f.). It would happen again. Jeremiah would use <I>Shiloh</I> (60) as his text against the temple (Je. 7:11ff.), and Ezekiel would see the glory of the Lord departing from Jerusalem (Ezk. 11:23). Jesus would speak in similar terms, and not only to the Jewish church (<I>cf</I>. Rev. 2:5; 3:16)" (Derek Kidner, <I>Psalms 73-150</I>, TNTC, comment on 78:59-64, p.285).</div> <bR> <div> The removal of the lampstand is the warning to the church at Ephesus, the first of seven churches addressed by Jesus Christ. The removal of God's presence, that is, Jesus Christ, would be the outcome of covenant infidelity. Another outcome for covenant infidelity "curse" is behind the warning to the church at Laodicea, the seventh church.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lev 20:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spew you not out.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Rev 3:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Rev 3:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "In Lev 18:25, 28; 20:22, the expression "to vomit" out of the land is used of the fate of the Canaanites upon Israel's entry into Palestine, and the potential fate of the Israelites themselves" (David E. Aune, <I>Revelation 1-5</I>, WBC, p.258).</div> <bR> <div> <B>2Ki 25:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ki 25:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem...</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ki 25:10</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The whole Babylonian army ... broke down the walls around Jerusalem.</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ki 25:11</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Nebuzaradan ... carried into exile the people who remained in the city...</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Ki 25:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The end of the OT Temple Covenant dispensation resulted in the God's presence and God's people being removed from Jerusalem and Judea. The temple, that housed God's presence was set on fire.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Co 5:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Co 5:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <B>Rev 12:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being put out of the church, the temple of the Holy Spirit, implies divorce from the presence of God. The man in Corinth, and the church in the end times, face the wroth of Satan so as to lead to repentance and covenant renewal.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Th 4:16</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Th 4:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. </FONT></div> <div>  <A NAME="sarah_new_covenant___temple_dispensation"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Sarah New Covenant - Temple Dispensation</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 4:8</B></FONT>  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the<B> kingdoms of the world and their splendor</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Mt 4:9</B></FONT>  "<B>All this I will give you</B>," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."</div> <div> <B>Lk 4:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Lk 4:6</B></FONT>  And he said to him, "<B>I will give you all their authority and splendor</B>, for <B>it has been given to me</B>, and I can give it to anyone I want to.</div> <bR> <div> "'Being found in human form he humbled himself and became <I>obedient</I>'. He is in fact going right back to the beginning, back to square one: he is the new Adam. In Eden, the head of the human race was confronted by the tempter, disobeyed God's word, and set the whole of mankind off on the wrong track. Now comes the second Adam, and alone in the wilderness he in his turn confronts the tempter. The difference is that he will win. He will be totally obedient Man, Man as he was meant to be, Man who is altogether righteous, Man who never loses his relationship with God through sin. He overcomes Satan by his undeviating obedience to the will of God, an obedience which, as Philippians 2:8 goes on to tell us, he pursues inexorably even 'unto death, even death on the cross'" (Michael Wilcock, <I>The Message of Luke</I>, BST, pp.59-60).</div> <bR> <div> "Jesus is allowed a glimpse of all the kingdoms of the world "in an instant" from an undisclosed but elevated vantage point. At the outset it is worth noting two sources of irony present in Luke's description of this setting. First, we have been led to believe that "all the world" was under the charge of the Roman emperor (2:1; 3:1). Now, however, in a way clearly parallel to the scenario painted in Revelation 13, we discover that the world of humanity is actually ruled by the devil. Luke elsewhere gives us no reason to doubt that the world of both Jews and Gentiles is characterized by the darkness of satanic rule...</div> <bR> <div> "Second, co-textual considerations have kept Psalm 2 at the fore of our developing understanding of Jesus as Son of God, so it is worth contemplating the significance of Ps 2:8: Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. God's purpose is to grant Jesus an everlasting kingdom - a promise made in 1:32-33, now recalled by this faint echo of Ps 2:8 and indeed by the devil's own offer. The devil proposes to displace God as Jesus' benefactor... Whatever rule the devil exercises is that allowed him by God; he can only delegate to Jesus what has already been delegated to him. What Jesus is offered, then, is a shabby substitute for the divine sonship that is his by birth..." (Joel B. Green, <I>The Gospel of Luke</I>, NICNT, pp.194-95).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Moses to Christ</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dt 34:1  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land - from Gilead to Dan. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Moses was commanded to go to the top of Pisgah (Mount Nebo) and from there not only to survey the promised land (Deut 34:1-4) but to look in every direction (Deut 3:27) - which rabbis took symbolically to mean to survey the whole world... In this connection Moses also warns the people not to be tempted by the riches of Canaan, for it is God who gives wealth (Deut 8:18)..." (Donald A. Hagner, <I>Matthew 1-13</I>, WBC, p.68).</div> <bR> <div> "... and Canaan is resurrection-ground, the heavenly places of Ephesians, where "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 place (margin heavenly)" (Ada R. Habershon, <I>Study of the Types</I>,  p.205).</div> <bR> <div> Ada Habershon's typology of connecting "Canaan" as "resurrection-ground" with "the heavenly places of Ephesians" is correct. But the saints are not yet in "resurrection-ground" and yet they are wrestling with spiritual forces.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ephesians - heavenly places</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eph 6:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Paul....introduces us to the devil ...  and to certain 'principalities and powers' at his command... All these usages exemplify the notion of a worldwide rule. When applied to the powers of evil they are reminiscent of the devil's claim to be able to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world'..." (John R.W. Stott, <I>The Message of Ephesians</I>, BST, p.261, 264).</div> <bR> <div> "The phrase....<I>en tois epouraniois</I>, "in the heavenly realms" ... is peculiar to this Epistle ... As R. Martin Pope has argued, it is used uniformly in Ephesians with reference to the unseen world..." (A. Skevington Wood, <I>Ephesians</I>, EBC, Notes, Vol. 11, p.27).</div> <bR> <div> The Greek phrase <I>en tois epouranios</I> is literally "in the heavenlies".</div> <bR> <div> <B>Kings over the earth</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Da 10:1</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel...</FONT></div> <div> <B>Da 10: 2</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  [the messenger] ...said to me, Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Da 10:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia... (NKJV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "<I>The prince of the kingdom of Persia</I>... [is] ...a representative of Persia <B>in the heavenlies</B> is intended; Greece also has an angelic counterpart (20)..." (Joyce G. Baldwin, <I>Daniel</I>, TOTC, p.181).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Isa 24:21</B></FONT>  And it shall come to pass in that day, <I>that </I><B>the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones </B><I><B>that are </B></I><B>on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth</B>.</div> <div> <B>Isa 24:23</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... the host on high ... refer to <B>the angels of the nations and kingdoms</B>; and the prophecy presupposes what is affirmed in Deut. 32:8 (LXX), and sustained in the Book of Daniel, when it speaks of a <I>sar</I> of Persia, Javan [Greece], and even the people of Israel... angels contend for the rule over nations and kingdoms, either to guide them in the way of God or to lead them astray from God; and therefore the judgment upon the nations which the prophet here foretells will be a judgment upon angels also. <B>The kingdom of spirits has its own history running parallel to the destinies of men</B>..." (F. Delitzsch, <I>Isaiah</I>, KD, pp.282-83).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Eph 1:20 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 3:21 </B></FONT> <B>To him who overcomes, I will give </B>the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (NIV).</div> <div> <B>Eph 2:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 20:4</B></FONT>  And I saw <B>thrones</B>, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them...</div> <bR> <div> That the saints are "in the heavenlies" is a prolepsis - "Anticipating what is going to be, and speaking of future things as present" (E.W. Bullinger, <I>Companion Bible</I>, "Appendix 6: Figures of Speech", p.12).</div> <bR> <div> "By virtue of their union with Christ .... [the saints] ... have shared in his resurrection, ascension and session. In the 'heavenly places', the unseen world of spiritual reality, in which the principalities and powers operate (3:10; 6:12) and in which Christ reigns supreme (1:20), there God has blessed his people in Christ (1:3), and there he has seated them with Christ (2:6). For if we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, there can be no doubt what we are seated on: thrones!..." (John R.W. Stott, <I>Ephesians</I>, BST, p.81).</div> <bR> <div> While Christ has "the right to sit" on His Father's throne, He has His own throne. While the saints have "the right to sit" with Christ on His throne they have their own "thrones" (Revelation 20:4).</div> <bR> <div> "Jesus makes it plain that there is a determined enemy of God and his kingly rule: Satan... Satan is totally opposed to the kingdom of God ([Matthew] 6:13; 11:12; 12:24-29; 13:39). Satan, the tempter, the devil, the enemy, the evil one, Beelzebub, the ruler of this age - he is called by all those names - is an implacable foe of the kingdom of God... He is the usurper price of this world...</div> <bR> <div> "Satan assails the kingdom: he assails Jesus; and he assails the church. They will have to face persecution from without ([Matthew] 13:39; 5:44; 7:21-23), and attack from within, especially from false prophets (7:15-23; 24:11, 24) who appear to be charismatic prophets but are in reality wolves (7:15), whose lives are loveless (7:10-20) and who led others astray (24:11-12)" (Michael Green, <I>The Message of Matthew</I>, BST, p.47).</div> <bR> <div> Just as Christ had to over come the King of the "heavenlies", the saints have to overcome the "princes" in the "heavenlies".</div> <bR> <div> The Church's "struggle" is here now "in the wilderness" period, or 'Tabernacle' dispensation of the New Covenant. The Church is qualifying now to replace the spiritual realm rulers. So that the saints in "resurrection-ground" will have no competitors.</div> <bR> <div> "Paul shares with other New Testament writers, and with Jesus himself, the belief in the existence of a dark power to whom the human race, and the world, is subject because of sin - and the belief that, in Jesus Christ, <B>God</B> had defeated this power and <B>is</B> <B>establishing his own kingdom in its place</B>" (N.T. Wright, <I>Colossians and Philemon</I>, TNTC, p.62).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Rev 5:10 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The good news that Christ came preaching at His first coming is that Christ and the saints are going to replace Satan and the demons in the heavenly realm. Christ came to call a people into this Kingdom.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Heavenly Realms - Mount Zion</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Heb 12:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF6000" FACE="Verdana" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "As the earthly Zion was the meeting point for the tribes of the old Israel, so the heavenly Zion is the meeting point for the new Israel..." (F.F. Bruce, <I>The Epistles to the Hebrews</I>, NICNT, pp, p.356).</div> <bR> <div> Paul informs the saints that they will be raised up to sit in heavenly places (AV) with Christ Jesus. The writer of Hebrews informs the saints that they have come to mount Zion. An inference that can be drawn is that the "heavenly places" and "mount Zion" are one and the same place.</div> <bR> <div> "If the movable tabernacle in the wilderness was constructed according to the pattern of the sanctuary on high, <B>so the temple and city of Jerusalem were material copies of eternal archetypes</B>" (F.F. Bruce, <I>The Epistles to the Hebrews</I>, NICNT, pp, p.356).</div> <bR> <div> In Jerusalem we have two mounts: Zion and Moriah. Mount Zion, the city of David, has the 'palace' throne and Mount Moriah, with the Temple, has the 'Temple' throne.</div> <bR> <div> The argument here is that, just as the earthly Temple is a copy of the heavenly Temple, the earthly Jerusalem is also a copy of the heavenly Jerusalem. And that as the earthly Jerusalem comprises two mounts so does the heavenly Jerusalem.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Kingdom/Church Typology</B></div> <bR> <div> "The concept of typology is particularly helpful here. The offices and institutions of Israel provided shadows of which Christ was the substance, and prophecy itself - though often pointing to Christ - sometimes does so indirectly by its reference to a person of institution that is a type of him" (G.W. Grogan, <I>Isaiah</I>, EBC, Vol.6, p.15-16).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jn 19:36</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The scripture referred to can be no other than the stringent and remarkable ordinance regarding the Paschal Lamb, that <I>a bone of it should not be broken</I> (Exod. xii. 46; Num ix. 12). And if so, we have the apostle, as well as Paul (1 Cor. v. 7), holding forth the Paschal Lamb as a typical foreshadowing of "the Lamb of God"" (David Brown, <I>Matthew - John</I>, JFB, Vo.3, p.476).</div> <bR> <div> "... the Old Testament prophecy, which is quoted in John 19:33-37, may be just as well referred to our Psalm as to Exod. 12:46. Not only the Pascal Lamb, but in a comparative sense even every affliction of the righteous, is a type. Not only is the essence of the symbolism of the worship of the sanctuary realised in Jesus Christ, not only is the history of Israel and David repeated in Him, not only does human suffering attain in connection with Him its utmost intensity, but all the promises of the righteous are fulfilled in Him..." (Frank Delitzsch, <I>Psalms</I>, KD, Note on Ps 34:20, p.264).</div> <bR> <div> A 'dumb' animal is a type Christ. Humans are also types of Christ. David's life provided types for Christ's as 'man'. So then just as a 'dumb' animal is a type of Christ, an earthly man may also provide a type for the heavenly man.</div> <bR> <div> The NT portrayed Jesus Christ and the Church as a 'greater' Moses and a 'new' Israel. It is suggest here that OT David and 'old' Israel also portrays Christ and the Church in "resurrection glory".</div> <bR> <div> David, as 'crowned' king defeating the nations provides the type for Christ, as 'crowned' king defeating the nations of the earth.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2Sa 5:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... David captured the fortress of Zion...</FONT></div> <div> <B>2Sa 5:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> David's capture of the fortress of Zion and making it his city provides the type of Christ capturing the city of Jerusalem, from the Antichrist, and making it his city (Eze 48:35). But as we have seen the Temple in Jerusalem becomes Christ's home in the sense that his glory will dwell in the Most Holy Place.</div> <bR> <div> But where is Christ? The answer is also to be found in the "fortress of Zion"/"City of David" typology.</div> <bR> <div> The capture of the stronghold of Zion by David provides not only an earthly type but a heavenly type.</div> <bR> <div> Jerusalem was the home of the Jebusites. When Israel under Joshua, son of Nun, who is a type of Joshua, son of God, campaigned in Canaan he could not take the 'fortress' nor could the tribe of Judah take Jerusalem even though Jerusalem belonged to Benjamin.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Jos 15:63</B></FONT>  As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but <B>the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day</B>.</div> <bR> <div> Judah was in the 'lower' part of the city and the 'Jebusites' were in the upper part of the city.</div> <bR> <div> Joshua is a type for Christ at the first and second Advents. The dislodging of "heavenly" Jebusites did not take place at Christ's first Advent but will occur at His second. So that the typology pictures demons and humans dwelling together, waiting for the 'last' David to come.</div> <bR> <div> Israel inheriting the "promised land" is also a type of a heavenly reality.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dt 8:7</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;</FONT></div> <div> <B>Dt 8:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jos 24:13</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "An important reason why Israel could not expel all her Canaanite enemies, in fact, was that they might remain in the land as instruments whereby Yahweh could disciplined her. They also remained in order to provide a test of Israel's loyalty to Yahweh..." (Eugene H. Merrill, <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, p.158).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jdg 3:4</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD'S commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Jdg 3:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "We are represented by Peter as "strangers and pilgrims" passing through a wilderness..." (Ada R. Habershon, <I>Study of the Types</I>, p.24).</div> <bR> <div> "In the wilderness" is the Church's first dispensation experience; and "in the land" is the second dispensation experience. The reality for the Old Covenant Kingdom of God was that she lived with the inhabitants "in the land" (Judges 5:3). The type for the Church is that she 'lives' with the spiritual 'inhabitants' "in the wilderness" dispensation (Ephesians 6:12). The Church has not yet crossed over the typical Jordan, into their Promised Land.</div> <bR> <div> Joshua and Israel inheriting a land, with cities they did not build, picture Christ and the saints - the Israel of God - inheriting the heavenly places.</div> <bR> <div> David and Israel casting out the King of Jerusalem and the Jubisites from earthly Zion pictures Christ and the Israel of God casting out Satan and the Demons from the heavenly Zion.</div> <bR> <div> This implies that Satan and the demons are presently occupying Zion. Another type provides support for this reality.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Mount Zion - Garden in Eden - Holy Place</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 28:13</B></FONT>  <B>Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God</B>...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 28:14</B></FONT>  Thou <I>art </I><B>the anointed cherub</B> that covereth; and I have set thee <I>so: </I><B>thou wast upon the holy mountain of God</B>; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Eze 28:15</B></FONT> Thou <I>wast </I>perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Ps 48:1 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Great is the LORD ... in the city of our God, his holy mountain. (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ps 48:2</B></FONT>  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, <I>is </I>mount Zion, <I>on </I>the sides of the north, the city of the great King.</div> <bR> <div> "The second half of v. 14 locates this cherub on <I>the holy mountain of God</I>... The expression "mountain of God" is familiar from the Sinai and Zion traditions... The statement bears a closer resemblance to Isa. 14:13... But here our prophet seems again to be mixing his metaphors. How can the cherub be in the garden of God and on the mountain of God at the same time. Two possibilities exist. Either the garden is on the mountain, or the former highlights the paradisiacal aspect of his home while the latter reflects his status, viz., he had access to God, the head of the divine assembly. This privilege was necessitated by his role as anointed agent of God, guarding the garden.</div> <bR> <div> "The final line depicts the cherub <I>walking back and forth among stones of fire</I>... Unlike the carved stationary cherubim that decorated ancient hallways or guarded entrances of buildings and grounds, this figure walks back and forth, expressing his freedom and especially his supervisory role within this environment..." (Daniel I. Block, <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapter 25-48</I>, NICOT, p.114).</div> <bR> <div> The synonymous parallelism below would suggest that the 'garden of Eden' and the 'holy mount' are the one and same place.</div> <bR> <div> Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God</div> <div> thou wast upon the holy mountain of God</div> <bR> <div> (The telescopic prophecy of Ezekiel 28 has Ethbaal III, King of Tyre, as the type; the Antichrist as the 'human' antitype, (cp. Eze 27 and Rev 18), and Satan as the 'demon-spirit' antitype).</div> <bR> <div> "... ancient near Eastern temples ... normally encompassed a large enclosure with a garden, not just a building" (Ralph H. Alexander, <I>Ezekiel</I>, EBC, Vol.6, p.883).</div> <bR> <div> It is suggested here that Eden and the Garden of Eden picture Moriah and Zion.</div> <bR> <div> Mount Moriah pictures the temple and Mount Zion pictures the temple’s garden.</div> <bR> <div> Typology also suggest that the two 'rooms' of the Temple picture Eden and the garden in Eden which also pictures the heavenly Mount Moriah and heavenly Mont Zion - the heavenly Jerusalem.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ki 6:29</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 6:32</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And on the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with beaten gold.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 6:34</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He also made two pine doors, each having two leaves that turned in sockets.</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ki 6:35</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 41:17</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary</FONT></div> <div> <B>Eze 41:18</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  were carved cherubim and palm trees. Palm trees alternated with cherubim...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... <I>palm trees and open flowers... </I>The depiction of cherubim and beautiful trees and flowers is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, from which man had been driven as a result of sin (Ge 3:24). In a symbolic sense, readmission to the paradise of God is now to be found only by means of atonement for sin at the sanctuary" (Kenneth Barker, Gen. Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, Note on 1 Kings 6:29, p.482).</div> <bR> <div> "...the holy place ... was also intended to mimic the Garden of Eden... the 'holy place' in the first primeval temple (e.g. the lampstand with seven lamps representing luminaries also alluded to the 'tree of life' in Eden)...</div> <bR> <div> "The entrance to Eden was from the east (Gen. 3:24), which was also the direction from which one entered the tabernacle and later temples of Israel, and would be the same direction from which the latter-day temple would be entered (Ezek. 40:6)...</div> <bR> <div> "The Garden should be viewed as not itself the source of water but adjoining Eden because Genesis 2:10 says 'a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden'... 'Eden is the source of the waters and [is the palatial] residence of God, and the garden adjoins God's residence'" ... the areas where the source of water is located, may be comparable to the inner sanctuary of Israel's later temple and the adjoining garden to the holy place..." (G.K Beale, <I>The Temple and the Church's Mission</I>, pp.56 & 74).</div> <bR> <div> Satan is still in the "garden of God" also known as the "heavenlies" and "Mount Zion". Like Adam in the earthly "garden" Satan will also be cast out of the heavenly "garden". Satan will be cast out by the 'last' David.</div> <bR> <div> The "ark of the covenant" and the "lampstand" are symbolic of God's presence, through Jesus Christ, in the Kingdom and Church dispensations respectively. But the "ark" in the Most Holy Place and the "lampstand" in the Holy Place are also symbolic of God and Christ in Their respective realms - God in "heaven" and Christ in the "heavenlies".</div> <bR> <div> <B>Role of Priests</B></div> <bR> <div> "... The substantial truth ... of the 'priesthood of all believers' in both the Old and News Testaments (cf. Heb. 10:19-22) is access into the holy presence" (Alec Motyer, <I>The Message of Exodus</I>, BST, p.199).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saints as Priests</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Heb 10:19</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Heb 10:20</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body</FONT></div> <div> <B>Heb 10:21</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,</FONT></div> <div> <B>Heb 10:22</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  let us draw near to God with a sincere heart</FONT></div> <div> <B>Mt 6:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ("unseen", NIV) and thy Father which seeth in secret...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "If Jesus is our high priest, then we must follow his steps into the holy place. By his life on earth he left us an inspired example: he prayed, and we must copy him. Now he lives in heaven; he still prays (7:25), and we must join him. These verses explain how we must enter the holy place of prayer" (Raymond Brown, <I>The Message of Hebrews</I>, BST, p.184).</div> <bR> <div> The saints may now approach God in the Most Holy Place, through Jesus Christ, in "earnest" prayer from their closed rooms. But in the future they will be in God's secret-place, the temple, and they will see God and will talk to Him face to face.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Rev 7:9</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >   After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 7:11</B></FONT>   And all the angels stood round about the throne, and <I>about </I>the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God.</div> <div> <B>Rev 7:15</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 7:17</B></FONT> ... the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> "All 16 references to the temple in Revelation use the word that designates the inner shrine rather than the larger precincts" (Kenneth Barker, Gen. Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>,  Note on 7:15, p.1935).</div> <bR> <div> In this retro-prospective prophecy the "great multitude" represents the Israel of God. The Israel of God includes the 144,000 sealed before the tribulation, those sealed before the Day of the Lord, and those who rise from the dead to meet Christ in the air. Their reward is access to God and service in His Temple.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Rev 1:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The saints will be reigning on the earth from the heavenly realms. The heavenly realms are one and the same with Mount Zion, the city of the David. The city with its throne pictures the 'kingly' aspect of the reward of the saints.</div> <bR> <div> Residence in the Holy Place and access to the Most Holy Place pictures the 'priestly' aspect of the reward of the saints.</div> <bR> <div> Under the Covenant with Israel, the Levites 'minister' to the LORD in the earthly Temple. The saints will 'minister' to the LORD in the heavenly Temple. The saints therefore are "heavenly" Levites.</div> <bR> <div> While the NT typologically pictures Christ and the saints as the 'second' Israel there is another typological picture of Christ and the saints.  This typological picture reinforces the "priestly" reward of the saints.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Heavenly Levites</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1Pe 2:5</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood...</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The Tabernacle seems to be the type of Christ and His Church now; the Temple, of Christ and His Church in resurrection glory, as we read in Peter..." (Ada R. Habershon, <I>Study of the Types</I>, p.54).</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Priests and Levites a Type of the Church</B></div> <bR> <div> "What human pen can bring out the marvellous instructions contained in the inspired account of the tribe of Levi?...</div> <bR> <div> "The Levites were a separated people - God's special possession. They took the place of all the firstborn in Israel - of those saved from the sword of the destroyer by the blood of the lamb. They are typically a dead and risen people, set apart to God, and by Him presented as a gift to Aaron the High Priest, to do the service of the tabernacle... In all this the Levites were a striking type of God's people now. It is not merely that we are pardoned, justified, accepted: all this is true; but we are called to the high and holy work of bearing through this world the Name, the testimony, the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ...</div> <bR> <div> "As priests we are privileged to worship, but as Levites we are responsible to serve; and our service is to carry through this desert scene the antitype of the Tabernacle, and that Tabernacle was the figure of Christ" (C.H.M, <I>Notes on Numbers</I>, quoted by Ada Habershon, p.182).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="4" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="4" WIDTH="702" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="332"><div> <B>Earthly Levites</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> <B>Heavenly Levites</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 49 WIDTH="332"><div> for the LORD your <B>God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes</B>... (Deut 18:5).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> As it is, you do not belong to the world, but <B>I have chosen you out of the world</B> (John 15:19).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 99 WIDTH="332"><div> Simeon and Levi are brothers - their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce ... (Genesis 49:4-7).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are (1 Corinthians 1:27-28).</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> "There was nothing in Levi to commend him to God; on the contrary, we should have said, in reading Genesis 49, that Levi was one of the worst of Jacob's sons, but God in His sovereign grace could say, "The Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all the tribes" (Deut. 8:5). "God commendeth His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"" (Ada R. Habershon, <I>Study of the Types</I>, p.183).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 32:26 </B></FONT> Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who <I>is </I>on the LORD'S side? <I>let him come </I>unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.</div> <div> <B>Ex 32:29</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day." (NIV).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The invitation Moses gives is to those who are "Yahweh's," that is, Yahweh's on Yahweh's terms, not <I>via</I> a calf or any other substitute devised by humans" (John I. Durham, E<I>xodus</I>, WBC, p.431).</div> <bR> <div> "In the fulfilment of the command of God, with the denial of their own flesh and blood, Moses discerns such a disposition and act as would fit them for service to the Lord. He therefore points to the blessing which it would bring them, and exhorts them by their election as the peculiar possession of Jehovah (Num. 3, 4), which would be secured to them from this time forward, to persevere in this fidelity to the Lord. "The zeal of the tribe-father burned still in the Levites; but this time it was for the glory of God, and not their own. Their ancestor had violated both truth and justice by his vengeance upon the Shechemites, from a false regard to blood-relationship, but now his descendants had saved truth, justice, and the covenant by avenging Jehovah upon their own relations" (<I>Kurtz and Oehler</I> in <I>Herozog's </I>Cycl.), so that the curse which rested upon them (Gen. 49:7) could now be turned into a blessing (cf. Deut33:9)" (C.F. Keil, <I>Penateuch</I>, KD, p.471).</div> <bR> <div> Moses calling for people to come to the LORD, and only the Levites, (Moses' 'little flock' - one tribe out of thirteen), responding, is a type of Christ, the 'last' Moses, at his first coming calling a people to the LORD and only the Saints, (Christ's 'little flock' (Luke 12:32)), responding - responding all the way down to His second coming.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="4" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="4" WIDTH="702" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="332"><div> <B>Earthly Levites</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> <B>Heavenly Levites</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 49 WIDTH="332"><div> <B>I have taken the Levites </B>from among the children of Israel <B>instead of all the firstborn </B>... among the children of Israel (Numbers 3:12).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> To the general assembly and <B>church of the firstborn</B>, which are written in heaven (Hebrews 12:23).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 WIDTH="332"><div> He said of his father and mother, 'I have no regard for them.' He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children ... and guarded your covenant (Deut 33:9).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="332"><div> I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron (Num 8:19).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> They were yours; you gave them to me (John 17:6).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 WIDTH="332"><div> "And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee [Aaron], and <B>minister unto thee</B>" (Numbers 18:2).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for <B>ye serve the Lord Christ</B>" (Colossians 3:24).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 49 WIDTH="332"><div> And it shall come to pass, <I>that </I>when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments (Eze 44:17).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (Rev 19:8).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 82 WIDTH="332"><div> "Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they <B>were responsible for the work day and night</B>" (1 Chronicles 11:33, NIV).</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="332"><div> "These are they which came out of great tribulation ... Therefore are they before the throne of God, and <B>serve him day and night</B> <B>in his temple</B> (Revelation 7:14-15).</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Levites no inheritance with their brothers</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dt 10:8</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  ... the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Dt 10:9</B></FONT>  That is why <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the Levites have no share or inheritance among their brothers</B></FONT>; <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>the LORD is their inheritance</B></FONT>...</div> <bR> <div> <B>Eze 44:28</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Under the greater "new covenant" the people under the covenant with Israel the church, also have no share or inheritance with the people under the covenant with Israel the nation.</div> <bR> <div> The saints inheritance is in the heavenly Jerusalem, Mount Zion.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dual Role</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 20:6</B></FONT><B> </B> Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection ... but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.</div> <bR> <div> "<B>The saints shall constitute a </B><I><B>kingdom</B></I><B> of God</B> (ch.5:10)... <B>kings in relation to man, priests in relation to God</B>, serving day and night in His temple (ch. 5:10; 7:15)" (A.R. Fausset, <I>1 Corinthians - Revelation</I>, Vol.3, Pt.3, p.656).</div> <bR> <div> This dual role may be seen in Levite typology.</div> <bR> <div> <B>In the Temple</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 23:4</B></FONT>  David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand are <B>to</B> <B>supervise the work of the temple of the LORD</B>...</div> <bR> <div> "... the priest and Levites must leave their homes, whether in the cities of refuge or other cities, in order to come up and take their turn in the service of the sanctuary..." (Ada R. Habershon, <I>Study of the Types</I>, p.206).</div> <bR> <div> <B>1Ch 23:6</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi...</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 23:28</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD... (NIV).</FONT></div> <div> <B>1Ch 23:31</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > ... to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD ... continually before the LORD</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "The priests, the musicians, and presumably the temple Levites as well were specifically assigned to twenty-four different course. These subdivisions provided a means of rotating them in service on a monthly basis" (J. Barton Payne, <I>1,2 Chronicles</I>, EBC, Vol.4, p.418).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 7:9</B></FONT>   After this I beheld, and, lo, <B>a great multitude</B>, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, <B>stood before the throne, and before the Lamb</B>, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.</div> <bR> <div> See diagram and comment below.</div> <bR> <div> <B>In the land</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 23:4</B></FONT>  David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the LORD <B>and six thousand are to be officials and judges</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 26:29</B> </FONT> From the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons <B>were assigned duties away from the temple, as officials and judges over Israel</B>.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Ch 26:30</B></FONT>  ... seventeen hundred able men - were responsible in Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the LORD and <B>for the king's service</B>.</div> <div> <B>1Ch 26:32 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > Jeriah had twenty-seven hundred relatives, who were able men and heads of families, and King David put them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "... the tendency is to see the establishment of the Levitical cites as administrative centers established to at least some degree during the United Monarchy... Old Testament evidence, while skimpy, suggest a much broader definition and role of the Levites and points to their role as teachers (Deut 33:10), judges (Deut 17:9)... It is significant that in Chronicles, concentrating as it does upon the sacred function of the Levites, that side of the tradition which pictures Levites as "officials and judges" (as in 23:4 and here [1 Chr 26:29]) and warriors (12:27-29 ... and cf. 2 Chr 23:7) is also present. Particular attention should be called to the account of Jehoshaphat's actions in 2 Chr 19:1-11, where something of secular/sacred role of Israel's judges is sketched (albeit under direction of the king), and such passages as 2 Chr 24:1-10; 34:9, where the religious duties of the Levites include collecting the temple tax throughout the area. Without accepting all the evidence supplied by Polk (<I>SBT</I> 9 [1979] 3-22) it is tempting to see in this fact <B>the Levities' activities in the service of temple and palace</B>" (Roddy Braun, <I>1 Chronicles</I>, WBC, p.254).</div> <bR> <div> <B>In the heavenly Temple and land</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 20:4 </B></FONT> I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given<B> authority to judge</B>. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God ... They came to life <B>and reigned with Christ </B>a thousand years.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0648edb0.png" border=0 width="654" height="219" ALT="WordPerfect 12 Document" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> In the booklet "Kingdom of God - What, Where and When?", from which the diagram above is taken, it was argued that the "heavenlies" (<I>en tois epouranios</I>) was the invisible/heavenly realm of the earth. This realm has, therefore, an earthly relationship and a heavenly relationship, so that the "heavenlies" was alternatively termed in the booklet the "heavenly-earth" (H-E).</div> <bR> <div> (The "heavenly-earth" corresponds to the territory of the Levites in the Reservation/<I>teruma</I>. "Heaven" [H] corresponds to the territory of the Priests in the Reservation/<I>teruma)</I>.</div> <bR> <div> The "heavenly-earth" is the reward of the saints. From this realm Christ and the Saints will reign on the earth in a godly way as opposed to Satan and the Demons who presently reign on the earth in an ungodly way.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Heb 7:24 </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Heb 7:25</B></FONT>  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because <B>he always lives to intercede for them</B>.</div> <bR> <div> "Now a priest speaks to God on behalf of men and to men on behalf of God..." (Leon Morris, <I>Revelation</I>, TNTC, pp.49-50).</div> <bR> <div> From the "heavenlies" the saints will go and appear before God in the temple realm of heaven (cp. Rev 7:9), perhaps in courses.</div> <bR> <div> "If revelation is to recommence in the millennial kingdom, converted Israel must head humanity. Jews and Gentiles stand on an equal footing, as both alike needing mercy; but as regards God's instrumentalities for establishing His kingdom on earth, Israel is His chosen people. The Israelite priest-kings on earth are what the transfigured priest-kings are in heaven... A new time of revelation will begin by the outpouring of the Spirit (Zech 12:10)... Earthly and heavenly glories shall be united in the twofold election. Elect Israel in the flesh shall stand at the head of the earthly; the elect spiritual church, the Bride, in the heavenly. These elections are not merely for the good of the elect, but for whom they minister. The heavenly Church is elected, not merely to salvation, but to rule in love, and minister blessings over the earth, as king-priests" (A.R. Fausset, <I>1 Corinthians - Revelation</I>, JFB, Vol.3. Pt.3, p.722).</div> <bR> <div> <B>No more sin</B></div> <bR> <div> "... in the millennium the earth will not be a suitable abode for transfigured saints, who therefore shall reign in heaven over the earth. But after the millennium and judgment, they shall <I>descend</I> from heaven to dwell on an earth renewed, and assimilated to heaven itself" (A.R. Fausset, <I>1 Corinthians - Revelation</I>, JFB, Vol.3, Pt.3, p.726).</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Co 15:24</B></FONT>  Then <I>cometh </I>the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.</div> <div> <B>1Co 15:25</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.</FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>1Co 15:26</B></FONT>  <B>The last enemy </B><I><B>that </B></I><B>shall be destroyed </B><I><B>is </B></I><B>death</B>.</div> <div> <B>Rev 20:14</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ro 6:23</B></FONT>  For<B> the wages of sin </B><I><B>is </B></I><B>death</B>; but the gift of God <I>is </I>eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.</div> <bR> <div> No more death implies no more sin and no more sin implies no more human-beings - all will be Spirit/God-beings, no longer capable of sin.</div> <bR> <div> After the thousand year reign and the Great White Throne Judgment the ground-work will have been laid for the ultimate goal of Covenant.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Covenant Goal Realised</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 29:46</B></FONT>  ... I <I>am</I> the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them...</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Ex 29:43</B></FONT>  ... <I>the tabernacle </I>shall be sanctified by my glory</div> <div> <B>Lev 26:12</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >  I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6000C0" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Rev 21:3</B></FONT>  ... Behold, the tabernacle of <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>God</B></FONT> <I>is </I>with men, and <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#330000" FACE="Verdana" >he<B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B>will dwell with them</B></FONT>, and<B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>they shall be his people</B></FONT>, and God himself shall be with them, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><I><B>and be </B></I><B>their God</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> God's "glory" dwelling in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple was/will be a pledge, a first-step, of His coming to dwell literally and personally with His people.</div> <bR> <div> With the earth becoming a sinless environment the holy God can then dwell with His sinless people.</div> <bR> <div> Christ, in person, as a human-being, dwelt on the earth, with other human-beings, for all intent and purposes, at the end of the two successive administrations of the Old Covenant; at the end of the two successive administrations of the New Covenant, God and Christ, as God-beings, will dwell on the earth with other Spirit/God-beings.</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="abbreviations"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Abbreviations</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="473" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> AV</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Authorised Version</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> BST</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Bible Speaks Today</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> DBI</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Dictionary of Biblical Imagery</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> EBC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Expositor's Bible Commentary</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> ISBC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> International Standard Bible Encyclopedia</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> JFB</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Jamison, Robert; Fausset, A.R., and Brown, David</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> KD</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Keil, C.F., and Delitzsch, F.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> NBD</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> New Bible Dictionary</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> NIBC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> New International Biblical Commentary</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> NICNT</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> New International Commentary on the New Testament</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 36 WIDTH="57"><div> NICOT</div> <div> NIV</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> <div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> New International Commentary on the Old Testament</div> <div> New International Version</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> TNTC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Tyndale New Testament Commentaries</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> TNTC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> TWOT</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="57"><div> WBC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="25"><div> =</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="381"><div> Word Biblical Commentary</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Bibliography</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Alexander</B>, Ralph H., <I>Ezekiel</I>, EBC, Vol.6, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994).</div> <div> <B>Aune</B>, David E., <I>Revelation 1-5</I>, WBC, Metzger, Bruce M., (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997).</div> <div> <B>Baldwin</B>, Joyce G., <I>The Message of Genesis 12-50</I>, BST,  Motyer, J. A., OT Series Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1986).</div> <div> <B>Baldwin</B>, Joyce, <I>1 & 2 Samuel</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Baldwin</B>, Joyce G., <I>Daniel</I>, TOTC,  Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Barker</B>, Kenneth, Gen. Editor, <I>The NIV Study Bible</I>, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985).</div> <div> <B>Barton</B>, Bruce B., General Editor, <I>Life Application Bible NKJV</I>, (Weaton, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1993).</div> <div> <B>Beale</B>, G.K., <I>The Temple and the Church's Mission</I>, (Downers Grove, Inter Varsity Press, 2004).</div> <div> <B>Block</B>, Daniel I., <I>The Book of Ezekiel Chapter 25-48</I>, NICOT, Hubbard, Jr., Robert L. General Editor (Grand Rapids, William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998).</div> <div> <B>Braun</B>, Roddy, <I>1 Chronicles</I>, WBC, Hubbard, David A., & Barker, Glenn W. General Editors, (Waco: Word Books, Publisher, 1986).</div> <div> <B>Bright</B>, John, <I>A History of Israel</I>, Fourth Edition, (Louisville, Westminister John Knox Press, 2000).</div> <div> <B>Brown</B>, David,  <I>Matthew - John</I>, A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, & Practical on the Old and New Testaments, by Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1993).</div> <div> <B>Brown</B>, David, <I>Acts-Romans</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Brown</B>, Raymond, <I>The Message of Hebrews</I>, Bible Speaks Today, Stott, John R.W., NT Series Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1982).</div> <div> <B>Bruce</B>, F. F., <I>The Book of the Acts</I>, Revised, NICNT,  Fee, Gordon D., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Bruce</B>, F.F., <I>The Epistles to the Hebrews</I>, Revised, NICNT, Fee, Gordon D., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1990).</div> <div> <B>Bullinger</B>, Ethelbert W., <I>Companion Bible</I>, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1986).</div> <div> <B>Carson</B>, D. A., <I>Matthew</I>, EBC, Vol.8, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984).</div> <div> <B>Conner</B>, Kevin J. & <B>Malmin</B>, Ken, <I>The Covenants</I>, (Portland: Bible Temple Publishing, 1983).</div> <div> <B>Craigie</B>, Peter C., <B>Kelly</B>, Page H., & <B>Drinkard</B>, Joel F., Jr., <I>Jeremiah 1 -25</I>, WBC, Metzger, Bruce M., General Editor, (Dallas: Word Books, Publisher, 1991).</div> <div> <B>Cundall</B>, Arthur E., <I>Judges</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1968).</div> <div> <B>Delitzsch</B>, F., <I>Psalms</I>, Keil and Delitzsch (KD), Commentary on the Old Testament, (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc, 1996).</div> <div> <B>Delitzsch</B>, F., <I>Isaiah</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Dillard</B>, Raymond B., <I>2 Chronicles</I>, WBC, Hubbard, David A., & Barker, Glenn W., General Editors, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Dolphin</B>, L.T., "Shiloh", <I>ISBE</I>, Fully Revised, Vol.4, Bromiley, G. W., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Duguid</B>, Iain M., <I>Ezekiel</I>, NIVAC, Muck, Terry, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999).</div> <div> <B>Durham</B>, John I., <I>Exodus</I>, WBC, Metzger, Bruce M., General Editor, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Ellison</B>, H.E., "Judah",<I> </I><I>NBD</I>, Second Edition, Douglas, J. D ., et al., Editors, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985).</div> <div> <B>Fausset</B>, A.R., <I>Job - Isaiah</I>, A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, & Practical on the Old and New Testaments, by Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1993).</div> <div> <B>Fausset</B>, A.R., <I>Jeremiah - Malachi</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Fausset</B>, A. R., <I>1 Corinthians - Revelation</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Feinberg</B>, Charles L., <I>Jeremiah</I>, EBC, Vol.6, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).</div> <div> <B>France</B>, F.T., <I>Matthew</I>, TNTC, Morris, Leon, General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Grant</B>, A.C., "Eli", <I>ISBE</I>, Fully Revised, Vol.2, Bromiley, G.W., General Editor,(Grand Rapids: William. B. Eerdmans, 1982).</div> <div> <B>Green</B>, Joel B., <I>The Gospel of Luke</I>, NICNT, Fee, Gordon D., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1997).</div> <div> <B>Green</B>, Michael, <I>The Message of Matthew</I>, BST, Stott, John, NT Series Editor,  (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000).</div> <div> <B>Grogan</B>, Geoffrey W., <I>Isaiah</I>, EBC, Vol.6, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Habershon</B>, Ada R., <I>Study of the Types</I>, (Grand Rapids: Kregal Publications, 1974).</div> <div> <B>Hagner</B>, Donald A., <I>Matthew 1-13</I>, WBC, Metzger, Bruce M., (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993).</div> <div> <B>Hamilton</B>, Victor P., <I>The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50</I>, NICOT, Hubbard, Jr., Robert L. General Editor (Grand Rapids, William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995).</div> <div> <B>Harris</B>, R., Laird <I>Leviticus</I>, EBC, Vol.2, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990).</div> <div> <B>Hartley</B>, John E., <I>Leviticus</I>, WBC, Metzger, Bruce M., (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Jamieson</B>, Robert, <I>Genesis - Deuteronomy</I>, A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, & Practical on the Old and New Testaments, by Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1993).</div> <div> <B>Jamieson</B>, Robert, <I>Joshua - Esther</I>, A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, & Practical on the Old and New Testaments, by Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1993).</div> <div> <B>Jenson</B>, Philip Peter, <I>Graded Holiness</I><I> - </I><I>A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World</I>, (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Jukes</B>, Andrew, <I>The Law of The Offerings</I>, (Grand Rapids: Kregal Publications, 1966).</div> <div> <B>Jukes</B>, Andrew, <I>Types in Genesis</I>, (Grand Rapids: Kregal Publications, 1993).</div> <div> <B>Kaiser</B>, Jr., Walter C., <I>Exodus</I>, EBC, Vol.2, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995).</div> <div> <B>Kaiser</B>, Jr., Walter C., <I>Mission in the Old Testament</I>, "Israel as a Light to the Nations", (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000).</div> <div> <B>Kaiser</B>, Walter C., "<I>nasi</I>", <I>TWOT</I>, Harris, R. Laird, Editor, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Kaiser</B>, Jr., Walter C., <I>Towards an Old Testament Theology</I>, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F.,  <I>The Pentateuch</I>, Commentary on the Old Testament, KD, (Peabody: Hendrikson Publishers, 1996).</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>Joshua</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>Judges</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>1 & 2 Samuel</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>1 and 2 Kings</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>1 & 2 Chronicle</I>s, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>Jeremiah</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C. F., <I>Ezekiel-Daniel</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Kiel</B>, C.F., <I>Hosea</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Keil</B>, C.F., <I>Zechariah</I>, ibid.</div> <div> <B>Kidner</B>, Derek, <I>Genesis</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1967).</div> <div> <B>Kidner</B>, Derek, <I>Psalms 73-150</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975).</div> <div> <B>Klein</B>, Ralph W., <I>1 Samuel</I>, WBC, Hubbard, David A., & Barker, Glenn W., General Editors, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983).</div> <div> <B>Keown</B>, Gerald L., <B>Scalise</B>, Pamela J., & <B>Smothers</B>, Thomas G., <I>Jeremiah 26-52</I>, WBC, Hubbard, David A., & Barker, Glenn W., General Editors, (Waco: Word Books, Publisher, 1995).</div> <div> <B>Longenecker</B>, Richard N., <I>Acts</I>, EBC, Vol.9, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981).</div> <div> <B>Madvig</B>, Donald H., <I>Joshua</I>, EBC, Vol.3, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Merrill</B>, Eugene H., <I>Kingdom of Priests</I>, "A History of Old Testament Israel", (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 1996).</div> <div> <B>Morris</B>, Leon, <I>Revelation</I>, Revised Edition, TNTC, Morris, Leon, General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Motyer</B>, Alec, <I>The Message of Exodus</I>, BST, Motyer, Alec, OT Series Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2005).</div> <div> <B>Motyer</B>, Alec, <I>Isaiah</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1999).</div> <div> <B>Motyer</B>, Alec, <I>The Message of James</I>, BST, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985).</div> <div> <B>Mounce</B>, Robert H., <I>The Book of Revelation</I>, Revised Edition, NICNT, Fee, Gordon D., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1998).</div> <div> <B>Patterson</B>, R. D., & <B>Austel</B>, Hermann J.<I>, 1,2 Kings</I>, EBC, Vol.4, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Payne</B>, J. Barton, <I>1,2 Chronicles</I>, EBC, Vol.4, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Ryken</B>, Leland, et. al., General Editors, <I>Dictionary of Biblical Imagery,</I> (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1998).</div> <div> <B>Sailhamer</B>, John H., <I>Genesis</I>, EBC, Vol.2, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990).</div> <div> <B>Scofield</B>, C. I., "Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition).</div> <div> <B>Selman</B>, Martin J., <I>1 Chronicles</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).</div> <div> <B>Selman</B>, Martin J., <I>2 Chronicles</I>, TOTC, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).</div> <div> <B>Stevenson</B>, Kalinda Rose, <I>The Vision of Transformation</I>, (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996).</div> <div> <B>Stott</B>, John R. W., <I>The Message of The Sermon on the Mount</I>, BST, Stott, John R. W., NT Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978).</div> <div> <B>Stott</B>, John R. W., <I>The Message of Ephesians</I>, Second Edition, BST, Stott, John R. W., NT Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991).</div> <div> <B>Tan</B>, Kim Huat, "Community, Kingdom and Cross: Jesus' View of Covenant", Jamie A. Grant & Alistair I. Wilson, Editors, <I>The God of Covenant</I>, (Leicester: Apollos, (Inter-Varsity Press), 1998).</div> <div> <B>Tate</B>, Marvin E., <I>Psalms 51-100</I>, WBC, Hubbard, David A., & Barker, Glenn W., General Editors, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990).</div> <div> <B>Taylor</B>, John B., <I>Ezekiel</I>, Wiseman, D.J., General Editor, TOTC, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Tenney</B>, Merrill C., <I>John</I>, EBC, Vol.9, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981).</div> <div> <B>Thompson</B>, J. A., <I>The Book of Jeremiah</I>, NICOT, Hubbard, Robert L., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1998).</div> <div> <B>Tidbal</B>, Derek, <I>The Message of Leviticus</I>, BST, Motyer, Alec, OT Series Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1986).</div> <div> <B>Tuell</B>, Steven, <I>Ezekiel</I>, NIBC, Hubbard, Jr. Robert & Johnston, Robert, OT Editors, (Peabody, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 2009).</div> <div> <B>Wenham</B>, Gordon, <I>Genesis 16-50</I>, WBC, Metzger, Bruce M., (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994).</div> <div> <B>Wenham</B>, Gordon J., <I>The Book of Leviticus</I>, Grand Rapids: William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979).</div> <div> <B>Westerholm</B>, S., "Tabernacle", <I>ISBE</I>, Fully Revised, Vol.4, Bromiley, G. W., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Wilcock</B>, Michael, <I>The Message of Chronicles</I>, BST, Motyer, J. A., OT Series Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987).</div> <div> <B>Wilcock</B>, Michael, <I>The Message of Luke</I>, BST, Stott, John R. W., NT Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991).</div> <div> <B>Wilson</B>, Gerald H., <I>Psalms Volume 1</I>, NIVAC, Muck, Terry, Gen. Editor, (Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing House, 2002).</div> <div> <B>Wolf</B>, Herbert, <I>Judges</I>, EBC, Vol.3, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Wood</B>, A. Skevington, <I>Ephesians</I>, EBC, Vol.11, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Woudstra</B>, Marten H., <I>The Book of Joshua</I>, NICOT, Hubbard, Robert L., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1981).</div> <div> <B>Wright</B>, Christopher J. H., <I>The Message of Ezekiel</I>, BST, Motyer, Alec, OT Series Editor, (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 2001).</div> <div> <B>Wright</B>, N.T., <I>Colossians and Philemon</I>, TNTC, Morris, Leon, General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988).</div> <div> <B>Youngblood</B>, Ronald F., <I>1, 2 Samuel</I>, EBC, Vol.3, Gaebelein, Frank E., General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).</div> <div> <B>Zimmerli</B>, Walter, <I>Ezekiel 2 - A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapters 25-48</I>, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983).</div> <bR> <div> © Future Watch, 2007-09</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id8_m.htm" TITLE="The New Covenant">Top of Page</A>                       <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Future Watch">Home Page</A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>