One with God the Father, Jesus & one another, chapter 16
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Remember Jesus spoke in parables so majorities wouldn’t understand. Parable of a poor and rich man’s plight was; ‘one went to Abraham, the other to a place of torment, so he ask that Lazarus be sent to his father’s house, so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ (Luke 16:29-31; But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ The rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’) So it is, Jesus came and warned of sin’s result. Not only that, Jesus was the Deliverer of Israel through Moses, and shared the same with him for His chosen people.
(Exodus 14:1-4; The Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites that they must turn and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you are to camp by the sea before Baal Zephon opposite it. Pharaoh will think regarding the Israelites, ‘They are wandering around confused in the land – the desert has closed in on them.’ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them. I will gain honor because of Pharaoh and because of all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So this is what they did.’ When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming after them they were fearful. (Remember ‘Israel’ means ‘God fights.’
(Exodus 14:13-31; Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you can be still.” The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on. And as for you, lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. And as for Me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will come after them, that I may be honored because of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I have gained My honor because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.) After they crossed, the Lord said: “extend your hand toward the sea so that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!” So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state when the sun began to rise. Now the Egyptians were fleeing before it, but the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea – not so much as one of them survived! But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. So the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. When Israel saw the great power that the Lord had exercised over the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.)
What does it take for some to believe IN the Lord? Remember the apostle Thomas? What did Jesus say to him before His ascension? (John 20:29; Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.)
After wondering 40 years the Lord God was about to deliver the Israelites across the Jordan to the land promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Lord God appeared in a cloud informing Moses that he was about to die and after his death the Israelites would corrupt themselves. Call a meeting with Joshua; “I will commission him.” God knew the Israelites’ intentions, what they and all people have in mind today, even before He would deliver them to the land I have promised.” Moses called a meeting and said; (Deut 31:27-31; “for I know about your rebellion and stubbornness. Indeed, even while I have been living among you to this very day, you have rebelled against the Lord; you will be even more rebellious after my death! Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. For I know that after I die you will totally corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly before the Lord, inciting Him to anger because of your actions.” Then Moses recited the words of this song from start to finish in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel.) Note the prophetic words in the following song.
(Exodus 15:1-4; Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea. The Lord7 is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him, My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is His name. The chariots of Pharaoh and his army He has thrown into the sea, and His chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them, they went down to the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power, your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. In the abundance of Your majesty You have overthrown those who rise up against You. You sent forth Your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. By the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.”
“The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders?
“You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them. By Your loyal love You will lead the people whom You have redeemed; You will guide them by Your strength to Your holy dwelling place. The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake. Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as stone Until Your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom You have bought pass by.”
You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance,
in the place you made for your residence, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever! For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.”
“Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand-drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dances. Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.”
“Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days into the desert, and found no water. Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.) So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What can we drink?” He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord made for them a binding ordinance, and there He tested them. He said, “If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and pay attention to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.”
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.)
God knows the intent of hearts and nations. When God isn’t directly involved, people become vulnerable to demonic divisions and to what seems right to their inherited from Adam nature. That Lord God speaking to Moses was Jesus, and He came as prophesied and proclaimed that His words would be our judge.
(John 12:44-50; But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in the One who sent Me, and the one who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me should not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My words and does not obey them. I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not accept My words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. For I have not spoken from My own authority, but the Father Himself who sent Me has commanded Me what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told Me.)
The Father’s command is that we believe IN His Son and His words will Judge us “at the last day.” Jesus is revealed to many now, and during His millennial reign, He will be revealed to the world. Seemingly many will reject Him. Now back to Paul’s summations.
(Acts 13:40-41; Watch out, then, that what is spoken about by the prophets does not happen to you: ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish!) (See Revelations 19:, 20:10-15, & 21:8) God’s ultimate desire for His people is that righteousness and pureness be theirs. It’s what the Father revealed through Jesus. Proofs that the holy scriptures are God inspired are numerous. (David like Abraham, believed in the Lord.)
(Psalms 145:13-21; “Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord supports all who fall, and lifts up all who are bent over. Everything looks to You in anticipation, and you provide them with food on a regular basis. You open your hand, and fill every living thing with the food they desire. The Lord is just in all His actions, and exhibits love in all He does. The Lord is near all who cry out to Him, all who cry out to Him sincerely. He satisfies the desire of His loyal followers; He hears their cry for help and delivers them. The Lord protects those who love Him, but He destroys all the wicked. My mouth will praise the Lord. Let all who live praise His holy name forever!)