Daily Devotional, Year 2 – June 5 (Cease Ye From Man! Part 4: A Heath in the Desert! Continued)
By admin On May 3rd, 2015.
.
Daily Devotional, Year 2 – June 5
.
.
.
.
Cease Ye From Man!
.
Part 4:
“A Heath in the Desert!”
(Continued)
To read Part 1, click here… “August 21st (Cease Ye From Man!)”
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have caused a cry to be heard…
Flee, save your lives,
and be like the heath in the wilderness.”
Jeremiah 46:4, 6
.
Joshua tree – cropped – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
.
.
.
.
.
If a person has ever been in the deserts of the western United States, they can appreciate the Joshua Tree. These hardy types of vegetation are among the few plants that can survive in such barren and arid regions.
.
The name, “Joshua Tree” came about during the 1800’s, when Mormon settlers proclaimed that the Joshua Tree reminded them of the biblical Joshua when he raised his hands up in prayer to God.
.
And in yesterday’s devotional (click here), Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the “heath in the desert” was showcased in relation to judgment coming upon those who trust in the wares-n-ways of Mankind!
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
.
.
.
.
.
FLIP-SIDE OF TRUTH
.
But today’s devotional will look at the flip-side of this little earthly object-lesson, which, in King James English is referred to as the “heath”.
.
The translators of the Bible have concluded that the heath was a juniper. But the Hebrew word for “heath” merely speaks of a lone tree or plant.
.
And so, the Joshua Tree fulfills that word, “heath” very nicely!
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
Joshua Tree Magic – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
.
.
.
.
.
.
DOUBLE-ENTENDRE
.
You see, there are many parabolic symbols in the Bible which can be looked at from two vantage-points.
.
And the heath can be seen from two entirely different perspectives.
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
Joshua Tree under stars – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
.
.
.
.
.
HEATH = MEAGER SPIRITUALITY
.
In yesterday’s devotional (click here), the heath symbolized something bad: it symbolized the dried up, bleak and meager spiritual life of those who place their affections and trust in this world of selfish pursuits and faithless ways.
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
.
.
.
.
.
FLEEING FROM MOAB (APOSTATE CHRISTIANITY)
.
But today, the focus will be on the juniper, as it symbolizes a somewhat different aspect of the life of a Christian…
.
Listen again to Jeremiah… “Moab (the worldly churches) is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard…Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.” Jeremiah 46:4, 6
.
Now the Bible is telling us to become like a juniper or Joshua Tree! How odd!
.
Jesus in Jeans by Peter Royle – cropped image – WIKIMEDIA SHARE-ALIKE LICENSE
.
.
.
.
.
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”
1st Corinthians 2:14
.
The Bible has many similar passages which can be confusing. But through careful/prayerful study, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual”, every seemingly erroneous and contradicting passage can be rightly discerned, thus confirming that the Bible faithful and true!
(Click here to read 1st Corinthians 2:12-16 for entire context)
.
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
FLEE TO THE MOUNTAINS!
.
So why in the world would we want to become like a juniper or Joshua Tree!?
.
On one hand, God doesn’t wish for us to become like a lonely Joshua Tree. But when it comes to fleeing out of the world-loving churches, God wants us to become like a lonely tree!
.
PICTURE – Constellation- Woman of Revelation 12 flees to the mountains Mark 13:14 This is not a star-chart, but merely a concept picture
.
.
.
.
.
MOAB = BABYLON
.
You see, God could not come right out and openly tell us to vacate the apostate churches. That would have caused the Church too much confusion in decades past, prior to the God-appointed hour of this end-time exodus.
.
But a plain call for exodus from the apostate churches of these last days would also have caused even the “make-believers” to vacate the fallen, apostate churches. And then there would have been no clear line of demarcation between the true Believers and those “make-believers”, causing even more confusion!
.
And so, He had to speak in veiled, allegorical language. And God decided to present this, “Flee out of Babylon” command in allegorical language…
.
Listen… “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; He will render unto her a recompense.” Jeremiah 51:6
.
And whether God calls the apostate churches, “Babylon”, or whether he refers to it as, “Moab”, it is all speaking of the apostate church-world.
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
James Tissot – The Flight of the Prisoners – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
MOAB = SODOM = JERUSALEM = CHURCHES
.
Listen to Isaiah, as he speaks of Moab… “My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar,” Isaiah 15:5
.
Notice it says here that Moab’s “fugitives shall flee unto Zoar.” Zoar was the little town which Lot and his two daughters fled to, away from doomed Sodom. And so, God is making a comparison between Sodom and Moab.
.
But a number of times in Scripture, God has also compared Israel to Sodom, such as in in Ezekiel, Chapter 16.
.
And God has often used Israel to symbolize the Church! (see Galatians, Chapter 4, for instance)
.
And so, just as Lot had to flee from Sodom, so too will be the judgment of the apostate portion within God’s house.
.
Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.
.
.
.
.
.
NEW TESTAMENT AGREES
.
Even in the New Testament, God refers to Sodom…
.
Listen… “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Matthew 17:29-33
.
So here again the Lord is foretelling of that day in which God’s people must flee. And this takes us full-circle back to Jeremiah 17:6, in which God tells us to, “Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.” Jeremiah 46:6
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.
.
.
.
.
.
.
SEPARATION NOT OPTIONAL
.
And so now it becomes evident that we must become, “like the heath in the wilderness”, in the sense of separating ourselves from our past ungodly associations in the apostate churches.
.
Listen… “Wherefore come out from among them (unbelievers), and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2nd Corinthians 6:17, 18
.
Our relationship with the Lord must be a very personal, one-on-one relationship, apart from the corruption and selfish gospels being preached in the local congregations (and the various radio and television ministries.)
.
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
Evangelist Preaching – Church – Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
HIDE TILL THE STORM PASSES BY
.
This website has spoken exhaustively, concerning the various ways in which the churches have become apostate.
.
Certainly this little devotional cannot even begin to enumerate all the various abominations which have entered into the church-world.
.
But the oft-repeated passage from Isaiah, Chapter 26, is a good way to end this little discussion…
.
Listen… “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26: 20, 21
.
ABOVE PICTURE: Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – inspired by Tornado Over Kansas by Curry
.
.
.
.
.
NO TIME FOR DELAY
.
Yes, in spite of our apostate and world-loving ways, the Lord is desirous that we turn again and finally cleanse ourselves, “from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2nd Corinthians 7:1
.
Wickedness is coming upon this society like a flood. There is no remaining time to dilly-dally in the world! We must shut ourselves in, as if we are going into a storm shelter, and hide ourselves in God’s secret pavilion, trusting in His total providence, until the great “indignation be over-past”.
.
ABOVE PICTURE: Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – inspired by Tornado Over Kansas by Curry
.
.
.
.
.
TO READ PART 5, CLICK HERE…
June 7 (Cease Ye From Man! Part 5: A Heath in the Desert! Who is Moab? Continued)
Joshua tree – cropped – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to come out from among the apostate churches and take my refuge in Thy secret pavilion. Help me become as a heath in the wilderness, lifting up my hands to Thee, even as these Joshua Trees seem to do…
Joshua Tree – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution
.
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “How To Be Hidden in the Day of Wrath”, or you can also read… “May 12th (Come Out of Her, My People?)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
.
.
.
.
THE END
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
.
.
.
“FLEE TO THE MOUNTAINS”
Matthew 24:
.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” Matthew 24:15, 16
.
So the above verse is a warning to all those who are living over there in Palestine. “Flee to the mountains!”. And this photo of the mountains of Judea just might be a good place to flee to. But with today’s tracking devices, it probably wouldn’t be too long until they found you.
.
But does this passage have a message for us Christians who are scattered elsewhere around the world? Listen once again…
.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” Matthew 24:15, 16
.
Notice it says in the above verse, “whoso reads, let him understand”. So there needs to be an understanding of this complex issue. There needs not only to be an understanding of the Abomination of Desolation, but also an understanding of just what it means “to flee”.
.
Judean Hills Panorama from beth meir – wikipedia – share-alike license
.
.
.
.
HEAVENLY MOUNTAINS
.
Well, as just stated, the Lord has created a constellation which shows a woman fleeing. It is called the Revelation 12 Woman Constellation, also known as Ursa Major or The Big Dipper.
.
So if we explore this constellation in the light of the Bible, there can be a wealth of information discovered on this very topic. So come along and dig into this study. And after reading about this heavenly revelation, you just might find yourself fleeing to the mountains. And maybe, just maybe, there are some much better mountains to flee to, than the ones in the above photo of Palestine! Mountains in which you can hide, where tracking devices and black helicopters are useless against you!
.
Picture to right: Ursa Major, also known as The Big Dipper
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Woman of Revelation 12 (Flees to the Wilderness)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
.
.
.
.
TOMORROW…
“June 6 (Cease Ye From Man! Part 5: A Heath in the Desert! Who is Moab?)”
Joshua tree – cropped – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH
.
ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
.
THIS STUDY #521 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
.
.
above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
.
.
.
Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.
Leave a Reply