The Day of New Beginnings
Enemies of God
Num.21:14:
Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD…
Gen. 10
6* ¶ The sons of Ham were Cush ,and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.
7* The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8* Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD."
10* The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
11* From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah,
12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
13* Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim
14* and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.
15* ¶ Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth
16* and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite
17 and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite
18 and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.
19 The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20* These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.
Corruption came forth through the line of Ham. He carried within himself the seed of corruption from one age to another. Ham passed through the flood in the ark with the rest of his family. Later, God cursed Ham for uncovering his father’s nakedness.
Moab and Ammon
1. The land of Moab was originally inhabited by Emin.
Deut. 2:
10 (The Emim lived there formerly, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim.
11* Like the Anakim, they are also regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
Anakims = "long-necked"
1) a tribe of giants, descendants of Anak, which dwelled in southern
Canaan
Emims = "terrors"
1) ancient inhabitants of Moab
Nu 13:33.
"There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
The original inhabitants were the Nephilim. The original inhabitants of Canaan were also the Nephilim. That is why God commanded Joshua and the sons of Israel to annihilate all the inhabitants of the land, so that they wouldn't be contaminated by that spirit. History does not give an account of how or when the Emin were dispossessed from the land. It would seem, however, that the worship of such gods as Chemosh ("Woe to you, O Moab! You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! Num. 21:29), along with other corrupt practices, came from those whose land Moab settled in. There was no effort on the part of Moab to keep itself pure and no love or jealousy for the one true God.
2. Some enemies of Israel, such as Egypt or the Amorites, were utterly defeated and never became a problem again. Other enemies, however, came back again from generation to generation to war against Israel. Perhaps it was due to their descendants having an initial righteousness such as Lot. This could explain why certain spirits keep coming back to oppress and war against God's people. The satanic input stays alive through the religious leaven of the flesh nature.
Judges 3:
12Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
13* And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees.
14 The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15* But when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
Jud 3:30* So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.
Jud 10:6* Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
Every time Israel turned back to serve the gods of Moab or Ammon, etc., those same nations arose and defeated Israel and oppressed them, sometimes for many years. To serve the gods of Moab, for example, was to give strength to Moab, enabling them to defeat Israel.
7* The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.
The enemies of Israel are also a type of our flesh natures. When our flesh is brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we have peace. When we serve the old nature and allow it to dominate us, it rises up to oppress us.
2nd Chron. 20:
10 "Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them),
11* see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.
The enemies of God always come to drive us out of our inheritance. Whether the enemy is within (our flesh natures) or without, their goal is always the same.
3. Kings of Moab
A. Balak = "devastator"
1) king of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel
The judgment of Balak:
Nu 24:17* "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
B. Eglon = "calf-like" n pr m
1) king of Moab who oppressed the children of Israel for 18 years
before he was killed by the judge Ehud n pr loc
2) a royal city in Canaan that opposed the conquest; located in the
low lands of Judah
23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped.
25* When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.
26* Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore they have named that place "The Valley of Beracah" until today.
De 3:16* "To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon;
The river Jabbok was the border between Ammon and the land that God gave to Israel. Jabbok means “emptying”.
empty 5, make void 1, emptiers 1, fail 1, utterly (inf for
emphasis; 9
1) to empty
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to empty, lay waste
1a2) to make void (fig.)
1b) (Niphal) to be emptied
1c) (Polel) to empty out, devastate
The river Jabbok was the river Jacob crossed when he encountered the angel of the Lord.
Gen. 32:
22* Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
24* ¶ Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25* When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
26* Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
28* He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."
29* Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."
31* Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.
It wasn’t until he crossed the Jabbok that God met him in the form of the angel of the Lord. Jacob had to leave the territory of Ammon before the Lord would meet him. And so it is with us. God will not appear to us, He will not meet us until we “cross over the Jabbok”. To cross over the Jabbok means to be emptied out. It is the cross experience that empties from us everything of the Adamic soul/flesh nature. One of the above definitions of Jabbok is to “devastate, to lay waste”. That is precisely what must be done to our Adamic natures before we can be changed into an Israel. Israel means “God prevails”. We must be emptied out before we have our own “wrestling match” with the Lord. It takes “crossing over the Jabbok” before God can prevail in our lives.
Edom
Edom was Jacob’s brother. Edom was Esau. It’s interesting that Jacob and Esau, or Edom, both came from the same parents. God testified concerning Jacob and Esau, “Jacob I loved, Esau I hated”. One line was destined to inherit the promises of God, the other to become an enemy of God’s inheritance and purposes. Edom also, like Moab and Ammon, is both a satanic spirit that operates against God’s true heritage and also a type of our Adamic natures. Edom will always serve self and seek to gratify his own selfish appetites and desires. He will always tread underfoot the things of God in order to satisfy his own lusts. This is what Esau did when he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. The spirit of Esau always fights the things of God. Until we go through the cross that spirit operates in our Adamic natures. Esau is hated because he holds in contempt the things of Spirit. Esau is only concerned with gratifying his immediate lusts and desires. There is no capacity in Esau to live for a vision, to persevere until the promises of God are inherited. Esau lives only for the moment. He will not sacrifice his immediate wants for a future vision, thus he holds in contempt the promises of God.
Gen.25:27. When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.
The fact Esau was a hunter, a man of the field, indicates he was one who looked for immediate gratification. Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. This points to the sojourning spirit within him. Like his grandfather Abraham, he was a sojourner, looking for the promises of God.
Heb. 11:
8* By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9* By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10* For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Ge 32:3* Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Seir was the country of Edom. Edom dispossessed the land of its inhabitants just as Israel did to its inheritance. Seir means hairy. It is derived from a Hebrew word that also means:
AV - kid 28, goat 24, devil 2, satyr 2, hairy 2, rough 1; 59
adj
1) hairy n m
2) he-goat, buck
2a) as sacrificial animal
2b) satyr, may refer to a demon possessed goat like the swine of
Gadara (Mt. 8:30-32)
Goat nature – Goat Christians – Mat. 25 – also Studies in Obadiah (Open Heavens Ministries book) – pages 23-24.
A satyr was a mythical creature, a deity, usually represented as having pointed ears, short horns, the head and body of a man, and the legs of a goat, and as being fond of riotous merriment and lechery. It was a lustful being. The satyr was an attendant of Baccaus, the god of wine.
This is the spirit that was in the land Edom settled in. It’s interesting they settled in a land that derived its name from a creature that was dualistic in its nature. This seems to describe the spirit of Edom as well. Although he came through the lineage as Jacob, there was something satanic in his nature. This is hard to understand, but this principle is borne out in Scripture.
Noah was a righteous man in his generation. He built the ark that protected him and his family from the flood of God’s judgment upon a corrupt world. The Nephilim were in the world at that time, and also afterward, the Scriptures say. That means they survived through the flood. How was that? Ham, Noah’s son who uncovered his father’s nakedness, carried that Nephilim spirit into the new age. How was it that something corrupt sprang from a godly seed such as Noah’s? It is the mystery of lawlessness (2nd. Thes. 2:7). Cain, the son of Adam, is another example. He came forth a satanic seed. Not only did he kill his brother, he was the father or channel of the murdering spirit that came forth in the human race.
Gen.4:23-24.
23 Lamech (Cain’s descendant) said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me;
24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.":
Some say the following passage refers to Satan, others that it is a reference to the corrupting of the nature of man. Either way, it illustrates the principle of corruption springing from what would appear to be righteousness.
Ezekiel 28:
2 "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 "You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.
14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 "You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.
There is a pattern in the Scriptures of corruption springing from seemingly pure roots. This is the mystery of lawlessness.
Another example:
Isa.5:
1 ¶ Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
2 He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.
3 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard.
4 "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?
Mat. 13:
24* ¶ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25* "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
26* "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27* "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28* "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves *said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'
29* "But he *said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30* 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
This principle must be why Judas was destined to be part of the Twelve. There was corruption even in the midst of the Lord’s choosing. Defilement sprang up in the midst of righteousness. Judas was a type of the old nature’s perverse ability (open to the mystery of lawlessness) to produce corruption even when there should be purity. Even under the most Godly conditions, the Adamic nature produces defilement.
God has been speaking now for a few years that the Life Realm is a realm without leaven. It must be a realm where the seed of former movements or groups does not reside. He has shown us that every movement until now has carried the seed of leaven in one way or the other. Something of the Adamic nature, the soul/flesh realm has come through to bring corruption. This is just like the example of the Nephilim spirit in Ham slipping through the judgment to corrupt a new age. This principle of corruption springing from what appears to be righteousness might well be the root of the disease cancer. Who understands how corruption and/or mutation can occur in healthy cells so that cancer begins to eat away the life of an individual? Cancer could very well have its roots in the spirit realm.
The ability of the Adamic nature to create corruption is the channel for the mystery of lawlessness. As long as the Adamic nature remains alive and functioning within us, we carry the seed of potential defilement. This is why the emphasis is so great upon the need for the cross in our lives and for purification to be made complete in us. How can we possibly function in the Life Realm while carrying the seed of defilement within us? I think we could despair with the realization that everything of the soul/flesh nature within us must die. It just seems to go on and on without ever ending. All we tend to see about ourselves is how much of our corrupt nature remains. But while we can’t see the full work He is accomplishing within us, we can know the Lord is purifying our spirits because of the obedience and submission He is creating in our hearts.
John 1:
45* Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46* Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip *said to him, "Come and see."
47* Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
48* Nathanael *said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49* Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."
50* Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these."
51* And He *said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Nathanael is a type of the pure Body of Christ. “An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit (or guile).” Nathanael typifies the purity God is bringing us into.
Eph.5:27. That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
Ge 36:1 Now these are the records of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).
The entire 36th chapter of Genesis is devoted to the generations of Esau.
Verse 2: “Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan…” Esau did this in defiance of his parent’s wishes (Gen 24:3, Gen. 26:34-35, Gen. 28:6-9). The Esau spirit may outwardly look to be righteous. It may look just like a true sheep. But it will always carry that defiant nature. It will never manifest the broken and contrite heart that pleases the Lord. The Esau aspect of our nature must be crucified or we will never fully enter into God’s purposes for our lives.
Ge 37:
1* ¶ Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
2* These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Chapter 37 begins the record of the generations of Jacob. It is very interesting that these chapters go into such great detail in presenting the lineage of both Esau and Jacob. Why it that? Esau, or Edom, is a type of the antichrist spirit and Jacob typifies the true Spirit of Christ.
Am 1:11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
The above passage indicates that Edom never forgave Jacob for taking his birthright and blessing. Long after Esau died, that spirit continued to war against Israel. It was a perpetual warfare against him. This is a type of the antichrist spirit that ever wars against the true Spirit of Christ. It is also a type of the flesh nature that ever wars against Christ coming forth in a people.
Mal 1:4. Though Edom says, "We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins"; thus says the LORD of hosts, "They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever.
Ex. 17:
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15 Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner;
16 and he said, "The LORD has sworn; the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation."
The Amalekites, which attacked Israel when it came out of Egypt, were eventually destroyed in the days of Saul. It was Amalek’s king, Agag, who Saul spared. That incident cost Saul his kingdom. Samuel hewed Agag to pieces with the edge of the sword. Although the physical race was destroyed, the spirit was perpetuated. That’s why God said he would have war against Amalek from generation to generation. In Deut. 25 we see the nature of Amalek and why it incurred God’s wrath.
17 "Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt,
18 how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God.
Amalek was a descendent of Esau (Gen. 36:12). Amalek is a predatory spirit likened to the wolves that Paul spoke of that would come in not sparing the flock.
Acts 20:
28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
ZOBAH
Zoba or Zobah = "station"
1) the name of a portion of Syria which formed a separate kingdom in
the times of Saul, David, and Solomon; located northeast of
Damascus.
PHILISTINES
Gen. 10:
3* Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim
14* and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.
The Philistines were of the seed of Ham.
1st Sam. 25:28. "Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days.
David came forth as one who fought the enemies of the Lord. There were several occasions David attempted to fight battles that were not of the Lord. Each time David was turned aside, for the Lord would not let him engage in battle that was not in accordance with His purposes.
May God grant each of us to recognize the enemies, both within and without, that still oppose His Lordship over our lives.