Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? will you be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
The above is Jeremiah’s complaint, which comes amid a conversation with the LORD (Jehovah). He is speaking, above in Jeremiah 15:18, of his pain and wound personally reflecting the condition and sentiments of God’s people at larger.
The LORD’s answer comes as follows:
If you return [shuwb], then will I bring you again [shuwb], and you shall stand before [paniym – presence of] me: and if you take forth the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth: let them return [shuwb] unto you; but return [shuwb] not you unto them.
20 And I will make you unto this people a fenced brazen wall: and they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you: for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says the LORD.
21 And I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the hand of the terrible.
The word shuwb, which we’ve often discussed as describing repentance, our returning to the LORD by going back to the point of departure. Its meaning, from the Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, is “to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again.”
It (shuwb), as described above, is a central focus of Christian faith, the sure mercies the LORD promised David, to correct His children when they stray from the right path, and to bring them back to the point of departure. This is the LORD’s long-suffering, through, in, those He chooses and sends, bodies He prepares for Himself, to in them reveal His grace and mercy, which is His glory and presence manifested as God with us. This act must be responded to, as stated above, by separating the “precious from the vile.”
The word “vile” is the nine times used Hebrew word zalal, meaning “to shake (as in the wind), i.e. to quake; figuratively, to be loose morally, worthless or prodigal.” The idea is described in the shaking the comes with the one speaking from heaven (in the firmament where the waters are rightly divided, meaning the words of men are separated from God’s, which they’ve corrupted). These aspects are written of in Hebrews 1, 2, and 12, as the LORD corrects those who, by it, become His prodigal sons returned to Him, as He shakes the world, to remove the things shaken.
This event is enacting the “law of separation,” the “cutting off” described in the Hebrew word karath, meaning “to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces).”
Romans 9
28 For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the LORD make upon the earth.
Isaiah 55
1 Ho, every one that thirsts, come you to the waters, and he that has no money; come you, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfies not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat you that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make [karath – cut] an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you know not, and nations that knew not you shall run unto you because of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he has glorified you.
6 Seek you the LORD while he may be found, call you upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return [shuwb] unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and return [shuwb] not thither, but water the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return [shuwb] unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn [misleaders – grown from neglect] shall come up the fir tree [the chosen, who will feed and nourish], and instead of the brier [misleaders] shall come up the myrtle tree [hadac – those who will trample down the wicked]: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign [‘owth] that shall not be cut off [karath – as in Isaiah 9:14 thru 16, saying “Therefore the LORD will cut off {karath} from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.”].
This “cutting off,” and the “sure mercies” in saving those awakened from the sleep that’s separated them from the Father in the Son, are patterns explained in the first two appearances of the word karath (Genesis 9:11 & 15:18). The first is telling of the bow in the cloud, as the sign the LORD would never again destroy all flesh by this flood of water. The second describes the covenant the LORD made with Abram (Abraham), when the long deep sleep began in the fiery furnace. As discussed many times, Daniel 12 gives us the timing pointing to now as when the sleep ends, of which he also speaks in Daniel 9. There he says it’s as the seventy weeks of desolation caused by the prince, the misleaders in the Reuben type, who caused Messiah (as was Joseph) to be cut off (karath), but not from Himself. There we’re told of its ending in a flood, which is the war of ideas, in which the wickedness of the misleaders ends, and God’s chosen king (Shiloh – of peace) anointed.
Daniel 9
8 O LORD, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
9 To the LORD our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed your law, even by departing, that they might not obey your voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12 And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done upon Jerusalem.
13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand your truth.
14 Therefore has the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he does: for we obeyed not his voice.
15 And now, O LORD our God, that have brought your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have gotten you renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O LORD, according to all your righteousness, I beseech you, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of your servant, and his supplications, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate, for the LORD’s sake.
18 O my God, incline your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our supplications before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies.
19 O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken and do; defer not, for your own sake, O my God: for your city and your people are called by your name.
20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give you skill and understanding.
23 At the beginning of your supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show you; for you are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off [karath], but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Genesis 9
8 And God spoke unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off [karath] any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth [but rather to save those who receive correction].
12 And God said, This is the token [‘owth] of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud [when understanding has left the earth, the light will be rightly divided], and it shall be for a token [‘owth] of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token [‘owth] of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 15
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall your seed be.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought you out of Ur [I pulled you from the flames] of the Chaldees [those who’ve deceived and manipulated the world, and have now destroyed it], to give you this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And he said unto him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds [tsippowr] divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [those who’ve exalted their ways and ideas above God’s] is not yet full.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 In the same day the LORD made [karath – cut] a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt [the rivers of oppression] unto the great [this is great light, contrasted with the great darkness of verse 12] river, the river Euphrates [until these rushing water break forth and are fruitful]:
2 Peter 3
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after 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 the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition [apoleia] of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the LORD as a thousand years [etos], and a thousand years as one day.
9 The LORD is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the LORD will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements [stoicheion – the corrupt foundational ideas and ways of men] shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [stoicheion] shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
15 And account that the longsuffering of our LORD is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him has written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrestle, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction [apoleia – perdition].
17 You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.
Hebrews 12
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction [antilogia – the words of antichrists] of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not you the chastening of the LORD, nor faint when you are rebuked of him:
6 For whom the LORD loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives.
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?
22 But you [by this correction, by removing the vile leaven of corruption] are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living [zao] God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels [who have seen God and are sent to preach His word],
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.
25 See that you refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he has promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 1
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners [in different times and in many different parts] spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things [the fullness – putting the pieces together], by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding [phero – as in phosphoros in 2 Peter 1:19 below] all things by the word [carried the full load of the light] of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high [until now when He again stands with us]:
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels [those to whom he has given His messages in parts] said he at any time, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he brings in the first-begotten into the world, he says, And let all the angels of God worship him [let all their partial messages witness to His glory and presence, as we stand].
7 And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels [messengers] spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness [His correct reading and speaking the Fathers word, as intended when delivered] is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity [those who’ve twisted and perverted God’s truth, and now all truth, and led the world into self-destruction]; therefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the [endless supply of oil, as if God’s word from Elijah] oil of gladness above your fellows.
10 And, You, LORD, in the beginning have laid the foundation [themelioo] of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands:
11 They shall perish; but you remain; and they all shall wax old as does a garment;
12 And as a vesture shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail.
13 But to which of the angels [to which of His messenger] said he at any time, Sit on my right hand [where My power is shown, as rays of light coming from it], until I make your enemies your footstool [until they realize, this is Teman and Paran, the place of the Theophany, when all things are brought together and plainly seen {understood – brought into the light}]?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth [with this word] to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Hebrews 2
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the LORD, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
2 Peter 1
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our LORD Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star [phosphoros] arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 2
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily [secretly, from their own imaginations, create lies] shall bring in damnable [apoleia – that cause them and those who follow their ways to perish] heresies, even denying the LORD that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction [apoleia – perditions].
2 And many shall follow their pernicious [aploeia – the ways that lead to their own destruction] ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of [as it is this day].
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation [apoleia – perishing, perdition] slumbers not.
The word “precious,” in Jeremiah 15:19 above telling of the unshakable things that remain, is the Hebrew word yaqar, meaning valuable.
The following is from the post of 22 January 2019:
1 Samuel 3
1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious [[yakar]] in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for you called me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for you did call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for you did call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call you, that you shall say, Speak, LORD; for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for your servant hears.
11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that hears it shall tingle [tsalal – only used three other times – 2 Kings 21:12, Jeremiah 19:3, and Habakkuk 3:16 – all describing this event, which should make all ears tingle – and the lips quiver of those who it is warning: the house of the corrupted priesthood].
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
Understanding the great depth in these words begins in verse 1 above, in the Hebrew word yaqar, rendered “precious.” It is a thirty-six times used word first appearing here, and lastly in Zechariah 14:6 where it is translated “clear” in telling of the day only known to the LORD, when He comes, and all His saints with Him. Isaiah only uses the word one time, in Isaiah 28:16, where it describes the “precious” cornerstone, laid by the LORD God. We know this is the same stone the becomes our sanctuary, and to all others, a snare.
Isaiah 8
13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hides his face [[paniym – presence]] from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs [[‘owth]] and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwells in mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? [should they be looking] for the living to the dead?
20 [Or] To the law and to the testimony[?]: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Isaiah 28
3 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell [Sheol] are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus says the LORD God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious [yaqar] corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell [Sheol] shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
When Zechariah speaks of the day of the LORD, saying the light shall not be clear (yaqar), nor dark, meaning understating it will not be seen as having any value, neither will it be covered up, because (as 1 Samuel 3:1 says) “there is no open vision.”
Zechariah 14
…and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with you.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear [yaqar], nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
The word “open” in 1 Samuel 3:1 is parats, meaning to break out or forth. It is telling a time when the word of God had not yet broken forth, as planned, upon His enemies. This breaking forth is referring us to Perazim, (the name from perets, from, and the same as, parats), mentioned in Isaiah 28:21, itself directing us to 1 Chronicles 14:11, when David comes to Baal-perazim. There the LORD broke forth upon David’s enemies, by David’s hand like a breaking forth of waters. We know this is speaking in a pattern of this word of God, breaking forth as He has, upon the enemies, the Philistines, meaning those wallowing in the mire stirred up by their own ignorance: their lack of vision.
Isaiah 28
19 From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report [[shmuw’ah – doctrine, as an unverified rumor [now confirmed}]].
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim [perets], he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the LORD God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
As we know, the above mention of Gibeon, meaning the heap of this same testimony, is referring us to Joshua 10:10 & 11, which says, “10 And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon [this testimony heaped up and waiting to break forth], and chased them along the way that goes up to Bethhoron [the house of the prison cell – the house that is the hole of the serpent], and smote them to Azekah [until it was plowed under], and unto Makkedah [until the inhabitants were herded in the direction God wanted them to go]. 11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron [they were attempting to return to the same captivity], that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah [until they were completely plowed under], and they died: they were more which died with hailstones [the waters that were frozen in heaven, reserved for this time and this breaking forth] than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.”
When 1 Samuel 3 above tells of Samuel hearing the call of God and thinking it was the call of a man (Eli), it is telling of the dilemma, the same temptation that all men are faced with, now and always, to believe, by understanding, it is God’s calling. When 1 Samuel 9:9 says those who were before called “seer” are now called prophets, seer is from the Hebrew word paniym, meaning face. It is the same word we saw in the prior post, rendered “countenance” in Psalms 11:7, and “presence” in Isaiah 19:1, both telling of the coming of the LORD in this way.
Isaiah 19
1 The burden of Egypt [the captivity of our minds]. Behold, the LORD rides upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence [paniym – face, the same word rendered “countenance” in Psalms 11:7 below], and the heart [the reasoning] of Egypt shall melt [as do the elements {the stoicheion} in 2 Peter 3] in the midst of it.
What was lost, and is now found, is understanding the difference between a prophet and a seer: one is merely a messenger, speaking for God in His absence, the other is understood as God’s presence, speaking the message Himself from the vessel; one is an angel, the other a son, once, by understanding, knowing, by receiving the knowledge of God, and by it the mind of Christ.
Hebrews 6
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entered into that within the veil [into the presence of God];
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 7
1For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually.
Psalms 11
1 In the LORD put I my trust: how say you [teachers of wickedness] to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain?”
2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily [with creations from their own imaginations] shoot at the upright in heart [in his sound mind].
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 The LORD tries the righteous: but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; his countenance [[paniym – His presence]] does behold the upright.
