YHVH calls the prophet to prophesy against one of
Lebanon’s major cities - “Zidon”: “Son of man, set thy face against Zidon,
and prophesy against it, and say, ‘Thus saith YHVH: Behold, I am against thee,
O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee and they shall know that
I am YHVH, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified
in her’” (verses 21-22). What did
YHVH mean by “being sanctified in Zidon”?
How was He going to accomplish this?
“I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the
wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every
side; and they shall know that I am YHVH” (verses 21-22). What is most
interesting is the effect that these judgments were to have on Zidon’s
neighbor, the House of Israel :
“And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel
In the past few weeks I have been mentioning that Yeshua
came to destroy the works of the Devil, and that we are the vessels through
whom He chose to execute this work. What
I have been realizing is that while Yeshua is doing this, He is also
sanctifying me at the same time. Since
He is my life (ref, Col. 3:4) I am every thing that He is, and anything that is
present in me that is not of Him is also not of me, but is of my enemy, the
power of sin (or the work of the Devil) (see Rom 7:17, 20). As I believe His Word, which is Truth, I am
made free by this Truth from the law of sin and death. Therefore, Yeshua’s blood and word cleanse me
and separate me from the enemy of my soul, as I cooperate with His Spirit and
discern, or learn to exercise my senses to know good and evil (see Heb. 5:14),
repenting for my participation and renouncing the demonic spirits that were
influencing and tormenting me. In other
words, there are no more pricking brier, grieving thorn or tormenting spirits
to harass me as a new creation-being in Messiah. The mere fact that YHVH is executing judgments
upon my enemies enables me to be sanctified wholly - spirit, soul and body
(ref. 1 Thes. 5:23).
I had never seen this truth before, but now it is a daily
experience. Our enemies surround us,
just like they do the nation of Israel . Once those surrounding enemies are dealt
with, there is peace (just as Ezekiel points out in chapter 28). We, who have been redeemed and were “born
again”, have the Father’s life living in us (through Yeshua). This is what faith tells us about ourselves:
“I am who He is because I am born of Him”. “Whosoever is born of
Elohim does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).
Hence,
when the enemy is removed I am able to express this new nature of love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and
humility, naturally. It is not a work
that I have to perform. We should not have to work at being what we already are
by nature. The work that we do is that
which Yeshua came to do, that is to destroy everything that is not of His
Father’s life and nature, by casting it down under His feet. “For He must reign, till He has put all
enemies under His feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death; for He has put all
things under His feet. But when He says all things are put
under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under
Him” (1Cor. 15:25-27). “Thou hast put
all things in subjection under His feet. For in that He put all in subjection
under Him, he left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet
all things put under Him” (Heb. 2:8).
After
YHVH delivered King David from his enemies, David said the following:
“Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy gentleness has
made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not
slip. I have pursued mine enemies, and
destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. And I have consumed them, and wounded them,
that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet” (2Sam 22:36-39). We have the
privilege of doing the very same thing, with the weapons that are mighty in the
Holy One, to the pulling down of strongholds: “For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through Elohim to the pulling down of
strong holds” (2Cor. 10:4).
David describes YHVH as having “darkness under His feet”
(Ps. 18:9; 2 Sam 22:10). Could this be why we are exhorted to subject and cast
down every thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of Elohim? It is an unequivocal “yes”. We are to bring
these principalities and powers of darkness down, in His name and through the
power of the Holy One, and put them under our feet. His feet are our feet, as we are His body on
earth. And when these demonic powers are
no longer in the high places of our spirit and mind, we will be sanctified
wholly - spirit, soul and body. “And
when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be
subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that YHVH may be all in all” (1Cor. 15:28). Halleluya!!!
Ephraim
No comments:
Post a Comment