The Cycle Of Death To Resurrection

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NKJV):

⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

⁹ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,

¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death, and does^[a] deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,
¹¹ you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our^[b] behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

Whoever said that Christians would not have sufferings... In The New Testament the fact of suffering and conforming into the image of God are interwoven and go hand in hand.  God allows whatever necessary sufferings into our lives to kill our self-reliance in order to resurrect us into His co-dependence.  Each one of us who claim to be a follower of Jesus would experience this cycle of death to resurrection.

Sufferings are the producers of the death to oneself and resurectors of the new life for the Lord. This is a very important fact to grasp and accept for those who claim to be true believers and followers of Jesus. Jesus Himself promised that we would have tribulations in this life because the world didn`t recognize Him and neither would it recognize us since we are no greater than our Master:

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (John 15:18-20 NKJV).

The main indicator that we are the followers of Jesus is if the world hates us. That is because people don`t know the Father nor do they recognize Jesus as a result because Jesus came to this earth to do the will of the Father. Jesus gives this warning that if the world does recognize us, than we are not His followers.

Paul writes to the Corinthians that they carry the deadness in the body recognizing that the world afflicts and persecutes them. The reason why this is so important for us to comprehend is because going through this cycle of dying to oneself in order to be resurrected by the Lord for His will requires being rejected by this world. It certainly is painful when the loved ones that we care about so much mock us and cut us off for preaching the Gospel and choose to obey the Word of God. They cut us off whenever we refuse to drink with them, or watch R rated movies, or lie on taxes, or whatever other things that we may experience causing us grief and sorrow as a result of being rejected by those who we care about.

That`s why it`s encouraging to see and understand this cycle in order to be more cognizant of the reasons for sorrows that we face:

1. God allows us to be “burdened beyond measure, above strength” in order to kill our self-reliance.

I was struck by the vivid picture of the battle when watching a movie “Patriot” last week, and in that picture I saw the defeat of the battle when the army attempted to win the battle with whatever little weapons and arsenal that they had against the exceedingly abundant opposing army. The battle was lost, and there was abundance of the dead bodies lying on the ground motionless.

This is when the Lord spoke to me and explained the reason for the defeat that I have experienced in the court. I had a flash in my head of me standing in front of the firing squad being shot at, and God was just standing on the sidelines and watching me die. This is exactly what happened to me in the court on the day when I walked out with the final decision of the shared custody over my daughter. I felt like God abandoned me and forsook me for good. Little did I know that God allowed me to die to myself that day, so He could resurrect me in order for Him to use me to serve Him, and this is exactly what He spoke to me when I watched the movie.

God allows us this kind of failure (mind you it looks like a failure in our eyes, but in God`s eyes it`s part of the vistory), so we could recognize that our rational thinking doesn`t bring us victory; rational and common sense become our own enemy because God doesn`t use common sense, but he uses uncommon sense in order to mock the intelligent and wise. Being a shrewd woman, I really had to struggle with forsaking my own intelligence and surrender common sense in exchange for God`s character.

As humans we are very good at using our own intelligence and skills to accomplish what we want, and we place God on sidelines by doing that. He would only be a spectator when we rely upon our skills and strength. As much as I tried, but I could not let go of control over the legal process because my daughter`s life was at stake, and God knew that. I literally had to pray: “I believe, Lord, but please help my disbelief”.

2. That enduring “beyond measure and above strength” brings us to the “sentence of death in ourselves” which we could never obtain by any other way but through severe sufferings of failures and defeat.

I was dying to self-sufficiency in order to be able to carry my “sentence of death in me”. I no longer live my life for this world, but I live it with the hope to get to heaven one day. As I write this, I realize how bizarre to the world these words may sound, yet this is exactly what the Bible teaches us would happen to those who follow Jesus: we would experience the dying to self-sufficiency in whatever capacity necessary in order to be resurrected with Him to solely rely on Jesus.

The best example of this scenario that comes to my mind would be examples of Joseph or Moses. Joseph was given a foreshadowing dip of the kind of a glory he would receive by having his brothers and his father bow down to him, but he had to go through the “death sentence in his body” and be placed in the circumstances of death to self-sufficiency in order to grasp on the fact that it would not be by his own strength that he would be glorified, but only by relying solely on the Lord. 20 lengthy years of his life were spent in circumcision of his heart before the Lord brought to pass all the dreams that He showed Joseph so many years prior to his success. Joseph died to himself, and as soon as he did that, God “resurrected” him by bringing to pass all the dreams and naming him the second man after the Pharaoh.

Moses was raised in the Pharaoh`s palace, but one day he was taken to the desert where he spent 40 years circumcising his heart and learning of the Lord before God brought him back to “life” and called to fulfill the mission of leading the Israelites out of Egypt, that Moses was aware of for so many years prior to it passing.

Every Bible story that we take, we can see this cycle of dying and returning back to life. The cycle is not physical death to resurrection, but a spiritual death to resurrection.

3. This “sentence of death in ourselves” accomplishes the main purpose of the Holy Spirit in our hearts: “that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”

As we clearly see in all these Bible stories of Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Gideon, David, Apostles (especially Peter), we see how God allowed all the sufferings and hardships in the lives of people in order to bring them to this realization that our strength is only in the Lord, and we can do nothing apart from Him.

God allows failures on purpose, so we could humble ourselves and recognize that this world and this life is not for us but a temporary passing place; our lives are to live for the inheritance in heaven to glorify God. This is why it`s important to realize and to prepare ourselves that if we choose to follow Jesus, we will have suffering and lots of them. God allows that to purge us from ourselves and to fill us with the Holy Spirit to do His will.

4. Only by experiencing the drastic despairing circumstances we are able to test and see this trust in the Lord and faithful deliverance as a continuance that never seizes. God was faithful to deliver, is faithful, and will always be faithful to deliver whatever the circumstances are. The condition for the deliverance is our realization and acceptance of carrying this “sentence of death in ourselves”, a.k.a. complete surrender to the Lord for Him to do whatever He pleases with us. Not us questioning Him “why?”, but accepting whatever we must endure in order to glorify Him—this is the condition of deliverance that Paul so testifies to the Corinthians of.

5. This deliverance is impacted through the faithful prayers and intercessions of the saints in order to produce praise and glory to the Lord.

I think it`s really said that the churches or believers don`t communicate with other churches and sometimes feel burdened to share their prayer requests. This month become so painful and dreadful for me that I`ve taken some drastic measures: I contacted the churches from all over the country and all over the world requesting to pray for specific resolutions in my life and in my family. I will admit that I was afraid in sending these requests because I expected to either get ignored with my requests, or get blown off by the silence in response, or get some quick meaningless response such as: “our thoughts and prayers are with you”.

I was so wrong, and I am so glad that I contacted all the churches and continue to reach out to even more places for prayer support. Not only did I receive an encouraging and supporting phone calls right on the days when I was desperate the most, but also the emails with reassuring scriptures and pledges that I was placed on the prayer chains was just overwhelming for me. This is what I really call coming together as one in the body of Christ and standing in the gap for each other regardless of the proximity to the church location or the relevance to the particular church`s ministry, but without asking any questions, people just lifted me up in their prayers as one interceding for me and my family to see this major breakthrough.

I have to testify that today I saw the main snow precipitation that we`ve experienced throughout the entire winter season this year. As I was driving to work today, I was overwhelmed by this tangible evidence of God`s continuing battle for my life as He promises to secure the treasuries of the snow and hale for the days of war and battle (Job 38:22-23). All this praying support that I continue to receive throughout the world does matter, just like Paul points us to in verse 11:

¹¹ you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our^[b] behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

We are helping together in prayer when we stand in the gap for each other despite the distance to each other or the church location and affiliation, so that God could be worshiped and glorified by many. I am obligated just the way I continue to send these prayer requests on behalf of my needs and my family, I will have to contact them to testify of the Lord`s answer in my life, so they- “many” could praise and glorify the Lord.

Satan really hates it when we reach out to each other for praying support and this is why he likes to sow these thoughts of deceit and doubt in our hearts just like I had them: that we don`t matter and nobody would waste their time praying for me when they have their own problems, and the church only cares for their local people. This is so wrong, and I am really grateful to the Lord that he dissipated this myth for me, so I don`t fall into this trap of Satan’s deceit that my prayer requests would go unresponded.

On the flip-side, God reminds us just like Mordecai reminded Esther to answer to these praying requests for the others, so God could use us as the vessels of help to one another.  God would always find alternative ways to bless you and me, but if we ignored God`s call for prayer or help, we are the ones who lost the blessing. By standing in the gap for the others, we allow God to bless those who we pray for and us.

¹³ And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14 NKJV).

I was stunned to see responses from the praying teams with words such as: “we are honored to be entrusted to be praying for you and your family”. We are truly honored to be given this opportunity to minister to one another, and it`s up to us to choose whether we accept this call, just like Mordecai reminded Esther of her appointed and predestined place being a Queen in order to save the Jews. We too, are entrusted this opportunity to “save” through our interceding prayers those who entrusted our prayer requests to us.

I have to thank all of you who`ve been praying for me and my family because I can assure you that these prayers are what make the difference and bring victory in my daily life. Some things are not as noticeable as others, but they keep me afloat and get me going every day. We have to be this praying tower of security for one another, so we could give many praises to the Lord and share this joy of God`s deliverance in each other`s lives.

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV).

To me this scripture carries all the more significance because it was written by Peter who suffered much after he repented of much. Peter, of all the apostles always boasted of his devotion to Jesus and how much he would do for Him until one day when he had to face his first fiery trial of faith: he denied Jesus 3 times before Jesus was crucified. Peter had to experience the cycle of death to resurrection by Jesus in order to glorify Him as we read he did in the book of Acts.

These fiery trials and sufferings reveal the substance of our faith, and this is why they go hand in hand with our choice in following Jesus. God cannot use unreliable and untried people, so He tests our faith through variety of circumstances.

I would encourage you today not to estrange the fiery trials and sufferings recognizing that we are partakers in Christ`s sufferings when we pass these trials and glorify Jesus.  God never allows circumstances for no reason, but He continues to hold everything under His control. It`s only for our own good that God allows us to live through this cycle of death to life, so we could be purged of our sinful stains and be conformed into the image of God. Don`t make God a spectator of your life, but make Him a Commander, and you will see the difference!

Who Is Hoshea?

Numbers 13:1-2, 8, 16 (NKJV):

And the Lordspoke to Moses, saying,

² “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

 

⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea^[a] the son of Nun;

¹⁶ Theseare the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea^[b] the son of Nun, Joshua.

 

These are not well traversed verses, and this is what I like so much about the Bible is that we could read it day in and day out, and there would still always be something that speaks to our hearts anew. This is one of those scriptures that a lot of times gets ignored because we tend to skip over the lists of names or counts, but my attention really stopped on these verses the last time around when reading the book of Numbers. I`ve learnt my lesson to never omit any word of the Lord because every jot and tittle God uses to speak to us.

In this section we see that Moses sent out the spies to the Promised Land to evaluate the strength of the enemies, so they could prepare for the war using the right strategies and methods. God commanded to select a man from each tribe, so there were 12 spies who were elected for the trip. The part that we should heed to is the verse 8 where it says that “from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun” was selected as one of the spies. We further read in the verse 16 that this is actually Joshua who became a great leader succeeding Moses, and there is a particular reason as to why Moses sought it important to change his name from Hoshsea (which means “salvation”) to Joshua (means “in Him salvation”). At first it may seem like a plain game of words because the root of the word stayed the same in Hebrew, but the first letter in the name made all the difference. That first letter changed from “me being a salvation” to “God being my salvation”.

God has a plan for each one of us, and He chooses sometimes those who rely upon their own strength, like Joshua did, claiming that he was salvation and transitioning that self-reliance into God`s co-dependence. This is His plan for each one of our lives: to make us dependable upon Him, so we would recognize that our salvation is solely in Him and not in our own strength.

 

This is no doubt that Joshua was a prominent strong man with high intelligence because out of each tribe there had to be selected only one man, so the people when selecting “Hoshea” for the mission, they had to recognize that he was the best fit for the job. Hoshea, who was a salvation, had to be highly qualified for the job.

He had another attribute to him that was the most important one: he went everywhere with Moses. Whenever Moses went to the mountain to speak to the Lord, Hoshea would stay at the foot of the mountain and wait for Moses to return. Hoshea`s heart was cleaved to the Lord, and he sought God personally.
 

¹³ So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God (Exodus 24:13 NKJV).

Back in Exodus we read that Joshua was Moses` assistant, his servant, so he had a firsthand experience monitoring Moses` relationships with the Lord and seeing God`s glory. I think it`s very important to note this for our hearts because it`s not that God seeks some special talents or characters, but to God the most important trait is one`s heart. That`s all God needs in order to take that person and to move the mountain the way God used Moses, and Joshua, and David, etc.; it wasn`t their physical strength, because those skills could be easily acquired through the everyday training, but it was their hearts that promoted them from within by the Lord Himself to use them to make the difference in history.

 

Joshua`s heart was opting for serving Moses and the Lord; he wanted to be near the nation`s leader because he wanted to be closer to the Lord. This is what I want too for my life: to be closer to the Lord to see His glory like nobody else. My inner plea with the Lord has always been to be one of the vessels in honor to be used for His glory; I`ve prayed that prayer since I was a teenager. It`s not my skills, or experience, or knowledge that`s valuable to the Lord, but it`s my heart that God wanted all along in order to complete my plea.

I think it`s also important to note that Hoshea was from the Ephraim tribe. Ephraim was the son of Joseph, and Joseph had an Egyptian wife, so Joseph`s children were not 100% Jewish. Although God made a very specific emphasis on the Jewish heritage and all the blessings that were associated with that through their father Abraham, but I believe God made these specific exceptions on purpose in the Old Testament to show the succeeding generations that it`s not the heritage, it`s not the skills, but it`s the heart of a person that matters. God doesn`t discriminate against our backgrounds and all passed luggage when we come to Him, but He uses our passed experiences and skills we`ve acquired prior to us getting saved for serving Him.

 

What`s more, I believe Hoshea`s heritage represents a split between believer and non-believer: Egyptian and Jewish. Egypt represents a sinful life, and in the context of the New Testament Egypt represents our old sinful lifestyle before we got saved. A lot of times after people get saved, they continue to feel unworthy to serve the Lord because of their past. This example of Hoshea`s heritage (having Egyptian as one of his grand-grand-grand… parents) makes a strong statement that for those who once were“Egyptians” and led a sinful lifestyle, now, through the blood of Jesus are saved by the Almighty God, and none of the past matters. Even if in the past Hoshea had an Egyptian grand-parent, that`s in the past, but his present is founded upon the salvation in the Lord. It`s only going forward and our relationships with Jesus that makes a difference for the Lord. God made this emphasis to show that YOU and I MATTER regardless of our heritage, upbringing, or sins we`ve committed in the past. The only thing that matters is if we accept Jesus as our salvation and surrender our hearts to the Lord the way Joshua did.

This conversion of Hoshea into Joshua is a prototype of our new life in Christ Jesus, and just the way he was given a new meaning in life relying completely and solely on the Lord, we too, have access to our heavenly Father through the precious blood of Jesus. We can get a new “name”—new identity in Jesus Christ because God promised to cloth us with the robe of righteousness when we accept Jesus as our Lord (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

We cannot do anything in our own strength because we are short-sighted, but God always has far-sighted plans for our lives to bless us. In order for us to allow blessings in, we must recognize that we matter to the Lord, and that our salvation is only in Him. When we do that, God would be faithful to “re-name” us and promote from within to bring glory to Him. Once Hoshea committed his heart to the Lord and surrendered his own strength, “his own salvation” to the Lord, God called him Joshua—in God salvation! God seeing Joshua`s heart pre-planned to promote him into the leader of Israelites, but He first had to assure that Joshua recognized and learned to believe that in God is salvation only.

Out of all 12 spies who returned from the mission trip, only Joshua and Caleb were the faithful servants of the Lord who trusted God to deliver the Promised Land into the hands of the Israelites the way He promised them all along. The rest of the 10 spies, they faltered in their belief and brought rebellion through murmuring against God (Numbers 13:26-34). Joshua and Caleb tried to subside the mob by shifting their focus back on the Lord while the Israelites prepared to stone them (Numbers 14). I think it`s important that we keep our focus on God`s character and on His promises especially when the adversaries are significantly larger than our own strength.

 

Every time I think of the entire economic downfall that America experiences now, I think of the engraved Biblical statement that governed the nation for centuries: “In God We trust”. This belief was substituted by people`s own salvation instead of keeping their focus on the One who is salvation. Only God could save Israelites and give them the Promised Land, and only God can save you and me. The difference is in our hearts: do we make God our strength, or do we make ourselves our strength when dealing with problems.

God chose Joshua because of his heart`s desire to serve the Lord, and that`s the only thing that mattered to God. When looking at the multitude of the people who needed a strong leader, God was looking for only one main character trait: “salvation in God” belief and He found that in Joshua. You and I matter to the Lord, and He wants to use us regardless of our heritage or the back load that we carry from the old sinful life, but God would only be able to use us if we would agree to surrender our own strength and claim Him as our salvation.

 

I believe that when Joshua got saved, he claimed God as His salvation. We to, have that today in Jesus Who is our salvation. He died and rose again, so we would be saved from all the “giants”that we face in our lives. When we get saved, we commit our hearts to the Lord making Him our salvation and strength.

I am facing “giants” in my life, and it`s only by casting my problems and concerns to His feet that I survive. If you think that you are unworthy for God`s purpose, I would encourage you to reconsider and look at someone like Joshua who was selected by the Lord to lead the entire nation of Israelites into the Promised land because he chose to cleave to the Lord. That`s all that God wants from us—our hearts and right motivations because He is capable to equip and train with the necessary skills, but the heart is something that only we can choose to steer to the Lord. You matter to God, so choose to make Him your salvation, and He would honor you in return by using for His glory.

We Want A King!

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (NKJV):

¹⁴ “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’

¹⁵ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

¹⁶ But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’

¹⁷ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

¹⁸ “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites.

¹⁹ And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,

²⁰ that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

You may look at this passage of the scripture and say: “Why in the world does this place have any significance?” I`ll show you why this scripture blew me away when I was reading the book of Deuteronomy today. Back in the days when Moses was reiterating the law to the Israelites, before he died and before they inherited the promised land, God predicted them that the nation would rebel against God and would request a king just like the surrounding nations have. That`s why God, knowing people`s hearts, gave them the rules they should abide by when electing a king and the regulations by which the king should live. To me this is fascinating to see God foreseeing everything down to the last day. The span of time between Moses and what Samuel said is about 650 years apart. God instructed the Israelites that they would rebel against Him, and they would demand a king like the surrounding nations have, but He gave them a clear manual for the king about 650 years ahead of time.

This tells us that when God says something, He makes sure we have a full knowledge to make us accountable and responsible for our actions. He never says it only once, or unclear, or to the current circumstances. No, when God tells something, he makes sure He forewarns people ahead of time, so we couldn`t claim any excuses not to obey His word.

We read in 1 Samuel 8:4-9 (NKJV):

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, ⁵ and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”⁶But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹ Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

You may look at these scriptures and still not understand the significance of it, so let me illuminate this. God knows our hearts, and He knew from the start that the Israelites didn`t want God to guide them and lead them; they`ve done that since the day they left Egypt. Why? Because it required discipline and sacrifice on their part; it required humbling their flesh and rejecting the lusts of their flesh which no human being wants to do since the day of creation. Adam and Eve were the very first ones who rejected God and chose their lust of the flesh to try the forbidden fruit, so are the Israelites chose a king to govern them and to lead them instead of the direct hand of the Lord.

Does that sound familiar to you? It does sound familiar to me. I`ve had my days when I tried to find a replacement and an easier way out to provide for me and to guide me, only so I wouldn`t have to humble my flesh and sacrifice for the Lord. By doing that, I was no different from the Israelites who rejected God as their Leader.

Not only did the Lord know that the nation would request a king, but God knowing that, already ahead of time provided them with the manual of how to elect a leadership and the standards for their power.

We read that a king should have the following attributes:

 

-No foreigner may be a king who is not your brother

-Specific standards and methods of potential prosperity: no self-profit or nation`s profit by returning to the Egypt (cannot return to the life of sin)

-No multiple wives, so the heart doesn`t turn away from the Lord (Solomon fell right in this area)

-No greed allowed (greatly multiplying gold or silver for himself (cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time)

-Once the king is inaugurated, he must write out the law for himself, so he could dwell in God`s word in order to steer people in the righteous and right direction

-The fear of the Lord is the foundation of king`s ruling (based on the Word of God)

-No pride is allowed: “his heart may not be lifted above his brethren”

We`ll go over each one of these requirements and see how each of them applies to us today because it does apply.

So the very first requirement for the king: No foreigner may be a king who is not your brother.In US, the president must be born here in order to ever qualify to run for the president. This is a Biblical principle as we clearly see here. Why did God require this? I don`t know of any foreigner who would care enough about the nation and it`s wellbeing if the heritage and roots are place else. That`s just the way we as humans are created.

We were created by God to care only about true heritage which is with God, and this is why each human being has this yearning and emptiness that only God can fulfill through our personal relationships with Him. Our initial heritage was with Him in Paradise; that was our start point and homeland in the Garden of Eden.

The second principal that God names here is to never ever return back to the Egypt and attempt gaining treasure by the method of going back.Why? Egypt represents the past of slavery and bondage to the sin. When we get saved we repent of our sins and start afresh our lives as new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is the same prototype that God refers to in the Old Testament: do not go back to the Egypt by any cost. Even if it means that you have no gain financially. Don`t ever turn to your old life, old ways, but look forward to the Lord.

The third requirement was not to multiply wives. Why? In the Old Testament multiple wives caused in majority of the instances idolatry; they would bring their idols and lead people away from the Lord. Solomon was guilty of having 700 wives and 300 concubines who led him into idolatry and as a result his heart was turned away from the Lord.

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— ² from the nations of whom the Lordhad said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.”Solomon clung to these in love. ³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kings 11:1-3 NKJV).

How much more clearer than this could God reiterate and explain the harm of a potential sin of multiple wives in the house of the king? This is very clear that there were forbidden nations with which no Israelite was allowed to intermarry, and the reason for that was potential sin of idolatry, which is exactly what happened to the king Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived on this earth), and to the entire nation.

You may think this is just history, and it doesn`t apply to us these days. Really? I would beg the differ. How about the plague of pornography, strip joints and all other immoral perverted sexual sins that our society provides at such a free access anytime of the day? The implication is the same: sexual immorality—sin leading to idolatry—straight back to Egypt: the bondage of sin.

My family literally disintegrated within years by the cause of pornography and other lies. For many years I suspected that something was wrong, but I was never brave enough to confront my husband with those questions until one day when I could stand those doubts no more. I confronted him and he immediately denied his involvement with pornography. It wasn`t until a couple of days after the conversation that he admitted to everything that was going on with him for decades.

God made it very clear that these kinds of relationships are forbidden, and we should take them at heart to examine ourselves and see if we need to repent to turn to the Lord for help.

The fourth standard for selecting a king was no greed allowed by the Lord. Why? Because God knew the potential harm of obsession with the riches of this world.

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24 NKJV).

Jesus said it Himself to reiterate for us once again: no two masters could be allowed in one`s heart because the outcome would be idolatry. This is the same principle God told the Israelites regarding the king ruling—he cannot multiply the gold and silver to the access, so he doesn`t start cleaving to the riches of this world more than to the Lord.

How does this apply to us? We face these temptations of ambition for a better career and more money every day. The world is very competitive nowadays, and it really requires us to prove something in order to be selected for a higher grade, higher paying job, and any type of promotion. God`s word doesn`t change, and His standards require that we choose: either ambition for more money and fame, or humbling ourselves to dwell in His word to serve Him. I had the opportunity to choose between both, and I found no comfort in pursuing career because it offered unfulfilled emptiness which only God is capable to complete.

The fifth requirement was for the king to write out/copy the law.The important factor here: the king must write out the law himself and not delegate this task to his servants. The second important factor here is the law must be written once the king has been already inaugurated. Why? The king only could preserve a humble heart by dwelling on the word of the Lord. God`s implication here is for the king to preserve this humble heart just like before he was elected and inaugurated to be the king over the nation. The third important factor here is the law must be obtained from the priests. The authenticity of the scripture had to be preserved, and that was done by the specific group of scribes who were trained in re-writing/copying the word of God over and over again assuring that not one jot and tittle was omitted.

How does this apply to us today? Where do we go for the source of our information? Is it the word of God or is it some place of alternative literature that is so vast on the market nowadays. God requires us to go straight to the main source of the direction and truth: His word. There are so many Bible version that are available on the market today, and we have to be very careful what we read and which version we study because some of the contemporary wordings omit many important truths of the Lord. God`s word cannot be compromised, and it`s our responsibility to make sure that we read the authentic and true version. I think the overwhelming selection of the choice only allows more room for the error. I read my bible in my native language, and there are only a couple of versions. This is just something that we have to be cautioned about.

God commanded the king to dwell in the law, and that was purposely done, so the king could steer the nation in the righteous and godly direction. The king had a power to lead the nation into the sin or out of the sin, so the Lord made this explicitly clear to dwell in the word of the law all the days of king`s life, so he could fear the Lord and follow Him.

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10 NIV).

When we dwell in the word of God, He changes our attitudes and us within. Without Word`s knowledge, we cannot discern what`s right and wrong. What`s more, we become more susceptible to sin because there is no guard against our flesh. We know that flesh and spirit are contrary to one another, and the flesh wants what`s contrary to the spirit as Paul writes to Galatians:

¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:16-18 NKJV).

The Lord commanded the king to dwell in the law, and this was done, so he could fulfill the desires of the Spirit rather than his flesh. The same applies to us: if we don`t exercise our daily walk with the Lord through the dwelling in His scriptures, we begin to fulfill the desires of the flesh instead of the Spirit living in us.

Lastly, God command for the king not to exalt himself over his brethren.God does not tolerate pride in any shape or form. The ultimate ladder to being exalted in God`s economy is through humiliation.

⁵Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5 NKJV)

The king could prolong his days in the kingdom by being humble and walking in the ways of the Lord. This is a simple enough concept to understand, but tough to implement. When given the power to riches, military, servants and entire nation, the temptation is too grate to fall for the pride. This is why God reiterated to dwell in His law all the days of king`s life.

The same applies to us today having all these riches at our feet: the endless opportunities that beckon us to fall for the career, for the ambition, for the promotion at any cost; those temptations would surely lead us astray from the Lord.

God knows our hearts so well, and we see it over and over again when reading these scriptures. Moses was laying out the rules for the king hundreds of years prior to the nation actually requesting one.

I would exhort you today to think through the way you live your life. All the standards that we looked for the king, they apply to us today. God is our ultimate King, and He wants to rule our lives, but we must willingly desire that and ask Him for that. God would never force us into following Him if we wouldn`t ask Him of that ourselves.

I would like to emphasize that God commanded the king to get the law from the priests and Levites, so he could study it himself all the days of his life. This means that by coming to the church once a week and by listening to the priest it`s not enough for us to succeed in our walk with the Lord. He commands us to study His word day in and day out.

⁸Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8 NIV).

The second part of it, the law must be studied personally. God did not say that the king must come to the priests or Levites and ask for guidance or interpretation, but for the king to study the law himself and ask God directly for the guidance.

As believers, we have no excuses for this as Jesus gave us an example of His praying lifestyle on the mountain day in and day out with the Father. He always found time to get alone with the Lord and to dwell in His word. We should not look for guidance from the pastors only. Relying on the pastors and teachers only makes us dependable on the people instead of the Lord Himself. He wants us to come directly to Him with all the questions that we might have regarding the word that we read, and He would be faithful to direct us and to explain to us the meaning of the passage.

God knows if you use excuses not to study His word yourself, and if you choose to rely on the church or a pastor for direction solely.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NKJV):

⁵Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. ⁶ For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. ⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear^[b] when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

When God guides, God provides. Let Him be your strength and reliance. Israelites demanded a king, and they rejected the only true King who could lead them because their heart was deceitful and wicked to accept His word. Israelites did not want to follow God`s word, and that`s why they looked for excuses to build this wall and a layer between them and the Lord. They could not stand in the presence of the Lord due to their wicked motivations.

How about you? Do you choose to come to the pastor, to the friends, to the books rather than seeking God personally and directly? Do you choose to have these excuses of “not understanding what the word of God says”, so you don`t read it yourself? God is merciful and kind to give wisdom and knowledge to those who truly seek it.

I want to be blessed, so I choose to rely on the Lord and to seek Him rather than to come to the people. I urge you to examine your heart and to surrender your life to the ultimate King-our Lord Jesus Christ.