AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Wednesday – December 22, 2021, Tevet 18, 5782
EVEN MORE ON THE ROCK OF OFFENCE
Greetings to our dear and precious friends and partners of Eastern Gate Ministries International, Inc. Also, welcome back to our exciting, enlightening, and empowering study of the Bible Book of Isaiah. Please take a moment and share these teachings as widely as possible to bring the Truth to all who will have ears to hear. Those who do not determine in their hearts to have ears to hear, listen to understand and implement, can see, even hear, the Truth 10,000 times and it have zero effect in their lives. Let’s us not be of that lot. Some reading this have ears to hear, others are going through a religious exercise, and perhaps others with a critical spirit. Which one are you? The beautiful picture featured today was graciously provided by our good friend, and man of God, Joe Getchell Jr. Joe has a wonderful eye for intriguing and beautiful scenes. Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text continuing to read out loud.
Isaiah 8:13-15 (KJV)
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.
The second person of our Triune co-equal God is the LORD of hosts, our sanctuary, a stone of stumbling, and the rock of offence referred to in our text. The Jews, His own, were the first to be offended, even to the point of murdering Him. I think anyone even casually reading through the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) would pick up on the fact that the ruling religious class were offended from the get go. We see that at one point many that were following Him became offended and turned away from Him. His own cousin, John the Baptist, the one who exclaimed “behold the lamb of God” became offended in Him.
Matthew 11:6 (KJV)
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
It is a serious thing to be offended in Jesus, our Heavenly Father, or the work of the Holy Spirit. It cost John the Baptist his head. It cost him the Blessing and will cost us the Blessing and all the blessings that come with being a Kingdom son or daughter. If we don’t have the Blessing, what do we have? We have the curse! There is no in between neutral ground. Either God is working in our lives or the curse. This is directly connected to not sanctifying the Lord (verse thirteen). For a few moments let’s look back at the Psalmist and the rock of offence.
Psalm 118:19-23 (KJV)
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
As we read verse nineteen and twenty carefully, we become aware that the gate of righteousness is a person, the person of our Savior, Christ Jesus.
Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
“His righteousness” is the gate, the entrance, Jesus, the only way to the Father. So, we seek the things of the Kingdom first and foremost in all things and “his righteousness” who is the Christ Jesus, who is the Word, who is God. So, we seek first of all after the work of the Kingdom of God and after the Word of God, the Truth in all things. I trust this adds some depth and clarity to an oft cited verse. Now, let’s look back at Psalm 118:22-23. The “stone” in this Psalm and the “rock” in other Scriptures is of course the Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Is He our Lord and Savior or just our Savior? The “builders” referred to are the persons we find in the first thirty-nine Books of the Bible (Old Testament), the Jewish people who were confessing to be God’s people. The Psalmist concludes that section of Scripture declaring this is the Lord’s doing and “it is marvellous in our eyes”. The Jews rejected the Messiah after sliding further and further into darkness over hundreds of years until there was a blindness which came for the sake of, we Gentiles. I will close for today with the following lengthy passage concerning the Jews and the Gentiles.
Romans 11:18-29 (KJV)
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Notice verse twenty-six. Sion is the Church; the Deliverer is Christ Jesus who is the head of the Church. The deliverer of the Jews at the end of days is the Head of the Church, Christ Jesus. They will be grafted in together with us forming one body. Study the following. I know this is a long teaching but part of my call is to bring honor and knowledge of the Jewish people to the Church.
Ephesians 2:12-18 (KJV)
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Lord willing, I will pick up right here tomorrow.
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Until our next publication, as your Bible Teacher and a Prophetic Voice in your life I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, doubt it not, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus’ name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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