Sometimes it’s hard to put ourselves in the shoes or sandals of people who lived in Biblical times. The world has changed a lot since then as far as technology goes but human nature, not so much. This however in my opinion is not the key problem to identifying with the ‘faith of our Scriptural Fathers and Mothers’ so much as we are looking back on them seeing the end of their story hence we miss a lot of drama of the in between. It’s easy to judge the disciples and their lack of faith at times because we know that Yeshua was going to not only die but be resurrected in an eternal body; all they knew was their leader/ hoped for Messiah seemed to hint at something not so great happening to Him and since they couldn’t see beyond the Roman crosses dotting the Judean hills they couldn’t even dream of resurrection, at least not in the way Yeshua seemed to be indicating. Sure they had seen Lazarus raised but they knew he was going to die again so perhaps it seemed to them a mere hyper extension of healing not an eternal life issue. For them life under the Roman shadow was all they could see for their lives on earth, they had hope of life after but then who can really comprehend what all that will entail? How can you hope for much less base your life on something that you can’t even begin to comprehend, something that seems to go beyond your wildest dreams? You may talk about it, even preach it but when it comes to living it well that takes a bit more; that takes knowledge, real heartfelt, mind acquiescent, soul sold out knowledge. In Hoshea 4:6 Abba says His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge that they have actually rejected knowledge. At this point I know many would start a debate on what knowledge should be perpetuated and what rejected, most who know me know that He speaks to me through diverse ways from physics to neuroscience, to movies, books, butterflies, birds, fish, children, (no particular order intended in my very non comprehensive list) and He even speaks to me through my own writings, often writings I’ve done years earlier, that I had forgotten about and couldn’t even fathom what the situation was at the time that I was impelled to write; other times I do remember but I know looking back that I had only a part then and what I have added in knowledge now takes me much further down the road in understand what He was speaking to me then and now.
Sunday I spoke using Moshe’s blessing to Benjamin found in Deut. 33:12. The crux of this message had come from Abba having me revisit a word given to me for Kathy (used to be Boyd now Ruiz, woo-hoo) about Him dwelling between her shoulders two years ago. Ruach (the Spirit) told me to find out the context the promise was set in which I had not done originally or so I thought. (I had actually done a bit of research on it which would become apparent to me when the set up was revealed but as previously posited I had no idea of the impact that it would cause for now at the time of the original promise being given.) The re-visitation first began because it was the Feast of Tabernacles and the Deut. Scriptures would fall under the required reading for this time period. I read it for that reason and went ‘whoa, I had no idea or at least no remembrance of this being part of Moshe’s blessing’ and that made me revisit Jacob’s blessing to his sons, and there is quite a contrast in some of the words, what a difference time makes in prophetic words, what grace Abba has in, man I say morphing the words, as we morph in His grace; promises which seemed applicable when originally given can later be seen to mean something far greater and deeper than we could have known when first they were given to us. In the reexamining this promise to Kathy I saw more than the fact that Abba promised to dwell between her shoulders where the tumor was but that the first glance of who the promise was made to (Benjamin) was comparable. Kathy never had thought much about herself, she would have easily seen herself as a ‘least tribe’. The Benjaminites were the smallest tribe in Israel and again at first glance would seem not to have great significance. Admit it how many sermons do you hear based on Benjamin? We have the ‘send Judah first’,’ that Yeshua was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, we have messages on Joseph and his being a foreshadowing of Messiah, on the Levites and the priesthood… but Ben? Not so much is said. Sounds like most of our lives we know we are part of a bigger picture a grand and glorious plan but our part seems not too much worth listening. We hear others testimonies and think wow, they’ve really lived a faith filled life, or a miraculous life or..it always sounds better than our pea patch life seems to. But what if we were missing? No, I’m not thinking It’s A Wonderful Life but about a time in the life of the tribe of Benjamin when they almost went missing from the ranks of the 12. You will find the story in Judges 20 and 21 (this story does not correlate to my Kathy comparison). Some Benjaminites committed a heinous crime and the other tribes swear vengeance which nearly destroys the entire Benjaminite family, the others have also sworn a pact not to allow their daughters to marry any of the remaining Benjaminites which would have insured the entire tribe’s future demise. However they would realize that this was not a good thing for one to go missing and well they came up with some innovative ways of solving the problem of the oath uttered in anger. How could this tribe which had been given such a wonderful promise of being loved by Abba and being His dwelling place come so near annihilation? It’s part of the messy middle between promise and fulfillment. Mostly the messy middle is where we seem to live. Does this have to be where it seems we dwell the most? Depends, if you are waiting for the Rapture then you will live in the middle cause that comes at the end of this time for the believers. Don’t believe in the Rapture? Then you might be waiting for the Tribulation/antichrist and again that’s at the end so you’re stuck in the middle. If however you are in an intimate relationship with Yeshua and being led by Ruach as He reveals Abba’s will on earth then you just might be able to live going from glory to glory. No, I do not expect everything to seem like glory but you can live in Romans 8:18 reckoning now that any present sufferings are merely a birth pang for the glory being revealed in us. Okay I am strolling along now and need to get back to the main thrust of the thought process driving me, the Royal set up. The tribe of Ben would indeed be the dwelling place of Abba for they would inherit Moriah aka Temple Mount (Joshua 18) before it was Temple mount and when it came time for the dwelling place of Abba to be built tadah, Ben’s place gets the nod. Ben’s inheritance was between Judah’s and Joseph’s not such bad middle ground for the youngest tribe to inherit. They had been royally set up. We have no record of Ben seeking this promise or deserving it for that matter but Abba who sees the end from the beginning and all the in between has plans which prophetic words revealed in season may startle us with His grace and glory. It is also an interesting note that the possessors of Moriah, the Jebusites, weren’t kicked out by Ben’s effort but a stronger big brother, from the tribe of Judah, called David (eventually King David and that’s another really Royal set up), took them on and kicked them out. Way to go big brothers.
Our big Brother, Yeshua, was first spoken of in a prophetic word given to Eve (Gen 3:15), now at that time she really had no conception that a Messiah was being promised who would be Abba’s own Son, she just knew there was hope of defeating this enemy that had caused a breech between Adam, herself and Abba. Some posit when Seth was born she thought he would be the fulfillment of this promise. He was a good start toward that in that it says when his son Enos was born that men began to call on the name of the Lord. It would be a long time coming; this fulfillment of the promise of Messiah, yet Abba did not leave them with merely the promise to Eve but over and over gave whoever cared to understand the royal set up with many prophetic words about Messiah given to many prophets. Our inheritance would be obtained by Him but the people in the pre-birth times did not have to live in constant frustration of in between not if they put to use the prophetic in the context of their times. There would be many foreshadowing, I will call them mini fulfillments of words (the principle of reoccurrence) given by Ruach to the prophets, one could either go ‘rats, it’s not over’ or one could go ‘woo-hoo, look what He’s saying/doing now that is going to come in fullness in the right time’. Is. 49 gives wonderful Messianic prophetic words, that He was called from His mother’s womb. In verse 4 He says it seems as if His labor has been in vain but that He would leave that judgment up to Abba. Yesterday Abba spoke to my heart telling me when it seems like we’re not accomplishing anything, no discernable fruits that it might just be that it is not a fallow time but a time when we are laying up treasures in heaven, that can’t be seen now but do effect our now. Looking back there is no question now that though it might have appeared as if Yeshua’s work was falling short of the Messianic prophecies as verses 5 and 6 show He was being Royally set up. Verse 5 says though Israel was not gathered in at that time He would be glorious because according to verse 6 it was but a little thing to be given the task of bringing back the tribes of Jacob, His plan was for Him to be a light to the nations, a global impact. This did not diminish Israel’s importance but was a surpassing of all expectation with a worldwide vision. How often do we only envision our loved ones saved and healed, our city impacted maybe you even hope for your nation but ahh, lift up your eyes the world is His dream, go ahead reach your family, reach out to your city but always with the global vision of what that can do for the nations.
Was David royally disappointed that he would not get to build the Temple? Somehow I think not, not when Abba told him He was going to build him a house that would endure forever. Dave had been Royally set up.
Let me bring this a little closer to home and bring my beginning thoughts in this writing to full (for now) circle. The prophetic word for Kathy given is not merely a promise concerning the cancer but to a hearts cry that she has had for as long as I’ve known her and I’m sure for much longer than that. She has often quoted certain Scriptures since coming to join us one is Is. 54:2 a prophetic word that we were to be stretched out tents, she has also often spoken of us being pillars in the Temple (Rev. 3:2). Little did she realize when these desires began that she would be stretched so far nor become such a pillar of strength (yeah she would shake her head at me for that but it’s true) to support the work Abba is doing now. Her desires then being unfolded in ways that she couldn’t have understood then; but this did not stop her from proclaiming and looking for the fulfillment in her time then nor has she stopped now.
Are we there yet? Yes and not quite. Yes, we are at the time of mini fulfillments which will lead to a greater one but we are determined to celebrate, to victory dance on the hills we’ve taken now knowing (having knowledge so we do not perish waiting for the ultimate fulfillment) that the ultimate purposes for those hills has not yet unfolded. We are learning to walk in the shadow of perfect fulfillment which actually sheds light on the now we walk in, to be tabernacled with Him not bemoaning the lack of a Temple (which by the way He never asked for anyway). We are beginning to walk in more knowing than in just believing (there is a subtle difference in the two) which brings such peace with it (I can attest to that in personal experience).
During the Feast of Tabernacles Kathy married Henry a mini fulfillment of a greater wedding yet to take place when Yeshua comes for us His bride. Her search for Messiah gave her Henry along the way. Our search for His dwelling place has made us dwelling places for Him to a greater extent than we could have anticipated, our battles have won hills for others, our dance has freed others feet from fetters of doubt, the prophetic words given to us have enlarged our hearts to leave no one behind, to see no tribe demolished but restored, to be open to all of Abba’s revealed word and apply it now and anticipate more.
We have been Royally set up and we are loving Him for it!
k
