²⁰ And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

²¹ “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, ²² so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. ²³ But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. (Numbers 18:20-23 ESV)

I have never really understood this before because I only compared this promise to things in the natural. I considered woods and mountains, streams and fields and always felt like the Levites were being left out. After all, God is spirit. What does it mean to be alive in the natural and have no land ownership, even if God is my “inheritance?” Isn’t he everyone’s inheritance? Ah, there is the key! He is everyone’s inheritance, but in a particular order. The Levites represent the first people of all creation who come into their full inheritance. Thus God calls them his “firstfruits.”

Remember from the last post in this series that God specifically chose the Levites to guard and protect the Testimony. The reason for setting a guard about the tabernacle and the arc of the testimony  was not to protect God’s things from men’s unclean hands. Rather, it was to protect unclean men from being consumed by God’s presence. At least three times God instructed the Levites to kill any person who attempted to break through to gaze upon the holy places within the tabernacle. This command uses natural consequences to illustrate spiritual realities. We first see this idea clearly illustrated when God prepared to reveal the Ten Commandments to Israel at Mount Sinai.

⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰ the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[a] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. (Exodus 19:9-14)

God warned Moses to so instruct the people in order to put the “fear of God” into them. The stark reality was that if the Levites, or someone else, did not physically kill the person presumptuously attempting to peer at or into the presence of God, then God himself would destroy him. Moses then wrote,

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹ And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. ²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. ²² Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The reality was that the people of Israel were not ready to behold God face to face as was Moses. Over a long period of time of dwelling outside the camp of his own people God had worked deep humility into Moses’ soul. Moses thus became a prophetic picture of the one who has “worked out his salvation in fear and trembling,” of the one who has saved his soul. The Book of Hebrews deals exclusively with the salvation of the soul (versus the salvation of the spirit by faith in Jesus Christ). The writer of that Book alludes specifically to the awesome event at Mount Sinai described by Moses, saying,

¹⁸ For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised,“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29)

This passage from Hebrews speaks to God’s overcomers, to “the assembly of the firstborn  who are enrolled in heaven.” This is the group which the Old Testament Levites typify. These are the ones who first come “to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” They are also the ones who teach and prepare others to come into the City of God, New Jerusalem, while at the same time they protect them from destruction by attempting to come in to the presence of God too soon. This also explains why the Levites had no natural inheritance. Their inheritance lies within the spiritual realm of heaven itself wherein they will dwell in the very presence of God. God used the tribe of Levi to illustrate the spiritual inheritance of a people who willingly submitted to and obeyed the God of the universe. Spiritual Levites inherit nothing less than New Jerusalem itself!

²² And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, ²⁵ and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:22-27)

This inheritance, however, does not belong exclusively to prophetic Levi. He simply represents all of the first ones who come into oneness with God. Malachi prophesies Levi’s still future role:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.^[a] 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.  (Malachi 3:1-4)

Once Levi has been fully purified, refined, and prepared by his LORD, he will prepare the rest of the world for also coming into Christ’s presence. For if it were not so the decree of utter destruction found in the final verse of the Old Testament would be fulfilled.

 ^[a] “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ² But for you who fear my name,the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. ³ And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules^[b] that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of theLord comes. ⁶ And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4)

Thus we see Christ’s Passover worked out in its fullness. The first Passover saved only the  firstborn of Israel. God then substituted the entire tribe of Levi for these firstborn and placed upon them the mantel of bringing all Israel into God’s presence. These Levites then foreshadowed the manchild of Revelation, the firstborn sons of God in the exact image of their Creator and Father. They will become the messengers who are fully empowered to bring the entire earth into the knowledge and obedience of God. For otherwise the LORD would, as most suspect, come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. How wonderful and how merciful is our God!

A Song of Ascents.

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with evildoers!
Peace be upon Israel! (Psalm 125 ESV)

Mount Zion first appears in 2 Samuel 5:7 which says, “Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.”  2 Kings 9:28 says, “And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.” So we see that Zion, the City of David, and Jerusalem all name and represent the same city. This is the city we now ascend to as we take each successive step toward God.

We take these steps into the spiritual domains because we do trust in God. This song proclaims that we are like Mount Zion. In what ways, then, are we like Mount Zion?

First, we cannot be moved. Those who have come this far with God will not turn back ever again to obey and follow men. They have become like the one of whom Isaiah says,

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he awakens morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned backward. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked out the beard: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:4-7 KJ2000)

At the end of his appointed time on earth Jesus determined to go to Jerusalem even though it meant his death. Concerning this Thomas said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16) Thus it is with those willing to take this sixth step, sixth the number of man. Do we take the mark of the beast, 666, or do we take the mark of God and take the sixth step toward him? Of these shall it be said, “They cannot be moved!”

Second, these overcomers “abide forever.” How is this? Because “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” Notice two things here. First the psalmist replaces the word Zion with Jerusalem, showing again that the words designate the same thing. Second, now God has not only delivered us from the fowler’s snare, he has now established a barrier between us and our enemies, a barrier which lasts “from this time forth and forevermore.”

Our willingness to take this sixth step of trust in God somehow qualifies us for an eternal inheritance. By this point we have irrevocably decided to trust in God versus man for our deliverance. Our fifth step showed that we stopped trusting in man. Our sixth speaks only of trust in God. I will try to make this understandable by a personal example.

In the natural I am running for the position of county judge where I live. I have often considered how my political enemies might take my public writings and try to use them against me. For that reason I have considered taking my web postings off line. Often I will post a link to my writings on my Facebook page. I have considered not posting my links and I have even considered deleting my entire Facebook account. Why make myself an easy target for the popular sport of attacking Christians? But I am not going to do that, for then men will have won because I would have regarded them higher than I regard God who will do as he pleases with me and the particular protection he gives me.

I believe that the LORD has called and anointed me to write the things I write. When he gives me a new word or a new understanding that I believe is for others also, then I must write it. No one may read it, but that’s not up to me. Some may read it and use my words against me, and that’s not something for me to worry about either. The bottom line is that I must do the work God has called me to do so long as it is day and so long as he keeps me fit for doing the work. I must trust in him, not in man.

The time is nigh upon us when God will remove the scepter from evil men who currently rule this world. The scepter of wickedness is about to be broken. I choose to take my stand with those who will rule in righteousness even though they do not rule now. I believe and trust in a God who will soon restore the land to those for whom it was originally allotted. I have determined to continue the narrow way up the steps to New Mount Zion, New Jerusalem, where righteousness dwells. I choose not to trust in men and I will not turn aside to their crooked ways whereby I would ultimately be led away with all evildoers to the Lake of Fire.

I am climbing up the mountain, even if it costs me my life.

A song of ascents. Of David.[a]

124 “If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,”
do let Israel say,
2 “If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger was kindled against us.
4 Then the waters would have flooded over us,
the torrent would have passed over our soul.
5 Then over our soul would have passed
the raging waters.”
6 Blessed be Yahweh,
who has not made[b] us prey for their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped like a bird
from the snare of fowlers.
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Yahweh,
maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124 Lexham English Bible)

As we continue to ascend to the throne of God we must realize that our hope does not rest in men at all, but in God alone. I believe a companion passage which sheds light on this psalm is chapter 2 from Isaiah, which says,

Isaiah 2
English Standard Version (ESV)

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,[a]
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.

6 For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man is humbled,
and each one is brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 Enter into the rock
and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
14 against all the lofty mountains,
and against all the uplifted hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,[b]
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 In that day mankind will cast away
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to the moles and to the bats,
21 to enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.

22 Stop regarding man
in whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?

First, notice how many themes this passage from Isaiah mentions that we have already discussed in the first four steps of ascent: 1) the latter days (these days), 2) the mountain of the LORD (the mountain we are now ascending just as Moses ascended the fiery mountain long ago), 3) the House of the LORD (we are God’s house), 4) Zion,  5) Jerusalem (like many Old Testament prophesies this refers to New Jerusalem), and 6) Separation (in this chapter verses 2-5 relate to God’s Overcomers in the House of Jacob (believers in the One God) while verses 6-22 concern believers who instead rely upon the world and the ways of the world. This is why it ends with the stark warning, “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?”

It is verse 22, just quoted, which really ties Isaiah 2 to Psalm 124 for this song makes it clear that the sojourner relies upon God and only upon God for his deliverance. Had he relied upon man then he would have been caught in man’s snare. But, because he made God his refuge, God delivered him from man’s evil plans.

Anyone watching current events knows that man has now devised and implemented evil plans for the faithful followers of God. These schemes have been secretly conceived and brought to birth for many years now. America, once considered to the be the Christian land of the free, has now become the haunt of every evil demon and human perpetrator of vile deeds. Laws have now been enacted which will allow for our indefinite detention without trial. The stage is set to totally destroy the faithful from the land, but God has another plan.

I choose to trust God for my deliverance from today’s ever-present evil. I choose to take the fifth step up the mountain into God’s consuming fire. And like Isaiah I say to those who would hesitate, ”Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?”

There are fifteen psalms of ascent in Scripture, Psalms 120 through 134. There are now fifteen days until the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah. Many of us expect the LORD to do a mighty work on or about this date, September 16-17, 2012. I just happened to read a psalm today, Psalm 130, and suddenly got a feeling that these songs were important for us to read and assimilate in the coming days. It just seemed like a “now” word from God to me. Then I thought, “I wonder if this is one of the psalms of ascent?” I looked and it was.  Then I thought, “we who diligently wait for Him are waiting to ascend to him, to see his face, to be like him. I bet these psalms are important for us right now.”

I felt the importance for us as I read verses 3 and 4 from Psalm 130 today. They say,

David serves as the preeminent type of God’s overcomer in Scripture. Although he serves God, although he reigns over the most powerful kingdom on earth, although the entire nation of Israel bows to and serves him, including his harem of wives, and even though God promised him a kingdom with no end, his writings characterize him as a man with a broken and contrite spirit. David did not take God or his promises for granted. And when he sinned, he repented, saying

O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
² Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
³ My soul also is greatly troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long? (Psalm 6:1-3, NKJV)

David fears God. He knows he has done wrong. Did he write this after adultery with Bathsheba, after murdering his friend and her husband, or after committing some other secret sin we know nothing about? He knows he deserves chastening and rebuke. His body is sick. Did God allow or cause this? But David appeals to God’s mercy. He understands, as the Pharisees did not, that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. He knows that in his Savior mercy and justice kiss and so he hopes, even once again, for God’s forgiveness. “I am weak,” he proclaims, and God answers, “When you are weak, then you are strong, for then you depend upon me and not yourself. Yes, I will forgive and heal you again!”

“Thank you,” says David, “but it is more than that. Even my soul is troubled, my very being lies disturbed within this house of flesh. How long, LORD, how long until you save me from this prison of sin and death?” And so says all God’s overcomers even today. Like David we cry

Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?

I am weary with my groaning;
All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with my tears.
⁷ My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.

So, all those with broken and contrite spirits wait upon God even today. We (and I always hope that I will be accounted faithful, but I do not yet count myself as having achieved this coveted Crown of Life), yes we repent when we sin, we continue to seek out God’s way and attempt to live in it, we hunger and thirst for his righteousness, but our eyes waste away and grow old with the grief of this life and the enemies of our souls. I know that I feel like David felt in this psalm… do you? I am comforted to think that this identification with David may be one small sign that I too will be considered a man after God’s own heart! Let it be LORD! And so with David I also say,

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Today we live in a desperate time. Man’s institutions are failing everywhere and yet he tries to hold onto power by cowing the people into fear through police state tactics. On the other hand self-proclaimed prophets pronounce doom at every turn and infer that if we do not listen to them then we will not be considered among God’s elect. Balderdash!

Jesus makes things simple for those who will approach him as a child, forsaking their jealous conceits for their own fame and their multitude of hypocrisies.  The Pharisees could not accept him because they were interested more in their selfish glory than in God’s truth. I submit to you that one precept, and one alone, will free us from the cacophony of voices which attempt to beguile us. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

That which I call “the grace heresy” within the church has, to almost a universal extent, prevented believers in Christ from both fearing him and from obeying him. They took the doctrine of grace and turned it into a license to sin while, at the same time, they began to call Jesus their best friend or their lover. I can tell you by abiding in Jesus’ word for 35 years that he is not the “best friend” of those who practice lawlessness, and he by no means counts himself the “lover” of those who do licentiousness.

The teacher in Ecclesiastes tells us that our first duty toward God is to fear him. Jesus told us the same thing. He said, “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28 KJV) The men of this world can kill our bodies and they use this fear of death to corral us into their molds. Jesus warned us not to fear them; they cannot destroy our souls.  Fear God instead. But, what is the fear of God? I can’t see him; can you? I can’t hear him; can you?

Wait, actually I can both see and hear God. When I look into the clear blue sky I see God’s lovely creation. When I smell the blossoming rose or the purple iris I breathe God’s creation. When I hear the wind blow through the leaves of the trees I hear God’s Spirit breathing upon the earth. When I go to the clear, flowing Current River and its tributary springs I see, hear, and smell God’s lovely works. When I abide in Christ’s word by reading the Bible I hear God’s voice. When I hear God’s voice I suddenly have faith that what he says is true and then I also know, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”  (Psalms 111:10 KJV)

So again, what does it mean to fear God? I think Isaiah gives us a good idea in chapter 33 of his book.

Woe to you that plunder, and you were not plundered; and deal treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with you! when you shall cease to plunder, you shall be plundered; and when you shall make an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with you. O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for you: be their [our] arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of yourself the nations were scattered. And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them. The LORD is exalted; for he dwells on high: he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of your times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. Behold, their valiant ones shall cry outside: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceases: he has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he regards no man. The earth mourns and languishes: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I rise, says the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. You shall conceive chaff, you shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. Hear, you that are afar off, what I have done; and, you that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that keeps his hands from the holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the fortresses of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Your eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. Your heart shall meditate the terror. Where is the scribe? where is the one who weighs? where is he that counts the towers? You shall not see a fierce people, a people of a more obscure speech than you can perceive; of a stammering tongue, that you can not understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: your eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of its stakes shall ever be removed, neither shall any of its cords be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; in which shall go no galley with oars, neither shall majestic ships pass by. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Your tackle are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great plunder divided; the lame take the prey. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell in it shall be forgiven their iniquity. (Isaiah 33:1-24 KJ2000)

This passage distinguishes between those who steal and act treacherously versus those who wait upon the LORD.  Isaiah then defines the fear of the LORD by telling us that this fear is his treasure. This means that the fear of the LORD equals God’s treasure. What is God’s treasure? Just as men do, so does God fill his house with his treasure. In the above passage God calls his house Zion. The Book of Revelation calls it New Jerusalem. Hebrews tells us that we are his house. Isaiah tells us above in verse 5 that God fills his house with justice and righteousness. Solomon teaches that “the fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13 KJV)

Thus to fear God is to love justice and righteousness. The terms justice and righteousness define all of God’s ways. When we love his ways, then we make those ways part of our lives; his ways become our treasures. When we treasure God’s ways, then we keep his commandments because those very precepts have become part of our nature. Therefore if you love justice and righteousness, then you do fear God. You will be one of those who help restore the foundations when God decrees the time, and that time is near. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man!