We saw in yesterday’s post that God established one law to be observed by natural born Israelites and aliens from other nations which wanted to become part of God’s chosen nation. God referred to his one law as follows:

And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. (Exodus 12:48-49 KJV)

God purposed to teach his people several things from this one law. The basic principles he wanted to establish were the following:

1) First, God established that he is a holy God and that he may not be approached by anyone stained with the filthiness of the sins of the flesh. First, in order to teach this principle, he commanded Moses to build a tabernacle. The tabernacle itself was built in three sections, and outer court where the general public of Israel could offer their sacrifices, a “holy place” behind a veil which only priests could enter into in order to minister to God, and a “most holy place” behind a second veil symbolizing actual identification with and perfection before God. Concerning this tabernacle Hebrews says,

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

2) Second, the one law established a system of sacrifices which prophetically portrayed five different spiritual goals and potential realities. God gave instructions concerning these five specific and different types of sacrifices in Leviticus 1-5.

a) The fifth offering, the one introduced in Leviticus chapter five, is the first one we apprehend in our approach to God. It is the “trespass” offering one makes because he is ashamed of his sins. It is the offering of repentance for sin. This is the first thing that person does when he comes to true faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

b) Leviticus chapter four deals with the “sin offering,” and offering made for having committed “unintentional” sins. The fact that a sin offering was made, however, implies that the offeror had recently come into a knowledge of his sin. This speaks of the ongoing nature of our relationship with God. “To whom much is given much is required.” (Luke 12:48) As a believer continues his journey with God he will come to understand more of God’s truth. With truth comes accountability. Mature believers are responsible for greater holiness before God than the babe in Christ.

c) The peace, the grain, and the burnt offerings, those offering commanded in Leviticus 3, 2, and 1 all teach about God’s sovereignty. God requires us to obey Him, yet He wants us to do so willingly and not under compulsion. The idea of willing obedience presents us with another one of the great tensions or mysteries of Scripture, man’s free will versus God’s sovereignty. This also brings us to the distinction between the Old and New Covenants. Under Moses’ law, or the Old Covenant, strict obedience to God’s Law established fellowship with God. This covenant failed and history proves that man cannot obey God from his own strength. On the other hand, the New Covenant teaches that fellowship with God, by faith in Jesus Christ, brings us into obedience to Him. God Himself, sovereignly by His Spirit, moves us to believe in and obey Him. At this time, however, even under the New Covenant we cannot perfectly obey God. We still live in carnal bodies of flesh.

The third altar sacrifice is the “peace offering” and was offered as “food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma” to God. (Lev. 3:16) This offering corresponds to a believer’s trusting walk with God in the assurance of faith that he stands clean before God. Having repented of all known intentional and unintentional sins, as represented by the trespass and sin offerings, he now walks in peace with God. Leviticus 7:11-21 reveals that the peace offering was offered for “thanksgiving,” (vs. 12), or as a “vow or voluntary offering.” (vs. 16). Davidwrites, “I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your Name, O Lord, for it is good.” (Psalm 54:6) Hebrews proclaims, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Heb 13:15) The peace offering foretells true praise and worship of God, offered thankfully and voluntarily by His own people. The peace offering also speaks of the purpose, or goal, of true worship, which is to convey our love to our Beloved.

d) Moses announced the grain offering second in Leviticus, but this is now the fourth offering we will study. The grain offering represented both a voluntary and a mandatory offering. The firstfruits aspect of the offering, Lev. 2:12-16, had to be offered by each Israelite according to Exodus 23:19 and 34:26. Other grain offerings could be made as freewill offerings. These were made by free choice, not compulsion. The grain offering, therefore, speaks of voluntary obedience to God. It means that we desire the ways of God from our heart! When the grain offering was offered voluntarily, not like a tithe or a tax, it became a “sweet aroma to the Lord.” (Lev. 2:2). This conveys the preciousness in God’s sight of the one who willingly lays down his life for his God in a life of joyful obedience. However, the mandatory firstfruits offering “shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma.” (Lev. 2:12) Mandatory obedience does not bring the same reward or render the same “flavor” as willing obedience. This is one lesson of law versus grace, the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant. “And the law is not of faith, but `the man who does them shall live by them.’” (Gal. 3:4) Does the life of grace, then, nullify the law? Paul asked this same question and answered emphatically, “Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3:31) The law is holy and good, says Paul. It is an instructor that teaches us the ways of God and leads us to Christ. (Gal. 3:24)

When we must obey a strict set of rules to please God, we find ourselves under law, but this is not bad or evil. It simply is not the best way. One of the purposes of the law is to train us to want to live God’s way. It is when we voluntarily obey God because we love Him and His ways that we fully live by grace and faith. This was as true in Old Testament days as it is in New Testament times. This ability to voluntarily obey, however, comes from the Holy Spirit. Grace describes life by the Spirit of God and comprises a major theme of Paul’s books. Before we believed in Jesus as our Savior, we possessed no power to serve God. We owned no independent desire to obey Him. After we believed in Him and received the “earnest” of the Holy Spirit, however, we held within us the seed of the power to obey Him. The problem then became one of exercising our own will to obey Him by and through His power in us. God desires that which indwells our spirit, the Holy Spirit, to affect our souls (mind, will, and emotions). The voluntary nature of the grain offering represents a transition in the Christian life from mandatory obedience to Gods Law to voluntary obedience. Here we learn that we obey Him because we desire to obey Him. Ultimately this desire even comes from God and evidences His sovereignty over us because it originates from the Spirit within us. Now we find that we want to obey Him because our will aligns with His. We come to know His ways as right, full of peace, and the best way to live.

This also illustrates the difference between the Old and New Covenants. Under the Old Covenant we approach God and can only fellowship with Him by obeying His commands. In
the New Covenant we obtain fellowship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. Then He gives us His gift of the Holy Spirit which enables us to begin to obey His commands. In other words, obedience does not bring fellowship, but fellowship brings obedience. Even so, God still requires our wills to become molded to His. In essence our “free will” becomes His will and
ultimately we will only do what we see our Father doing. This is the mystery of sanctification and growing in Godliness.

e) Moses first expounds the burnt offering in Leviticus 1. The burnt offering was the only offering wherein fire consumed the entire body of the sacrificial beast. Nothing remained to be eaten. The burnt offering represents an offering for God’s consumption alone, but Psalm 50 makes it clear that God is not really concerned about eating cattle and sheep. The Law is prophetic and so is every single offering God required.

 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5 Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 6 Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces, 7 and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 And Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; 9 but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering[a] with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. (Leviticus 1:3-9)

Believers presented this offering “at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting” because it specifically represented Jesus Christ. Jesus is, was, and always will be our only way into the tabernacle of God. The fact that the offeror “lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering” symbolized the transfer of the offeror’s sin to Christ and Christ’s atonement to the sinner. This offering also made a “sweet aroma” to God because of the voluntary nature of Christ’s sacrifice that it represented. This offering does not represent our initial salvation, but instead denotes the goal of our faith which is conformity to the image of Christ. We reach this goal only through faith in Christ’s atonement and the gift of the Holy Spirit working out His salvation through us. We must never lose sight of this truth.

The burnt offering represents total identification with Christ. It is a picture of offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God, of voluntarily giving up our lives (souls) in this world so that we may gain a better a resurrection. (to be continued…)

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?”

The third song of ascent begins,

I rejoiced in those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house[b] of Yahweh.”

Now we have reached the third step of ascent. Now we begin to gain a glimpse of what God calls us to. All of us rejoice when we first repent of our sins and believe in Jesus as our Savior. Most of us believe at that time that heaven is surely ours because most of the Church erroneously believes that once a person believes he immediately becomes the “Bride of Christ” and will automatically be raptured into the presence of God at some point in the future.  The question presented here, though, is will we take the step toward the “House of God” or not? Will we continue to ascend into the actual presence of God, or will we return like a dog to our vomit (to the ways of the world)?

I have a sense that I may not be able to finish writing about these songs of ascent before something occurs which prevents me. I want to encourage all you readers to purchase the English Standard Version “Classic Reference Bible” this week so that you can continue studying and taking these steps of ascent in faith. This particular Bible has the best references I have ever seen. They do not always take me to the place I think I should go, but often they take me to verses which add light to the one at hand. Such is the case with the references given to Psalm 122:1. First it takes us to Isaiah 2:3. This passage reads,

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. (Isaiah 2:2-5, ESV)

Isaiah’s prophesy deals with the “latter days,” these days. It concerns the “mountain of the house of the LORD,” the mountain you and I now climb as we ascend into God’s presence. The ESV’s second reference is to Micah 4:2 which is an exact quote of this passage from Isaiah. These passages tell us that the house of the LORD is a “mountain.” Yesterday I suggested that that mountain is Mount Zion which is also called Jerusalem. The Book of Revelation reveals that its name is actually “New Jerusalem” and is a spiritual city rather than a natural one.

The Book of Hebrews also sheds light on this “house” saying,

Therefore, holy brothers,[a] you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s[b] house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.[c] (Hebrews 3:1-6 ESV)

To take this third step we must identify with Christ and his Father in that we ourselves belong to the same house, the same family. We must see ourselves as having been created in his image and as now being conformed to his perfect stature. To take this third step we must move beyond the elementary doctrines of Jesus Christ and embrace the teaching about righteousness. Remember the words of John,

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[f] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 2:28-3:3, ESV)

This third step is the critical step for this is the necessary step of moving on into the maturity of a son of God. Thirty five years of walking with God has taught me that most Christians never take this step. When you take this step you will begin to be called “legalistic” or “judgmental.” This step is the step of separation, the step out of Mystery Babylon and truly toward God’s House, New Jerusalem. Thus the Psalmist declares, ² Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem—

It is at this point that God begins to reveal Jerusalem (spiritual Jerusalem, New Jerusalem) to us, saying,

³ Jerusalem that is built
as a city that is joined together,
⁴ where the tribes go up,
the tribes of Yah^[c] as a testimony for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
⁵ For there the thrones sit^[d] for judgment,
thrones of David’s house.
⁶ Pray^[e] for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be at ease.
⁷ May peace be within your walls,
security within your palaces.”
⁸ For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
⁹ For the sake of the house^[f] of Yahweh our God,
I will seek your good. (Psalm 122, Lexham English Bible)

The first two steps in our ascent to finally behold our God demand that we revisit the very foundations of our Christianity. We must examine ourselves without guile and hypocrisy and repent of our sins. And we must continue walking by and in faith in God. The third step takes us beyond the elementary doctrines of Christ to consider the very goal of our salvation, the city we sojourn toward, New Jerusalem.

When most people consider this psalm they think of the old city of Jerusalem in the Middle East. When they read verse six they mechanically pray that God will bring perpetual peace to that besieged carnal city. There was a time, the time when God still dwelt in ancient Israel, when this prayer did apply to natural, old Jerusalem. That time is long past. Today this prayer, like the entire 122nd psalm, concerns New Jerusalem. Today we choose: do we remain in man’s city of Babylon or do we take the third step, separating ourselves from Babylon and climbing up toward our new house, our new city, New Jerusalem?

I believe the songs of ascent deal with preparing God’s people to ascend into his presence just as Moses ascended into the mountain burning with fire. But, why is this the first of these songs? What is it about Psalm 120 which demands that it be placed first among the steps into the presence of God?

As I thought about this I noticed that the psalm which precedes Psalm 120 sings the praises of God’s Law for 176 verses. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and includes profound insights into the grace and loveliness of God’s Law. Anyone who has not yet learned to love God’s Law will not be able to begin the ascent into his presence we must now begin. Again, if you do not already love his law then you cannot begin to ascend into God’s presence. In that case you should read the series on Psalm 119 which you can find by clicking here.

But even if you do love God’s Law you realize that you fail abysmally to obey it. That is what Psalm 120 is all about. This first song of ascent deals with understanding your personal condition, a qualification for continuing the climb up the ladder to God’s throne.

The psalm begins, saying,

In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
² Deliver me, O Lord,
    from lying lips,
    from a deceitful tongue.

Until reading this psalm yesterday I had always believed that the psalmist was praying and asking God to deliver him from the lying lips and deceitful tongues which constantly assaulted him. Interestingly, my wife had also seen these verses the same way. This morning she asked me why this was the first song of ascent and as I began to explain it to her I told her that I now believed that verse deals with our lips and tongues, my lips, my tongue. She said, “When I read this verse this morning that’s the way I read it too. Until then I had always read this as applying to other people.”

So, the first key to understand this song, the first necessary requirement for ascending the ladder into God’s presence, is to rightly judge ourselves, to take the plank out of our own eyes. Although I want to walk perfectly in truth my lips and tongue still do not perfectly obey my inmost desire. Therefore, in my distress at my continuing imperfection I cry out to the LORD, and he answers me,

What shall be given to you,
    ^(B)and what more shall be done to you,
    you deceitful tongue? (Psalm 120:3)

And I say, “I don’t know LORD. You know.” And he says,

^(C)A warrior’s ^(D)sharp arrows,
    with glowing ^(E)coals of the broom tree!

“What is that, LORD, I ask.”

“Search the Scriptures and find out,” he replies.

So I found the reference to the warrior’s sharp arrows in Psalm 45, a glorious song the Bride of Christ, God’s overcomers, sings to her King, her God, her Mighty One. The Bride says,

In your majesty ^(I)ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
    let your right hand teach you ^(J)awesome deeds!
⁵ Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king’s enemies;
    the peoples fall under you. (Ps. 45:4-5)

Psalm 119 is all about understanding and coming to love this King’s truth, meekness, and righteousness. Yet, we all continue to fail miserably in walking in those ways. In that sense, even though we believe in Jesus, we (our flesh and carnal souls) remain enemies of God. And so this King-Warrior shoots his arrows into our hearts in order to change our hearts, to make them like his pure and perfect heart. Job said,

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. (Job 6:4 KJV)

Job knew that God ordered all things that came to him. Although we may chaff at the judgments of God against us we must remember that he disciplines the son which he loves. So, the arrows of God represent his disciplines in the life of the one who would go up the steps to see him as he is. But, what if we actually do see God? Yes, what then? Shall we die as Isaiah feared when he saw the Almighty? This is why he provides the coals of the broom tree as well as his arrows. Isaiah says,

In the year that ^(A)King Uzziah died I ^(B)saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train^[a] of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had^(C)six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

⁴ And ^(F)the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and ^(G)the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! ^(H)For I am lost; ^(I)for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the^(J)King, the Lord of hosts!”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ And he ^(K)touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:1-7)

Isaiah correctly saw himself. He knew he was unworthy to see God and to stand in his presence. Thus he bemoans his carnal self, his unclean lips. He realizes that he and all he dwells with cannot dwell with God in their current condition. Neither can we, and we must realize this. We must desire the baptism of fire which burning coals upon our lips represents. Isaiah describes it further, saying,

This is our first step of ascent, understanding our present personal carnal, sinful condition, and the condition of an entire world which can never come into the presence of God.  Until we understand this and take this first step we can never ascend unto his throne.

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,

First, I want you to read all of 2 Peter 3.

3 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us,^[a] the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,^[b]not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.^[c] 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Be Steadfast

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (2 Peter 3, NKJV)

As you all know this passage deals with the times we now live in and, in particular, with the second coming of Christ. I want you to pay particular attention to verse 12. How is it that we Christians can “hasten” the coming of the LORD?

Remember that Jesus made it very clear that he would save every one of his sheep. Will he or will he not? Was Judas one of his sheep? I submit to you that he was not. He did not overcome in the time allotted to him. He followed the deceits of Satan and he failed. He became a “son of perdition” even as most who walk the earth today are.

The Bible was not written to save men’s spirits. By Christ’s sacrificial death on the tree he effected spiritual salvation for all men. The Bible was written in order to bring men to faith in Jesus Christ so that they could “receive power to become sons of God.” (John 1:12) God sent his prophets so that a man might save his soul. Ezekiel makes it very clear that all men will know that God is God after they die, just as the men in “prison” so understood when Jesus went to preach to them after his crucifixion. That is not the issue. God sent his word so that men would repent and seek his face before their death. Only then could they save their souls, become an overcomer, and one day be accounted a true son of God.

Peter speaks directly to overcomers in his books, just as do all God’s prophets, for they are the only ones who hear. Peter warns overcomers to get their acts together and so hasten the return of Christ. Have you considered that you, yes you, could actually be hindering the coming of Christ. Is that why his coming seems so late? Peter says we each ought to be persons of holy conduct and godliness. Are we?

What do we watch on television, the movies, or the internet? What do we say in private? Do we charge others interest when we loan them money? What do we set our minds upon when we are not acting religious? Do we still gossip and slander our neighbor? Do we prioritize making money rather than making ourselves holy?

Jesus will lose none of his sheep. Are you one of his sheep? Are you still lagging behind the fold, caught up in the ways of the world? Have you refused to leave Babylon and all her pleasures? If so, I suggest to you that you are delaying the coming of Christ.

Yesterday the prophetess (my wife) warned me that we were allowing dissipation in our home by allowing our 21 and 23 year old children to watch movies on the internet. They always think their choices are good and they assure us they “speed up” or “skip” any inappropriate parts. She suggested that we begin again to read the Bible or other good books after dinner as a family, or to sing psalms. “Where do we draw the line,” I said. Do we just begin to eat locusts and wild honey as did John the Baptist, the greatest among men?”

I do not have all the answers, but I do know the prophetess was right. We began to read a new book together and will continue with making changes. It is easy to settle into bad habits that do not glorify or exalt Christ. I am not putting a law on you telling you what you must do. Each of us must be led of the Holy Spirit so that we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD Jesus and so hasten his coming.

I believe that Jesus is waiting now until each one of his sheep is ready. Are you one of his sheep?

Like all Jesus’ stories and all the historical accounts of the Bible, the book of Esther tells a prophetic parable. Christians teach that Jesus used parables to simplify truth. Not so. He used parables to hide the truth so that people who did not really seek God nor love his ways would be always seeing, but never perceiving, and always hearing, but never understanding. Esther is the last of the historical canon of Scripture for a reason. This book concerns the end times, the times we now live in.

Many clues lead me to say this. The book begins during the reign of King Ahasuerus who rules over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, that is, from the Far East to the shores of the western continent of Africa. This was a world-wide empire. According to The Bible Wheel the number 127 represents “The King of Glory,” the LORD God himself. Ahasuerus thus represents God the Father, the King of Glory, who rules all creation.

Next we see that the events told of occur in “the third year of his reign.” Usually Scripture speaks of “the third day,” which prophetically foretells the third millennium after Christ’s birth, crucifixion, and glorification, the exact time we now live in. I believe “the third year” referenced here in Esther 1:3 speaks of the same thing. This idea is reinforced by the king’s banquet which lasted seven days that we see in verse 5. Prophetically, the 3rd day and the 7th day speak of the same millennial “day” reign of Christ. Just as we have now entered the 3rd day after Christ’s earthly appearance, so have we entered the 7th day after God’s creation of Adam and the entire world. Thus Esther begins with a prophetic picture of God ruling the world at the beginning of the seventh thousand years of earth’s history. But, in addition to this, I believe that the Day of the LORD began in the spring of 2010 with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. If that is true, then we are now in the “third year” of the Day of the LORD and the things foretold in the Book of Esther are about to be fulfilled. (This is not a “Thus says the LORD;” this is my perspective of where we are in time based upon 35 years of Bible study, prayer, seeking the LORD, and observing the events of these days)

It is at this time that God calls his queen, his bride, to come into his presence and show herself to all his subjects. This is to be a time of rejoicing, a wedding feast, but the bride, represented by Vashti in the parable, does not appear. Why not? She has become arrogant and presumptuous, even to the point of taking her husband for granted and disobeying his direct commands.

And so is it today with the multitude who call themselves by the name of Christ and presume to be “the Bride of Christ.” Christians have given themselves to every sort of harlotry, just as prophesied by all the prophets. See especially Isaiah 28 and Revelation 2:18-29 which speak of the church at this time in history. Biblically Vashti equates to Jezebel who leads the church  astray with her lawlessness, fornication, and following demons and demonic manifestations in the name of Christ and his Holy Spirit. Most of those today who presume to be the Bride actually consist of the harlot who rides the beast that we see in Revelation 17-18. Because she refuses the LORD’s call to holiness and purity he banishes her from his face.

Esther herself, then, represents the true bride of Christ, the one who replaces Vashti, the false and proud one who presumes to be his bride. But, who is Mordecai? Mordecai represents God’s overcomers, the manchild, the son of God who we see birthed in Revelation 12. This group’s commission soon begins when he will teach and prepare the true bride, Esther, who will at the same time be divided from her false brethren and moved to a secure place in “the wilderness.”

¹³ And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued ^(A)the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ But the woman was given the two ^(B)wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent ^(C)into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished ^(D)for a time, and times, and half a time. (Revelation 12:13-14)

The manchild nourishes the woman with all she needs, with respect both to natural provisions and spiritual truth regarding her calling which she so long ignored. God divides the faithful woman, Esther (the true Bride of Christ), by his own spiritual sword. We see a picture of this in Ezekiel 21:1-5. All of Ezekiel 21 is about to be fulfilled.

21 ^[a] The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)set your face toward Jerusalem and ^(C)preach against the sanctuaries.^[b] Prophesy against the land of Israel ³ and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: ^(D)Behold, I am against you and will draw ^(E)my sword from its sheath and ^(F)will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. ^5 (G)And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn ^(H)my sword from its sheath; ^(I)it shall not be sheathed again. (Ezekiel 21:1-5, ESV)

Satan, of course, attempts to destroy all of God’s people he can find on the earth at this time and is represented in this end-time parable by Haman. First, he tries to destroy the manchild, represented by Mordecai. Then he devises plans to destroy all God’s people. As the book progresses we see Haman hanged by his own devise of destruction and the people of Israel, who represent faithful Christians, rout and destroy all of their enemies who intended to kill them instead. And so shall the end of this age be as God fulfills his promises to his servant David and makes all of his enemies ashes under his feet.