My Journey Towards The Kingdom of God

My
Journey towards
the Kingdom
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About the Author

Joshua Loke entered full-time Christian ministry in 1992. Since
then he has been a pastor and a missionary. He and his family were
in Kazakstan, Central Asia for 10 years. There, he founded and led
a non-profit organization, Under One Roof, to help strengthen
families in Kazakstan. His organization worked with the elderly,
families and children.
Joshua and his wife, Kelly, are currently living in Singapore with
their three children.


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Preface

The Bible is full of stories; stories about people and events.
But rather than being a random collection of stories, they serve
to tell succeeding generations about how God went about (or is
still going about) accomplishing His Will the plans He had
sovereignly and independently pre-determined for His people
and the world and revealing Himself to men.
Think of Abraham, who learned the God was Jehovah Jireh
as result of what God had told him to do: to offer up his only
begotten son, Isaac, on an altar of sacrifice (Gen 22:14).
Think of Moses who, subsequent to Israels victory over
the Amalekites, built an altar and called the name of it
Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord is my Banner (Ex 17:15).
Gideon too built an altar to God and called it Jehovah-
Shalom: The Lord is my Peace, because God assured him
that he would not die (Jud 6:24).
All these stories underscore the fact that God is known best
through experiences, not education. If God could be known by
education alone, He would have simply taught Abraham,
Moses, Gideon, and the rest, His names and what each of them
meant. For sure, our Bibles would be thinner than they are
today; but we would be poorer, spiritually. How would we be
inspired like we are now by the men of faith? How would we
be encouraged to run the race with endurance that is set before
us if there is no great cloud of witnesses to surround us?
(Heb 12:1) We must thank God for the Patriarchs of the faith
for they have indeed left us a lasting and precious legacy. It is
our turn to make a similar journey of faith so that we too may
leave a lasting and precious legacy to subsequent generations.
Sadly (and I am not judging here), many lack the patience
to know God in this manner. They have chosen the easier way:
education. In saying this, I am not blasting Christian academia.
There is a place for it, but it should not re-place divine
revelation. Paul was a very educated man, in the religious
sense, yet he was diligent in teaching the believers in the cities

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that he visited. But at the same time, being keenly aware of the
limitation of the didactic method, prayed that God would give
to the faithful a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the
knowledge of him (Eph 1:17). Through education, you can
easily know about God; but revelation will cause you to be
able to say, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have
believed, and I am convinced (2 Tim 1:12).

I should clarify here that as you read my story about My
Wilderness Journey, you might recall a similar experience: a
time when God seemed far away, your prayers bouncing off
the ceiling above you, and you have lost your way. I want you
to know that what you experienced was not the Wilderness
Journey but the Dark Night of the Soul
1
.
In the Wilderness Journey, as it was for the Israelites, God
is clearly visible to you and His presence is unmistakable. He
has not left you; He is leading you. In the Dark Night of the
Soul, however, an evil, unbelieving heart (has led) you to fall
away from the living God (Heb 3:12). In short, you are
backsliding.

In Part I of this book, I will be sharing about my life between
the years 2008 and 2010, which I call My Wilderness Journey.
(It might sound clich to you, but as you read on you will find
that it isnt.) Before this, I had been a believer of Jesus Christ
for over twenty-five years; during which I had served as a
pastor and missionary, I had been well discipled by godly men,
and have discipled others as well. I knew God; or so I thought.
The Wilderness Journey humbled me by showing me how little
I knew of Him. (Humbling was one of Gods expressed
objectives for Israels wilderness journey according to
Deuteronomy 8:3.) I dare say that my knowledge and faith in
God grew more in those three years (of the Wilderness
Journey) than in the twenty-some years prior to it.

1
Baik Night of the Soul is the title of a poem wiitten by 16th-centuiy Spanish poet anu
Roman Catholic mystic Saint }ohn of the Cioss, anu of a tieatise he wiote latei,
commenting on the poem.

6
I am thankful that we are not the only ones who have
undergone this journey; I personally know of others who have
gone through it also. Their path and circumstances might differ
slightly but they always lead to the same destination: a deeper
knowledge of and greater trust in God.
Although this journey was embarked upon mainly by my
wife and I, my children particularly the two elder ones
were not untouched by it. God was, so to speak, killing two
birds with one stone, like He did with Abraham on Mount
Moriah.
Abraham had waited many years for the arrival of Gods
promised son twenty-five, to be exact. Finally, Isaac was
born; and Abraham loved him dearly. Just when everything
seemed to be on track for Abraham to become the father of
many nations, as God had said, God Himself burst the
bubble by giving Abraham this command: Take now your
son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land
of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains which I will tell you (Gen 22:2).
Abraham obeyed God.
By then, Isaac was no longer a child; he was in his thirties.
Hence, it wouldnt be difficult for him to physically overpower
his father (who was about 130 years old) and save himself
from certain death. But he didnt. Through this event alone,
God tested and saw the faith and obedience of both Abraham
and Isaac. In the end, the Lord blessed both Abraham and Isaac.
Likewise, as a result of our (my wife and I) Wilderness
Journey, in particular because of how we trusted in God, their
faith in God was built up. Praise the Lord.

There are two reasons why I have decided to put our
experiences in writing. The first is personal. What God has
allowed us to undergo is precious and the lessons learned
priceless. To forget them would be costly; God might make us
go through them again. Its been a few years since weve
emerged from the journey and I felt it is time to recollect the
experiences and consolidate the lessons learned.

7
But these recollections are not just for my own benefit;
they are for you, my readers, as well. It is my hope and prayer
that as a result of reading my story you would hunger to know
God in a new and deeper way, and you would desire to embark
on the Wilderness Journey as well.
In the course of writing, my heart was constantly filled with
praise and thanksgiving to God. It has been good medicine
to my body, as Proverbs 17:22 says. We should do more of it:
telling one another of the wonderful things God has done, that
is.
The second reason for re-telling my story is to help you
(and other Christians as well) see that the Old Testament
narratives are more than just good stories to tell children in
Sunday school; they hold spiritual lessons as well as very
practical ones too, even though we are separated by thousands
of years. Regrettably, too many of these stories have either
been allegorized or spiritualized to the point that their original
intent and meaning have being obscured, and their power
diluted. One of the cardinal principles in Bible Interpretation
is: Interpret Scripture literally. About this principle, J. I.
Packer writes:
The Medieval exegetes, following Origen, regarded the
literal sense of Scripture as unimportant and unedifying.
They attributed to each biblical statement three further
senses, or levels of meaning. Medieval exegesis was thus
exclusively mystical, not historical at all; biblical facts
were made simply a jumping-off ground for theological
fancies, and thus spiritualized away. Against this the
Reformers protested, insisting that the literal, or intended,
sense of Scripture was the sole guide to Gods meaning.
Fanciful spiritualizing, so far from yielding Gods meaning,
actually obscured it. The literal sense is itself the spiritual
sense, coming from God and leading to Him.
2

2
}ames I. Packei. 'Funuamentalism' anu the Woiu of uou (Intei-vaisity Piess, 19S8), pp.
1u1-114.

8
My Wilderness Journey may have lasted for only three years,
but it is merely a part of a larger work that God was doing in
my life, beginning effectively from 1995.
You will read from my story that I was commissioned as a
missionary in 1995. During the commissioning service at
church, two brothers-in-Christ received words from the Lord
about me. One of them heard God say that He was going to
put the spirit of Joshua on me. Another brother simply told
me to read the book of Joshua. Since then I have been reading
the book of Joshua, but only since two years ago (in 2011) did
I begin to use the name Joshua.
Joshua, as you know, was the man appointed by God to
lead the children of Israel across the Jordan River and into the
Promised Land. In His own sovereignty, God has chosen me to
lead His people (Christians) into a spiritual Promised Land.
That was to be my calling, my destiny. But I had a problem: I
didnt know what exactly is that Promised Land. Was it a real
place, or was it a spiritual realm? Where is it located, and how
do we get there? For the next seven years, I sought the Lord
for the answers to these questions, and more. I hate to spoil it
for you, but I am going to tell you that the Promised Land is
the Kingdom of God.

The Lord has taught me many things in the course of the seven
years. I have laid them out, as simply and as clearly as I could,
in Part II and III of this book. You are probably wondering:
There are already many books written and published on this
subject; what makes this one different from the rest?
From what I know (because I have not read every book out
there on this subject), most of them explain and describe the
kingdom of God from the perspective of the New Testament
only. I will show you, in this book, that the concept of the
kingdom of God is a biblical concept; meaning, it can be found
both in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old, the kingdom
of God is presented to us in the form of pictures the
Passover lamb that was killed and eaten, and its blood painted
on the doorposts and lintels of the Hebrew homes is a picture

9
of Christ our Redeemer. In the New, it is presented to us
through metaphors such as a man who sowed good seed in his
field (Matt 13:24-30), a grain of mustard seed that a man
took and sowed in his field (Matt 13:31-32), leaven that a
woman took and hid in three measures of flour (Matt 13:33),
treasure hidden in a field (Matt 13:44), a merchant in
search of fine pearls (Matt 13:45-46), and a net that was
thrown into the sea (Matt 13:47-50). Furthermore, I will show
you that the biblical concept of the kingdom of God is the
basis of the gospel that Jesus preached during His ministry on
earth.

Matthew tells us that Jesus went about everywhere preaching.
What did He preach? Matthew says it was the gospel of the
kingdom (Matt 4:23). Although I had read this countless
times (as youve had too, Im sure), it has never occurred to
me that Jesus could not have preached the same gospel we are
preaching today (I will call it the gospel of salvation) simply
because at that time He had not been crucified, and neither had
He risen from the dead (two events which form the bedrock of
the Christian faith. If Christ had not risen, our faith would be
futile, and we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor
15:19)). And to preach this gospel of the kingdom, Jesus had
to have taken it out of the Old Testament, particularly the
Torah, since the New had not yet been written.
There will be those who would argue that Jesus preached a
different gospel because He was preaching to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel the Jewish people. Being brought up
in the Hebrew Scripture, a gospel that was based on the Torah
would be more familiar sounding to them, and thus make them
more receptive to it. And for the Gentiles, God used a different
gospel; one that centered on Jesus who is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life (John 14:6).
This was of course not the case. Acts 28 clearly reveals that
Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance
(verse 31). He did not use one message for one group, and a

1u
different message for another group. The preaching of Christ
crucified was itself a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to
the Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23). If Paul were still alive today, there
will be no doubt in my mind that he would preach the same
way he did back then. I only hope that he would not call us
accursed after hearing the gospel that we are preaching today
(Gal 1:9).
The gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of Christ we
need both of them for they are two parts of a whole. If only
one part is preached, only a partial gospel has been preached.
Unfortunately, the gospel that was presented to me, which I
received, was a partial gospel. It is time for the church to
rediscover and preach again the gospel of the kingdom. This
was what, I believe, Jesus was doing when He went
everywhere preaching the gospel of the kingdom. And besides
preaching it Himself, He also taught His disciples to do the
same and to continue doing it. As a matter of fact, Jesus
predicts that this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed
(or preached) throughout the whole world as a testimony to all
nations. And when that happens, the end will come (Matt
24:14).

Part II of this book is about the pictures of the kingdom of
God in the Old Testament. There are two, basically: the
Garden in Eden and the land of Canaan. From the Garden in
Eden, you will learn that the kingdom of God is (1) a better
place, (2) the most holy place, (3) a rich place, and (4) a place
of rest. Canaan, described as a land flowing with milk and
honey, also depicts the kingdom of God as a place of
abundance and rest. But more than all this, the kingdom of
God is a place where God rules and reigns.
In this sense, the Youngs Literal Translation has rightly
replaced the kingdom of God with the reign of God in
many places in the Bible. It is correct since God is the One
who rules and reigns in this kingdom. With this understanding,
we know what we mean when we pray Thy kingdom come:
we are praying and looking for the day when the kingdoms of

11
this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his
Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever (Rev 11:15).

The kingdom of God, as represented by the Garden in Eden
and the land of Canaan, is the destination for Gods people.
This implies that they had a different starting point: Adam was
created outside the Garden, and the children of Israel were in
bondage to slavery in Egypt. Likewise, we were in the
kingdom of darkness before God found us; and were delivered
out of it and translated into the kingdom of His Son (Col 1:13).
Unfortunately, this verse has given Christians a wrong
impression: that we are translated into the kingdom of God
immediately after we were delivered from the kingdom of
darkness. Going by the Exodus story, which I have come to see
as representing the Christian journey, there is a lapse of time
between redemption (Passover), deliverance and baptism
(crossing the Red Sea), and entering the kingdom of God
(entering the Promised Land). Furthermore, didnt Jesus say
that He is the Way and that no one comes to the Father but
by Him? (John 14:6) If Christ is the way, then He cannot also
be the destination. Hence, coming to Christ is not the end of
the journey; it is only the beginning. The way that Christ says
He represents is the Way of Discipleship: it is hard and few
find it (Matt 7:14). It is a path of breaking, molding, and
making spiritual children into spiritual sons.

In Part III, I will be examining the metaphors Jesus used to
describe the kingdom of God. Most of them are found in the
thirteenth chapter of Matthews gospel narrative. But the study
of Gods kingdom would not be complete without looking at
the Coming Kingdom of Christ.

Most of what I will be sharing in the subsequent pages were
not learned through study but received through revelation. This
is a bold claim, I know. But I would not have made it if it were
not so. The truth is, the understanding of the kingdom of God
cannot be received by any other way except by revelation.

12
In Matthew 13, Jesus told a parable about a sower who
went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the
path; some fell on rocky ground; other seeds fell among the
thorns; and still others landed on good soil. Before we rush
into expounding on the parable, lets remind ourselves why
Jesus spoke in parables.
In His own words, Jesus spoke in parables because this
people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can
barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should
see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand
with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Whats
more, Jesus spoke in parables so that Isaiahs prophecy, that
says, You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will
indeed see but never perceive, might be fulfilled.
But only to His handpicked disciples did Jesus reveal the
secrets of the kingdom of God with this sober reminder:
Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what
you hear, and did not hear it (Matthew 13:17).

Now, we are ready to consider the meaning of the parable.
The sower, as revealed by Jesus, was God Himself. He has
gone out to sow the word of the kingdom into the hearts of
men (and still is doing so). When those who hear it and do not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has
been sown in his heart. These are those who have no
revelation whatsoever. Their hearts are as hard and
(spiritually) dull as the pathway on which the seed fell. Even if
God were to shout into their ears, they would probably not get
it.
Then there are those who received the word of the kingdom
and rejoiced because they understood it. Their joy was
however short-lived. When tribulation and persecution arose,
some fell away. The word in the rest of them was choked by
the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.
Only a few who heard the word and understood it went on
to be fruitful; in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and

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in another thirty. These who have received the initial
revelation of the kingdom automatically become perfect
candidates for more revelation because, as Jesus said, to the
one who has, more will be given, and he will have an
abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has
will be taken away.
After I had received the initial seed (the word of the
kingdom), I continued asking for greater revelation and
understanding. The more I asked, the more I received. The
more I sought, the more I found. And the more I knocked more
was opened to me. Even as you read this book, I pray for the
spirit of wisdom and revelation to enlighten the eyes of your
heart. This is the only way you will fully grasp what the
kingdom of God is.


14

Dedicated to our two elder children:
Tabitha and Jabez.
Thank you for not giving up on us or on God
during this challenging journey.


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Part I


16
Chapter 1

Homecoming

It was unclear why God wanted us to return to Singapore but we
were absolutely sure it was what he wanted. The way my wife and
I heard His voice independently of each other and at different
times was undeniable. It came to me at first as a feeling a
strange feeling.
We were in Singapore for the Christmas holidays. We
didn't stay long just a few days. (Finding accommodations for a
family of four was always a great challenge.) And when it came
time for us to return to the field, I had this strange uneasy feeling
in me. Frankly, I didnt want to leave (Singapore).
What's happening to me? It was embarrassing, to be
honest. Could I have caught the bug called Materialism? After
all, it was Christmas time and the city looked more colorful and
appealing then than any other time of the year. I couldnt
understand it myself and so I disclosed it to no one, not even to my
wife.
I tried to shake it off but to no avail. The feeling persisted
all the way to the airport, and on the airplane. As the flight was
leaving, I was so tempted to abort. I managed to suppress the
feeling and pretend I was happy to be going "home". But in truth, I
wasnt.
Back in the field, my struggle against the invisible foe
continued day and night. I dreaded the mornings; I didnt want to
go to work. Not because there was no work to be done. On the
contrary, the work was just beginning. I just felt that I no longer
belonged here; that my time was up. Gradually, the inner turmoil
began to take its toll on me physically. Breathing became difficult

17
and painful. I had to let it out. Another day and I just might
explode.
The chance came one night as my wife and I were
watching television in the living room. Unable to hold it in
anymore, I let it all come out during the commercial break.
"I have something to tell you," I said to Kelly, but it isnt
what you think.
After I had finished sharing with her all that was
happening to me she simply looked at me and smiled.
I know that look. It was the "I know something you
don't" type of look.
Unknown to me, she too had something bottled up in her;
something God said. My self-disclosure signaled to her that it was
time
Apparently, she had heard from God when we first
arrived in the field that we would stay for only ten years. Mentally,
there and then, we did the math. (It wasnt rocket science, you
know.) It has been 10 years: from 1995 till 2008, minus the 3 years
we were back in Singapore. It was time, indeed.
This was in January of 2008.

Exactly one year ago, I resigned from the church where I had
served for the past 17 years. But this didn't change our
commitment to the work God has called us to in the field. Even
without the church's financial and spiritual backing, we stayed
on...trusting God all the way.
February was the last month that we received a salary
from the church. After that, it was just us-and-the-Lord.
There were many advantages to being a church-supported
missionary. You have the financial security as long as your status
does not change. But at times like this one that we encountered,
you are left in a lurch once the lifeline is cut. The carpet was
suddenly pulled from under your feet. There is no runway to land
and refuel. We just had to keep going and trust that the wind
beneath our wings will continue to blow.
For the next year, we lived on and supported the ministry
using our personal savings, which had taken us many years to

18
build it up. And within a year, it was gone just like that. We had
enough, though, to buy plane tickets for the whole family to fly
home. By then there were five of us.

My wife and I were married in 1990. Our first child, a girl, came
two years after that. In the same year, I entered full-time Christian
ministry - something I had felt called to since I was 16. My wife
knew it when she married me, and so it did not surprise her when
the time came.
The Lord opened the door for me in the most amazing
way. We had just got married and were merely worshippers at the
church. Our bad experience in the previous church made us a little
more hesitant to dive headfirst into the next church. After all, this
church had some strange practices, such as speaking in tongues
and falling down (under the power of the Holy Spirit, they say).
Never mind that thousands were attending its multi-services every
Sunday. We wanted to take it easy and keep a low profile. Serving
in any capacity was the furthest thing from our minds then. That
was our plan.
God had his plan too. And in the end, his plan prevailed
over oursas usual.
Within a year, we found ourselves becoming members of
the church and on our way to becoming Cell Group Leaders
(leaders of a small group in the church). A year later, having led
the Cell and multiplied it, I was out of a job (in the church, that
is). That was when my Zone Pastor came to speak with us.
We bumped into each other in the foyer before the service
started. After exchanging the normal formalities, he cut to the
chase and invited us to dinner that week. We suspected nothing.
After all, isnt it the job of the pastor to know his flock? But this
appointment was anything but ordinary.
Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant. I have since forgotten
where we went. But I will never forget what happened that night.
He did not even wait till after my favorite part - desserts. As soon
as we have finished eating and the food had landed in our
stomachs, he pushed a piece of paper in front of me. I was shocked
a little, offended, perhaps. For a moment, I thought he was

19
expecting me pay for the meal. What cheek, I thought, to invite us
to dinner and then asked us to foot the bill. But it wasn't the bill
that was pushed before me. Rather, it was an Application Form for
Employment. He was popping the question.
Singaporeans, if you have not known by now, have a
strange way of "popping the question". When a guy wants a girl to
marry him, he would ask if they could book a flat together. At least,
that was how I did it. (Blush) Here, by placing the Application
Form before me, my pastor was inviting me to be a member of the
pastoral team in the church.
What a privilege.
The moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I
was jumping for joy on the inside but I tried not to let it show.
Silly as it may sound, I did not want to appear too eager to accept
the invitation. Everything in me was ready to sign on the dotted
line right there are the restaurant. Instead, I said that I would take a
few days to think and pray about it a week, to be exact.
That week passed by at snails pace. Each day felt like
eternity.
On the fourth day, I sent in the Application Form.

Our return was not accompanied by pomp or ceremony. It was a
quiet entry. No one was there to meet us at the airport (not that we
expected anyone to). It was a precursor of things to come.


2u
Chapter 2

My name is Joshua

All our names have meaning.
The name my parents gave me is PARC SEN. It is a
unique name. So unique that many would get it wrong. A few even
thought that I owned the PARKSON shopping mall in Malaysia. (I
dont, obviously.)
In Chinese, PARC is a type of tree, and SEN means
success. My last name is LOKE, which sounds like the word for
road or way in Cantonese. Put them all together and my name
says that steadfastness, or stubbornness, is the key to success. I
think I have a little of both.
My name also reminds me of a particular Psalm. Do you
know which one?
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he
meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit
in its season,
and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3

Unknown to me, I would be given an additional name - a
name from the Bible. Although I received it from the Lord in 1995,
I did not start using it until 2010. As you read the following pages,
you will know why.

In 1995, my family and I, together with two other families, were
being commissioned as missionaries during the ten oclock service.

21
The church was packed and intercessors were praying in a room
upstairs, as they usually do.
The senior pastor had begun to pray for the families one
by one. At the same time, an intercessor happened to be standing
at a window that overlooked the stage from the side. There and
then, the Lord spoke to him, saying, I will place the spirit of
Joshua on one of them. Pray for him.
Instinctively, he began to pray for the first in line (from
his perspective). He was the former Missions Pastor.
Not him, the Lord said to the intercessor.
So he prayed for the next person - a District Pastor.
Not him either.
As the eyes of the intercessor shifted and focused on me,
he wondered, Who is he?
I was a relatively new kid on the block, having only
joined the church just three years ago. Typically, it would take a
Missions Candidate 5 7 years before he or she was sent out to the
field. Somehow, in just two years, I was being sent out.
The commissioning ceremony ended and everyone left
the stage in three different directions. My wife and kids turned
right and scurried towards the exit while I went down the middle
to pick up my bible, which was lying on the front pew. As I was
reaching for it, another arm reached out for mine. Very soon, they
both met. The strong arm grabbed hold of mine. My gaze traced
the arm upwards till I saw a face. He was a tall black man. I had
never seen him before. He had a friendly look. With a voice to
match, he said to me, Read the book of Joshua. With that, he
released me to complete my original task. I did not see that man
again, and neither did I remember his words to me until
I did not learn about what the intercessor had received
from the Lord until four months later. When I did, I immediately
recalled the words that the tall, black stranger uttered to me. They
were not coincidences. There might be a message from the Lord to
me.
The next day, within a day, I read the book of Joshua five
times. What stood out to me in my readings were battles, battles,
and more battles.

22
What are you saying to me, Lord? That my life will be
full of battles?
He did not answer.

When God doesnt answer, it does not mean that He doesnt care.
He cares a lot. If we would be patient, we will see and
understand his will for us.
For me, God needed me to read the book of Joshua
because it would become a roadmap of sorts for the next few years
of my life from 1997 till 2011.
The first verse of the first chapter of the book of Joshua
reads: After the death of Moses, the servant of the LORD, the
LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant. Like many
others, I had thought of myself as a servant of God. I wanted to
do many things for God, and I believed I could do them all well.
After all, many people had affirmed my passion, dedication and
capability.
Lesson: It does not matter what people thought of you; it
is what God thinks of you that counts.
God knew that the only way that he could use me more
for His kingdoms sake would be when I had learned to humble
myself to the point of being a servant of a man whom he would
place over me. For the next six years three in Singapore and
another three in the field I submitted myself to Gods appointed
leaders over me. I did only what they told me to do, and did not do
what I was not told to do. It might sound easy for you, but it didnt
come naturally for me. But, thank God, I learned to humble myself.
I passed most of the tests that God sent my way, such that at the
end of six years, I was finally allowed to move on to Verse 2.
Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over
this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving
to them, to the people of Israel.
Here, God declares: Moses is dead. This was his way of
saying to me that I need not play second fiddle to anyone anymore.
It is time for me to pick up the mantle and embrace my calling;
that is, to lead Gods people across the Jordan and help them
possess their Promised Land.
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But what is the Promised Land? You might have heard of
the face that launched a thousand ships. The question What is
the Promised Land? launched me into a 7-year search for the
answer. This search took me to many interesting places where I
uncovered many great Scriptural truths. One of which was about
the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Chapter 3

The Journey Begins

When my family and I returned to Singapore in June of 2008,
all of our personal savings had been exhausted. We had not more
than a handful of faithful supporters who continued to give to us.
In spite of their sacrificial giving, it wasnt enough to meet our
needs. The cost of living in Singapore was rising quickly (and still
is even now). We were thankful, nevertheless, that we had a roof
over our heads.
The others had stopped giving. They reasoned that we should
not be receiving financial support but should work to support
ourselves since we were no longer on the field but had returned
home. I cant blame them because they were unaware of the
struggles and challenges returning missionaries face, that the stress
of re-entering ones culture can be equally great, if not greater,
than when entering a new culture. If they had known, they would
have been more empathetic.
The first order of the day was to put my son in a local school so
that he could continue his education. He took the School
Placement Test a test that every returning Singaporean must take
in order to enter the school system again but failed. As such,
there was no school that was willing to take him in. We had no
choice therefore but to enroll him into an International School that
costs fourteen thousand dollars annually. My eldest daughter, in
the meantime, remained in the field to complete her high school.
From there, she went on to college in Chicago, Illinois. As you can
see, our expenses were quite high. On an average, we would need

2S
six to seven thousand dollars a month just to sustain ourselves.
Was there a job that could pay that kind of salary? Sure there was,
but based on my qualifications I would not be eligible for them. In
any case, I was not permitted to take it even if one was being
offered to me.
Since that night when we realized that it was time to leave the
field and return home, I had been asking God what he would have
me do next. If there was a time that I prayed unceasingly, this was
one. Im not the kind that likes to do nothing. I have to be doing
something, and nothing isnt something. Instead of telling me what
I should do, he started to tell me what I should not do. He said that
we were not to take jobs or raise funds for ourselves. We were also
not to share our needs with others less they have pity on us and
help us out financially. In short, God wanted us to rely on him
solely. A tall order, indeed, but somehow his grace was with us
and we were able to accept the challenge. What made the
challenge even harder was the fact that we did not know how long
this would last. How long did God expect us to live by faith? A
year? Two? Five? How many tests will we have to go through? No
one knows. Just like the Israelites when they entered the
wilderness en route to the Promised Land, we could only take a
day at a time as it came. Our energies each day and all day were
focused on keeping our faith from wavering. This is why I refer to
this part of our lives as The Wilderness Journey.
It is important for me here to distinguish between The
Wilderness Journey and The Dark Night of the Soul. I have
observed that when Christians speak of their own Wilderness
Journey, they are in fact speaking about The Dark Night of the
Soul, where God seem very far away. In the Wilderness Journey
that the Israelites underwent, God was very near to them. As a
matter of fact, He was visible daily to them for He appeared to
them as a pillar of cloud (by day) and a pillar of fire (by night).
Most Christians do not know this but in the Hebrew language
the wilderness, or midbar, is a place of harmony and order. The
city, on the contrary, is a place of chaos. It isnt surprising,
therefore, to learn that the root of the Hebrew word for city
actually means chaos. (You can refer to Jeff Benners The Way

26
of Yahweh for more teaching on this matter.) From this, we can
understand why God saw it necessary to bring His People into the
wilderness immediately after He had delivered them from bondage.
In the wilderness, particularly at Mount Sinai, God attempted to
restore and instill order into His People by giving them the
Torah (more commonly known as The Law).
The purpose of Israels Wilderness Journey is expressed in
Deuteronomy 8:2: And you shall remember the whole way that
the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the
wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what
was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or
not.
We see God doing the same thing with Israel later in their
history, at a time when they were giving themselves to the worship
of other gods such as Baal. Through the prophet Hosea, God said
this: Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the
wilderness, and speak tenderly to her (Hosea 2:14).
Jesus, the Son of God, was not exempt from the Wilderness
Journey. Granted, His was much shorter: only forty days. But
thats because Jesus, being brought up in an observant Jewish
family, had known and kept the commandments of God since He
was a child. He not only knew God, He had faith in God. This
pleased the Father. This was why, at His baptism, the Father was
able to publicly say of His Son: This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).
The wilderness, it seems, is Gods preferred arena for
discipleship. Therefore, I say, the Wilderness Journey is very
essential, even crucial, to the Christian life. We who have been
saved from the world need our priorities, values and mindsets re-
ordered to align with Gods. Otherwise, we would be living as
carnal Christians all the days of our lives.
To know whether you would keep his commandments or
not was what God needed to find out about me. And He used the
Wilderness Journey to accomplish it.
Will you let God lead you into the wilderness so that He may
test and train you to do His Will?

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Chapter 4

Sowing and Reaping

I learned my precious lessons during my wilderness journey;
one of which is about Sowing and Reaping. No, I didnt become a
farmer; Sowing and Reaping is a spiritual principle that works.
For it to be a principle, it must be able to function in various
situations and for different people. There are many examples of
this principle in the Bible, and I will highlight three of them here.

Genesis is the book of beginnings. In it we find the beginning of
life on the earth, the beginning of the knowledge of God, and the
beginning of sin, which led to the beginning of Gods Plan of
Redemption.
Genesis is also a book of first-mentions. In other words, great
spiritual concepts are first mentioned here and then elaborated or
explained in the rest of the Bible. One of the great spiritual
concepts that are mentioned in the book of Genesis is the concept
of Sowing and Reaping.
After creating Adam, God took the man and put him in the
garden (Gen 2:15) and then took him on a tour of it. Pointing to
the trees and plants growing all around them, God said to Adam:
Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the
face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall
have them for food (Genesis 1:29).
They were given to Adam and his wife. This means that they
could freely eat them. While they had work to do in the Garden,
their work was not tied to their provision. Whenever Adam felt
like eating, he only had to stretch out his hand and take a fruit from

28
the tree, any tree. In fact, the more Adam ate, the more beneficial it
would be to him and his posterity. Why do I say that?
Recall that every fruit and plant in the Garden yielded seed
(Genesis 1:11, 12). Which means that each and every fruit and
plant in the Garden possessed a natural and inherent ability to
reproduce itself. An apple, for example, has as many as ten seeds
in it. If these seeds were planted into the ground, each of them
would in time grow into a tree that produces many apples
seasonally. And if all the seeds of the apples are planted, can you
imagine how many apple trees there will be, and how many apples
they will produce? And, here, we are just talking about apples.
There are fruits and vegetation of all kinds in the Garden; and all
of them contain seed. The more Adam ate, the more seed he would
have to plant with.

Fast forward to the ninth century when Israel was being ruled by
evil kings and Elijah had been instructed by the Lord to take
refuge by the brook of Cherith which is east of the Jordan. There
the Lord commanded the ravens to feed Elijah. All was well for a
while until the brook began to dry up.
It is a natural tendency to want to read on to find out what
happens next. But let me urge you to pause and imagine the
situation that Elijah was facing. In the words of A. W. Pink:
Day by day the water in the brook steadily diminished:
did his hopes do likewise? Did his songs of worship become
feebler and less frequent as the streamlet rolled less noisily
over its rocky bed? Was his harp hung upon the willows as he
gave himself up to anxious thought and restlessly paced to and
fro?

How would your faith be affected if you were in Elijahs
shoes?
Nothing in Scripture hinted, even slightly, at such a thing.
God keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed upon
Himself. But for this to be true, Pink says, the heart must
steadfastly confide in him.

29
In many ways, my family and I were able to identify with
Elijahs plight. The brook had dried for us and the ravens had all
left as well. This is when the rubber meets the road, the ultimate
test of our faith in God. We will know at the end if our trust is in
the Lord, or we are merely fair weather Christians.
Every Christian, I believe, fears to be in such a situation. But if
we were, our minds would most likely be distracted. And instead
of waiting patiently for the Lord, it would be wondering what to do
next.
Elijah woke up one morning and found that the brook, his
primary source of sustenance, had completely dried up. What will
he do next? Where will he go? Or more precisely, where can he
go? He must now take matters into his own hands. But he doesnt.
We are not told how long before the next word of the Lord came to
him, but we know that Elijah waited.
The Psalmist tells us what happens to those who wait patiently
for the Lord:
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and
heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry
bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our
God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
(Psalm 40:1-3)

Then word of the Lord came to [Elijah], showing that God
had not forgotten and He never forgets to be gracious to His
own. And if Elijah had indeed taken matters into his own hands
and did his best for himself, he would have realized his folly now.
Pink writes:
In going to Cherith the prophet had acted under Divine
orders, and therefore was under Gods special care. Could he,
then, come to any real harm under such guardianship? He
must therefore remain where he is until God directs him to
leave the place, no matter how unpleasant conditions may

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become. So with us. When it is clear that God has placed us
where we are, there we must, "Abide" (1 Cor. 7:20).

Reading a little further, you will discover that Elijah did meet a
widow as he entered the city Zarephath. But to his horror and to
ours as well, if we were Elijah this widow was as poor as poor
can get. At the time of her encounter with the prophet, she was
gathering sticks to prepare a meal that she and her son would eat
it and die.
What was God thinking, sending the prophet to a poor widow
who could hardly sustain herself and her son? But when you think
about it, this is the hallmark of God: impossible situations. The
more desperate the situation, the greater the miracle that comes out
of it would be.
Elijah was not moved by the dire strait of the widow. It was a
severe testing for Elijah, not only to take the journey through the
desert but also to enter into an experience that opposed his natural
instincts and religious training. Here he was in Zarephath, with no
acquaintances, and having to be dependent on a Gentile in a pagan
city. Remembering the word of God to him, Elijah instructed the
widow to give him something to eat and drink. In doing so, it was
not Elijah that commanded the widow, but God, for he had said, I
will command a widow there to feed you.
Now I know why God did not allow me to raise funds for my
family, or even to share the needs that we have with others. If we
did so, people would give out of pity and compassion and, perhaps,
duty. What glory would God have in this? But if no human effort
was applied and yet people were moved to give, all glory would go
to God. And this was what happened during our Wilderness
Journey. God spoke to various individuals about us and, in some
cases, instructed them to give specific amounts of money to us. All
the while they were unaware of our particular needs. I am so glad
that they gave in faith and in obedience to the Lord. They were
bold and fearless, like the widow in Zarephath. They sowed what
little they had into the man of God.
When the widow sowed into Elijah, she subsequently reaped an
amazing harvest. The Bible tells us that, she and he and her

S1
household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent,
neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of
the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.
Do you have a need? Are you in lack? Do what this widow did:
sow a good seed, and in due season you will reap a harvest.
Jesus promised that when you give, it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will
be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be
measured back to you. (Luke 6:39)
Try it.

Needless to say, a lesson on Sowing and Reaping would be
incomplete without mentioning the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When faced with five thousand hungry men (not including
women and children), He took a boys lunch, five loaves and two
fish, and gave thanks. In doing so, He was sowing a seed. In that
same day, as was expected whenever you sow a seed, He reaped a
harvest. There was more than enough food to feed those who were
present that day.
The greatest and most precious seed Jesus sowed more
precious and potent than anyone can sow was Himself. When He
said, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit, He was speaking
of Himself, that in His death many will receive life eternal (John
12:24). His life was but a small seed, sown in tears but reaped in
rejoicing (Psa 126:5).
If you wish to learn more about Sowing and Reaping, I would
encourage you to read the book of the same title by D. L. Moody.
Chapter 5

Eighty Dollars

There was a reason the Lord started to teach my wife and I about
the spiritual principle of Sowing and Reaping in 2005. Sovereignly,
He knew that we would need it very soon.
Sowing and reaping was not an option for us after we
returned to Singapore. We were down to our last couple of
thousand dollars, and our monthly expenses was three times that.
We started to sow into good ground: ministries that were doing
good work and bearing lasting fruit. And because we sowed into
these ministries, their fruit was our fruit too.
We also sowed into individuals. Specifically, we sowed
into a Singaporean missionary family in China who were
supported by a mega-church in Singapore, and then they were not.
We sowed to the tune of a few hundred dollars monthly. The
temptation to put Self before others was strong all the time, but we
succeeded in overcoming it by the grace of God. We sowed even
though there were times we did not have enough for ourselves. If
we believed that Sowing and Reaping is a spiritual principle, we
had to show it by our actions; not by our words only.
Every month, without fail and like clockwork, we reaped a
harvest proportional to what we had sown in the previous month. It
wasnt a thirty, or sixty, or a hundred fold harvest; it was ten times
what we had sown, a miracle nonetheless. For the next three years,
this was the way all our needs were met.
Day after day, the Lord tested us to see if we truly
believed His Word. Month after month, we found His Word to be

SS
true and trustworthy. But just to be sure, God tested us one more
time. This time in a big way.

There was a time in our journey when we were scraping the
bottom of the barrel. Our bank account was empty (as it has been
for a while now), and after gathering all the change we could dig
out of our pockets, we only had eighty dollars left.
Pause for a moment and ask yourself What would I have
done in this situation? Very naturally, we would think of ways to
stretch every dollar and every cent. We might even begin to
distinguish between needs and wants, necessities and luxury, and
spend only on what is needed. In terms of food, we would have to
be contend with hawker food and kopi-o, instead of McDonalds
and Starbucks. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Some
might beg, borrow, or pray. We, on the other hand, decided to sow.
For us, a seed is nothing less that fifty dollars. So, we
sowed fifty of the eighty dollars we had into a Christian ministry.
Now that weve gone from the frying pan and into the fire, we
could only wait and see the salvation of the Lord.
What happened to us over the next seven days was
nothing short of a miracle. In fact, I would say that we had a series
of miracles that week.
We experienced firsthand First Kings 17, when God sent
ravens to feed His prophet Elijah. Day after day, friends would call
on us either to visit or to invite us to a meal. Whenever someone
visited us, we almost always end up being treated to a meal in a
restaurant. Since we had told no one about our current and dire
situation, these were not acts of pity or compassion. They were the
acts of God who made all things work together for our good.
Although we started the week with only thirty dollars, we
ended the week with thirty-five.

Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his
steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. (Psalm 31:21)


S4
Biblical Budgeting

The Bible is a very practical book. If we would only take
time to read and study it, and pray to the Holy Spirit to give us
revelation, we would be able to benefit much from it. By the Holy
Spirit, I saw the model for Biblical Budgeting:
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will
supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the
harvest of your righteousness. (2 Cor 9:10)

I learned to see everything I receive as comprising two portions:
seed and bread. Bread is for food, and seed is for sowing.
Using the example I used earlier of an apple, if you ate the apple
with its seeds you would not have any apples to eat after that. But
if you ate the apple and sowed its seeds, you would have not just
one or two apples in the future; you would have plenty. In the
same way, if you spend all that you have today you will end up
with nothing tomorrow. But if you sow something today, even a
seed, you will have a harvest in due season.
I must clarify that investments, such as in stocks and such, is
not Sowing. In investing, the money you invest remains yours; you
have not given it away, it has merely been re-allocated. To sow,
you must cast your bread upon the water (Eccl 11:1). And when
you do, you will find it after many days. Thats a promise.
Although we knew that investing was not the same as
Sowing, we, admitedly, did dabble some with investments during
this season. We were not, however, looking for it, but somehow it
found us.
Through a friend, we learned about a certain investment
(which I will not name here) that was a sure thing. (I am
convinced that there are no such thing as a sure thing in
investments.) This investment promises a great dividen; potentially
turning us into millionaires. It was too good to be true, yet we
believed and bought (into) it. We felt that our hearts were in the
right places because we were not going to spend all of the millions
on ourselves. We had a vision of the things we could do for the
sake of Gods kingdom; how we would be a blessing to so many
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people. Of course, we too will be blessed. The days of lack and
want will be in the past for us. To some degree, we felt we
deserved it; after all weve given our lives (so far) to the service of
God and suffered.
Days turned into months, and the months rolled into
years. Everyday we would pray, proclaim, and declare This is the
day we will receive our inheritance. Looking back, I can laugh at
ourselves. We were hopeful; we were desperate; and we were
delusional. Finally, we had to embrace the fact that this was not
going to be. We were not going to be rich. The Wilderness Journey
continues for us.

In case you are thinking that you have not been called to live by
faith the way many others and I are doing, think again. The just
shall live by faith and without faith it is impossible to please
God. Please do not think that you do not need to live by faith
because you have a job; if you cannot live by faith with a job, how
will you live by faith without a job when God calls? This, in my
humble opinion, is what prevents many Christians in Singapore
(and around the world) from following and fulfilling their God-
given destinies.
Chapter 6

Man shall not live by bread alone

Where in the Bible can the words Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God be
found? If you answered that they were spoken by Jesus during His
Temptation in the wilderness (as recorded by Matthew), you will
be right. But did you know that Jesus was actually quoting from
the Old Testament? The book of Deuteronomy, chapter 8 and
verse 3, to be precise.
The context is about Israels Wilderness Journey that
lasted a total of forty years. And, as I have said previously, Gods
purpose for this journey was to test and see what was in their
hearts; to know if they would keep His commandments or not. Or
will they continue to be carnal setting their mind on the flesh and
not the Word of God.
Biblical History proves that the Israelites completely
missed the point of the journey. They failed to learn the most
important lesson: to trust and obey. Instead, they complained,
murmured and grumbled incestantly.
It is easy to criticize the Israelites who were in the
wilderness, an uninhabitable place, when you are habitating in
relative comfort and abundance. Put yourself in their shoes for a
moment and wonder if you will not react in the same way they did.
In the wilderness, you are being surrounded by nothing-ness.
Nothing grows in the wilderness. Nothing survives there. There are
no malls, no cinemas, no supermarkets where you can get your
favorite food stuffs. Furthermore, there is nothing to do.

S7
We cannot completely blame them for reminiscing about
the good life they used to have: the fish, the cucumbers, the
melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, which they ate freely
in Egypt. Those who are frequent travelers understand what it is
like to miss the local food when in a foreign land. Likewise, after
four hundred years in Egypt, the Israelites had grown accustom to
certain foods. Acquiring a new taste for manna, for example
would take some time.
To make matters worse, they did not choose to be in the
wilderness; they were led there by Moses (who was simply
obeying Gods instructions).
We (my wife and I) did not get to choose the timing or
the duration of our Wilderness Journey. It was chosen sovereignly
by God. I did wonder why He only led us into the Wilderness at
this stage of our lives; particularly when weve been Christians for
over 30 years. The answer: we would not have been able to survive
it. It would have destroyed our faith, much like what happened to
the first generation of Israelites. We needed to know God to some
extent before we could be tested in such intense degree. But
having gone through it, we are glad God led us there and through
it. We highly recommend it to every Christian.
During our Wilderness Journey, we found ourselves
asking questions such as What will we eat? What will we
drink? and What will we wear? Our daily prayer was The
Lords Prayer. When we came to the part: Give us this day our
daily bread, we prayed even louder. We truly took one day at a
time. We learned, as Jesus said, to not be anxious about tomorrow
for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Indeed, pulling through
each day was hard enough for us.
Although we did not have a grave lack of food, we did
not have plenty. But what really sustained us was the Word of
God. Through it all God strengthened us with many assurances and
instructions. Psalm 37 was our anchor throughout this period. Let
me share a few verses from this wonderful Psalm that have really
ministered to us. I trust they will minister to you as well.


S8
Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and
feed on his faithfulness. Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he
will give thee the desires of thy heart. Commit thy way unto
Jehovah; Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. (verse 3-5)
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself, it
tendeth only to evil-doing. (verse 8)
Better is a little that the righteous hath than the
abundance of many wicked. (verse 16)
They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; And in
the days of famine they shall be satisfied. (verse 19)
I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen
the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread. (verse 25)

Verse 25 has special meaning to us because it is about our
children, and we were very concerned about our children, that they
would be suffering on our account.

Coming back to the Temptation of Jesus, Satan wasnt challenging
Jesus dieity If you truly are the Son of God, do this as much
as he was tempting Jesus to make use of His deity Since you are
the Son of God turn these stones into bread and you will not be
hungry anymore. Throughout our Wilderness Journey, we were
tempted to do whatever was in our power to meet our own needs,
to save ourselves and end this suffering. Put simply, we were
tempted to get a job to earn a steady, abeit small, income. Thanks
to this story about Jesus temptation, we learned that there was
something more important than gratifying our hunger. It was to
understand and do Gods Will.
Jesus did not end up in the wilderness by accident. He did
not lose his way after leaving the Jordan. It was the Holy Spirit
who led Him there. From this, Jesus understood that He was there
for a purpose. Even his hunger was purposeful. And as long as
Gods purpose had not been fulfilled, Jesus was willing to
trustingly suffer. To abort now would mean short-circuiting Gods
plan and potentially giving Satan the victory he so wanted though
undeserved.
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As for my wife and I, we knew that our Wilderness
Journey was part of Gods Will for us. We did not choose to
undergo it, but we were chosen; that itself was great privilege. And
until God says It is over, we were prepared to persevere and
feed on His faithfulness. Our spiritual growth during this period
was more than in the twenty-five years prior to this put together.
At the end of it, I have to agree with the Psalmist who said, My
suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your
decrees (Psalm 119:71).
Chapter 7

Consider the Birds and Lilies

I would be lying to you if I said that learning to live by faith is
easy. It isnt.
It isnt easy because it goes against every fibre of your
being and everything that you believe in, such as: nothing comes
from nothing; that nothing is free in this world; and those who
wish to eat must work. To live by faith, one almost has to push all
these aside and free-fall into the arms of God. If you think bungee-
jumping is scary, wait till you try living by faith.
And as if battling against our minds is not hard enough,
people around you can be counted on to cast doubts on you, and
even throw stones at you. Believe me, we had our fair share of
this. There were those who admired our faith, then there were
those who thought we were presumptuous and lazy.
When we started on our Wilderness Journey and was
learning to live by faith, we did not have past experiences to fall
back upon. If we had seen God provide for us firsthand, it would
have helped us to trust Him again. Hence, the experience of God is
as important as the knowledge of Him.
One of the reasons the Israelites turned to the worship of
Baal, the god of the harvest, was because they had not seen God
perform wonders in this area. Baal, on the other hand, was known
to be able to affect the harvest. It would be handy, so to speak, to
have him on your side.
Though we started our journey with hardly any
experience of God in providing for our daily needs, we had plenty

41
of them by the end of the journey. And we have been extremely
blessed because of it. (Can you tell?)
It wasnt without a price. The price was suffering and
hardships. Daily we struggled with doubt and fear; but that drove
us to grow deep in Gods Word. We envied our friends who could
afford some luxury; but that taught us to delight in the Lord.
To be honest, my wife struggled more than I did. Her
maternal instincts made her worry constantly about the family and,
in particular, the children. It would be wrong to say that I wasnt
concerned at all; I was very concerned indeed. But knowing that
this season was part of Gods Will for us, I was assured that He
was watching over them as if they were His own. In truth, God
does not have any grandchildren. My children are the children of
God too.
The suffering and hardship we had to endure was nothing
compared to the surpassing worth of the intimate knowledge of
God weve gained in the process. In the end, we had to say that it
was all worthwhile.

I learned that faith and fear are actually the same things. They
expend our energies and it takes as much energy to live by faith as
it does to live in fear. So the choice is really ours: how we would
rather live. For me, I chose to live by faith. In making that
decision, fear and doubt do not automatically vapourise into thin
air. They had to be confronted and overcome. And the way to
overcome them is to keep your eyes on the Lord.
Peter did not sink into the water even though the waves
were high around him. That was because his eyes were on his
Lord. But the moment that he began to notice the waves and the
wind, he began to sink. This is the picture we all must have in our
minds if we wish to walk by faith.
To walk by faith, you cannot allow yourself to be move
by what you see, what you hear, what you feel or think. You must
only be moved by the Word of God. If God said it (and I believe
it), then that settles it!

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There were times during our Wilderness Journey that we
questioned if God would really meet all our needs, especially when
we are not doing anything to help ourselves. Even though there is
no such verse in the Bible that says God only helps those who
helps themselves, many Christians seem to think (that God
thinks) that way.
The Bible tells us that God helps those who are helpless,
who cannot help themselves. And when the helpless approach the
throne of grace, they will receive mercy and find grace to help
in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
One time, when I was seriously doubting if we were
doing the right thing, I asked God: Will You really feed me (and
my family) even if I do nothing?
And the Lord answered Yes!
Then He pointed me to the passage of Scripture in
Matthew 6 and verse 26, where Jesus said:
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?

I am worth more to the Father than one of these birds (or all of
them put together). If He is willing to feed them day after day,
even when they neither toil nor spin, nor gather into barns, then
He will surely feed me also. That was the message God wanted me
to receive.
A couple of verses later, Jesus said:
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I
tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these.

Applying the same logic as before: if God dresses the
grass of the field, which is alive for only a short while, will he not
much more clothe me?
And the answer has to be a resounding, Yes!

4S
In spite of all these assurances, I still went ahead to try to
help myself by registering as a tutor with a Tuition Center. I did
not only register with one tuition center, but three.
It is said that When God closes a door, He opens a
window. My experience was on the contrary. I saw that When
God closes a door, He also closes the windows. The thing is, I did
not receive any calls or emails from any of these centers.
But as soon as the journey had ended, the calls started
coming. By then, God had already opened the way for me to be
gainfully employed and meaningfully engaged.
Chapter 8

Discipled by Christ

Everyone is talking about Discipleship, so much so that
the word has become clich. It has come to be synonymous with
programs and courses. But discipleship is anything but that.
I feel that I am qualified to speak on this subject since I
had been making disciples since I was converted.
At age 14, I was born again. I was in an elite Christian
school then, and a classmate of mine asked if I would do Bible
Study with him. He was no ordinary guy; he was the most
notorious student in the whole school. Nearly everyday he would
be called to the Principals office for one offense or another.
I had only come to know the Lord for three months but
that did not stop me from agreeing to his request. We met
everyday after school for two years. I simply taught him
everything I knew (which wasnt much). Whats more, I didnt
know that what I was doing was called Discipleship. I didnt know
such a term even existed until much later.
I, too, was being discipled. In fact, I had a few good
spiritual leaders who loved and taught me well. I must give them
credit for who Ive become today.
What Ive observed is that whenever Discipleship is being
discussed, the discussion does not depart from the horizontal
dimension: a man discipling another. As important as it is only
disciples can make disciples there is another dimension to
Discipleship that, Im afraid, weve missed out altogether. That of,
being discipled by God the Father.

4S
Paul, in Romans 8:29, says that God has pre-destined us
to be conformed to the image of His Son. In short, He desires that
we all become like Christ (or Christ-like). And He knows that it
would not happen naturally on its own without His involvement.
Involvement? Thats right. Dont think that just because
God pre-destined something it will completely come to pass. It is
similar to a father whose desire for his son is to be a doctor. But
the son might have different ideas about what he wants to become
when he grows up. Persistently, the father will try to persuade his
son by making him aware of all the benefits of the medical
profession (about the lives he can save, that is). If he is successful,
his son will choose to be a doctor.
In the same way, God is constantly wooing and luring us
towards His goal for us. In Pauls words: It is God who works in
you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians
2:13).
God is our Father, our heavenly Father. And like all
fathers, He has taken it upon Himself to teach and care for those
who are His. Where necessary, He will even discipline and punish.
In other words, He is our Chief Disciple-maker.
This is a refreshing revelation. For all the while,
Christians have only known another person to be our disciple-
maker. This is not wrong; just incomplete. A man might be
disicpling another man. But there comes a time when the disciple-
maker must release his disciple back to Christ, the Chief
Disciple-maker. If the disciple-maker holds on to his disciple, he
would only succeed in the end in making the disicple more like
himself, and not Christ. This would be a failure, even a disaster.
Just before Jesus came into the picture, Johns (the
Baptist) ministry was growing. He had many followers. But all the
while, John was mindful of his role: that he was merely the voice
crying in the wilderness that prepares the way of the Lord. He
readily admits that after him will come one who is mightier; the
strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie
(Mark 1:7).
Then when Jesus finally comes into the picture and begins
His ministry, many of Johns disciples left him to follow Jesus. As
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this was happening, John was asked: Rabbi, he who was with you
across the Jordan, to whom you bore witnesslook, he is
baptizing, and all are going to him. To this, he replied,
A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given
him from heaven.
You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the
Christ, but I have been sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend
of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at
the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now
complete.
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:28-30)

What a man. No wonder Jesus later honors John with
these words: I tell you, among those born of women there is no
one greater than John" (Luke 7:28).
I have come to realize that not only does God want to
personally teach and train us, He also has a customised
Discipleship Curriculum for each one of His children. Thats
because every child is different from the other. The Church,
however, due to the lack of time and the pressure to produce
results, has developed a one-size-fits-all type of Discipleship
Curriculum, which falls short in so many ways.
To get a sense of what Gods Discipleship Curriculum is
like, just look at how Jesus taught and trained the Twelve. Be
careful, however, not to make a program out of it. The moment
you try to do that, youve missed the point. The way Jesus
nurtured His disciples is dynamic and living. Programs, on the
other hand, are rigid and dead.
Romans 8:14 states that All who are led by the Spirit are
the sons of God. This implies that for a discipleship to produce
sons, it must be led by the Spirit, not by a pre-set plan.

When I became a believer of Christ at the age of 14, I was
privileged to be discipled by a dedicated and caring Navigator. I
continued to be discipled until my marriage. The kind of
discipleship I underwent has become rare nowadays, especially in

47
the local church. This was the reason it became a challenge to find
a good man of God to help me to grow further in the Lord. It did
not get easier when I became a missionary.
For about ten years, I prayed and searched and asked
various ones, spiritual giants in my mind, if they would be my
mentor. Sadly, every single one of them declined. The countless
and continual rejection made me wonder if it was something about
me (something bad) that made them say no. Today, I am sure
that that wasnt the case.
I didnt give up, though. Even when we had ended our
stint in the field and returned to Singapore I continued to search
for a mentor. Very soon, I thought that I had found one and had an
opportunity to ask him. But before I could pop the question, he
said the following to me: Dont ask me to be your mentor; you
dont need one because Jesus is personally discipling you.
His words bowled me over. I was glad and scared at the
same time. Glad that Jesus would want to disciple one such as I.
Scared I mean, who wouldnt be scared to be personally
discipled by God Himself. At the same time, his words consoled
me and explained the rejections I received. You see, there was a
reason I approached those I did to mentor me. Obviously, they
possessed qualities that I admired and desired. The day that one of
them agrees to be my mentor would be the day I stop looking at
Jesus. This was something God didnt want happen to me. Dont
misunderstand, please. Im not against Mentoring; I am just telling
you what happened to me. This is not a principle or theology that I
am espousing; it is descriptive, not prescriptive.

God has a customized Discipleship Curriculum for you and it can
be completed in a certain period of time. For the Twelve, it was
covered in three and a half years. I believe that three years is just
about the time that a person can be made into a mature child of
God. There are, however, many obstacles that stand in the way.
Imagine that you are thinking of enrolling yourself into a
degree program in a certain field of study. Before you are a few
pathways. You can either enroll into a full-time program in which
you will complete in three years. Or, if you prefer to work and
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study at the same time, you may choose a part-time course. This
way, you will receive your degree only 5 to 7 years later. Then
again, if you are not in a hurry to get the certificate, you may
embark on the program at your own pace by attending one module
at a time.
Gods Discipleship Curriculum is best done on a full-time
basis, just like what the Twelve did. But knowing modern man and
their tight schedules, this might not be feasible. The next best thing
would be to do it on a part-time basis. But, as it turns out, most
Christians are not even on the part-time program. They are, more
likely, attending one module at a time at their own convenience.
No wonder Christians are taking so long to mature.
Chapter 9

Discovering Israel

Within two weeks of returning to Singapore, I was invited by a
friend to attend a Bible class taught by a prominent pastor in the
city. Frankly, I was quite reluctant to attend, not just this class but
any class. I guess I just needed time to adjust to being back.
Singapore had become quite strange to us with the sudden influx
(deluge seems to be the more appropriate word) of foreigners.
Sometimes, while riding in the trains, I wonder if I was in
Singapore at all. But, thats just me.
I was already reluctant to attend the Bible class. And when
I found out what the topic was going to be, I was adamant not to
go.
The pastor was going to be teaching on the Book of
Revelation. In all my years as a Christian, I have read and heard
many teachings (or, should I say versions) on the Book of
Revelation. It seems that nearly everyone has their own take on it.
Why would I want to hear another mans take on it?
Somehow, my friend was able to persuade me to go. After
all, I had nothing to do, and nothing to lose.
So, we went and we got hooked.
We listened intently and couldnt believe our ears. This
pastor was saying things that God had been revealing to us just
before we left the field to return home. We were comforted,
actually, to know that we were not the only ones receiving these
revelations from God. God had been saying the same things to
someone else. Hallelujah.

Su
From then one, we continued to attend the Monday night
Bible classes faithfully. (My wife more faithfully than I.)
Week by week, God began to download into our spirits and
minds a new understanding, a new theology (to us, that is). Precept
upon precept, we began to understand the role of Israel in Gods
overall plan and purpose, and especially in the End Time.
We discovered that Israel is the missing link to much of our
Evangelical missiology and eschatology just to name a few.
From as early as the 3
rd
and 4
th
centuries, Biblical theology has
been replaced with the Replacement Theology, something that
was strongly influenced by Anti-Semitic sentiments of the Early
Fathers. Replacement Theology teaches that God is through with
Israel, due to her continued disobedience and rejection of the
Messiah, and the church, as the New Israel, is now the heir of all
the promises and blessings and commissions that God gave to
Israel.
(When I spell church with a small c, I am referring to
the local or institutional church. But when I spell it with a capital
C, I am speaking of the Church that Christ is building.)
This theology has caused the church to be delusional. For
one, it thinks that it is capable of finishing the Great Commission,
which is NOT. The Great Commission cannot be completed
without the Jewish believers in Christ with whom we are to be
joined to form the One New Man.
The church has also forgotten that salvation is from the
Jews and still belongs to the Jews. In its evangelism, it has not
preached to the Jews even though Paul categorically says that the
gospel is to the Jews first, and then to the Greeks "#$%&'( )*)+,-
In the next five years (till now), we would learn more and
more about the spiritual significance of Israel, both in history as
well as in prophecy. We also uncovered spiritual treasures in the
Lords Feasts. (The term Jewish Feasts is a misnomer because
these feasts did not originate with the Jews but with God.)
Learning from the Bereans, I did not believe everything I
was told straight away. I checked all that I was taught with the
Scriptures. Only when I can see it in the Scriptures would I believe
in it, and teach it to others. Ive seen many who have gone over
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board in their understanding and support for Israel. They are where
they are because they have not searched the Scriptures. (Many do
not know the Scriptures well to start with.)
Every year since then, we have travelled to Israel (my wife
more than I). We do not go as tourists; we go on the invitation of
God because it is His land we are entering into. Some of the trips
are prophetic in nature (my wife goes on these trips), others have a
different purpose. In recent years, God has directed our focus
towards the Jewish Holocaust Survivors. For the last three years,
we have held banquets for them in Israel. The goal was to
remember and honor them.
Because a large part of the church still holds to the
Replacement Theology, we stand out like a sore thumb to them.
This is the price weve had to pay for knowing about and
connecting with Israel.
But there have been blessings too. An example is this: Both
my daughters are privileged to have been baptized in the Jordan
river. My son is next.
Chapter 10

A New Journey

Walking with God is a lifelong journey. It never ends unless
you want it to.
In December of 2010, I heard the Lord say to me, The end
is near. By this God was letting us see the light at the end of the
tunnel, which had not been visible until now. Immediately, I
rushed home to share this piece of good news, amazing news, with
my wife. There is, however, a qualifier, a word of caution.
Having familiarized myself with the Exodus story, I have
seen how the Israelites were so close to the Promised land and yet
so far from it. In the end, they missed it totally because they
doubted. Based on this, I reminded my wife about the importance
of watching our hearts and our words. One carelessly utterance can
ruin everything and cause us to forfeit our inheritance.
I also knew that when God says soon, He could mean that
it would happen in a month, in a year, or in a few years. Only God
knows. But thankfully, in our case, it meant just one month.
In January, my wife heard from the Lord that It is over!
Praise the Lord.
But whats next?
Interestingly, He directed me back to the church. And, of all
churches, He chose to place me in a methodist church. It was like
coming one full circle because my first church was from this
denomination. But I was there for only six months.
Next, He led me to an independent mega-church. This time,
I was there longer: 13 months.

SS
Now, as I write, I am again waiting upon God to show me
the next step. Nevertheless, my heart is at peace. Even though I do
not know about tomorrow, I know who is the one who holds my
hand.
It helps when you have received prophetic words from the
Lord. It serves as your anchor and North Star. Last year, I received
a prophecy through one of his anointed servants, Dr. Corne
Bekker. Through the prophecy, God was telling me that He is
preparing a message within me. As a matter of fact, He was
preparing me to be that message. It would be a message to the
churches. He described me as strong medicine, an antidote
that the churches would need for its pains and wounds. He warned
that for now I will be misunderstood and labelled as extreme and
radical. But the Lord assures me that I have heard correctly, and
that He honors my obedience.
I am convinced that this message is not something that
God could just let me read and learn. (I wish it could be that easy.)
I am to be that message; and in shaping me, He is also shaping the
message.
A number of years before this, while we were still on the
field, I had a supernatural experience. I was taken into the third
heaven where I was met, not by the Lord Himself, by Paul the
apostle. We were in a large white room with no discernible
furniture. It was just me and him. Our meeting was quick. The
only words he had to say to me was: Finish what I started. To be
honest, I have no idea what it means until now.
All this happened at around three oclock in the morning.
In the morning, I told my wife about my experience, but in
a round about way. I started by asking her why she was playing
computers games at three in morning. (She really was.)
She was stunned. How did you know I was playing
computer games at three in the morning? I was sure you were
sound asleep because I could hear your snoring two rooms away.
I saw what you were doing on my way back from heaven,
I replied. Now she was puzzled.
I began to tell her where I was and who I met with. Unsure
if I was telling the truth, she sought some verification.

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Tell me what Paul looked like, she probed.
The man I met never introduced himself to me, but in my
spirit I knew that he was Paul the apostle. So I described him to
my wife and she was convinced. She had heard someone describe
what Paul probably looked like in a seminar some time back. (I
wasnt at the seminar.) And the description I gave matched almost
perfectly what she had heard at the seminar.
I will let you form your own conclusion about what this all
means. Meanwhile, I will continue to journey with God.


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Part II


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Chapter 11

Pictures of the Kingdom

God often speaks directly to men and sometimes indirectly
too. Jesus spoke in parables, and to the unenlightened it was mere
gibberish; but to whom revelation is given, the embedded truths
are revealed. In the same way, God hides secrets in plain sight
using pictures and types secrets only to be revealed in the
future. They are in plain sight in that they are there for all to see,
yet not all will see them unless God has allowed them to.
One of the things He has hidden in plain sight is the concept
of the kingdom of God. But before we venture into talking about
the pictures of the kingdom I think it is essential that we
understand what a kingdom is.
A kingdom is, first of all, (1) a realm, a domain. It
occupies a geographical territory. It can be marked out on the
World Map. Next, a kingdom is (2) ruled by a king and is (3)
governed by the rule of law. Finally, a kingdom (4) has subjects.
The more the merrier. What would a king, or kingdom, be without
them?
For any metaphor in the Old Testament to qualify as a picture
of the kingdom of God, it must have all four characteristics of a
kingdom: realm, king, law, and subjects.
I have found two pictures of the kingdom of God in the
Old Testament. The first being the Garden in Eden, and the other
is Canaan, the Promised Land.


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Garden i n Eden
Eden was a region on the Earth that was, as its name implies,
pleasant and delightful. The rest of the Earth, on the other
contrary, was barren no bush of the field was yet in the land
and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up (Gen 2:5) and
brown. In contrast, Eden was a savannah (or grassland); and
eastward in Eden (Gen 2:8) God planted a garden.
The easterly direction holds great significance in the Bible.
The Sun rises from the east; the Garden was in the east of Eden;
the entrance to the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) faced east;
and, just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to
the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt 24:27).
The fact that the Garden was in the eastern part of Eden
implies that it is better than Eden itself. The Bible tells us that it
had all kinds of fruit trees and vegetation, all carefully and
purposefully planted there by God. A river that flowed out of Eden
nourished the Garden. From there, it became four rivers: the
Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, along whose
banks, and beyond, new gardens will sprout planted by Adams
posterity. In this way, Gods first mandate to Mankind: to fill the
earth and subdue it, will be fulfilled. In time, the whole earth will
be one big garden; leaving no room for deserts.
The Garden is a picture of the kingdom of God because it is a
place of abundance, even opulence. It is the Source of all things,
the beginning of every Blessing. But more than what it supplies,
the Garden is like the kingdom of God because of the presence of
righteousness, peace and joy (Rom 14:17).

In the Garden, God was king and He demonstrated it by making a
decree to His only subject at that time: You may surely eat of
every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
surely die (Gen 2:15-16).
It has been hotly debated what the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil really represents and why God planted it in the
Garden. Some, Ive heard, say that it was Satan who stealthily
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planted it there. I beg to differ. I believe that it was God who
planted it in the midst of the Garden next to the Tree of Life, and if
God had planted them, both had to be good. I also believe that
God forbade Adam to eat of it not because it was evil but merely
because it was not good for Adam, at least not at the beginning.
Such a decision is typical of a father who knows what his child is
and is not ready for. Here, God was acting like a father trying to
protect his child Adam from harm; and sometimes a good thing
can be harmful. For this reason, God commanded Adam not to eat
of it. At the same time, this command gave Adam the opportunity
to prove his righteousness through obedience.
Yes, to prove his righteousness. You see, Adam and Eve
were created in Gods image: in righteousness and holiness (Eph
4:24). This meant that they were innocent of any wrong. On the
flip side, neither had they done anything right. A righteous man is
one who does what is right, and having been created righteous is
not the same as walking righteously. The former is who your are
positionally; the latter is who you are practically. I will use the
analogy of a man who is created with all the right stuff to be the
best swimmer in the world. But unless he swims competitively and
wins medals, and ultimately win the gold medal in the Olympics,
he will never be crowned the Worlds Best Swimmer. All Adam
needed to do was to keep that one commandment and he would
have been righteous indeed.
But he failed. The Bible tells us that Eve was deceived, but
Adam sinned (1 Tim 2:14).

The Land of Canaan
In the same way, the land of Canaan, the land that God had
promised to give to Israel as an eternal inheritance, was a place of
abundance. It was a good and broad land, a land flowing with
milk and honey (Ex 3:8).
A land flowing with milk and honey should not be taken
literally, but figuratively. Rabbi Akiva Wolff explains why:

S9
The Talmudinterprets the words zavat chalav udvash,
(flowing with milk and honey) as milk flows from the goats'
[udders], and honey flows from the dates and the figs." For a
pastoral people, this indeed must have been an inviting
description of the land. The goats were a source of milk as well
as meat, and were very prolific. In Biblical times, goats were a
reflection of wealth. (Vayeilech: A Land Flowing with Milk
and Honey)

Besides milk and honey, upon entering the land, the Israelites
would immediately have houses full of all good things that they
did not fill, cisterns that they did not dig, and vineyards and olive
trees that they did not plant (Deut 6:11). It is like moving into a
fully and finely furnished home. What a blessing!
It was a blessing indeed to the Israelites. Anything would be
better than what they were getting in Egypt. But possession of the
land would not come easy; there would be battles to fight. In this
aspect, the land of Canaan is also a picture of the kingdom of God
because the kingdom must be taken by force (Matt 11:12). This
might sound like a contradiction, but it isnt. Heres why: While
God had indeed given the land to Israel, they had to take
possession of it militarily; yet not alone but with full assurance
that God would fight the battles for them (Ex 14:14). Prior to this,
Israel had already learned, when they fought the Amalekites, that
God was their Banner (Jehovah Nissi) (Ex 17:8-16). The
possession of the Promised Land presented many opportunities for
them to reinforce and to demonstrate their belief. From Gods
point of view, the easy victories that Israel would obtain with
Gods help would leave a lasting impression on the pagan nations
of His power and might.
Even after they had taken possession of the land, Israel
remained only as stewards of the land, not its owner. This is
because the land, declares the Lord, is Mine (Lev 25:23). For
that matter, the whole earth belongs to God, and everything therein
(Psa 24:1).


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Other Pi ctures
More pictures of the kingdom of God can be found in the New
Testament portion of the Bible. This time, metaphors are used:
seeds, leaven, nets, etc. They are quite easily located; just look for
verses that begins with And the kingdom of God (or heaven) is
like We will be discussing them in greater detail later in this
book, but right now let us find out what else the first two pictures,
the Garden and Canaan, has to teach us. Lets begin with the
Garden in Eden.

Chapter 12

Garden in Eden

The Bible, in Genesis, presents the Garden in Eden as (1) a
Better Place, (2) the Most Holy Place, (3) a Rich Place, and (4) a
Place of Rest.

A Better Place
There are three reasons why the Garden is a better place. The
first is: it is within a region called Eden. In the past, the favored
derivation of the name "Eden" was from the Akkadian edinnu,
itself derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe",
but it is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic
root meaning "fruitful, well-watered."
1
So, Eden (the region) was a
fruitful and well-watered steppe (or grassland).
Eden, obviously, did not encompass the whole earth but only
a portion of it. Nevertheless, the fact that it was given a name
implies that it was different from the rest of the earth it was
better. And in the east of it, lies a garden that in turn surpassed
Eden itself.
By virtue of its easterly location, the Garden was a better
place then Eden itself. The term east, you will discover as you
read the Bible, generally denotes a place of importance and of
honor. When the tribes of Israel were encamped in the wilderness,
Moses, Aaron and his sons in short, all the priests of Israel
pitched their tents on the east side of the Tabernacle (Num 2:3).
The tribe of Judah, out of which the Messiah would later come,
also pitched their tents on the east side (Num 3:38). Whats more,
when the Angel of the Lord showed Ezekiel the heavenly Temple,

1
Wikipeuia: uaiuen of Euen

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he brought him to the gate that looked out toward the east. And as
he looked eastward out of the Temple, he saw the glory of the God
of Israel coming toward the Temple (from the east). This, taken
together with Matthew 24:27: For as the lightning cometh out of
the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be, confirms that Christ would return to the
earth from the east and move westward till He reaches Jerusalem.
And finally, the Garden is a Better Place because God planted
it. For this reason, the Garden had a divine uniqueness about it. It
was a garden of delight, full of heavenly fruit growing on trees.
What does this mean?
In the same way that the Garden was in the midst of Eden, the
kingdom of God too is in this world. But, although it is in this
world, it is not of this world (John 18:36). It is also better than the
world just as the Garden was a better place than Eden. The Garden
was better than Eden in three aspects: it was the most holy place; it
was a rich place; and it was a place of rest.

The Most Holy Place
Apart from being a better place, the Garden of Eden was also
the most holy place on the earth. Why do I say this?
The reason is very simple: the Garden is the only place on the
earth where God would walk in. Being a holy God that He is, God
would not be found anywhere else other than a place that is as holy
as He. The Garden was a holy place before sin came into the
world; after that, the very ground of the Garden was cursed to
produce thorns and thistles.
With the Garden gone and the wickedness of mangreat in
the earth (Gen 6:5), God ceased to walk with Man on the earth.
This does mean that there was absolutely no interaction
whatsoever between God and man. As a matter of fact, God
appeared to Abram (Gen 17:1), to Isaac (Gen 26:24), and to Jacob
(Gen 35:1, 9) just to name a few. But all this while, God was
looking for a place where He could place His name and be in the
midst of His people. Out of all the tribes of Israel, God chose the

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Tabernacle (also known as the Tent of Meeting) to be that place
(Deut 12:5; 16:2) more specifically, in the part of it called the
Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant
2
was. It was here,
and only here, that God will meet with His people (Ex 30:6)
3
.
And because it was the place where Gods Presence would
reside, it had to be made strictly according to Gods
specifications, and it had to either be made of or entirely plated
with pure gold. Being contained within a mobile Tabernacle
allowed for His shekhinah to go with, or rather, to lead the
Assembly of Israel during the wilderness period.

The Tabernacle comprised three sections: the Outer Court, the
Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies). The
Outer Court was where the animal sacrifices were made. This
section was open to every common Israelite. Priests and Levites
were constantly on hand to help those who had come to present
their offerings. The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, however,
were only accessible to the Priesthood: those consecrated to serve
in the Tabernacle.
If you compare the divisions of the Tabernacle with the
divisions of the Earth (then), you would be able to see some
similarities. To help you, I have put them into a table as follows:

Tabernacle Outer Court Holy Place Most Holy Place
Earth Earth Eden Garden

In 70 A.D., the Temple in Jerusalem was completely
destroyed by the Romans. No stone was left on top of another.
Since then, it has not been rebuilt. The place where God had
chosen to place His name is no more. How will He now manifest
His presence? How will He meet with His people?

2
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covei, a kopporet (oi "Neicy Seat") auoineu with goluen cheiubim, was placeu ovei it.
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will place Bis name (2 Chion 6:6; 7:16 anu SS:7)

64
In the place of the Temple, which cannot move but remains
in one physical location, God has turned every heart that believes
in His Son into a temple of the living God (2 Cor 6:16). This
way, God is now able to dwell and walk among His people.
Besides being in us, the kingdom of God, Jesus says, is in
the midst of you (Luk 17:21). He was speaking to His disciples at
that time and telling them that the kingdom of God is there in their
midst whenever as few as two or three are gathered in His name
(Matt 18:20). I will explain what it means to gather in His name in
chapter 4 when I discuss about the Priesthood of Believers.

A Ri ch Place
From the book of Genesis, we know what the Garden is like:
it is full of fruit trees and plants of all kind. But thats not all. We
are also told that there was seed in every plant and every fruit (Gen
1:29). This might seem like a small and insignificant detail, but it
isnt. Many have overlooked it because they did not know what it
means. It will not be small or insignificant anymore once you
know why God insisted that it be written in the Bible.
We are told that God planted the Garden, and all of its trees
and plants were meant to be food for Adam and Eve. At the same
time, God also blessed Adam and Eve, and said to them, Be
fruitful and multiply. If the plants and fruits in the Garden did not
have seed in them, how would Adams children (and childrens
children) have enough food to eat? The seeds in the plants and
fruits were for sowing so that there would be a harvest in due time.
This is the first mention of the principle of sowing and reaping,
which I will be elaborating on later in this book.
Every time Adam and Eve ate a fruit, for example, they
would scatter its seeds on the ground after that. But where, since
the Garden was already full of trees and plants? Obviously, the
seeds would have to be scattered along the fringes of the Garden;
thus expanding the boundaries of the Garden. Gradually, the
Garden would encompass the other parts of Eden, such as the
land of Havilah, where there is gold (Gen 2:11). The gold of

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that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there (also) (Gen
2:12).
And so, as you can see, many wonderful things were awaiting
Adams posterity; but his sin deprived them of it. Hence, it is
written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has
imagined what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor
2:9 NLT). Not Adam and certainly not any of his descendants till
now has tasted what God had prepared for those who love Him.
The operative word in this verse is love. The good things that God
has prepared are for those who love Him; and they demonstrate it
through obedience. For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments (1 John 5:3). According to Exodus 20:5 and 6
(ASV), God will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,
upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me,
and show lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me
and keep my commandments. Imagine the immense blessing that
would come upon a thousand generations of Adams descendants
if he had not disobey God in the Garden.

The Garden is not only rich materially. In it, one will find life.
In John 10, Jesus tells His disciples that He is the door, and
if anyone enters by me, he willfind pasture (John 10:9).
Pasture is not exactly a garden, but it is close enough. Jesus is the
door to the kingdom of God, and those who enter by Him will
find abundant life (John 10:10).
What is abundant life?
Let us first examine the meaning of the word life.
Bios and zoe, two Greek words used for life, view life from
very different perspectives and therefore are not synonymous
terms to the Greek mind. Inevitably and regrettably, by using one
word in the English language to translate both these Greek words,
we have concealed the important differences between them.
4

Bios refers to earthly, physical life, and to the means by
which that life is sustained. It is where we get the words biology
and biography. It also refers to extensive life, the period or

4
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duration of life whereas zoe refers to intensive life. Zoe is closely
related to ao, aemi, to breathe, the breath of life, which is a
necessary condition of living and to pneuma, spirit, and psuche,
soul.
5

The best way to help you realize the difference is to refer you
to Adams life both when he was in the Garden and outside of it.
In the Garden, Adam had both zoe and bios. But after his fall due
to sin, he only had bios. Did you get that?
So, what God meant when He said to Adam for in the day
that you eat of it you shall surely die was that upon eating from
the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil he would lose his zoe,
not his bios. Thats why Adam did not drop dead when he ate
the fruit in fact, he lived on till he was 930 years old. Rather,
Adam died in spirit (not the same thing as giving up the spirit) and
in his soul.
We may now turn our attention to the word abundant.
The Greek word that has been translated abundantly is
perissos, which could mean many things. Among them are
superabundance, excessive, overflowing, and surplus.
Simply put, abundant life is a life that is superior both in quality
and quantity.
We learn from Solomon that long life (both bios and zoe) is a
reward for one who is obedient to God. Adam disobeyed God and
therefore lost his zoe. He and his wife were immediately driven out
of the Garden and forced to continue their bios, or their existence,
on cursed ground. Adam did live for a total of 930 years, but this
was short compared to forever if he had eaten from the Tree of
Life instead. In other words, even though Adam had a long life
(bios), he missed out on having an abundant life.

A Place of Rest
The Garden is also a Place of Rest, and heres why.

S
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The Bible says that, God took the man and put him in the
Garden. You can be sure that God didnt do it in an apathetic
manner: simply picking him up and plonking him randomly
somewhere in the Garden. The scenario painted by the original
manuscripts is an interesting one. It appears that after the man had
received the breath of God and had become a living being, God
(according to the Youngs Literal Translation) taketh the man,
and causeth him to rest in the garden of Eden. What a picture!
From this, it appears that Adam did not touch down in the
Garden feet first. Rather, he was lying down; asleep because it was
still night. (You will know the basis of my postulation by the end
of this chapter.) I am sure that if Adam could see what was
happening, he would definitely say, He makes me lie down in
green pastures (Psa 23:2).

Heres another beautiful picture.
We know from Genesis 1 that Adam was created on the sixth
day. We are told that Adam was at first just a pile of dirt from the
ground. But after God breathed into it, it became a living soul.
Even after that, I believe that Adam continued to be in a state of
rest. He did not open his eyes. He slept. And while he slept, God
made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the
livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on
the ground according to its kind (Gen 1:25).
There is a very simple reason why I believe that Adam
continued to sleep even after becoming a living soul: there was no
food outside the Garden where he was formed. All the food that
God had prepared beforehand for him was in the Garden. And so
as to not let Adam experience hunger, God did not awaken him
until the next morning the seventh day.
Some time before dawn, God took the man and placed him
(lying down) in the Garden where he arose with the sunrise. This
was the first day of Adams life, and it was also the Sabbath day.
On this day, God rested from all His work; and, presumably, so did
all of His creation including Adam.

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With some degree of speculation I am suggesting that this was
how it all panned out at the end of Creation-week. And if it was so,
then Adams week began on a Sabbath an interesting notion.
Unlike Adam who started his week with rest (and remained
restful thereafter), we have to endure 5 (6, for some) days of work
before we can enjoy the Sabbath. Rest, it seems, has become a
very precious and rare commodity, demanding a high premium
from those who seek after it.
For centuries, the Jews have faithfully and diligently kept the
Sabbath day holy and refrained from doing work in it. Yet, when
Jesus came and looked at their lives, He found them to be weary
and heavy-laden (Matt 11:28). While the Sabbath day might be
able to afford those who keep it some physical rest, only Christ can
give rest for your souls (verse 29).
Come to the Lord of the Sabbath, and He will make every day
be like a Sabbath for you.

Chapter 13

Understanding Toil

From the pervious chapter, we learned that the Garden was a
restful place and that although Adam had work to do in the Garden
he did it from a posture of rest, not stress. His work to dress and
keep the Garden was light, easy. But when he sinned, all this
changed for him. He was evicted from the Garden and began to
TOIL.
This chapter is about toil.

What i s Toi l?
To most people, toil is just hard work. This is a
misconception. The 1828 Websters Dictionary (a dictionary I
frequently use) defines toil as to labor; to work; to exert strength
with pain and fatigue of body or mind, particularly of the body,
with efforts of some continuance or duration, and a net or snare.
Just so you know, the 1828 Websters English Dictionary
was published by Noah Webster. Prior to this, he published his
first dictionary in 1806 called A Compendious Dictionary of the
English Language. The following year, Webster began compiling
an expanded and fully comprehensive dictionary, An American
Dictionary of the English Language; it took twenty-seven years to
complete. His 1828 American Dictionary contained the greatest
number of Biblical definitions given in any reference volume.
Webster considered education "useless without the Bible."

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Webster released his own edition of the Bible in 1833, called the
Common Version.
As you can see, the 1828 Websters English Dictionary is no
ordinary dictionary. It defines words as they are used in the Bible.
For this reason, my teaching on toil will be based on the definition
given by Noah Webster.

1. Toi l i s endless hard work
The first thing you need to know about toil is that it is not just
hard work, but endless hard work. We see this from Adams life
after his eviction from the Garden.
After Adam sinned and was driven out of the Garden, his life
changed dramatically. No longer could he eat freely whatever and
whenever he wanted to. But, as God predicted: in pain you shall
eat of it all the days of your life (Gen 3:17). The Hebrew word for
pain in this verse is itstsabon, which can also mean sorrow
and toil. This implies that pain, sorrow and toil are synonymous;
you cannot have one without the others. If there is pain in your life,
you would be sorrowful as well; and if you are toiling, your life
would be painful and sorrowful. Adams life was both painful and
sorrowful because his was toiling.
Adam did not only toil for a day, or a month, or even a year.
He toiled all the days of his life till he was dead and buried.
Hence, toil is not just hard work but endless hard work.
To illustrate the difference between hard work and toil, I will
use a real life example that I personally witnessed during my
service as a missionary in Kazakhstan.
Every summer in Kazakhstan, there would be a mad rush by
the locals to build homes for themselves. On an average, it would
take about two years to build a house. This isnt a very long time
considering that winters in Kazakhstan are harsh and last for up to
five months, during which no work can be done. So for the rest of
the year, builders labor with diligence and haste; not stopping but
taking advantage of every minute of sunlight. In summer, when
days are longer, the sun sets at around 10 p.m.
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Building a home is no doubt hard work. But it is not toil
because it is not without end. If the builder had been diligent,
working when he could and should instead of idling his time away,
he would be able to enjoy the fruit of his labor in the end. He
would have a place to call home.
Having said this, I do not want you to think that toil is
fruitless or without reward. As in the case of Adam, his toiled
enable him to eat bread, but not without complications. Because
the ground into which he sowed seeds was cursed, his seeds were
in constant danger of being choked by thorns. And, as it grew up,
it would be mingled with thistles, making reaping more onerous
than it already is without them.
Put simply, when intense labor is applied to a work that has a
definite start and finish (such as a project), it is called Diligence.
But when it is applied to repetitious work with no end, it is called
Toil.
So my question is: Are you toiling?

Hardly would anyone want to think that they are toiling.
Most people associate toil with slavery: only slaves toil. We are
not slaves; we are dignified people with respectable jobs. While I
would agree with this statement, I have to clarify that toil is no
respecter of persons. It inflicts rich and poor, young and old, male
and female.
Peter was a dignified man with a respectable job. Like most
of us, he was being a responsible husband trying to provide for his
wife and household. This is his story:
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on
him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of
Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the
fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their
nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he
asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down
and taught the people from the boat. And when he had
finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep
and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered,

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Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your
word I will let down the nets. (Luke 5:1-5 italics added)

As the story went, Peter and his partners had been fishing all
night. In his own words, Peter said that they toiled all night.
Indeed, they had cast the night several times that night and drew it
in without success, and were now greatly disheartened. It probably
wasnt the first time they had caught nothing but that didnt make
this time any less worrisome. It was worrying because fishing was
their livelihood and their families were depending on them to
bring-home-the-bacon. If not for the fact that the sun had risen and
that they were exhausted, Peter and his friends would still be out
there trying to catch some fish; they would not rest until they were
successful. But since it was already morning, they had no choice
but to return to shore, wash their nets, and wait to go out again at
sunset. And when they set out again, they would be hoping to
catch twice as much in order make up for the shortfall from the
night before.
This should sound familiar to you. It is what most working
people go through day after day. You go to the office where work
is waiting for you. But no matter how hard you work and how
much you accomplish each day, there is always more work to be
done. At times, it you might feel like you are driving in a tunnel
with the end in your sight. But even after hours of driving, the end
is still at the same distance ahead of you. Instinctively, you push
down on the accelerator, thinking that if you drove faster you
might reach the end sooner. More hours passed and the end isnt
getting nearer to you. Then you are told that perhaps youre not
doing it right, that you need to improve on your productivity. Your
productivity increases as a result of implementing the suggestions
made to you, but youre still in the tunnel trying to get out.
If this is not toil, tell me what is.
It is to people like you that Jesus gave the invitation: Come
to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28).


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2. Toi l i s a result of Lack
Toil is endless hard work. And toil is also the result of lack,
as seen in this: Adam experienced lack, and therefore he had to toil.
The lack that Adam experienced was due to the thorns and
thistles that grew out of the same cursed ground he sowed into.
As a result, Adam ate his food through toil (with pain and sorrow)
and sweat, as God had said he would.
Adam would sweat for two reasons: one was physical and
the other psychological.
Adam would sweat because now he had to grow his own
food. The agricultural work of tilling the ground, sowing seeds and
finally harvesting was physically strenuous. The presence of
thorns and thistles in the ground made the work even harder,
requiring more energy to be expended thus resulting in more sweat.
Adam would sweat also because of fear. Each time he sowed
a seed into the ground, he would wonder if the seed would succeed
in reaching maturity and bear fruit; or would it be choked by the
thorns that grew beside it. Who knows how many of the seeds he
planted would eventually bear fruit? Would the harvest be enough
for Adam and his family?

Do you have any lack in your life?
What am I saying? Of course you do. You get hungry from
time to time, dont you? Hunger is a form of lack. Your body feels
hungry when it lacks food. And because hunger is a form of lack,
is also a very powerful motivation. It will make you do things
sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Typically, a hungry person will know that he has to get a job,
if he doesnt have one already. Everyone has been taught (without
teaching it) that work is related to our sustenance: no work, no
food. In this sense, Solomons observation of workers was right:
He that labors labors for himself; for his mouth craves it of him
(Prov 16:26 King James 2000 Bible). The New Living Translation
puts it very aptly: It is good for workers to have an appetite; an
empty stomach drives them on. Indeed, an empty stomach will
drive you on. Solomon was also right when he said that although
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all the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied
(Eccl 6:7).
It is because of hunger (and our appetites) that we work and
keep working. Hunger is a form of lack, and it is the reason we toil.

Hunger is a form of lack, but not all the time it is real; some times
it could be perceived. What do I mean? Someone who is hungry
would be in search of food. But if he is still hungry after he has
eaten, it might not be hunger that he is experiencing but greed.
Gluttony is the extreme form of greed.
Poverty is another form of lack, and it can also either be real
or perceived. The rich and poor alike can feel that they are poor.
This feeling is able to propel them (even compel them) to strive at
something until the feeling dissipates. The poor might respond to
the lack by taking up a job (or two, or three). The rich, on the other
hand, might do something else (legal or illegal).
Some forms of lack are man-made.
Machines are great inventions of the Industrial Age. They are
big, powerful, versatile and fast. It is why we have come to love
and rely on them so much. The greatest advantage that machines
have over Man is that they are able to work practically non-stop.
Even then, there will come a time when the machines will break
down, or their efficiency diminish due to wear and tear. This is
also a form of lack.
Inflation is another man-made form of lack. It increases the
prices of things and consequently decreases the purchasing power
of the consumer. And when real wages are not keeping up with the
rate of inflation, as is the case in many countries in the world, a
lack is immediately created in the lives of millions.
There is another way by which man creates lack in others;
even if it is only a sense of it. It is by way of advertising and
marketing. To be fair, advertisements do have positive as well as
negative effects on society. But advertisements the propaganda
kind subtly create a sense of lack in people by suggesting to
them that they are incomplete without a certain product. I am
thinking of an advertisement by a particular brand of mens wear.

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Its tagline was: Youre not dressed till youre wearing (the brand
name).
For years, marketers have used a strategy known as Planned
Obsolescence to create a sense of lack in the consumer. What is
Planned Obsolescence?
Origins of planned obsolescence go back at least as far
as 1932 with Bernard London's pamphlet Ending the
Depression Through Planned Obsolescence. The essence
of London's plan would have the government impose a
legal obsolescence on consumer articles, to stimulate and
perpetuate consumption.
However, the phrase was first popularized in 1954 by
Brooks Stevens, an American industrial designer. Stevens
was due to give a talk at an advertising conference in
Minneapolis in 1954. Without giving it much thought, he
used the term as the title of his talk. From that point on,
"planned obsolescence" became Stevens' catchphrase. By
his definition, planned obsolescence was "Instilling in the
buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little
better, a little sooner than is necessary."
1

The forms of lack we have discussed so far are all natural. There
are those that are of a supernatural (or spiritual) nature. They are
the work of Satan, the ruler of this world whom Jesus calls The
Thief: he comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10).
Some of his dreadful works are recorded in the Bible.

Job. Job is a classic example of a man who was afflicted by Satan.
Satan had permission from God Himself to do as he pleased with
all of Jobs household and possessions, but he must not touch Job
himself (Job 1:12). Gleefully, Satan departed from the presence of
God and began his work. A few days later, all of Jobs children,
livestock and servants (save one) were either killed or taken away.
Once more, Satan came before the Lord, this time seeking
permission to afflict Job directly (Job 2:6). Permission was granted.

1
Wikipeuia: Planneu 0bsolescence

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So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job
with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his
head.
In summary, Job lost his family, his wealth and possessions,
and his health within a short period of time. All this was the work
of The Thief.

The woman who was crippled by a spirit. One Sabbath, Jesus
encountered a woman in the synagogue where He was teaching.
She had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years (Luke 13:11).
As a result, she was bent over and could not stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her, He called her forward, laid His hands on her,
and set her free. Her physical condition was the work of Satan but,
on that day, Jesus appeared to destroy the works of the devil
(1 John 3:8).

Not only does lack produce toil, it also produces anxiety. Anyone
who is in lack will naturally be anxious. It is rare to find someone
who is behind on his rent, or has chalked up a huge debt to not feel
anxious. In fact, he should be panicking.
Anxiety was what Jesus saw in His people as He moved
among them. Their anxiety came from their striving to meet their
own needs. In love and compassion Jesus said to them: Therefore
do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we
drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them
all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things will be added to you. (Matt 6:31-33).
Did you notice the order of what Jesus said? Jesus placed the
focus on our anxiety before the focus on our needs. Most of the
time, this is how we think: I will cease to be anxious once my
needs are met. But this will hardly happen because, as we have
seen earlier, we will always be hungry and therefore always be in
need.
Jesus wants you to know that whatever your need is, the
Father can and will meet it. He has accepted responsibility of your
needs so that you do not have to. All you need to do now is to seek

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His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added
to you. But in order for that to happen, your anxious heart must be
turned into a heart of faith, one that believes that He exists and
that He rewards those who seek him (Heb 11:6).
So lack produces anxiety, and anxiety is a form of toil. There
is scientific proof for this.
Someone who is in lack is hardly at rest emotionally,
mentally, or physically. His sympathetic nervous system is always
in the on state. The sympathetic nervous system is the
fight/flight system which releases energy and gets the body
"primed" for action. Imagine a sprinter who is poised at the
starting block, and has been there for an hour. So much of his
energy would have been expended just to maintain that stance that
he would hardly have any left to run the race. Activity in the
sympathetic nervous system produces an increase in heart rate and
the strength of the heartbeat. Hence, a constantly anxious person
will experience a higher heart rate than an average person at rest.
This will lead, in the long run, to heart disease or failure.

3. Toi l i s a Trap
We have seen so far that toil is endless hard work and is a
result of lack. Now we will see that toil is a trap.
As I have shown you earlier, the 1828 Websters English
Dictionary also defines toil as a snare or a trap. If toil is a trap,
then desire must be its bait.
When desire, which comes from either a real or perceived
lack within you, is not brought under control, it will cause you to
do undesirable things such as to borrow or, worse still, to steal. An
innocent inner desire, when left unchecked, can grow into
covetousness and greed. Compelled by them, people spend the
money they do not have to buy things they dont really need from
people who dont really care for anyone but themselves. The
result: debt. Millions of people are deep in debt today because they
have failed to keep their desires in check. Now, they will have to
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suffer the consequence by working, most of them for the rest of
their lives, until they have repaid the debt.
But thats not all. A borrower, Proverbs 22:7 tells us, is
servant to the lender. Jacob was an example of someone who was
trapped by his own desire, and as a result of pursuing it relentlessly
he made himself a servant (a slave actually).
Jacob was on the run because he had stolen the birthright and
blessing that rightly belonged to his brother Esau. On the
recommendation of his mother, Jacob took refuge at his uncle
Labans home. There he met Rachel, Labans younger daughter,
and immediately fell in love with her. Even though Jacob was
already in his sixties when he arrived at Labans home, He was
still pretty nave and gullible. Laban, on the other hand, was
shrewd and unscrupulous. He capitalized on Jacobs love for
Rachel and tried to profit from it.
Not wanting to appear too eager, Laban wait for some time
pass. In the meantime, Laban allow Jacob to help tend the animals.
Then casually, one day, Laban asked Jacob: Because you are my
kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me,
what shall your wages be? (Gen 29:15).
Who said anything about wages? Getting paid or becoming
prosperous was furthest from Jacob mind at that time. Whats
more, helping to tend the animals was payment enough for
Labans kindness and hospitality. But was it enough for Laban?
Laban must have seen some thing in Jacob and wanted more
of it. So he lures Jacob into making an agreement. The term of the
agreement was simple: Jacob would have Rachels hand in
marriage after he had served Laban for seven years (verse 18).
The agreement between Laban and Jacob was an employment
contract of sorts. I say this because of the words serve and
wages words you would commonly find in an Employment
Contract Laban used in speaking with Jacob. In an Employment
Contract, the employee will receive compensation from his
employer for the work he does. In this case, Laban will give his
daughter Rachel to Jacob in exchange for seven years of his
service. With this employment contract, Laban successfully

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ensnared
2
Jacob. Jacob had unknowingly made himself Labans
servant for the next seven years. I imagine that it didnt bother
Jacob (even if he realized it) because his desire for Rachel was
great.
If Laban had been an honest relative, Jacob would have had
what he desired and what he had worked for. But, as the story goes,
Laban deceived Jacob by giving him the hand of his eldest
daughter Leah instead. This act alone should have made it
abundantly clear to Jacob that Laban was a crook, that he cannot
be trusted anymore. But because Jacobs desire was still strong, he
became blind to the truth and foolishly agreed to Labans renewed
terms: we will give you the other also in return for serving me
another seven years (verse 27).
When the second seven years was complete, Jacob finally
had Rachel as his wife, his second wife. But instead of calling it
quits, Jacob continued to work for Laban. Although the Bible is
silent about it, we can deduce that it was Jacobs fear of his brother
Esau unsure if Esaus anger had been assuaged or abated that
made him remain with Laban. Put another way, Jacob chose the
better of two evils by remaining with Laban something that
many have resorted to with regards to their current situation.
Many people, though some may not say it, are unhappy with
their current jobs. It could be due to an unreasonable boss,
unfriendly co-workers, unfair treatment, inadequate remuneration,
or simply discontentment. But, in spite of how they feel and what
they have to endure, they hang tough, bite-the-bullet, and remain
where they are instead of leaving. They reason that the risk of
leaving and venturing into the unknown is something they are
unprepared to take. In doing so, one might be going from the
frying pan and into the fire from a bad situation to an even worse
one.
Am I saying that anyone who is unhappy with his job leave it
immediately? Absolutely not. What they should ask themselves
(and God) is this: Am I where God wants me to be? This is

2
Accoiuing to the Collins English Bictionaiy ( BaipeiCollins Publisheis 1991, 1994,
1998, 2uuu, 2uuS), to ensnaie means to tiap oi gain powei ovei someone by uishonest oi
unueihanu means.

8u
crucial because every time Gods people steps out of His Will,
trouble befall them. It happened to Abraham: when he tried to
escape the famine by going to Egypt, he almost lost his wife and
his life there. It also happened to Jacob, as we have just seen.
Jonah did it too, and suffered much for it. But it didnt happen to
Isaac, who, in the time of a famine, sowed in that land and reaped
in the same year a hundredfold (Gen 26:12).
Jacob was clearly out of the Will of God. He allowed fear to
motivate and steer him. He listened to the advise of his mother
instead of seeking the counsel of God; and look where he end up.
At the end of twenty years, God came to Jacob and said,
Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock
are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is
doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar
and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return
to the land of your kindred. (Gen 31:12-13).
It was comforting for Jacob to know that God has not
abandoned him these twenty, but had been watching over him. But,
nevertheless, it was time (God says) to come home. And home
was in Bethel, the place where Jacob built an altar to the Lord (see
Gen 28:19).
It might have a play of words but Bethel literally means the
house (bet) of God (el). So, in calling Jacob to return to Bethel,
God was in fact calling Jacob to return to the house of God, where
he belongs. That is where his inheritance waits for him.
What about you? Have you gone away from home? Perhaps
you are like the Prodigal Son. Thats all right, because the Prodigal
Son eventually went home and so can you. As you read this, I
pray that you will be able to hear God calling you Come home!
Your home is where the Father is; it is the kingdom of God. There,
your inheritance awaits you. Be comforted and re-assured by these
words:
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

Besides being deceived into marrying Leah as well as Rachel, the
one he truly loved, Jacob also suffered in other ways at the hand of

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Laban. Speaking to his wives about the twenty years that he
worked for Laban, Jacob said: You know that I have served your
father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and
changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm
me (Gen 31:6, 7).
Changed my wages ten times. Doesnt that sound familiar?
Employees in Singapore and around the world have seen their
wages decrease instead of steadily rising over the years. Although
workers are still receiving their annual salary increments, they are
rightly dubbed the incredible shrinking pay raise by Margaret
Price
3
. This is because wages are not keeping pace with inflation,
says Sudeep Reddy. As a case in point, Reddy states that median
weekly earnings of the U.S.s 102.6 million full-time wage and
salary workers hit $773 in the first quarter, up 0.5% from a year
earlier; consumer prices rose 1.7% in the same period. In
Singapores case, despite the slower economic growth in 2011,
total wages (including employer CPF contributions) in the private
sector rose by 6.1%. But the increase in real terms was a mere
0.9% after taking into account the rise in consumer price index
(CPI).
4
Most of the wage increase was eroded by inflation. In 2012,
real total wages fell by 0.4%.
5

But life must go on. And to live, many have found it
necessary to do so on credit. Laden with various kinds of debt,
they must keep working, even into their Golden Years. Retirement
has turned into an illusive dream simply because most just cannot
afford it anymore.

Lets recap again.
So far we have seen that LACK PRODUCES TOIL. Nearly
all who work are working-for-a-living to meet their basic needs. It
is not a sin to do so, but it is not what God wants for us. He sent
Jesus to call us to seek His kingdom, where the Father will meet
all our needs.

S
Aiticle: The incieuible shiinking pay iaise. The Chiistian Science Nonitoi. Becembei 9,
2u12
4
Repoit on Wage Piactices, 2u11. Ninistiy of Nanpowei (Singapoie)
S
Repoit on Wage Piactices, 2u12. Ninistiy of Nanpowei (Singapoie)

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Then, we also saw that lack produces anxiety, and ANXIETY
IS A FORM OF TOIL. If you are anxious, worried, or concerned,
then you are toiling. And to you, Jesus says, Do not worry. It is a
command, you know, not just a suggestion.
Finally, TOIL IS A TRAP. It is a trap built by our own
desires, covetousness and greed, to ensnare us. It is foolproof;
there is no escaping once youve fallen into it. Like the insect that
fell into a spiders web, the more it struggles to get free, the more
it becomes entangled. And when all strength (and hope) has left its
body, the spider moves in for the kill.
To the faint-heated, I apologize for the use of graphic
description. But it was very necessary to convey to you the
severity of the issue. It can be a matter of life and death. If you are
not already in toil, I would ask that you stay that way. But if you
are toiling, there is hope.

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Chapter 14

Escape from Toil

In the previous chapter I talked to you about toil and cited
three criteria by which you may know that you are toiling. They
are:

1. You are toiling if you are working for a living.

2. You are toiling if you are working to repay a debt.

3. You are toiling if you are working so that you can have
something you want badly. And I used Jacob as a good example of
this.

Fear not if you are in any one of these categories because there is a
way to escape from toil.
Someone who is caught in a trap needs to be rescued, not
taught trap-management. But thats exactly what most teachings
are about: how to make lemonade when life gives you lemons.
What I am about to share with you in this chapter is not how to
cope with life in the trap, but how to be delivered from it.
Wouldnt you want that?

Lets begin with toil that is due to debt.
There are, typically, two ways that the burden of debt can be
removed. One is if it has been repaid in full. If you are gainfully
employed, then the onus is on you to live wisely, to spend frugally
so that you will be able to make regular repayments, even if they
are in small amounts.

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Alternatively, or at the same time, you can hope that your
debt will be pardoned, either fully or partially. As Christians, we
have an open invitation from our heavenly Father to approach His
throne with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help us in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Ive heard countless
testimonies, and have personally witnessed a few myself, of people
whose debts were pardoned, either partially or fully, because God
was merciful to them when they cried out to Him. In His wisdom,
God does not grant the same privilege to all who cry out to Him.
But this is no reason to fret. There is yet another way: by
activating spiritual laws.
Our natural world is governed by Natural Laws, such as the
Law of Gravity, the Law of Thermodynamics, and so on. Co-
existing with this natural world is a spiritual world. Hence,
spiritual laws are at work also. The spiritual law Im thinking
about here is the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Since I have already
addressed this point in Chapter 4, I will not belabor it further here.
Suffice it to say that you can sow your way out of debt.

Now lets talk about the most common type of toil: that which
comes from working-for-a-living.
Let me begin by stating that I am not opposed to work. I
believe that everyone should engage in work of any kind at all
times. They should not be idle, doing nothing with their hands or
with their minds. In the next chapter I will tell you how a Christian
should view work. But in the meantime, and for most people, work
is a necessary evil. It serves one purpose primarily: to satiate our
appetites and to fill our stomachs. This might seem like a fact of
life; it is, but only for those who do not know God.
You who know God should also know three things:
1. God knows your needs;
2. you are His child;
3. and you have more important things to do.

1. God knows your needs.

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It is the truth that God knows your needs. Jesus said it in
Matthew 6:8: [Y]our Father knows what you need before you ask
him. And again in Matthew 6:32: [Y]our heavenly Father knows
that you need them all.

Did you hear that? God knows what you need, and He knows
that you need them all.
Nowhere in the Bible will you find God or Christ mocking
your needs or criticizing you for having them. We are not
commanded to ignore our needs or to deprive ourselves of them.
Instead, we are told to ask so that we could receive (Matt 7:7).
Despite the explicitness of Christs words, many Christians are
modest limited and small when it comes to asking the Father
for what they need and want.
Instead of asking for exactly what they need, they make
discounts on their requests. For example, instead of asking for a
hundred dollars they ask of fifty, thinking that since it was a
smaller sum God would more likely answer their prayer. Asking
for exactly what one needs might give God the impression that one
is presumptuous or over-dependent on God. There is nothing
further from the truth than this. God invites to boldly ask so that
He could give it us and make our joy full (John 16:24). Those
who do not see this do not know God as their Father. They might
know Him only as their God.
As a matter of fact, in the same verse (John 16:24), Jesus says
that until now we have asked nothing in His name. This was true
for the Jewish people because, till then, the name of Jesus
(Yeshua) had not been revealed fully to them. They also had not
known that He is the Son of God. As Christians, we know who
Jesus is. But do you know what He will do for you?
Paul said: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all
things? (Rom 8:32 ASV) In short, giving up His Son was only the
beginning of what God was prepared to do for you.
In fact, God will not only meet your need by giving you exact
according to your need. He will supply it, says Paul, according to
His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19). Indeed, He is able
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to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph
3:20 NKJV).
If you dont believe me, look at how God supplied for Adam
in the Garden. Did God merely provide Adam adequately?
Certainly not. He provided abundantly, you can say, even
extravagantly.
With the same attitude, God provided for the atonement of
the sins of the world. The blood of unblemished animals could
have sufficed to atone for the sin of man. But it was not good
enough for God. He chose to pay the price Himself by sacrificing
the one dearest to Him, His Beloved Son (Matt 3:17).

2. You are Hi s chi ld.
John states that everyone who believes in Jesus is given the right
to be children of God (John 1:12). This is wonderful news as
there is no greater privilege than to be a child of the Most High. I
believe that for most of my readers who are adults it has been a
long time since you were a child; so allow me now help you recall
a part of your childhood and re-discover its joys and benefits.
When I was a child, I lived with my parents (just as you did,
presumably). And every day, as if dictated by an invisible
programme, I would come to the dining table at specific hours of
the day expecting food to be on the table. And, as far as I can
remember, I was never disappointed. It never crossed my mind to
ask about the food, like where it came from or who paid for them.
I was only a child, you see.
This is a picture of how a child of God lives in his/her
Fathers house totally dependent on the Father to meet every
need. The problem is this: we grew up.
From a very early age, it has been ingrained in our minds, our
sub-conscience that there will come a day when he will be old
enough to get a job, pursue a career, make enough money so that
we could leave home and start a family of our own. While this is
fine and normal in the natural, it isnt supposed to be so in the
spiritual life. Unknowingly, we have imported this way of thinking
into the Christian life, and began to teach an Unscriptural truth as
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if it were Scriptural. As a result, Christians have left home (the
kingdom of God) to live independently (of God). And like the
Prodigal Son, drawn by the attractions of this world, they have
gone to a far country and wasted his substance with riotous
living (Luke 15:13 ASV). And when he began to be in want (or
lack), he took up a job feeding swine. Although it was a job, his
pay was the husks that the swine did eat (for) no man gave unto
him (verse 16). Dont expect charity from this world. It is every
man for himself.
O, that we might see ourselves in this Prodigal Son and come
to our senses and return to the Father.
It is exactly because we, the children of God, have left the
Fathers house that we are experiencing so much strive and lack
and injustice and oppression in this world. In this sense, Jesus call
to His people to seek Gods kingdom was in fact a call to return
home.

Understandably, it can be a challenge for many, mere mortals,
to imagine God providing for all their needs, even their daily
bread. Jesus understands this also, and tells us to look at the
birds of the air and the lilies of the fields to be convinced of
otherwise.
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than they? Birds neither sow
nor reap, meaning they do not work for a living. They do not
even plan for the future and save up for it. Yet, God feeds
them. We, the sons of God, are more precious to God than
these birds.
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
(Matthew 6:26, 28-30)


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In Chapter 7, I have shared how God used these two parables
to let me know that He would take care of all my needs (and my
familys as well) unconditionally. For three years, even though I
was not working or doing anything that would allow me to receive
an income, God faithfully provided all that we needed.
At every possible opportunity, I have shared my experience
of Gods faithfulness during, what I call, My Wilderness Journey.
Most who heard it were amazed and praised God for what He has
done. Some were encouraged and edified. But, however, none was
willing to trust God and let Him be their Father (not just in name,
but for real).
There are a few reasons for this, in my opinion. The first is,
as I have explained, due to wrong teaching that we Christians have
received. The wrong teaching has caused us to grow to be
independent of God instead of the reverse: becoming more
dependent on Him. The second is, quite obviously, pride.
I say this with no judgment or condemnation. We are
exhorted to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us (1
Pet 5:7). Yet, many of us have opted to hold on to them and try to
work things out by ourselves. If this is not pride, what is?
Thirdly, there is a lack of faith in God.
While Christians have faith in God for many other things,
like the ministry, they struggle to trust God for things closer to
home, such as their daily bread. Yet, this is what Jesus teaches
us to pray for: Give us this day our daily bread.
Trusting God for our basic needs is part of the development
of our basic trust in the Father. Basic Trust, any psychologist or
Child Development Specialist would tell you, is crucial for the
normal development of a person. Some one who does not have
Basic Trust which is inculcated in the child from birth through
the receiving of affection and security will grow up to be a very
insecure person. He or she will be constantly seeking attention of
and approval from others. They will also be, as the song goes,
seeking love in all the wrong places.

Theres another thing that would happen to you if you are unable
to trust God to provide for you: You will end up worshipping other
gods, as the Israelites in Canaan did.
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Even though it was clear to every Israelite that it was God
that brought them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, they
somehow did not have the faith to believe that God was able to
sustain them in the land. As a result, they began to embrace Baal
as their god soon after entering the land. This did not mean that
they totally distrusted Yahweh and ceased to worship Him. Rather,
they worshipped Baal at the same time as they worshipped God. I
will read to you a few paragraphs from the article Baal Worship
in the Old Testament by Dennis Bratcher to give you a glimpse
into the mind of the Israelites. You just might be able to see a little
of yourself in them.

While we have no surviving Canaanite religious texts,
the accounts of Baal worship in the Old Testament
correspond closely to the existing versions of the Baal myth
and what we know of religious practices in surrounding
areas. The influence of this religious system on Israel can
hardly be overestimated. Contrary to how some statements in
the biblical traditions are often understood, the problem that
faced Israel through most of its history was not that the
people totally abandoned Yahweh for the worship of Baal.
Rather the problem was syncretism, the blending of Yahweh
worship with Baal worship.
Yahweh has been experienced as a God of power, the
God who fought Pharaoh, who parted the Reed Sea, who led
the Israelites through the desert, who parted the Jordan, who
brought them into the land by toppling the walls of Jericho
and routing the Canaanite and Philistine armies. This led to
the idea that Yahweh, the God of the patriarchs, was a
powerful warrior God, the God of the desert who could be
counted on to march in with his heavenly armies in times of
crisis. However, as the Israelites settled into the land, they
encountered the fertility cult of Baal. They were easily
convinced that while Yahweh may be God of the desert and
God of battles and God of power, it was Baal who was in
charge of the more mundane aspects of everyday life, such as
rain and crops and livestock.

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The Israelites never abandoned the worship of Yahweh.
They simply added the worship of Baal to their worship of
Yahweh (called syncretism). They had one God for crises and
another god for everyday life.

Believe it or not, many Christians today are practicing
religious syncretism, like the Israelites of old, by serving God and
Mammon (money) at the same time; something that Jesus said was
impossible, but has it stopped anyone from trying?

3. You have more i mportant thi ngs to do.
Theres another reason why God does not want you to work
for a living, and it is because you have more important things to do.
My mother had many siblings, all of them brothers. Being the
only girl, her parents decided that it was not important for her to
receive a full education. All her brothers, on the other hand, were
given the privilege. At the end of Grade 2 (or Primary 2), she
dropped out of school to help her mother with cooking and
cleaning. Her lack of a formal education severely limited the
options she had in life. After her marriage to my father, she
became a full-time homemaker.
My mother is just one of many who have passed through a
similar path. I am not here to judge or to say that the decision was
wrong. Personally, I would not want to have to choose between
sending my children to school and sending them out to find work
to support the family. It is a hard and unfair decision. Under those
circumstances, parents made the decisions that seemed right at that
time. Having said that, who is to say that if my mother had
received a formal education she could not have become a doctor or
lawyer or something? I guess well never know now.
What I am trying to say is that God has created each one of
us with a certain potential and a specific destiny. His desire is that
you reach our full potential and fulfill your destiny. What will stop
you from doing so are the decisions and choices you make along
the way. Will you choose the way of faith, or will you choose the
way of fear.

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Abram obeyed God and left his country, his people, and his
fathers house, and followed the Lord. After some time, he arrived
at the land of Canaan. There, God told him that He would give this
land to his descendants as an inheritance forever. Abram has found
his destiny. But will he follow and fulfill his destiny?
Suddenly, the land was hit by a severe famine and Abram
listened to his fear and escaped with his wife and servants to Egypt.
So many Christians have done what Abram did here. They started
well and were in the center of Gods Will. But at the first sign of
trouble especially when their livelihood is being threatened
they will abort the mission, bail out, or put their calling on hold
until the dust has settled. I guess no one can blame them. After all
self-preservation is as instinctive as coughing and sneezing. But so
is sin. They have forgotten that the one who called them is faithful,
and He will do it (1 Thess 5:24).
The generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt also
started well. They survived the journey through the wilderness and
found themselves virtually at the doorstep of the Promised Land.
At the most crucial moment, their fear and unbelief disallowed
them from entering and possessing their inheritance.
Peter was another man who was very concerned about
survival. Through his fishing business, he has managed to provide
for his family. Well done. But Peter was destined for greater things.
Jesus changing his name from Simon to Peter (or Cephas) attests
to this fact. Nevertheless, Peter remained unchanged by this
historic event. It was clear that providing for his family was utmost
in his mind because he returned immediately to his occupation
after that first encounter with Jesus. (Interestingly, a job, by which
we earn a living, is also known as an occupation. Often and for
many, they are an occupation in that they occupy us and keep us
from doing the Will of God.) It wasnt until their second encounter
that Peter was significantly moved.
Peter met Jesus again at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The
crowd was pressing in to hear Jesus preach the Word. Seeing the
boats, Jesus entered into one of them Peters and continued to
preach from it. When He had finished, He said instructed Peter to
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Long story short: Peter and his friends did as Jesus said and they
caught such a large number of fish that the nets started to break.
At their first meeting, I believe Peter sensed that Jesus was no
ordinary guy but that He was a prophet of sorts (because only a
prophet would change someones name). It did not take long,
however, for this thought to be pushed to the back of Peters mind
and be replaced by other pressing matters. But when Peter saw the
large catch of fish and realized that all of this happened because of
Jesus instruction, he knew that he could not ignored the truth
about Jesus identity any more. Falling down at Jesus feet, Peter
confessed his sin of not giving honor where honor is due. (Peter
has yet to receive the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God.) It
was at this moment that Jesus pronounced to Peter his destiny: Do
not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men (Luke 5:10).
The Bible also records that Peter, after realizing his destiny,
left everything and followed Jesus (Luke 5:11). By this, Peter
was saying Farewell to his former occupation and life. Now that
he has found his destiny, he is determined to follow and fulfill it
by the grace of God.
God has a destiny for you too. Do you know what it is?
Many do but have not been able to follow or fulfill it. Thats
because they still entangled with civilian pursuits, or the affairs
of this life, according to the Authorized Version (2 Tim 2:4). He
who does so cannot please the one who enlisted him. Also, they
have not bid farewell to their former life; and neither have they left
their nets and boats and father and followed Jesus. Nets and boats
symbolize the means of livelihood. Peter, Andrew, James and John
left their nets and boats and father when they received the call to
discipleship, and never looked back. Looking back is another thing
that you should not do when following Jesus because no one who
puts his hand to the plow and looks back (to his former life) is fit
for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).
Indeed, a life of service to God is a life of faith. There are
those who will serve God only when the remuneration is adequate
and the fringe benefits attractive. These, Jesus says, are not
shepherds; they are hirelings (John 10:12).
For sure, those whom Jesus sent out, in Luke 9, were not
hirelings because they went forth taking nothing with them: no

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staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money (verse 3), according to the
Lords instruction. They did not even have an extra change of
clothes. This is the acid-test, if there is one, of a true disciple of
Christ.
Jesus Himself had undergone such a test and passed with
flying colors. He was not born into a family of wealth or power;
He was born in a manger and into a working-class family His
father was a carpenter. And while foxes have holes, and birds of
the air have nests the Son of Man [had] nowhere to lay his head
(Matt 8:20). He was never anxious about what He will eat; My
food is to do the will of Him that sent Me, He said (John 4:34).
Most importantly, He was willing to lay down His life for the
sheep when the time came for Him to do so (see John 10:11).
When you serve the Lord, you must not be thinking about
your own needs but let the Lord take care of you. You must be
able to cast all your cares on Him knowing that He cares for you (1
Pet 5:7). Thinking about your needs will interfere with your
service to the Lord; it will distract you from the ministry; and it
will prevent you from moving according to the Spirit. If your heart
is constantly anxious about how your needs will be met then your
heart will be on things of the flesh and not of the Spirit. And
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:21).

Depend on Hi s Blessi ng
The other way that we can be free from toil is to depend on
Gods blessing.
Proverbs 10:22 tells us that the blessing of the Lord makes
one rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. From Genesis 3:17, we
learned that the Hebrew word for pain, sorrow and toil are the
same. Hence, Gods blessing is able to make us rich without the
pain or sorrow of toil. By saying this, it does not mean that no
work on our part is necessary. We will need to do due diligence
but it would not be toil (endless hard work).
After the Israelites had entered and possessed the Promised
Land and each tribe has received its portion of the inheritance, this
was what God said to them:
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If you walk in my statutes and observe my
commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains
in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the
trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall
last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest
shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread
to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace
in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you
afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and
the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase
your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you
shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before
you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and
multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You
shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old
to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you,
and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you
and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

(Another list of blessings can be found in Deuteronomy 28.)
Notice the first line: If you walk in my statutes and observe
my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in
their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of
the field shall yield their fruit. Assuming that the Israelites had
done due diligence in cultivating their fields, what determined the
size of the harvest was only the blessing of God which in turn was
determined by their obedience to Gods commandments. Their
continued obedience will evoke Gods blessing to bring the rains
according to their seasons, to give them courage to repel their
enemies, to make them fruitful and increase, and so on. O, how I
wish more would understand this.
I have become weary of hearing Christians talk about how
God has blessed them with this and that when clearly they are not
the blessings of God. Whether or not something is a blessing from
God can be found out by asking two questions: Does it cause you
pain or sorrow or toil? and Has it come as a result of your
obedience to God?

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Take for example someone who says, God has blessed me
with this new job. It pays much better. People are getting
promoted and find new (and better) jobs all the time. What, then,
distinguishes yours from theirs? Was it your obedience to God that
has evoked Gods blessing on your life? This is what I would want
to know. Then, in the long run, I would also want to see if this
blessing is accompanied by sorrow, pain and toil, or not. Very
often, the one who has been, so-called, blessed would be thinking
of leaving the job because the long hours and intense pressure to
perform has become unbearable.
If they (this job, for example) are not a blessing from God,
what then is it?
We must not forget who the ruler of this world is; it is Satan,
and he is the Deceiver of the nations who has deceived the nations
with his sorcery (Rev 18:23). In this sense, the world has been
spellbound and made to play the game he has created. And like in
any game, this one will have winners and losers. After all, who
would want continue playing a game in which no one ever wins?
So Satan shrewdly allows some to win. (I repeat: No one wins
unless Satan to has permitted him.) This would incentivize and
encourage the rest of the players to keep playing and fill them
with the (false) hope that one day it would be their turn to win. It
is natural that these winners would want to share their secret
with other. So it isnt surprising that countless seminars are
organized each year; seminars that seek to teach others the Way
of Success.
Sadly, many Christians have been deceived and are playing
the game themselves. Satan is using the successful ones to entice
and lure the others to join in as well.

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Chapter 15

Work: What & Why?

In the last two chapters, I have said that toil is more than just hard
work it is endless hard work. I also showed you that toil is part
of the curse resulting from sin and because all have sinned, all are
under the curse. But in Christ, there is redemption and salvation;
there is a way of escape if we would take it.
Related to toil, I will be touching on the subject of work in
this chapter. Since we spend a very large portion of our waking
hours at work, we cannot assume that we know the answers to the
questions What is Work? and Why do we work? Even if we
do have our own answers to these questions it is essential, even
indispensible that they are in line with the Bibles perspective. It is
our aim to find out what the Bible says about work and let it
govern our attitudes and actions. There is no better place to begin
than to study the word itself and what it means.

What i s Work?
The Hebrew word for work is abad and was first
mentioned in Genesis 2:15: The LORD God took the man and put
him in the garden of Eden to work (abad) it and keep it. But since
the meaning of abad is so wide-ranging, this verse is being
rendered variously as follows:
New King James Version: Then the Lord God took the man
and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
New Revised Standard Version: The Lord God took the
man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
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World English Bible: Yahweh God took the man, and put
him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
Youngs Literal Translation: And Jehovah God taketh the
man, and causeth him to rest in the Garden of Eden, to serve it, and
to keep it.
Holman Christian Standard Bible: The Lord God took the
man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and watch
over it.
American Standard Version: And Jehovah God took the
man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Apart from its basic definition to work and to serve abad can
also mean slave, bondage, and even worship. So you see,
abad is neutral it is neither inherently good nor bad apart from
its context. Its the context the word is used in that influences and
affects its flavor whether it is sweet or bitter, desirable or
undesirable. For example: Adams work in the Garden to tend
and keep it was sweet (how we wish our work was like this)
compared to what the Israelites had: their lives were made bitter
with hard labor (Ex 1:14). Whats more, in spite of the rigor and
effort put into building the two cities, Pithom and Ramses, the
Israelites will never get to live in them. Adam, on the other hand,
was already living in the Garden; he was merely beautifying his
home.

Why Work?
Work is dynamic in that there are many degrees of work:
from light and joyful to hard and painful. But its degree of
difficulty is not as important as its purpose. The Bible says that
without a vision, the people perish (Prov 29:18). In the same
way, work that is without purpose will cause its doers to perish
(spiritually, emotionally, then physically) and render the work
itself dead (Heb 6:1). Here, I would like to suggest three
purposes or reasons for your work.


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1. We are created i n Gods i mage.
We read in Genesis 1:27 that God had a plan to create Man in His
image. But just what does in His image mean? Obviously, it
cannot mean that Man would look like God because God is spirit
and therefore has no visible physical features. A literal rendering
of this verse gives us: God filled Man with His shadow. The
dictionary defines a shadow as a representation or copy albeit a
slightly inferior one of something.
When you and I get out into the open during the day, our
bodies will cast shadows on the ground. They are rough
representations of us individually. If I am taller than you, naturally
my shadow will be longer than yours. More importantly, our
shadows will mimic our actions. Thats what shadows do.
Hopefully, they will not be like the shadow of Peter Pan.
At one point in the story of Peter Pan, Peters shadow
decided to go solo. Divorcing himself from Peter, he zooms along
the walls of the room like a free bird with Peter in pursuit. After
some time, Peter succeeds in wrestling his shadow back into
submission to him. What a parable this is of how Man rebelled
against God, and of how hard God worked paying a high price in
the process to reconcile Man to Himself. I am not sure if this part
of the movie was Scripturally-inspire (I dont think so) but it does
remind me of Isaiah 53:6, which says,
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all..

Hence, Man was made to be Gods shadow that mimics all of
His actions. Jesus demonstrated this perfectly for us to see and
learn. He did nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees
the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, that the Son does
likewise (John 5:19). Do you know what is God doing now?
Depending on how you look at it, some would say that God
has already ceased from His work and is resting; and it is this rest
that we are to strive to enter into (Heb 4:10-11). However, the
same cannot be said about Jesus because He is doing a number of

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things even now. From Matthew 16:18 we know that He is
building His church, and Hebrews 7:25 tells us that He is making
intercession for us.
If God and His Christ are resting, then so must the Church be
at rest; but they are not. God is on a mission and it has become the
mission of the Church as well. Missio Dei the mission of God
may be summed up as that all may honor the Son, just as they
honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor
the Father who sent him (John 5:23). It was Jesus mission while
He was on the earth; now He sends us forth to do likewise. As the
Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. (John 20:21) We
will not be alone in this mission. By ourselves we will not be able
to accomplish it. We need the Holy Spirit; He is the Paraclete that
Jesus has sent to us. He will fill, convict, empower, endow with
gifts and lead us so that we may do the following:
to bring good news to the poor;
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn. (Isa 61:1-2)

2. It i s a servi ce to others
Work for Christians should be more than just about survival
or profit. It should be a form of service to the world, according to
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld:
The word for work in Hebrewconnotes service.
Work is not only a necessary part of life, it is a form of
service to the world, to the rest of humanity, and to God. We
are meant to be of service, to be partners with God in the
ongoing creation of the world. Yet even as we serve God, we
also serve our fellow human beings.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said of Himself that, the Son of Man
came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
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for many (Mark 10:45). Serving others was the flavor that
permeated throughout His life and ministry. As a servant, He
counted others more significant than Himself, and He looked not
to His own interest but to the interests of others (Phil 2:3-4). His
selflessness was so magnificent that it impressed even Paul, the
persecutor of the church, such that, after his conversion, he
exhorted believers to have the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5) and saw
himself as a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians;
both to the wise, and to the unwise (Rom 1:14).
To the believers in Galatia, Paul also exhorts the believers to
do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the
household of faith (Gal 6:10). And to those who have made a
career out of robbing others, he instructs them to do good work
with his hands so that he may have something to give (service) to
him who is in need (Eph 4:28).

3. It i s a celebrati on of li fe
Towards the later part of his life, Solomon began to grow
apart from God. As a result, his outlook on life became
increasingly cynical; everything was vanity to him. His musings,
which became like sermons (thus he was known also as The
Preacher), are recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes. In it, he urges
men everywhere to work their hands with all their might because
there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the
place of the dead to which you are going (Eccl 9:10). Cynical as
it may sound, there is some true to what he says. Use all the God-
given faculties while you can this is how you celebrate life!

When you work

1. do i t well

1u1
We are exhorted to work heartily, as for the Lord and not for
men because ultimately we are serving the Lord Christ and it is
from Him that we will receive our reward (Col 3:23). This does
not mean, however, that what we do is for Christ. Is there anything
that we can do for Him? We are only to do everything as if we
were doing it for Him. The simplest way to do this is to picture
Christ in the place of the one we are serving. So, if you are a
waitress, serve as if it was Christ siting at the table. If you are a
taxi driver, drive as if Christ was in your cab. If you are a pastor,
preach as if Christ was in your congregation.
It might be hard to do so when the one you serve is
unreasonable and obnoxious. But it shouldnt be an excuse not to
serve. Ask God for His grace to abound. Your humility and
faithfulness in serving earthly authorities, no matter how
undeserving you think they are of being served, is the heart-
preparation for your service to the King of kings and the Lord of
lords in His eternal kingdom.
It is also possible that we might lack the motivation to work
heartily because of the rewards, or lack of it. Nevertheless, we
must do so; keeping in mind that God is our exceedingly great
reward (Gen 15:1). Have the perspective that you are undergoing
a probation for the most important job in the world: to rule and
reign with Christ in His kingdom.

2. Balance i t wi th the study of the Scri ptures
It is apparent that nearly everyone is struggling to reach a
reasonable work-life balance; that is, to have a balance between
the time we spend at work and that spent on the other aspects of
our lives, such as family, friends, ministry and self. For Christians,
we have one other area that we need to consider and include into
this equation, and that is the study of Scripture.
Paul writes that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim 3:16, 17). So,
you see, the Word of God in our lives is indispensible for a

1u2
Christian who wants to do good works of all kinds. Through the
study of Scripture, godly values and characteristics are imbued
into the Christians life, making him more Christ-like. With
improper values and priorities, a Christian might serve (or rather
strive) for personal gain and glory; but godliness with
contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6:6). When your work does not
permit you, in terms of time, to study the Scriptures, then that
work is not good for you.
Do not postpone the study of the Scriptures till your
retirement. You are delusional if you think that you will have
plenty of time to study Gods Word then. By that time, you would
be half-deaf, half-blind, and half-dead (See Eccl 12:1-6). How can
you expect to properly study the Word of God then?

Chapter 6

Laziness

Laziness. I writing about laziness because the Bible is
anything but silent on this subject. I am also doing it because there
are some misconceptions among Christians about what the Bible
really says about it.
Solomon had a lot to say about a lazy person. He said that a
lazy person hates work (Prov 21:25); a lazy person loves sleep
(Prov 26:14); a lazy person makes excuses so that he does not have
to work (Prov 26:13); a lazy person becomes a servant or a debtor
(Prov 12:24); a lazy person strains relationships (Prov 10:26); a
lazy person wastes time and energy (Prov 18:9); a lazy person
overlooks creations example (Prov 6:6); a lazy person believes he
is wise (Prov 26:16); and a lazy person seeks comfort (Prov 20:4).
In summary, a lazy person is one who has a disdain for work
and exertion (both physical and mental). Let it be clear that a
person is not lazy because he is doing nothing; he could be merely
resting. But he is lazy if he does not do what he should.

Lazi ness and Poverty
Mention laziness and immediately the word poverty comes
to mind. One reason for this is because most of us are familiar with
verses like Proverbs 13:4
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.


1u4
and Proverbs 10:4
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

While it is true that laziness does lead to poverty, does hard
work then lead to prosperity? Lets see what does the Scripture say:
Length of days is in her (wisdom) right hand, in her left
hand riches and honor (Prov 3:16)

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and
honor and life. (Prov 22:4)

Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding
it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all
precious and pleasant riches. (Prov 24:4)

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds
no sorrow (or toil) with it. (Prov 10:22)

So hard work alone does not produce prosperity. You will
also need humility, wisdom and the fear and blessing of the Lord.
So, what is diligence?

Conti nuum of Effort
As I deliberated more about this subject, the Lord
downloaded a diagram into my mind. It is called the Continuum of
Effort. A continuum is a coherent whole characterized as a
collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying
by minute degree.
This diagram will help you understand the difference and
relationship between Laziness, Diligence, Industry and Slavery. It
would be useful for you to keep this as a mental framework in your
mind.

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Idle. On the left of the continuum is the section representing
laziness. We have examined many Scripture verses that describe a
lazy person. Basically, he is someone who refuses to do what
should be done, when it needs to be done. It isnt that he had
nothing to do; on the contrary he had duties and responsibilities.
He simply chooses not to do them. Laziness is undesirable, but
diligence is. What is diligence?

Diligence. Different dictionaries will offer their own version
of the definition of the word diligence. After considering many
of them, I find it is best summed it up by two words: Promptness
and Perseverance. Diligence is the promptness to embark on a task
at hand, and the perseverance to see it through to the end.
From this we gather that a diligent person is self-motived (not
coerced) and has self-control (not excessive or compulsive). A
diligent person has knowledge and wisdom (he knows what he is
doing, and why) A diligent person is, most of all, contented and
fulfilled because knows he has accomplished what he had set out
to do. Jesus was such a man, a man on a mission. With single-
mindedness, He set out to accomplish the work that the Father had
sent Him to do, sometimes at the expense of His own welfare. And
when His disciples urged Him to take some food, He would say to
them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish
his work (John 4:24). This He did consistently throughout His
ministry years. And towards the end of it, He was able to say to
His Father, I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the
work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your

1u6
own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world
existed. (John 17:4-5)
Paul, the apostle, was another diligent man. He knew his
calling and carried it out faithfully. In Christ Jesus, then, I have
reason to be proud of my work for God. Thirty years and four
missionary journeys later, Paul was able to say this:
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my
work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the
Gentiles to obedienceby word and deed, by the power of
signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of Godso
that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I
have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ (Rom
15:17-19).

As you can see, diligence is not the same as toil since it is
constant effort
1
that is applied to a task, with a definite start and
finish. Toil, on the other hand, is endless hard work.
Once again, diligence has to do with a specific task or an
assignment. Take that assignment away and the diligence turns
into industry.

Industry. With the Industrial Age came machines that
increased mans capacity to produce as well as helped to improve
the productivity of each worker. The creation of power machines
and factories provided many new job opportunities. The standard
of living in industrialized nations began to rise above those that
were not. But industrialization and industrial growth were not
without negative effects, such as urbanization (leading to over
crowding in cities), serious environmental degradation (pollution,
acid rain and the destruction of bio- and eco-systems), social
disparities, child labor, longer working hours (resulting in fatigue
and illnesses) and unsafe working conditions (causing accidents
and deaths) just to name a few. Our discussion will focus on the
longer working hours brought on by industrialization.

1
1828 Webstei's English Bictionaiy

1u7
Initially, people did not mind working long hours in the
factory heartlands. It, after all, promised full employment, and for
those used to scraping together a living from the land, this was
very good news indeed.
2

But as time passed, it was not enough for factories to
produce; they had to increase their rate of production. Productivity
became the new buzzword of the Industrial Age.
There are many ways to increase productivity, as you know.
In the 1700s, productivity increased exponentially through a series
of innovations. The Second Industrial Revolution increased
productivity by combining labor. Combination of labor is the act
of rolling smaller tasks into the normal job of more highly paid
and qualified professional. An example of this would be the
writing of a letter.
In the past, if you had to write a business letter, youd spend
time to dictate to a steno, the steno would then go and type it out.
Youd then spend time to verify the typed letter (and where
necessary do a second round of check till the letter was ready to
go). Then the letter was ready to go. With computers and printers,
you could type the letter, edit it, and send it (without printing it) in
a fraction of the time it used to take.
The combination of labor no doubt has increased productivity
tremendously, but as a result we are getting busier and busier even
as we get richer.
This, in a sense, isnt new. Combination of labor can be
found in the Bible, as early as the book of Exodus. Surprised?
The Israelites in Egypt were conscripted to build the two
supply cities of Pithom and Ramses. It was very hard work, the
kind of work they were unfamiliar with since they were shepherds.
But the task assigned to them was very specific: to manufacture
bricks from mud and straw (which was provided for them). A daily
quota of bricks was set for them, and they were required to fulfill it.
So far, through diligence, they had not failed to do so.
Then one day, Moses came into the picture and went to
Pharaoh to ask that his people be allowed to go three days into the

2
Emma uiiffin. Why Woikeis Welcomeu Long Bouis of Inuustiial Revolution.
Bloombeig.com

1u8
wilderness to sacrifice to their God (Ex 5:8). Outraged, Pharaoh
concluded that the Israelites were idle and punished them by
requiring them to fulfill the same daily quota of bricks but this
time without the usual supply of straw. A combination of labor had
just taken place. In a sense, the Israelites went from Diligence to
Industry.
Out of the Industrial Revolution also came the proverb:
Time is Money. Employers believed that money is wasted (in
lost wages and missed opportunities, etc.) when a persons time is
not used productively, and did not spare in making sure every
employee knows that. Inevitably, workers feel they need to be
busy every minute of the day; or at least look like they are busy.
Hence, the office became a hive of activity, with people buzzing
around ceaselessly, perhaps aimlessly as well. But are we to be as
busy as bees? Or should we be as busy as a beaver (building a new
dam)? Solomon tells us to take lesson from the ant (Prov 6:6-8).
Ants are busy creatures, but only to the extent that is
necessary. Many have the misconception that ants store food
during summer for the winter months. This is not the case for all
species of ants (there are thousands) with the exception of one: the
Messor Aciculatus, which hibernate during winter. Ants only
gather what they need for the day. If they are lazy and
procrastinate in doing what was necessary, they would starve and
die. So ants know better than to be lazy. This is what we can learn
from them. Our model has been wrong; no wonder we are in such
dire strait.
We must not get caught in the trap of industry thinking that
we must be busy all the time because time is money. Lesley
Alderman, author of The Book of Times, says that, It turns out
that wasting a little time at work every so often is good for you and
your productivity. A recent study demonstrated that one of the best
things to do following an intense bout of work is to surf the web.
He adds that reading emails tends to make concentration at work
more difficult. Interesting, isnt it.
The notion that time is money has also lead to the blurring of
lines between work hours and personal time. With the advances in
technology, especially in the area of communication, employees
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can now take work home in fact, most are expected to do so.
Bosses continue to assign work to their subordinates through the
phone, email or text messages. But this might be changing as
Germanys Labor Ministry introduces new rules that ban its
managers from calling and emailing staff outside of office hours
unless faced with an emergency.
3
Von der Leyen, the Labor
Minister, told the Sddeutsche Zeitung: "The process to introduce
rules to protect the well-being [of the staff] was as difficult as it
was rewarding." More companies, I hope, will follow their good
example.

Slavery. The last section on the Continuum of Effort is called
Slavery. If you are not just being diligent in doing what is
necessary then you are industrious being busy all the time.
Between Industry and Slavery is a very thin line; one that many
have crossed without realizing it. The Israelites crossed this line
while they were in Egypt; and they did not know it. The story
about Israel in Egypt and their subsequent deliverance from the
house of bondage has often been treated spiritually and used as a
picture of our own deliverance from sin through Christs
redeeming sacrifice (as portrayed by the Passover lamb) and defeat
of the Prince of Darkness (symbolized by Pharaoh). While I agree
with this, I also believe that this story has much more to teach us;
and these lessons are more practical than spiritual.
Slavery is the system under which people are treated as
property and are forced to work. The dictionary defines a slave as
a legal property of another. A slave occupies a certain place in
society, a status defined by rights and liabilities, by the privileges
and powers others could exercise over him.
4

Believe it or not, slavery still exists today. An estimated 40
million people in India, most of them Dalits or untouchables, are
bonded workers, working in slave-like conditions in order to pay

S
The Local. Laboi Ninistiy: we won't call staff aftei woik. Su August 2u1S
4
The Politics of Piopeity by Lauia Biace

11u
off debts.
5
In another part of the world, taking place right now (as I
write) in Qatar, dozens of Nepalese migrant laborers have died in
recent weeks and thousands more are enduring appalling labor
abuses as the country prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.
6

Some workers have alleged that they have not been paid for
months and have had their salaries retained to stop them from
running away. Others say they have been denied access to free
drinking water in the desert heat. Slavery is fundamentally the
exploitation of the poor by the rich.
But when speaking of slaves and slavery, we cannot limit to
just one kind, such as we see in India or Qatar. They represent
slaves at one end of the spectrum, those with little or not rights at
all. At the other end are slaves with lessened rights. They are
called employees. Like it or not, there are similarities between
an employee and a slave. The following extract from Employees
Feel Like Slaves
7
, tells it all:
Merriam Webster defines a slave as, "a person who has
lost control of himself and is dominated by something or
someone else." No wonder many employees, shackled to
their jobs with little freedom to control their day-to-day work
or their career, feel like slaves. Employees are "dominated"
because what they do, when they do it, and where they do it
are controlled by their employer. They are like slaves because
their employer controls their time and their space. Many
employees live in a state of perpetual anxiety about losing
their jobs. Indeed, research shows that more than half of all
employees feel insecure in their jobs and inhibited about
expressing their views openly.
Technically, of course, employees are voluntary
workers and are legally free to leave whenever they please. In
practice, however, this is not the case for most people. The

S
Immigiation anu Refugee Boaiu of Canaua, Inuia: The cuiient situation of Balits,
especially in Punjab; anu any piotest iallies helu by ualits in Punjab in 1997 anu 1998 anu
subsequent ieaction by the authoiities, Apiil 1, 1999,
6
The uuaiuian. Revealeu: Qatai's Woilu Cup 'slaves' by Pete Pattisson. 2S Septembei
2u1S
7
Employees Feel Like Slaves by Biuce L. Katchei, Ph.B. Piesiuent, Biscoveiy Suiveys, Inc.

111
job market today is extremely tight and the prospect of
finding a job elsewhere is daunting.
The slave analogy is also relevant because employees
do not feel management cares about their well-being or gives
them the authority to make their own decisions. Research
conducted by Discovery Surveys also shows:
Less than half of employees believe that
management shows a genuine interest in their well
being;
Half don't trust the information they receive from
management;
Only 58 percent feel that they have the decision-
making authority they need; and
Only one-third feel that they are involved in
decisions that affect their day-to-day work.
Many employees live in a perpetual state of anxiety
because they lack what psychologists call "the perception of
control." Psychological studies have shown that the perceived
control over one's destiny has more of an influence over
anxiety than does the actual control.

Black's Law Dictionary
8
defines employee as "A person in the
service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied,
oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to
control and direct the employee in the material details of how the
work is to be performed." By that definition, we begin to see how
similar the modern day employee is to the servants and slaves of
times past.

Dont be a slave. You are a child of God.

8
Black's Law Bictionaiy (7
th
eu. 1999). 0nline veision heie:
http:johnwauemooie.nettiuthblacks-law-uictionaiy-7th-euition

112

Chapter 17

Freedom from Slavery

Canaan, or the Promised Land, is the other picture of the
kingdom of God that is found in the Old Testament portion of the
Bible. Much like the Garden, it is a lush and delightful place a
land flowing with milk and honey given (not earned) to Gods
people as an inheritance. But before we delve into its
characteristics and purpose, we need to go back in time to Egypt
where the Israelites (the children of Jacob) were enslaved in
slavery for over four centuries. While the story for Adam began at
his creation outside the Garden, the story for the Israelites began in
Egypt, where they became a people.

Egypt
Jacobs sons had sold one of their siblings to the Ishmaelites,
who in turn sold him to an Egyptian official named Potiphar. God
was with Joseph and he prospered in everything that he did.
Eventually, he rose through the ranks to become chief of staff in
Potiphars household.
Joseph was not only successful; he was also young and good-
looking. With these desirable qualities, he caught the eye of
Potiphars wife. One day, Potiphars wife tried to seduce Joseph
into having relations with her, but he was immovable. Angered
and insulted, she cried wolf, accusing Joseph of forcing himself
on her. Joseph was proven guilty (although wrongly) by

11S
incriminating evidence: the coat he left behind while fleeing from
Potiphars wife. He was thrown into prison and left there to rot.
One day, Pharaoh had a dream that deeply troubled him. No
one in the kingdom, not even the court magicians, was able to
interpret it. Prompted by his cupbearer, who until now had
forgotten about Joseph and the promise he made to him, Pharaoh
sent for Joseph. Taken out of prison, shaved and changed, Joseph
stood before Pharaoh and listened intently to his dreams. Joseph
discerned that the dreams spoke of one thing: There will come
seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but
after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty
will be forgotten in the land of Egypt (Gen 41:29-30). Besides
interpreting the dreams, Joseph also had ideas about how to
prepare for the eventuality. The proposal pleased Pharaoh (Gen
41:57) and Joseph was set above all the land of Egypt.
The seven years of plenty came and went as Joseph had
predicted; and the years of famine began. But because of the work
Joseph had done prior to this, there was famine in all lands, but in
all the land of Egypt there was bread (Gen 41:54).
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his
sons there to buy some. All of them went, but Benjamin remained
behind. They did not know that the person they were going to buy
grain from was their brother Joseph (because he now goes by a
different name, Zaphenath-paneah).
Long story short, Joseph eventually revealed his true identity
to his brothers and forgave them of their wrongdoing. Utilizing the
good favor he has in the eyes of Pharaoh, Joseph succeeded in
securing the best land of Egypt (Gen 45:18), the land of Goshen,
for his father and brothers and their households seventy of them
(Gen 46:27 and Ex 1:5).
Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.
But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they
multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled
with them (Ex 1:6-7).

Then, there arose a king in Egypt who did not know Joseph. It is
debatable whether this king was an Egyptian or one from the
Hyksos dynasty. The Hyksos were a Semitic people from Syria-

114
Palestine, who took up residence in the eastern Nile Delta and
eventually ruled northern Egypt for some 108 years, ca. 1663-1555
BC (15th Dynasty)
1
.
Some believe that when Joseph arrived in Egypt, the Hyksos
was already in power; this explains (they say) the favor that Joseph
had with Potiphar and later Pharaoh. Some time after the death of
Joseph, the Egyptians managed to drive out the Hyksos and
regained the throne. It seems logical, therefore, that the king in
Egypt (in Exodus) has not heard of Joseph, or did not want to
acknowledge Josephs contribution. This would give him reason
political reason to look upon the Hebrews with suspicion and to
deal shrewdly with them; seeing them as a threat to national
security since they too, like the Hyksos, were Semites.
Others believe that the king who did not know Joseph was
indeed a Hyksos king. Understandably, he did not have a historical
knowledge of Joseph; nor did he have reasons to respect it if he
had. Apparently, the Israelites were "more and mightier" than the
Hyksos, and therefore any military alliance with the former
Egyptian regime was seen as a possible trouble area.
Whatever the case might be, the end result was the same: the
masters of the land ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as
slaves (Ex 1:13). More important than knowing who the masters
of the land were is to know how the Israelites were made slaves
and their response to it. And as I describe the oppression faced by
the children of Israel in Egypt, I will also, where appropriate, show
you how our experiences today mirrors theirs then.
Skillfully, the king convinced the populace that they should
deal shrewdly with the children of Israel because if war breaks
out, they [would] join our enemies and fight against us (Ex 1:10).
Almost overnight, the children of Israel had become enemy
number one; the Egyptians were in dread of them. With the
groundswell of support, this king went about placing taskmasters
over the children of Israel and afflicted them with heavy burdens.
Since all this was done shrewdly, the Israelites never knew what
hit them until it was too late. It never occurred to them that there

1
The Egyptian woiu Byksos means "foieign iuleis." In common usage, howevei, the teim
is useu to iefei in geneial to the Asiatics who settleu in the eastein Belta of Egypt in the
Seconu Inteimeuiate Peiiou. The uates foi Byksos iule aie not known piecisely.

11S
was a conspiracy by the Egyptian authorities to oppress this
minority race and to commit progressive genocide (by killing all
their new born male babies). In this sense, the king of Egypt was
successful in dealing shrewdly with the children of Israel.

The Israelites were conscripted to be part of a workforce more
likely invited to participate in a grandiose construction project to
repair Egypts tarnished image as an ancient superpower
dedicated to building two of Pharaohs cities: Pithom
2
and
Ramses
3
. (For your information, the Israelites did not build the
pyramids.) Even though these were supply cities to provide for
the armies of Egypt that were deployed over vast stretches of land
they were named after Egyptian gods. Excavations of the site,
which is believed to be the city of Pithom, revealed a temple in the
middle of it
4
.
Today, (nearly) every man and woman is a member of the
Workforce. As much as everyone would like to think that they
have signed up voluntarily, they in fact have not. They had no
choice in the matter because they are under the curse of Adam:
they must toil for the rest their lives if they wish to eat and live.
And, like the Israelites, they are afflicted with heavy burdens.
The King James and Authorized versions say that the Egyptians
afflicted the Israelites with their (the Egyptians) burdens (Ex
1:11). Question: Whose burden are you bearing right now? Is it
yours, or someone elses?
The difference is that instead of just building two cities,
people today are building many cities and empires. And by
empires, I mean businesses, companies and conglomerates that
have more than just an economic function; they are religious in
nature too. Every commercial building is both a monument (to

2
"The Egyptian name is Pe Tum, 'the house (temple) of Tum,' the sun gou of Beliopolis."
("Pithom" Fausset's Bible Bictionaiy)
S
The woiu tianslateu as "Rameses" means "chilu of the sun." (Ra'mecec 0T:7486 Biown
Biivei & Biiggs Bebiew Lexicon) Fausset's Bible Bictionaiy states, "Beiiveu fiom Ra-mes,
'chilu of Ra' the sun gou. The Egyptians calleu themselves 'chiluien of Ra' fiont the eailiest
times." ("Rameses" Fausset's Bible Bictionaiy) The Inteinational Stanuaiu Bible
Encyclopaeuia states, "Ra was an ancient name foi the 'sun' it seems possible that a town
may have boine the title 'Ra cieateu it' veiy eaily." ("Raamses" Inteinational Stanuaiu
Bible Encyclopaeuia)
4
}ewish Encyclopeuia: Pithom
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116
praise) and an altar (for sacrifice) to the god Mammon. Everyday,
millions of people (even Christians) are bowing in worship to
Mammon because they have accepted, knowingly or unknowingly,
the devils proposition: All these (the glory of the world) I will
give you, if you will fall down and worship me.
5
The reason Jesus
was able to decline the very tempting offer was not because He
was the Son of God we all are sons of God if we believe in His
name but because He had the kingdom of God. The kingdom of
God trumps the kingdoms of the world in so many ways; it is like
comparing gold with brass there is no comparison.
The problem is that many people (especially Christians) do
not have the kingdom of God more precisely, they are not in the
kingdom of God most do not even know what it is. Without the
knowledge (and vision) of the kingdom of God, the only glory
man would see (and desire) will be the glory of this world. There
would be little or no incentive not to love the world or the things
in the world
6
. Yet, it is this love (for the world and the things in
it) that has driven so many towards the snare and inevitably
straight into it. (If you recall, snare is one of the definitions of
toil according to the 1828 Websters English Dictionary.) And,
just like Jacob who was willing to serve Laban for twenty years to
have Rachel as his wife (the lust of the eyes), we too have been
willing to toil as slaves for what we need and want. This notion
that we are slaves, understandably, is alien and repulsive to most
people. This is because of our perception of slavery.
Theory and practice of Egyptian slavery were quite
different from those of Greece, Rome or the southern states of
the USA, where slaves were wholly at the mercy of their
owners with little protection from society, and more in line
with the kind of slavery practiced in the rest of Africa. Hem
(Hm), generally translated as 'slave' and originally meaning
body, was seemingly a person with lessened rights dedicated
to a certain task such as the service of a god (since the 1st
dynasty) or the royal administration.
7

S
Natthew 4:9
6
1 }ohn 2:1S
7
An intiouuction to the histoiy anu cultuie of Phaiaonic Egypt
http:www.ieshafim.oig.ilauegyptinuex.html

117

We might not be slaves in the usual sense of the word, but we are
people with lessened rights dedicated to a task. While the task
may vary from person to person, the fruit of all the labor are
enjoyed mostly by a certain group of people Im thinking of
business-owners and stakeholders leaving those who worked
hard to receive only the crumbs that fall from the table.
In Egypt, Pharaoh set taskmasters over the children of Israel.
In the same way, today, we all have taskmasters placed over us
to make sure that we perform according to the standard and fulfill
the quota set by Pharaoh. And who is Pharaoh? Satan himself.
He is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience (Eph 2:2).
Each year, governments set higher and higher economic
growth targets (called GDP) for their respective nations. Using
Productivity as their rallying cry, they make their Workforce
work harder and harder. Productivity may seem like a good and
necessary thing when seen from an angle. It spurs us towards
excellence and higher efficiency. But, from a slightly cynical point
of view, the constant call for productivity is another way of saying
that there is still a degree of idleness in the people; and, if that
idleness is eradicated, they can achieve more. This was the point of
view of Pharaoh with respect to the Israelites. He saw them as idle
when Moses asked Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to go three
days journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord (Ex 5:3).
He interpreted their request was such: For they are idle; therefore
they cry out, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
Infuriated, Pharaoh ordered them to keep working. But this time,
they would have to produce the same quota of bricks, as before,
without the usual supply of straw they had to gather straw for
themselves.
Tell me how long can the Workforce bear with the immense
stress. No wonder chronic sickness and mental illness are on the
rise in every developed and developing nation.
Most people have the misconception that the Israelites in
Egypt were mistreated: whipped; starved; treated worse than
animals. The fact that they were able to eat freely; the

118
cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the
garlic (Num 11:5) tells us that this isnt so. Once again, they were
not slaves (in the usual sense of the word) but more like a
conscripted workforce. Living conditions were neither ideal nor
comfortable but good enough that the Israelites were willing to
endure it for at least sixty years (from Moses birth till his return to
Egypt following his exile). I guess a combination of freedom,
albeit a limited one, and a sense of purpose (in building the two
cities) helped to mitigate the undeniable oppression that they were
under. The only thing that kept them from revolting (packing up
and leaving) was this: they had nowhere to go. They might have
had a faint recollection of an inheritance that was promised to
them; but no one has a clue where it was. Based on the last thing
Joseph said to them before he died: God will visit you and bring
you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob (Gen 50:24), they could only wait.
The same is what keeps millions of workers at their jobs
today: they have nowhere else to go. Unless they have another
(and better) job to go to, they would have no choice but to stay and
bite-the-bullet.

It is interesting (and strange) that the Israelites did not cry out for a
long time; they did so only when Pharaoh had died (Ex 2:23).
God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the
children of Israel and God acknowledge them (Ex 2:22-25). But
why didnt the Israelites cry out to God before this?
It could be that the death of the king of Egypt gave them a
glimmer of hope that a regime change could bring about a change
in their dire conditions as well. This happens all the time during
election time; people (are told to) see it as an opportunity to make
the changes they have always wanted and put into positions of
power the individuals who could bring those changes to pass.
Unfortunately, most of the time, campaign promises are empty
promises. It was the case for the Israelites in Egypt. The next king
(or Pharaoh) was no better than his predecessor; in fact, he could
be worse.
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119
There could be another reason why the Israelites only cried
out to God when the king died. It is very natural for humans (like
us) to try to solve our own problems before turning to others (even
God) for help. Some say it is pride; others say it is an inbuilt
instinct to be self-sufficient. Whatever it is, it stands in the way of
us trusting God fully and casting our cares wholly on Him. But can
you trust in someone you do not know well?
God was then still pretty much a stranger to the Israelites
even though He was the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. They have known Him as El-Shaddai, a title that means
God Almighty; but they have not known His personal name:
Yahweh (Ex 6:3).
It is a very significant thing that God wants to reveal His
personal name to His people. To begin with, it puts Him on par
with not lesser than the others gods of the land who, even
though are not gods, have (given) names such as Baal
8
, Anat
9
,
Mot
10
and Asherah
11
. The God of Israel, however, has a name that
is not given by men.
Every name, especially in Hebrew, has meaning, and it
usually reflects the bearers character. YHVH (usually pronounced
as Yahweh) means, I Am or I will be. As he revealed it to
Moses, God's full name is actually Ehyeh asher Ehyeh "I will
be what I will be. God says to Moses: "Thus you shall say to the
children of Israel, 'Ehyeh I will be' has sent me to you" (Ex
3:14-15).
Finally, the fact that God has a name implies that He is
knowable by men. And by revealing His name to men, He is
inviting their (3Is) Inquiry, Interaction and Intimacy.

8
Son of El (gou of thunuei anu lightning), Baal was the sun gou of the Canaanites anu
Phoenicians, whose woiship spieau to the ancient }ews. In the Bible, Baal is also known as
Beelzebub. Numbeis 2S:S, S
9
Baughtei of El anu Baal's sistei, an aichei, viigin, anu nuisemaiu to the giacious gous,
Anat was calleu the Lauy of Beaven anu Nistiess of all gous.
1u
The beloveu one, gou of steiility anu ueath anu the unueiwoilu.
11
The Canaanite mothei of all the gous iepiesenting life giving anu the piimeval sea.
Chapter 18

Preservation of the Saints

Throughout the four hundred years (or more) that the children of
Israel were in Egypt, they were dwelling in the best land of Egypt
called Goshen in Lower Egypt. (Ironically, it was located in the
upper part of Egypt.) It was a land suitable for both agriculture and
livestock. This arrangement preconceived by Joseph kept the
children of Israel away and apart from the Egyptians, allowing
them to live in peace and to multiply. But when the king who did
not know Joseph came to power, the numbers of the Israelites
threatened him, and he embarked on a plan to annihilate them. He
first oppressed them with hard labor and them attempted to kill all
their newborn male babies. But the more he oppressed the children
of Israel, the more they multiplied. The midwives who were being
ordered by the king to kill all male Hebrew babies disobeyed and
allowed them to live instead. One of the babies that survived
would later be the deliverer of Israel from Egypt.
Soon after Moses was born, when his mother could no longer
hide him, he was placed in an ark of bulrushes, daubed with
asphalt and pitch and laid it in the reeds by the rivers bank.
Pharaohs daughter, who had gone to the river to bathe, found the
child and decided to keep him and raise him as her own. She called
his name Moses because I drew him out of the water (Ex 2:10).
Now an adult, Moses saw the suffering of his brethren and
was troubled by it. One day, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew.
Thinking that no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian and hid
him in the sand. But in fact, there were witnesses of his murderous

121
deed. Out of fear of Pharaohs wrath, he fled and lived in the land
of Midian. There he married Zipporah and dwelt for forty years.
In the meantime, the king who did not know Joseph died and
the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, and God
acknowledged them (Ex 2:25). God also initiated a plan of
deliverance; one that involved Moses.
God appeared to Moses in a flame of fire from the midst of
a bush (Ex 3:2). Out of the burning bush (that was not consumed),
God spoke to Moses and sent him to (the new) Pharaoh with these
words: Let My people go! God also forewarned Moses what
Pharaoh would do: I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let
you go, no, not even by a mighty hand (Ex 3:19). In response,
God said, I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My
wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you
go (Ex 3:20).
Egypt was inflicted with a total of ten plagues (water turned
to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness
and death of all firstborn) on account of Pharaohs stubbornness
they were Gods judgments, really each one more dreadful than
the previous.
All the while, as the plagues (or judgments) were happening
one by one, the Israelites were living in relative safety because
God had set apart the land of Goshen (Ex 8:22) and put a
division (Ex 8:23) between His people and the Egyptians. God
even made a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the
livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people
of Israel shall die (Ex 9:4). And, true enough, the next day, all
the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of
the people of Israel died (Ex 9:6). Whats more, only in the land
of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail (Ex
9:26); and while there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt
(for) three daysall the people of Israel had light where they lived
(Ex 10:22-23).
God did all this so that the children of Israel may know that
I am the LORD in the midst of the earth (Ex 8:22b).


122
The tenth and last plague was not like the nine before it. It was
more like the Wrath of God because lives, particularly that of the
firstborn, were involved. While Egypt was inflicted with the nine
plagues, the children of Israel were protected. This time, when the
tenth plague was being unleashed, God preserved the Israelites.
This is a picture of what God would do for His people when He
pours out His Wrath on the earth in the end. Paul says that we,
being now justified by his (Christ) blood, shall we be saved from
the wrath of God through him (Rom 5:9).
In the same way that God poured out His complete (the
number ten symbolizes completeness) wrath upon Egypt, God will
pour out His perfect (the number seven symbolizes perfection)
wrath on His enemies at the end.
The Seven Bowls in the book of Revelation contain, if you
will, the wrath of God that is ready to be poured out on the
unrepentant nations: those that rage and plot against the Lord and
against His anointed (Psa 2:1-2). The wrath of God gets more and
more intense with each Bowl, until the seventh. Even then, instead
of repenting of their sins, they blasphemed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their
deeds (Rev 16:11).
All the while, as each Bowl is being poured out, only those
who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped the
image would be targeted; the innocent and the saints will be
preserved. And just before the Seventh Bowl is poured out, Christ
takes everyone who watches and keeps his garments (Rev 16:15)
to meet Him in the clouds (1 Thes 4:17). This is the Rapture.

I have found it strange that even though Goshen was the best land
of Egypt because of its suitability for both crops and livestock,
most Egyptians did not want to live there. The reason seemed to be
that they despised the vocation of livestock rearing and the
shepherds themselves. Joseph was aware of the mindset of the
Egyptians and capitalized on it. He coached his father and brothers
on what to say when they were before Pharaoh. As a result,
Pharaoh gave them the land of Goshen, and even engaged them as
chief herdsmen over his personal livestock (Gen 47:1-6).

12S
What we can learn from this is to not despise what others
despise. A similar thing happened to the Jews in the mid-twentieth
century.
Until the 1950s quotas limited Jewish law-school
admissions to 10 percent. Since the large prestigious firms
did not hire Jews, Jews started their own firms and hired
their own; in 1950, 85 percent of Jewish lawyers entered
Jewish firms. Jewish firms were in turn hired by Jewish
businesses and individuals. Many Jews went into specialties
that were less appealing and less rewarding. These included
taxation, bankruptcy, personal injury, estate work and bill
collecting. The prestigious firms concentrated on corporate
law.
After World War II, the demand for lawyers began to
outstrip the supply. The large firms that once served their
clients total needs began to require outside help for
increasingly complex areas such as labor, securities and tax
law. Many of the specialties that Jewish lawyers had pursued
became very lucrative, especially securities law.
1

Gods preservation of His people and the righteous is seen
throughout Scripture beginning with Noah, who was a righteous
man, blameless in his generation (Gen 6:9). And when instructed
to build the ark, Noah, by faith, did all that God commanded him
(Heb 11:7 and Gen 6:22).
God also preserved Abram (later named Abraham) and his
wife, Sarai (later named Sarah), when they were in Egypt,
escaping from a famine that had come to the land. While in Egypt,
Sarais beauty was noticed and fell on the ears of Pharaoh. He was
about to make her his wife when God visited him in a dream and
inflicted his household with many plagues because of Sarai (Ex
12:17). Eventually, Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram unmolested,
and the two of them journeyed back to Canaan.
When a similar famine occurred during Isaacs day, Isaac,
like his father, was planning to escape to Egypt; but God stopped

1
Steven Silbigei. The }ewish Phenomenon, p64

124
him saying, Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which
I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will
bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these
lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your
father (Gen 26:2-3). Assured by these words, Isaac remained and
sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold
(Gen 26:12) because the Lord blessed him.
I could go on telling you story after story about what God had
done but I think you already get the point: He preserves the lives
of his saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked (Psa
97:10), and even though many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all (Psa 34:19). Based on
these promises, and more, we can pray Deliver us from evil
(Matt 6:13) and be confident that He would.

Chapter 19

Redemption

The tenth anu last plague took place the night befoie
Passovei. It was the plague of Beath: ueath to eveiy fiistboin -
man anu animal, of Isiael anu Egypt. Neeuless to say, when the
Isiaelites congiegateu in theii iespective homes to eat the
ioasteu lamb, bittei heibs anu unleaveneu bieau that night,
they hau no iuea that it was calleu Passovei anu the meal they
weie having was the Feast of Passovei. They meiely followeu
the instiuctions given by Noses as if theii lives uepenueu on it
- which was inueeu the case. uou uiu tell them, howevei, that
they weie to have this meal at the same time eveiy yeai to
commemoiate this significant event.
The lamb that was killeu anu eaten that night was a
pictuie of Chiist oui Reueemei.
Why Reueemei. Because, just as each fiistboin of Isiael
was ieueemeu anu spaieu ueath by the slain lamb, }esus the
Lamb of uou was slain to ieueem us anu ieconcile us back to
uou.
Theie aie many similaiities between the Passovei lamb
anu Chiist }esus. The lamb hau to be male of at least one yeai
olu (a matuie lamb), anu Chiist was a full-giown man when Be
was uieu foi the sins of the woilu. The lamb hau to be
unblemisheu, anu Chiist was puie anu without sin even though
Be was tempteu in eveiy way (Beb 4:1S). When the bloou of
the lamb is painteu on the uooiposts anu lintels of the house,
Beath woulu pass-ovei those within. In the same way, those

126
who aie "justifieu by Bis bloou (shall be) saveu by Bim fiom
the wiath of uou" (Rom S:9).
0nly the fiistboin of eveiy householu of Isiael weie
ieueemeu that night. Anu, theiefoie, uou was justifieu in
saying, "All the fiistboin aie Nine" (Num S:1S). But uoes it
mean that the fiistboin belongeu to uou.
Immeuiately aftei leaving Egypt, all the fiistboin of Isiael
belongeu to uou anu seiveu Bim as piiests. We see them
mentioneu in Exouus 19: "Anu the L0RB saiu to him, uo uown,
anu come up biinging Aaion with you. But uo not let the
piiests anu the people bieak thiough to come up to the L0RB,
lest he bieak out against them"(Ex 19:24). They weie the "fiist
geneiation piiests", if you will, who seiveu befoie the tiibe of
Levi was set apait as the Levitical Piiesthoou.
So, heie, we see the ielationship between Reuemption
anu Loiuship, something that mouein Chiistenuom has lost.
In all my yeais of teaching anu uiscipling Chiistians, I
have not seen this connection; neithei hau I heaiu it taught.
Consequently, Reuemption anu Loiuship have been seen anu
taught inuepenuently of one anothei. Fiist, we save the soul
(by all means), then we spenu the iest of the time peisuauing
the "saveu" to make }esus Chiist the Loiu of theii lives - often
with little success.
Paul saw the connection anu theiefoie saiu: "you weie
bought with a piice. so gloiify uou in youi bouy" (1 Coi 6:2u)
anu "not become slaves of men" (1 Coi 7:2S).

Pri esthood of Beli evers
When you unueistanu the ielationship between youi
ieuemption anu Chiist's loiuship ovei you, you will know that
seiving uou becomes the uefault calling of youi life. You will
not neeu to ask (oi piay) if you shoulu seive uou. In fact, you
shoulu seive uou the way the piiests anu Levites in the Bible
uiu. This unueistanuing (about the Levitical Piiesthoou) is the
backbone of the concept calleu The Piiesthoou of Believeis,
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127
which was fiist mooteu by Naitin Luthei (although he nevei
useu these exact woius). In his 1S2u To the Chiistian Nobility
of the ueiman Nation, he put foiwaiu the uoctiine that all
baptizeu Chiistians aie "piiests" anu "spiiitual" in the sight of
uou:
Tbot tbe pope or bisbop onoints, mokes tonsures,
orJoins, consecrotes, or Jresses Jifferently from tbe loity,
moy moke o bypocrite or on iJolotrous oil-pointeJ icon, but
it in no woy mokes o Cbristion or spirituol bumon beinq. ln
foct, we ore oll consecroteJ priests tbrouqb Boptism, os St.
Peter in 1 Peter 2[:9] soys, "You ore o royol priestbooJ onJ
o priestly kinqJom," onJ Revelotion [S:10], "Tbrouqb your
blooJ you bove moJe us into priests onJ kinqs."
1

When all believeis have taken theii piopei places within the
Piiesthoou of Believeis, then the kinguom of uou will tiuly be
"in the miust of you" (Luk 17:21).
0nfoitunately, howevei, the concept of The Piiesthoou of
Believeis have mostly been uivoiceu fiom its Biblical
founuation anu have become baseless - subjecteu to eveiy
kinu of inteipietation anu application. Foi example, this
concept has been taken to the extieme wheie all believeis aie
saiu to be equal; that is, no longei shoulu theie exists any
hieiaichy in the Chuich (oi Bouy of Chiist). Such thinking was
in Niiiam anu Aaion, who askeu, "Bas the Loiu spoken only
thiough Noses. Basn't he also spoken thiough us." (Num
12:2) The Loiu heaiu what they saiu, the Bible says, anu
immeuiately came to Noses uefense:
"When theie is a piophet among you,
I, the Loiu, ieveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in uieams.
But this is not tiue of my seivant Noses;
he is faithful in all my house.
With him I speak face to face,

1
Naitin Luthei, Weimai Ausgabe, vol. 6, p. 4u7, lines 19-2S as quoteu in Timothy
Wengeit, "The Piiesthoou of All Believeis anu 0thei Pious Nyths," page 12

128
cleaily anu not in iiuules;
he sees the foim of the Loiu.
Why then weie you not afiaiu
to speak against my seivant Noses." (Num 12:6-8)

Aftei speaking these woius, "the angei of uou buineu
against them" anu Niiiam's skin was lepious - it became as
white as snow. 0pon seeing the uefiling skin uisease on Niiiam,
Aaion askeu foi uou's meicy, aumitting that they "have uone
foolishly anu have sinneu".
uou healeu Niiiam upon Noses' iequest.
Aie you convinceu now that theie ought to be some foim
of hieiaichy within the Chuich anu Bouy of Chiist.
Baving saiu that, the hieiaichy is not what we know of
touay. Nuch of how chuiches have oiganizeu themselves, they
have leaineu fiom the woilu. What shoulu the hieiaichy look
like.
Biiefly, theie woulu be "piiests" anu "Levites". The piiests
aie those who seive the Loiu full-time anu in one of the
following ioles: an apostle, a piophet, an evangelist, a pastoi,
anu a teachei. We know them as the Five-folu Ninistiies. I
piefei to call them the Five Ninisteis of the Chuich because no
one peison can function as moie than one of them. Like the
piiests of Isiael, these ministeis have ueuicateu themselves to
the woik of uou; they cannot be entangleu with the affaiis of
this life so that he coulu please the one who enlisteu him (2
Tim 2:4). Be is also subjecteu to a highei moial stanuaiu; anu
he will be juugeu moie seveiely if he falls (moially).
0f the Five Ninisteis of the Chuich, the apostle anu
piophet have been singleu-out anu given extia emphasis in the
Bible, like in Ephesians 2:2u anu 1 Coiinthians 12:28. Paul, the
authois of both these veises of Sciiptuie, categoiically states
that uou hau appointeu fiist apostles anu piophets because
they aie the founuation of the chuich. In that sense, Chiist is
the Coineistone of eveiy uentile Chiistian chuich, anu Paul its
sole apostle. Stiangely enough, theie aie many self-piofessing
apostles anu piophets touay. Aie all of them tiue apostles anu

129
piophets. 0nly uou knows, I guess. But, to me, anyone who
calls himself an apostle oi a piophet is most likely not one.
Accoiuingly, the Levites aie those who seive the Loiu by
seiving the piiests. This is seen in Numbeis S:
"AnJ tbe lorJ spoke to Hoses, soyinq: Brinq tbe tribe
of levi neor onJ present tbem before Aoron tbe priest, tbot
tbey moy serve bim. AnJ tbey sboll ottenJ to bis neeJs onJ
tbe neeJs of tbe wbole conqreqotion before tbe tobernocle
of meetinq, to Jo tbe work of tbe tobernocle." {Num S:S-7)

They incluue eveiy believei how has not been calleu to be one
of the Five Ninisteis of the Chuich. They "attenu" to the neeus
of the "piiests" thiough the giving of theii tithes (Num 18:21,
24) anu by shaiing "all goou things with the one who teaches"
(ual 6:6).
At the same time, they seive the "whole congiegation" oi,
in the woius of Paul, "one anothei". Foi this puipose, uou has
given eveiy believei a gift: the Boly Spiiit. Anu it is when the
Boly Spiiit is alloweu to expiess Bimself fieely thiough the life
of the believei (in the foim of seivices anu activities) that
euification takes place anu the "common goou" is achieveu. In
auuition, we aie to comfoit (2 Coi 1S:11), be kinu,
tenueiheaiteu, foigiving (Eph 4:S2), submit to (Eph S:21), beai
with (Col S:1S), teach anu aumonish (Col S:16), love(1 Thes
S:12 anu 4:9), encouiage anu builu (1 Thes S:11), seek to uo
goou (1 Thes S:1S) - just to name a few - to one anothei. It is
by uoing all this that we aie gatheiing in Chiist's name.
Sauly, the veise "Foi wheie two oi thiee aie gatheieu in
my name, theie am I among them," has been giossly
misinteipieteu to mean that so long as the gatheieu aie
believeis of Chiist then they have gatheieu in Bis name, anu
theiefoie Be is in theii miust. This cannot be tiue since those
who have gatheieu, even if they aie believeis of Chiist, might
be uoing something that uoes not gloiify uou oi uowniight
sinful. Woulu Chiist be founu in such a gatheiing. (rbetoricol
question) Bence, the meaning of "in my name" neeus to be ie-
examineu.

1Su
Accoiuing to the Stiong's Concoiuance, the uieek woiu
useu heie (which is tianslateu "name") is onomo, which,
besiues a iefeience to how one is known - my name, foi
example, is }oshua - it also iefeis to the chaiactei, fame anu
ieputation of the peison
2
. So, to gathei in Chiist's name means
two things: what is uone uuiing the meeting must be what
Chiist woulu uo Bimself, anu the outcome of the meeting must
enhance the fame anu ieputation of Chiist. 0nly in such
gatheiings will Chiist be in the miust of.

Mi crocosm of the World
The nation of Isiael anu the Levitical Piiesthoou is a
miciocosm of the woilu. Let me explain.
By the time the chiluien of Isiael uepaiteu fiom Egypt,
theie weie 1S tiibes: }uuah, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Zebulun,
Issachai, Ban, uau, Ashei, Naphtali, Ephiaim, Benjamin anu
Nanasseh. Notice that }oseph, one of the sons of }acob (whose
name was latei changeu to Isiael) is missing anu is ieplaceu by
his two sons, Ephiaim anu Nanasseh.
Buston we have a pioblem. Shoulun't theie only be
twelve tiibes in Isiael. But theie aie thiiteen. What aie we
going to uo.
Bon't woiiy. uou has plan. This uisciepancy has not
caught uou off guaiu. Be uelibeiately maue it this way so that
Be coulu sepaiate anu set apait the tiibe of Levi to seive Bim
exclusively. With the tiibe of Levi iemoveu as one of Isiael's
tiibes, only twelve iemains.
In the Bible, the numbei "12" iepiesents "goveinment" of
the woilu anu the cosmos. }esus hau twelve uisciples; in the
book of Revelation, theie aie twelve gates of the celestial City
(Rev 21:12), twelve kinus of piecious stone of the celestial City
(Rev 21:19-21), twelve stais of the ciown that weais the
woman (Rev 21:19-2u), the tiees of life, which beai twelve
ciops of fiuit in a yeai, one in each month (Rev 22:2); the

2
Stiong's Concoiuance

1S1
twelve "minoi" piophets of the 0lu Testament; the twelve son
of Ishmael (uen 2S:1S-16 anu 16:2u); anu, not foigetting, the
twelve tiibutes of Isiael. Bence, the twelve tiibes of Isiael
iepiesent the nations of the woilu. (Beai with me foi a little
longei.)
The tiibe of Levi, which was fuithei uiviueu anu
sepaiateu into piiests anu Levites, heie iepiesents the Chuich,
which compiises the Five Ninisteis (the piiests) anu the iest
of the believeis (the Levites).
To bettei unueistanu the iole of the believeis in the
woilu touay, one only has to look at the iole the Levitical
Piiesthoou playeu in the 0lu Testament. Baily they ministeieu
at the Tabeinacle; waiting upon the Isiaelites as they biought
theii offeiings to the altai of uou, anu instiucting them on how
they shoulu appioach the holy uou anu woiship Bim. If any of
those offeiings weie foi the atonement of sins anu tiespasses,
the attenuing piiest woulu pionounce foigiveness to the
woishippei once he has maue his offeiing. Anu eveiy so often,
the piiest anu the Levites woulu ieau the Toiah to the
congiegation of Isiael anu teach them the Law of Noses.
But the piiests of Isiael uo not only ieceive the offeiings
of the people; they too aie iequiieu to make offeiings eveiy
uay: one in the moining anu the othei in the evening (Num
28:1-8 See also Lev. 6:8-1S). They aie calleu the tomiJ, oi
constant saciifice
S
. It is theiefoie a peifect pictuie of the
inteicessoiy iole of Nessiah in oui lives (Beb 7:2S). It
symbolizes what we, as piiests to the woilu, ought to uo: piay
foi the salvation of lost souls.
Bo you now know youi iole as a membei of the
Piiesthoou of Believeis.

S
The tamiu was the fiist, oi founuational, saciifice which alloweu all of the othei
saciifices to follow. Theiefoie, eveiy pait of the sanctuaiy seivice uepenueu on the "uaily
saciifice." Without the tamiu, nothing else coulu be offeieu. Anu, conveisely, if uefilement
occuiieu in any pait of the sanctuaiy, the tamiu was also consiueieu to be uefileu.

1S2
Chapter 20

Way to the Kingdom

The Exodus story from Passover to the crossing of the sea
to the wilderness journey and to the entering of the Promised land
is often seen as describing the spiritual journey of a Christians
life and rightly so. In a sense, the Israelites placed their faith in
Christ on the night of Passover; they were delivered from bondage
to slavery by Gods mighty hand; they were baptized when they
passed through in the Red Sea (1 Cor 10:1-2); and they entered the
rest that had been beforehand promised them. Yet, in spite of
seeing all these similarities between Israels journey and our
Christian journey, many have failed to see that between Egypt
(which symbolizes the kingdom of darkness) and Canaan (which
symbolizes the kingdom of God) lay the Wilderness. This should
say to us that while someone who puts his faith in Christ is
delivered from the kingdom of darkness, he is not immediately
transported (or translated) into the kingdom of the Son. He will
have to traverse the wilderness for a while; and he will finally
enter the kingdom of God if he does not give up. If the believer is
immediately translated into Gods kingdom, there would be no
need to seek His kingdom, would there? But we have been
exhorted to strive to enter that rest (Heb 4:11), implying the
need for effort on our part.
The way to Gods kingdom is, in Jesus own words, hard
and the gate leading to it is narrow or strait (Matt 7:13-14
KJV). Strait means pent up, narrow, and difficult to be
entered. This is the word used here, and it means that the way to

1SS
heaven is pent up, narrow, close, and not obviously entered
1
. It is
obscured and hard to find, and therefore few enter by it. In contrast
to this, the gate that leads to destruction is open, broad and
thronged. You know that you have found it by the crowd that has
gathered near it.
It is interesting to see how modern Christianity has distorted
Gods Word to the point that the way to Gods kingdom, or heaven,
has been made to seem so easy when the opposite is actually true.
It has been taught that you have found the kingdom of God
when you have found Christ. Didnt Christ say that He is the
Way? (John 14:6) The way may lead you to the destination, but
it is not the same thing as the destination. Even though the Son
and the Father are one, Jesus makes it clear that He is only the
Way to the Father, and that no one comes to the Father except
through Him.
Supposing that I wish to visit the Singapore Zoo, which is
situated along Mandai Road. After driving around for almost an
hour, I finally stumble upon Mandai Road. Eureka, Ive found the
Singapore Zoo, I exclaim to myself. But have I? No. I now need
to travel along Mandai Road until I come to the Zoo itself.
In the same, way, coming to Christ is just the beginning. You
are at the Starting Point of a journey and a race: a journey of
discipleship and a race that needs to be run with endurance.
Having been in Christian ministry for almost thirty years, I
have come to understand that when a person finds Christ and
makes a decision to follow Him, what he has done is merely
become a seeker who is responding to Jesus invitation to
Come and see (John 1:39, 46). It would be sometime (a long
time for some) before he is ready to Come and learn (Matt
11:28), Come and drink (John 7:37), and longer still to Come
and die (Luk 9:23).

Mi dbar

1
Baines Commentaiy on the Bible

1S4
uou has a veiy cleai puipose foi leauing the chiluien of
Isiael into the wilueiness; anu no, it is not to kill them.
Explicitly, it was to humble anu to test them; to know what was
in theii heait, whethei they woulu keep Bis commanuments oi
not; anu to feeu them with manna so that they might know that
"man uoes not live by bieau alone, but man lives by eveiy
woiu that comes fiom the mouth of the Loiu" (Beut 8:2-S).
Auuitionally, it was to put oiuei into them, inuiviuually as well
as coipoiately, by giving them the Toiah (teachings anu
instiuctions).
The Bebiew woiu foi "wilueiness" is "miJbor", which
comes fiom the ioot that means "oiuei". Bence, the wilueiness
is a place of oiuei. (0n the contiaiy, the city is a place of
chaos.) Anu what bettei place is theie than the wilueiness foi
uou to instill Bis oiuei into Bis people.
The Toiah consists of instiuctions foi neaily eveiy aspect
of living: fiom the way business ought to be conuucteu to how
conflicts shoulu be iesolveu, anu how each peison shoulu be
iesponsible foi theii own health so that a panuemic uoes not
bieak out in the camp. 0n top of the list of commanus is the
one that peitains to iuolatiy - oi iathei, the piohibition of iuol
woiship.
"You sboll bove no otber qoJs before me. "You sboll
not moke for yourself o corveJ imoqe, or ony likeness of
onytbinq tbot is in beoven obove, or tbot is in tbe eortb
beneotb, or tbot is in tbe woter unJer tbe eortb. You sboll
not bow Jown to tbem or serve tbem, for l tbe l0RB your
6oJ om o jeolous 6oJ..." {Fx 20:S-S)

Almost as quickly as the commanument was given anu agieeu
upon, the Isiaelites bioke it by making foi themselves a goluen
calf anu woishipping it. This tiespass alone was enough to
nullify the newly establisheu covenant, as symbolizeu by the
smashing of the two tablets of stone by Noses. Thiee thousanu
Isiaelites uieu as a iesult of uou's hot wiath that uay. But
thanks to Noses' inteicession, uou's angei was abateu anu the
iest weie saveu.

1SS
The temptation to follow aftei othei gous woulu become
stiongei once they hau enteieu the lanu of the Canaanites
because of the numeious gous being woishippeu theie. But the
woiship of iuols was not uue to lack of self-contiol on the pait
of the Isiaelites, but uue to a lack of faith in Yahweh.
Theii faith was testeu in a uiffeient way in the wilueiness.
Baving biought no foou with them anu being unable to giow
ciops in the ueseit, the Isiaelites hau to iely on uou's piovision
to suivive. Anu suivive, they uiu.
Foi six uays, manna woulu foim on the giounu of the
wilueiness; "a fine, flake-like thing, fine as fiost" (Ex 16:14).
Noining by moining they gatheieu it, "an omer, accoiuing to
the numbei of the peisons that each of you has in his tent" (Ex
16:6). 0nly on the sixth uay weie the people alloweu to gathei
twice as much because no manna woulu be founu the next uay,
on the Sabbath uay.
This was, no uoubt, easiei saiu than uone. It took faith to
comply with it totally; faith that the people uiu not have . yet.
Even though they weie tolu to finish each uay's poition, some
left pait of it till the next moining; "anu it bieu woims anu
stank" (Ex 16:2u). Anu those who went out to gathei on the
seventh uay founu none, as Noses hau saiu.

Walk by fai th, not by si ght
God had just delivered His people, the Israelites, from the
"house of bondage" in Egypt. Now, He is leading them to the land
which He had given to Abraham and his descendants. But since no
one knows where it is or how to get there, God sends an "angel" to
bring them to the place and to guard them from enemies along the
way.
Notice that God still does not divulge the exact location of
the Promised land. He keeps it a secret until they have arrived at
its borders. There is a lesson to be learned here, and it is about
walking by faith.
Moses and the Israelites had to walk by faith throughout their
journey from Egypt to the Promised land. The possibilities were

1S6
numerous regarding where this Promised land could be. If they
wanted to, they could choose the most likely or logical option and
make a beeline to it. They could, if they wanted to. The risk would
be the same whatever choice they made because they were all
uncharted territories. History tells us that their inclination was,
rather, to make their way back to Egypt - a place of familiarity.
It is the same with our lives. Christ is the Way. By this, He is
telling us that He wants to take us on a journey - a journey towards
God the Father. "No one comes to the Father but by Me."
Where is the Father? The immediate answer that comes to
mind is Heaven, and rightly so. But if that is where everyone is
headed eventually (when we die), what's the point of the journey?
What's the use of a guide? So, heaven is not the answer although
God is there.
Christ is taking us to the Kingdom of God, where He reigns
and rules by the authority the Father has given Him. And just as
God gives a description of the Promised land to His people - a land
flowing with milk and honey - Christ describes, through Paul the
apostle, the Kingdom of God as "righteousness, peace and joy in
the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17).
To guide them on the way, the Israelites had "an angel". New
Testament believers have the Holy Spirit. Whether we reach the
destination, the Kingdom of God, or not hinges on our continual
trusting and obeying of the Spirit. This is the reason the New
Testament is full of exhortations to walk by the Spirit; not to
quench or grieve Him.
There is one exhortation in the Old Testament that I'm sure is
known by most, if not all, Christians. It is found in Proverbs 3:5
and 6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean
on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5)

Why does God hide the exact location of the Promised land
from the Israelites? Because He knows that with this information,
the Israelites would probably plot a course different from the one
God took, avoiding Mount Sinai totally. In doing so, they would
miss the teaching and training necessary for them to become "a
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1S7
kingdom of priests and a holy nation". For the same reason, Christ
has not revealed the full details of the kingdom of God. He is not
just the Way; He is also the Truth and the Life. Along the way, He
will impart Truth to us. His Word is Truth (John 17:17), and His
words are Life (John 6:63).
Christians are constantly seeking to know God's Will for their
lives. But no matter how much they ask, seek and knock, the full-
answer seem to elude them. This is because God does not reveal
His plan to us all at once; He unfolds it gradually, according to our
readiness and willingness to obey.
Based on Proverbs 3:5, 6, the more consistent our obedience
to the Holy Spirit, the straighter our paths would be. (By "straight",
the Bible does not mean that your way will be free of any trial or
challenges. Rather, you will be able to see ahead further and more
clearly.) Conversely, if our way is littered with unbelief and
rebellion against God, we could end up going in a zig-zag manner.
Worse still, we could be walking in circles.
Many Christians are walking in circles anyway because they
are walking by sight, not by faith.
It is a common practice for Christians to set goals at the end
of each year for the new-year. The goals typically cover areas such
as their devotional life, relationships, ministry, family and work
(not in this particular order, of course). While there is nothing
specifically wrong with setting goals, this practice does not take us
any closer to the destination. The goals we set, as we are taught,
should be measurable, realistic, and attainable. Attainable by who?
By ourselves, obviously. This practice of setting goals,
inadvertently, leaves God out of the picture. When our eyes are
fixated on the goals we've set, they are not on Christ.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings
so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb
12:1-2).


1S8
Chapter 21

Bitter Water

The Wilueiness }ouiney, oi the way to the kinguom, has begun
in eainest foi the chiluien of Isiael. It was not an easy jouiney;
it was fiaught with tests anu lessons which uou neeueu them
to unueigo befoie enteiing the Piomiseu Lanu. In the next few
chapteis, I will be highlighting some of these lessons so that
you will know what you can expect as you jouiney towaius the
kinguom of uou.

The chiluien of Isiael hau just witnesseu a gieat miiacle. uieat,
honestly, uoes not even begin to uesciibe the enoimity of the
paiting of the Reu Sea. Nany intelligent people of the mouein
age have tiieu to explain this event in many natuialistic ways.
It has been suggesteu that the Reu Sea (yom sup) shoulu
be ienueieu as Sea of Reeus. Bence it was possible foi it to
have been uiieu up by a tempoiaiy winu. It is also possible,
howevei, that sup may ielate to the Bebiew teim sop, which
signifies "enu" oi "conclusion" (of the eaith), anu thus coulu
iefei simply to seveial connecteu bouies of watei extenuing
southwaiu fiom Palestine anu Aiabia.
1

Some have aigueu that a volcanic eiuption on the islanu
of Santoiini (about Suu miles noith of Egypt), c. 14Su B.C.,
coulu have piouuceu a tiual wave that paiteu the Reu Sea.
Theie is no eviuence foi this view. A wiitei in The Inteipietei's
Bible says: "In flat maishy uistiicts laige aieas aie often

1
Nyeis, Allen C., Eu. (1987), The Eeiumans Bible Bictionaiy (Eeiumans Publishing
Company). p.876

1S9
inteimittently coveieu by shallow watei oi laiu uiy by the
action of the winu."
2

Cuiiently, a stiong winu blows fiom noith to south in the
noithein vicinity of the uulf of Suez (wheie the Isiaelites aie
commonly believeu to have ciosseu the sea) about nine
months out of the yeai. Thus an "east winu" paiting the sea
woulu be quite unusual, "tiuly an act of uou".
S

Yes, something geological anu cosmological might have
maue the sea uiy up. But what aie the chances of it happening
at the exact time anu place when the Isiaelites neeueu it most
without the inteifeience oi influence of a Poweiful anu
Intelligent Being. Cleaily, it was the hanu of uou that uiu it foi
Bis chosen people. Anu all two million Isiaelites (oi howevei
many theie weie that uay) boie witness to it. They also saw
how the sea closeu up anu buiieu the entiie Egyptian aimy in a
wateiy giave
You woulu expect such an expeiience woulu have
soliuifieu the faith of the Isiaelites in theii uou, but no. A few
uays on, while they weie tiaveising the Wilueiness of Shui,
they began to complain because they hau not founu any watei.
Anyone, incluuing you anu I, woulu become veiy conceineu if
they weie without watei in a wilueiness. But the complaint of
the Isiaelites was not about not finuing watei, pei say. Rathei,
it was about Noses' leaueiship, oi lack of.
Noses, if you iemembei, hau spent foity yeais in the
backsiue of the wilueiness - the lanu of the Niuianites, to be
exact - befoie being sent by uou back to Egypt. Thus, it was
expecteu of Noses to have a goou local knowleuge of the
iegion, incluuing the locations of the wells anu spiings. But
when, unuei the leaueiship of Noses, they hau not come to a
watei souice aftei thiee uays, they began to suspect that
Noses hau inueeu leu them out of Egypt anu into the
wilueiness to uie. It ceitainly uiu not help that the fiist

2
Buttiick, ueoige A., Eu. (19S2), The Inteipietei's Bible (New Yoik: Abinguon), vol. I.
p.9S7-8
S
Pfeiffei, Chailes, vos, Bowaiu, Rea, }ohn, Eus. (197S), The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopeuia
(Chicago: Noouy), vol. 2. p.1447

14u
wateiing hole Noses biought them to hau "bittei" watei in it. It
outiageu the people.
Being at the ieceiving enu of theii outiage, Noses, in tuin,
ciieu out to the Loiu. The Loiu uiew Noses' attention to a tiee.
(It coulu have been a log. We uon't know.) In accoiuance to
uou's instiuction, Noses placeu the tiee in the watei; anu,
"wah-la", the watei became sweet.
Was this bouy of watei natuially bittei (anu theiefoie it
was nameu Naiah), oi uiu uou make it bittei just to test the
Isiaelites. We aie not tolu. Peihaps, it uoes not mattei. uou
can use any situation to teach us something. If neeu be, Be
coulu cieate the situation Bimself. What we know is that
"Theie the L0RB maue foi them a statute anu a iule, anu theie
he testeu them".
Anu what was the statute anu iule that uou wanteu the
Isiaelites to leain. It is in veise 26:"If you will uiligently listen
to the voice of the L0RB youi uou, anu uo that which is iight in
his eyes, anu give eai to his commanuments anu keep all his
statutes, I will put none of the uiseases on you that I put on the
Egyptians, foi I am the L0RB, youi healei."

Nany Chiistians believe that uou will make "all things woik
togethei foi goou foi those who love Bim anu aie calleu
accoiuing to Bis puipose" (Rom 8:28), anu iightly so. It is a
wonueiful piomise, but a much misunueistoou one at that. We
have lookeu at this piomise fiom oui own point of view. As a
iesult, we expect all things to tuin out foi 00R goou - the way
we woulu like them to. But uou only piomises that Be will
woik all things out such that they line up with Bis plan anu
puipose. Anu sometimes, uou ueems it necessaiy foi us to
unueigo tiails anu haiuship, by which oui faith is iefineu (1
Pet 1:7).
Nake no mistake about it. They aie not temptations foi
uou tempts no one with evil, says }ames the apostle. When uou
tests us, it is meant to (im-)piove us. This is seen in
Beuteionomy 8:2: "Anu you shall iemembei the whole way
that the L0RB youi uou has leu you these foity yeais in the
wilueiness, that he might humble you, testing you to know
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what was in youi heait, whethei you woulu keep his
commanuments oi not."
Bon't we all neeu to know what is ieally in oui heaits. It is,
aftei all, the most ueceitful thing; who can unueistanu it.
We ought to be like Baviu, the Psalmist, who welcomes
uou's testing:
Seorcb me, 0 6oJ, onJ know my beort!
Try me onJ know my tbouqbts!
AnJ see if tbere be ony qrievous woy in me,
onJ leoJ me in tbe woy everlostinq! {Pso 1S9:2S-24)

Let's now ietuin to the main focus of this episoue.
Nany have maue the connection between the tiee that
'healeu' the bittei watei with the cioss of oui piecious
Reueemei. They aie not wiong to uo so, but they woulu be
allegoiizing. Allegoiization (which I will touch on latei) is a
populai methou of Bible inteipietation. But when
allegoiization is immeuiately applieu to a Bible text such as
this, one woulu miss the ieal point of the passage. Reauing the
text liteially fiist, you will finu that uou wasn't tiying to point
the Isiaelites towaius Chiist as much as Be wanteu them to see
the impoitance of obeying Bim (anu the law Be was about to
give them).

"lf you will Jiliqently listen to tbe voice of tbe l0RB
your 6oJ, onJ Jo tbot wbicb is riqbt in bis eyes, onJ qive
eor to bis commonJments onJ keep oll bis stotutes, l will
put none of tbe Jiseoses on you tbot l put on tbe Fqyptions,
for l om tbe l0RB, your beoler."

Lets bieak it uown:

"lf you will Jiliqently listen to tbe voice of tbe lorJ your 6oJ..."

The Bebiew woiu useu heie foi 'listen' is "sbemo".
Although 'sbemo' means only to heai, it implies that the heaiei
shoulu also uo what he heais. Beaiing anu uoing aie

142
insepaiable in the Bible. uou always expects us to heai anu uo.
"Beceiveu," }ames says, aie those who heai uou's Woiu but uo
not uo it. To heai anu not uo (uou's commanu) is like chewing
but not swallowing. It is a waste of time anu effoit. It is
unpiofitable.

"Jo tbot wbicb is riqbt in bis eyes..."

This might sounu like a ieiteiation of the pievious phiase
- to heai anu uo - but it ieally isn't. The focus heie is on
consistency. uou's people shoulu not only uo what uou says
when Be says it. They shoulu be always uoing it ... as a lifestyle.
What's moie, we aie to uo "what is iight in his eyes", not
ouis.

"qive eor to bis commonJments..."

To "give eai" is moie than simply listening. It caiiies the
iuea of "bioauening the eai": making it moie attuneu, sensitive
anu ieceptive to uou's voice. Youi eais shoulu be constantly
stiaining to pick up the soft still voice of uou, in case Be might
be whispeiing uiiections to you.

"l om tbe lorJ, your beoler."

Weie the Isiaelites ill oi afflicteu with a uisease anu so
weie in neeu of healing. Not at all. You see, healing, in the
Bible, is not meiely about getting bettei aftei a illness. To be
healeu is to be "maue whole" oi to iemain whole. Bence, when
uou says "I am youi healei," Be is telling Bis people that if they
obey Bim, they will be "whole": Eveiything woulu be in oiuei
anu helu togethei. But if they uon't, theii lives woulu be full of
tiouble, just like what uou hau causeu to happen to the
Egyptians.

14S
Fiom this stoiy in Exouus 1S, we leain that uou may leau
us to "bittei watei" in the hope that we woulu attune oui
spiiitual eais to Bis voice anu uo as Be says. But aftei that, Be
will leau us to "Elim", "wheie theie weie twelve spiings of
watei anu seventy palm tiees" (veise 27), a place of
iefieshment.


144
Chapter 22

Characteristics of Grumbling

A month hau passeu since the Isiaelites uepaiteu fiom
Egypt. Buiing theii tiaveise thiough the wilueiness, they hau
iun out of watei. Anu now they have iun out of foou. The only
piovisions they weie able to biing with them weie some
unleaveneu bieau. By this time, they woulu have been
completely consumeu. As you can imagine, theii stomachs
weie beginning to giowl. Anu as theii stomachs giowleu, theii
heaits anu mouths staiteu to giumble.
I think you woulu agiee with me that giumbling was not
only a pioblem then, but it is also a pioblem in oui lives as well.
Bence, I believe, it woulu be woithwhile to point out some of
the chaiacteiistics of Isiael's giumbling in this inciuent.
Piayeifully, we woulu leain fiom theii eiiois, anu not iepeat
them ouiselves.

1. Grumbling is a problem with pain or problems.

uiumbling almost nevei occuis when we aie expeiiencing
pleasuie. I stiess the woiu "almost". That's because theie aie
those who have the special ability to giumble unuei all soits of
ciicumstances - both goou anu bau. uiumbling usually occuis
when we aie inconvenienceu oi expeiience pain. In this
inciuent in Exouus 16, theie is uefinitely a ielationship
between Isiael's giowling stomachs anu theii giumbling lips.


14S
We giumble because we uo not like the pain oi
uiscomfoit of the situation we aie in. We giumble because we
think that we shoulu expeiience pleasuie iathei than pain,
affluence anu ease iathei than auveisity anu uepiivation.
uiumbling is usually taigeteu at someone. People uo not
giumble to themselves. They want theii complains to heaiu by
otheis so that, hopefully, someone else woulu pioviue a
solution oi some ielief to theii plight. In the case of the
Isiaelites, they "complaineu against Noses anu Aaion" (veise
2).

2. Grumbling is a problem of perception.

uiumbling is the iesult of wiong peiception. This was the
case with the Isiaelites. Fiist, they gieatly exaggeiateu the
benefits of Egypt. They saiu they "sat" (veise S) by theii flesh
pots, anu that they ate "all they wanteu" of a gieat vaiiety of
foou anu meat. This is, quite fiankly, haiu to believe. If the
Egyptians, theii oppiessois, maue them gathei theii own
stiaw to make biicks anu weie attempting to kill theii baby
boys, why woulu they be so geneious to the Isiaelites in teims
of foou. In contiast to this, theii hungei was inteipieteu as
staivation. Taking this peiception fuithei, they believeu that
Noses (anu Aaion) hau leu them into the wilueiness to kill
them.

3. Grumbling is the result of a failure of faith.

uiumbling is symptomatic of something ueepei. It ieveals
a lack of faith, foi the giumblei uoes not see the hanu of uou in
a paiticulai situation, iefuses to accept the auveisity (as a
means uou uses to iefine his faith), anu sees uisastei iathei
than blessing as the outcome of theii ciicumstances. In fact, we
can go fuithei anu say that giumbling is allowing oui piesent
ciicumstances to nullify oui confiuence in uou's puipose anu
piomises.
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4. Grumbling is a problem of submission.

Although it was to Noses anu Aaion that the congiegation
of Isiael biought theii complaints to, in theii heaits they knew
that they weie complaining against uou Bimself. This is tiue all
the time. Nen aie instinctively afiaiu of uou anu woulu not
uaie point an accusing fingei at Bim. So, insteau, they woulu
giumble anu complain against uou's appointeu
iepiesentatives. Bence, Noses hit the nail on its heau when he
saiu, "Youi complaints aie not against us but against the Loiu"
(veise 8).

5. Grumbling is a form of evil, which is closely
related to disobedience.

To bettei unueistanu giumbling, we will look at }onah -
The Nessengei Who uiumbleu
1
.
As the stoiy goes, Nineveh was a city that hau uone gieat
wickeuness. }onah was theiefoie sent by uou to "ciy out
against it" (1:2). But }onah iefuseu. Be "aiose to flee to
Taishish fiom the piesence of the Loiu" (1:S). Eventually,
}onah obeyeu anu waineu the city of the impenuing juugment
of uou (S:4). }onah's message was heeueu anu the people of
Nineveh "believeu uou, pioclaimeu a fast, anu put on sackcloth,
fiom the gieatest to the least of them" (S:S). The king of
Nineveh himself "aiose fiom his thione anu laiu asiue his iobe,
coveieu himself with sackcloth anu sat in ashes" (S:6). The
coipoiate iepentance of the city fiom its wickeuness causeu
uou to ielent fiom biinging uisastei on them as planneu. This
tuin of events maue }onah "veiy angiy" (liteially "buin" with
angei), anu he began to giumble befoie the Loiu.
Theie is a pattein in all of this that, unfoitunately, is not
obvious in the English tianslation of the Bible. The Bebiew
woiu "ro", which means "evil" oi "wickeuness" is useu heie in

1
Wolff, Bans Waltei. }onah - The Nessengei Who uiumbleu.
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147
ielation to Nineveh, uou anu }onah. uou ielenteu fiom Bis "ro"
(uisastei) because Nineveh iepenteu fiom its "ro"
(wickeuness). As a iesult, }onah became "ro" (exceeuingly
uispleaseu anu angiy).
The point is this: giumbling is a foim of wickeuness; it is
evil anu leaus to uisobeuience. }onah's wickeuness was that he
ian away to avoiu uoing what uou wanteu him to uo.

6. Grumbling is a communicable disease.

When the Bible states that "the whole congiegation of the
chiluien of Isiael" giumbleu anu complaineu, this was moie
likely the final outcome than how it began.
uiumbling is contagious, like a communicable uisease.
Amongst the Isiaelites, theie must have been some who weie
veiy unhappy about the ciicumstances they weie in. Anu being
moie vocal than the iest, they staiteu to giumble. This
embolueneu otheis who weie also uisgiuntleu but lackeu
boluness to veibalize theii opinions. Anu like a bush fiie, the
giumbling spieau thioughout the whole congiegation till it
was "ablaze" with iesentment.
In the couise of oui lives, suiely we will expeiience some
pain anu uiscomfoit. It is uuiing such times that we neeu to
ieminu ouiselves of what Paul saiu: "Bo all things without
giumbling oi questioning" (Phil 2:14)


148
Chapter 23

Massah and Meribah

Noving fiom the Wilueiness of Sin, the Isiaelites aiiiveu
at a place known as Rephiuim anu campeu theie. But, heie's
the pioblem: theie was no watei theie foi the people to uiink
(Ex 17:1). As befoie, they began to giumble anu complain
against Noses. "uive us watei that we may uiink." But in fact,
theii giumblings weie not seen as meie giumblings but as
something much moie seiious. They weie tempting the Loiu
(veise 2). This was not the fiist time the Isiaelites tempteu
uou, anu neithei woulu this be the last. In all, they woulu have
tempteu uou ten times befoie enteiing the Piomiseu lanu
(Num 14:22).
Beie's a chait listing of the location anu sin of the people
as well as Noses' iesponse anu uou's action to help you bettei
unueistanu how they tempteu uou those ten times.

Tempti ng the Lord
Although the place wheie they weie encampeu was
known as Rephiuim, it became known, aftei this, as Nassah
anu Neiibah (veise 7). In Bebiew, Nassah means "testing" anu
Neiibah means "quaiiel, piovocation anu stiife".
It is not uncommon to finu places in the Bible given a
uiffeient name othei than its oiiginal name. Since all histoiy
was passeu on fiom one geneiation to the next oially, people
founu it easiei to iemembei histoiy when an association is
cieateu between a place anu the event that tianspiieu theie.

149
Bence, Nassah anu Neiibah weie the names given to the place
because it was theie that the Isiaelites testeu (tempteu) uou
anu quaiieleu with Noses.
They tempteu (oi testeu) uou by asking (oi saying), "Is
the Loiu among us oi not." (veise 7). If uou has not ueliveieu
them out of Egypt by a stiong hanu; if uou hau not paiteu the
sea anu causeu them to cioss ovei to the othei siue on uiy
giounu; if uou hau not tuineu the bittei watei sweet at Naiah;
if uou hau not iaineu uown manna anu gave them meat to eat
eveiyuay, then it woulu be justifiable foi the Isiaelites to
question if uou was among them oi not. But since uou hau
uone all the above, anu the Isiaelites weie witnesses of them,
to ask if uou was among them oi not tantamount to a slap on
the face.
Satan, as you know, tiieu to get }esus to test uou. Beie is a
ieminuei of how it happeneu:
Then the uevil took him to the holy city anu set him
on the pinnacle of the temple anu saiu to him, "If you aie
the Son of uou, thiow youiself uown, foi it is wiitten, "'Be
will commanu his angels conceining you,' anu "'0n theii
hanus they will beai you up, lest you stiike youi foot
against a stone.'" }esus saiu to him, "Again it is wiitten,
'You shall not put the Loiu youi uou to the test.'" (Natt
4:S-7)

0n the suiface, it appeais that Satan was meiely
challenging }esus' iuentity as the "Son of uou". But this was
only a guise foi the ieal temptation: to get }esus to tempt (oi
test) uou. Seeing thiough the ploy of the uevil, }esus exposeu
Satan's challenge foi what it ieally was by answeiing, "You
shall not put the Loiu youi uou to the test" (Beut 6:16).
When you put uou to the test, you aie, in effect, putting
uou's chaiactei on tiial. You aie foicing uou to piove that Be is
who Be says Be is: faithful, goou, kinu, meiciful, etc. uou uoes
not appieciate being put on tiail. As a mattei of fact, Be
consiueis it a slap on the face anu counts it as a sin against Bim.
Satan knows this anu that is why this is one of the most

1Su
common temptation he uses on men. Sauly, many have fallen
into his tiap.
These woius spoken by }esus: "A wickeu anu auulteious
geneiation asks foi a sign" (Natt 12:S9) was tiue then anu is
tiue now.
If uou is iequiieu to piove Bimself befoie we believe in
Bim, then faith is absent. Anu "without faith, it is impossible to
please Bim" (Beb 11:6). Whoevei seeks aftei uou must first
believe that Be is anu that Be iewaius those who uiligently
seek Bim.


1S1
Chapter 24

Manna

The chiluien of Isiael hau moveu on fiom Elim, an oasis
with twelve wells anu seventy palm tiees - a place of
iefieshment. In staik contiast to Elim, the Wilueiness of Sin
was haish anu uesolate. Beie, the Isiaelites expeiienceu
hungei, anu uou heaiu theii giumblings. Be saiu to Noses:
"Beholu, I am about to iain bieau fiom heaven foi you, anu the
people shall go out anu gathei a uay's poition eveiy uay, that I
may test them, whethei they will walk in my law oi not. 0n the
sixth uay, when they piepaie what they biing in, it will be
twice as much as they gathei uaily." (Ex 16:4-S)

Fiom this episoue, we will see uou auequately pioviuing
foi Bis people. But moie than that, it is also essential that we
leain about the natuie of uou's piovision so that we may
iecognize it in oui own lives. It may come as a suipiise to you
to leain that the uevil also wants to meet youi neeus anu
wants. But, obviously, he will uo it at a piice; usually it woulu
be in exchange foi youi allegiance anu woiship.
Befoie the Isiaelites enteieu the lanu of Canaan, they
weie solemnly anu iepeateuly waineu not to follow othei gous.

"You sboll bove no otber qoJs before me."
{Beuteronomy S:7)

You sboll not qo ofter otber qoJs, tbe qoJs of tbe
peoples wbo ore orounJ you, {Beuteronomy 6:14)


1S2
for tbey woulJ turn owoy your sons from followinq me,
to serve otber qoJs. Tben tbe onqer of tbe l0RB woulJ be
kinJleJ oqoinst you, onJ be woulJ Jestroy you quickly.
{Beuteronomy 7:4)

AnJ if you forqet tbe l0RB your 6oJ onJ qo ofter
otber qoJs onJ serve tbem onJ worsbip tbem, l solemnly
worn you toJoy tbot you sboll surely perisb. {Beuteronomy
8:19)

Toke core lest your beort be JeceiveJ, onJ you turn
osiJe onJ serve otber qoJs onJ worsbip tbem;
{Beuteronomy 11:16)

onJ tbe curse, if you Jo not obey tbe commonJments
of tbe l0RB your 6oJ, but turn osiJe from tbe woy tbot l
om commonJinq you toJoy, to qo ofter otber qoJs tbot you
bove not known. {Beuteronomy 11:28)

They weie also ieminueu again anu again that the uou
who ueliveieu them out of Egypt is a "jealous uou"
(Beuteionomy 4:24 See also Beut S:9; 6:1S; S2:21).

To bettei unueistanu the angei uou feels when Bis
people woiship othei gous, you woulu have to put youiself in
the shoes of a paient (paiticulaily a fathei). uou was a 'fathei'
to Isiael. If Be weien't, Be woulu not have iefeiieu to Isiael as
Bis "fiistboin son" (Ex 4:22). Bow woulu you, being a fathei,
feel when youi chilu tuins to someone else when he has a neeu
oi wants something. You woulu natuially be eniageu. You
woulu also be asking, "What uoes he (the othei paient) have
that I uon't." Nake no mistake about it. uou uoes not feel
insecuie when Isiael goes aftei othei gous because they aie
not gous at all. Rathei, it is at Isiael's unfaithfulness that uou is
angiy with.
Latei, uou woulu let Isiael know that Be is hei "husbanu":
"Foi youi Nakei is youi husbanu, the L0RB of hosts is his

1SS
name; anu the Boly 0ne of Isiael is youi Reueemei, the uou of
the whole eaith he is calleu." (Isaiah S4:S)

While a chilu might giow up anu become capable of living
inuepenuently of his fathei, a wife is to iemain unuei the
juiisuiction (piovision anu piotection) of hei husbanu all hei
life. That was, anu is Isiael's ielationship to uou.

Let's now look at the natuie of uou's piovision.

1. It i s very nutri ti ous.
When the Isiaelites fiist laiu eyes on the manna, they
weie puzzleu by its appeaiance. It was like nothing they've
evei seen befoie. Bence, they askeu one anothei, "What is it."
(veise 1S). Even aftei eating it, they still coulu not figuie out
what it was. It iesembleu coiianuei seeu, anu tasteu like
"wafeis maue with honey" (veise S1). This was why, I imagine,
they stuck to calling it "Nanna" (liteially, "What is it").
Nanna might not have lookeu like much - it ceitainly was
not a steak - but it obviously containeu all the nutiition that
the Isiaelites neeueu to foi wilueiness living. Such, is the
natuie of uou's piovision. Be knows what oui bouies neeu anu
Be pioviues accoiuingly. You will be suipiiseu to leain that a
lot of what is consumeu touay enus up haiming the human
bouy moie than helping it.
Remembei Baniel anu his fiienus. Although they hau the
piivilege of eating fiom the king's table, they chose not to. Not
wanting to uefile themselves, they askeu to be given only
vegetables anu watei. Aftei just ten uays, the benefits weie as
cleai as uay. "They weie bettei in appeaiance anu fattei in
flesh than all the youths who ate the king's foou" (Ban 1:1S).

0nueistanuably, the foou that was placeu on the king's
table lookeu goou. But looks can be ueceiving. It was the
appeaiance of the fiuit that hung fiom the Tiee of the
Knowleuge of uoou anu Evil that tempteu Eve. She "saw that

1S4
the tiee was goou foi foou, anu that it was a uelight to the eyes,
anu that the tiee was to be uesiieu to make one wise. So, "she
took of its fiuit anu ate" (uen S:6).

2. It i s gi ven accordi ng to your dai ly needs.
Each uay, eveiy Isiaelite hau to go out of the camp to
gathei the manna foi himself anu his family. The uesignateu
poition foi each peison was an omer a uay (Ex 16:16). It was
soon pioven that it was piecisely what was neeueu. Those who
gatheieu much (because they hau moie membeis in theii
householu) hau nothing left ovei, anu those who gatheieu little
hau no lack (veise 18).
Inteiestingly, uou saiu that Be maue the Isiaelites to
hungei. Yet, at the same time, we see that Be pioviueu exactly
what they neeueu each uay as sustenance. So, which is which.
Biu the Isiaelites hungei, oi not.
I believe that it uepenus on the peiception of the
Isiaelites. Noie often that not, especially foi us who aie fiom
uevelopeu countiies, oui hungei is peiceiveu. Put bluntly, we
aie simply being gieeuy. Nost of us can live on just two meals a
uay. But we have convinceu ouiselves that we neeu at least
thiee. As a iesult, many aie stiuggling with obesity anu othei
ielateu health pioblems.
I'm suie that they Isiaelites giumbleu when they weie
tolu that each one of them was only alloweu an omer of manna
a uay. But, theii muimuiings weie silenceu when they iealizeu
that they ieally uiun't neeu moie than that.

uou pioviues foi oui neeus on a uaily basis. This is why
}esus taught us to say, when we piay, "uive us this uay oui
uaily bieau". Aie you able to be content with a uay's iation of
youi piovision. 0i will you be fietting. Will you let uou
ueteimine what youi uaily poition is, insteau of you telling
Bim what you neeu.

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1SS
3. It does not replace fai th.
Theie is a ieason why uou pioviues oui neeus on a uaily
basis. It is because Be uoes not want Bis piovision to take the
place of oui faith. Faith must be exeiciseu iegulaily - uaily, if
possible. Baseu on the piesciibeu aiiangement, the Isiaelites'
faith was exeiciseu eveiy uay as they went out to gathei the
manna. They hau to believe that uou woulu pioviue again the
next uay. Anu once a week, theii faith was testeu
extiaoiuinaiily because on the sixth uay, they weie to gathei a
uouble poition. No manna was pioviueu on the seventh uay,
the Sabbath uay.
Nany of us aie eaining hanusome salaiies. 0ui neeus, we
must aumit, aie moie than auequately pioviueu foi. We may
even have some set asiue foi "a iainy uay". As a iesult, oui faith
has hau little oppoitunity to be exeiciseu oi testeu. Will you
have the faith when you neeu it.
I have saiu it befoie, anu I will say it again: "It is a sau uay
when we no longei have to piay: "uive us this uay oui uaily
bieau".

4. It does not run out.
Paul states that uou supplies oui neeus accoiuing to Bis
iiches in gloiy in Chiist }esus (Phil 4:19). In othei woius, the
souice of uou's piovision is uivine anu heavenly, not cainal oi
eaithly - just like the manna that Be iaineu upon the ueseit
sanu. In Psalm 78:2S, it is known as the "bieau of the angels".
If you think that supplying Isiael with manna foi foity
yeais was something, you've ain't seen nothing yet.

5. It i s not earned.
You meiely have to gathei it.


1S6
Chapter 25

Water from the Rock

In spite of the countless seimons anu teachings that have come
foith in oui chuiches, Chiistians aie still geneially
malnouiisheu anu iemain immatuie. This is in pait uue to the
way the Woiu of uou is tieateu. Too much of uou's Woiu is
spiiitualizeu anu allegoiizeu to the point that the tiue meaning
anu powei is lost.
The ioots of the allegoiical methou can be tiaceu back to
Bellenism. The uieeks always tiieu to spiiitualize theii
ieligious liteiatuie, because it containeu, imaginaiy, fanciful
anu even immoial elements. In oiuei to make theii ieligious
thoughts appealing to philosopheis anu thinkeis, they
allegoiizeu oi spiiitualizeu theii ieligious teachings. They
allegoiizeu the ieligious stoiies, looking foi hiuuen spiiitual
meaning unueineath the liteial wiitings. Philo (2u B.C.-A.B.S4)
is the best known Alexanuiian }ewish allegoiizei. This methou
of inteipietation influenceu the Alexanuiian }ews anu latei
many Chiistians also followeu this methou among whom the
chuich fathei 0iigen (A.B. 18S-2S4) was piominent. The }ews
who embiaceu Plato's philosophy stiuggleu to ieconcile the
0lu Testament anu uieek philosophy. They founu an easy
solution in allegoiizing the 0lu Testament. Allegoiizing the 0lu
Testament was a way of accepting it along with uieek
philosophy. It was also a means of apologetics, a way to uefenu
the 0lu Testament to the uieeks.
In 0iigen's allegoiizing he taught that Noah's aik pictuieu
the chuich anu Noah iepiesenteu Chiist. Rebekah's uiawing
watei at the well means we must uaily come to the Sciiptuies

1S7
to meet Chiist. In }esus' tiiumphal entiy the uonkey
iepiesenteu the 0lu Testament, its colt uepicteu the New
Testament anu the two apostles pictuieu the moial anu mystic
sense of Sciiptuie!! As one wiitei stateu, his inteipietation
was "fantasy unlimiteu"!! Not only 0iigen, but many otheis
who followeu the allegoiical methou also enueu up with
equally fanciful iueas.
Allegoiization anu spiiitualization open the uooi to
subjectivism anu uncontiolleu speculation. It gives emphasis
to the hiuuen, seciet anu impoiteu meaning. Thiough
allegoiical methou anyone can piove any aigument in any way,
because theie is no objective contiol foi the inteipietei. Be is
seeking aftei the "hiuuen" anu "spiiitual" meaning of the text.
It ieuuces the Sciiptuie to what seems ieasonable to the
inteipietei.
In "The Allegoiization of the Bible", Abiaham }oshua
Beschel, a piominent 2uth Centuiy }ewish theologian, wiites:
While it is piopei anu even necessaiy to seek to ueiive by a
vaiiety of inteipietive methous new meaning fiom ancient
souices, it is a fact that the attempt of tiauitional Chiistian
theology to ieuuce conciete naiiatives, hopes,
expectations connecteu with a living people anu a
geogiaphic lanu, to paiauigms of Chuich uogma has hau
uetiimental iesults foi Chiistian theology.
The iauical use of the methou of allegoiization of the
Bebiew Bible, the tenuency to spiiitualize the meaning of
its woiks anu to minimize its plain histoiical sense has
maue many Chiistians incapable of unueistanuing oi
empathy foi what the Boly Lanu means to the }ewish
people anu to the authois of the Bebiew Bible, oi foi what
the people Isiael means in the flesh, not just as a symbol oi
as a constiuct of theological speculation. Even many
Chiistian theologians who aie no longei committeu to the
methou of allegoiization ieact in a way as if the conciete
people of Isiael, the city of }eiusalem, the hope of the
iestoiation of Zion, weie illusoiy entities.
"The allegoiical methou essentially means the
inteipietation of a text in teims of something else,

1S8
iiiespective of what that something else is." Its use in
biblical exegesis which goes back to Philo has often been
accompanieu by the assumption that we must uistinguish
in Sciiptuie a bouy anu a soul, a liteial sense anu a spiiitual
sense. The liteial sense is uepieciateu, the spiiitual sense
exalteu.
Allegoiic inteipietation is baseu on the supposition
that Sciiptuie intenueu to expiess some othei meaning
than what is liteially saiu.
Since the Bebiew Bible was but a foieshauowing, anu
the New Testament a ieality, it was possible to allegoiize
the Bebiew Bible while taking the woius of the New
Testament liteially.
Foi the chuich, the allegoiical methou was its piimaiy
means of making the 0lu Testament a chuich uocument."
The allegoiization of the Bible became the iecognizeu
methou of uealing with the Bebiew Sciiptuies within the
Chuich. This methou enableu the exegetes to finu
intimations of the life of }esus neaily eveiywheie.

An example of how Sciiptuie has been allegoiizeu is oui
tieatment of the stoiy of Noses stiiking the iock with his iou.
The Isiaelites hau just ciosseu the Reu Sea anu hau
campeu in Rephiuim. But theie was no watei foi the people to
uiink. So the people contenueu with Noses anu saiu, "uive us
watei that we may uiink." Noses, in tuin, ciieu out to the Loiu,
saying, "What shall I uo with this people. They aie almost
ieauy to stone me!" At this point of time, uou gave Noses the
instiuction to stiike the iock with his iou so that watei woulu
come out of it.
What. Watei fiom a iock. Is that even possible.
That's what uou saiu, but it iequiieu faith on the pait
of Noses; anu he hau to show that he hau faith by stiiking the
iock with his iou.
The iou that Noses hau in his hanu was maue of woou,
anu eveiyone knows what woulu happen when you stiike a
iock with a woouen iou. If the foice useu weie too gieat, the
iou woulu fiactuie anu bieak. Anu if the foice useu weie too

1S9
light, it woulu not even cause the iock to chip. What's moie, it
woulu ieveal tentativeness on the pait of Noses. Bow much
woulu be enough. This was the uilemma Noses was in.
I have ieau countless seimons anu aiticles wiitten by
Chiistians on this passage of Sciiptuie. 99 peicent of them has
applieu the methou of allegoiization. They teach that the iock
that Noses was instiucteu to stiike iepiesents }esus, anu the
(woouen) iou Noses useu iepiesents the (woouen) Cioss.
Bence, putting the two togethei, when }esus is naileu to the
Cioss, salvation (watei coming out of the iock) iesults. All this
is well anu goou. It sounus logical anu spiiitual, but is it what
uou intenueu foi us to leain. Aie we missing a gieat lesson by
spiiitualizing anu allegoiizing the Sciiptuie. What can we
leain fiom this stoiy.
The people of uou weie in neeu. They weie in the
wilueiness anu hau no watei. They weie uespeiate, anu they
ciieu out to Noses, uou's appointeu meuiatoi foi Isiael. Noses
tuins to uou foi a solution, anu uou answeis. Be tells Noses
that if he woulu stiike the iock with his iou watei woulu come
out of it. uou was offeiing Bis people a piactical solution, not a
spiiitual one.
Noses stiuck the iock anu watei floweu, anu the
people hau watei to uiink. The amount of watei that came out
of the iock was not small. What floweu out of the iock was
enough to quench the thiist of two million Isiaelites, men,
women anu chiluien, anu theii livestock. It uiu not flow foi a
uay, but foi the entiie peiiou of time that the Isiaelites weie
campeu theie. What floweu out of the iock that uay weie
"iiveis in the ueseit", in the woius of the piophet Isaiah (Isa
4S:19). 0nce again, as usual, uou useu the most unlikely means
to pioviue foi Bis people.


16u
Chapter 16

The Golden Calf

The stoiy about the goluen calf in Exouus is not just one
about iuolatiy but about faith, oi the lack of it. It uiu not upset
uou that the Isiaelites woishippeu anothei gou as much as
they uisplayeu theii lack of faith. Aftei all, "without faith it is
impossible to please Bim".
When the people saw that Noses hau not ietuineu fiom
meeting with uou on the mountain, they gatheieu aiounu
Aaion anu uigeu him to make them gous to leau them. This
Noses who hau leu them out of Egypt seems to have
abanuoneu them anu left them to uie in the wilueiness.
Without Noses, the Isiaelites weie not able to continue
following uou because they knew Bim not.
Aaion, without much ieluctance oi iesistance, complieu
anu got uown to woik immeuiately. Be began to gathei the iaw
mateiials neeueu foi the task: goluen eaiiings belonging to
wives, sons anu uaughteis. All these he smelteu in a make-shift
fuinace anu, wah-la, in Aaion's woius, "this calf came out".
Seeing that he hau committeu an abominable act, Aaion
tiieu to iight his wiong by builuing an altai anu ueclaieu a
"feast to the Loiu" on the next uay. Aaion uiu this, piesumably,
so that he anu the people coulu atone foi the sin they have just
committeu with a saciifice anu appease the angei of uou.
Nost of us, when we ieau this, smiik at Aaion's weakness
- foi not iesisting the people's notion haiu enough - anu
foolishness - foi tiying to absolve his iesponsibility with a
lame excuse. Laugh, if you will, but you will not have the last
laugh because we aie all equally guilty.

161
Paul states that eveiy stoiy in the 0lu Testament (foi that
mattei, the New Testament as well) was wiitten as a lesson foi
us. uou knows we neeu it. Eveiy stoiy is about us anu
theiefoie we shoulu be able to see ouiselves in the chaiacteis
of the stoiy. What is this stoiy teaching us.
In this stoiy, Noses is a "type" of Chiist, Aaion is the
appointeu pastoi, anu the Isiaelites iepiesent the
congiegation. As a community, they all hau just been ueliveieu
fiom a life of bonuage. Now, they aie on a jouiney with uou.
They have seen uou uo gieat things among them. They have
also tasteu Bis goouness. But all this uiu not necessaiily
tianslate into giatituue to oi faith in uou on the pait of the
people. They neithei tiusteu uou noi Noses. Anu, the fiist
chance they get, they woulu uiop them.
Beie was that chance. When Noses uelayeu in coming
uown the mountain, the people simply piesumeu he was ueau.
No uoubt they weie glau to be out of Egypt anu fiee fiom theii
tyiannous taskmasteis, but they weie not pleaseu that Noses
hau time anu time again put theii lives in uangei eithei. Now,
piesenteu with a chance to iegain contiol of theii own lives
anu uestiny, they took it. So they maue a gou foi themselves.
But, ieally, the "gou" that they maue was only a figuie-heau - it
was a uangeious thing to be tiaveising the wilueiness, a vast
place infesteu with hostile anu violent polytheistic tiibes,
without at least one gou. They hau no intentions of submitting
themselves to "it" since "it" was maue to seive them.
Anothei way of looking at it: the Isiaelites have hau to,
since leaving Egypt, walk by faith - an inuispensable quality foi
walking with uou - anu uiun't like it.
This scene is being playeu out a million times ovei in the
lives of inuiviuual Chiistians anu in chuiches aiounu the woilu.
Yes, uou, in Bis giace anu meicy, has ueliveieu us fiom
sin. Yes, Be has uone gieat things foi us. Anu yes, we still
stiuggle to tiust Bim fully to the point that we can put oui lives
entiiely in Bis hanu.
What is the gou that we have maue foi ouiselves. Theie
aie many; money, being the most piominent anu common.
Noney is the most populai gou in the woilu touay because it

162
has the powei to solve many of oui pioblems anu meet many
of oui neeus. The pioblem is: we think it seives us but in fact
we aie its seivants. That's why }esus spoke about seiving
mammon.
The chuich has its gou also. It is the chuich's vision anu
mission statements.
All pastois stait theii pastoiates with well-meaning
intentions. They just want to caie anu feeu the flock that uou
has entiusteu to them. They aie mostly moveu by compassion
as Chiist was, anu uo not want the people to be "sheep without
a shepheiu" any longei. 0nly a small numbei uo it to attain
fame anu foitune. But soon aftei filling the position as pastoi,
he makes his fiist mistake. Be begins to ciaft a vision oi
Nission statement. This act alone, in my humble opinion, is
equivalent to Aaion making the goluen calf. Both of them weie
"fashioneu" accoiuing to man's wisuom. The vision oi Nission
statement, heieaftei, becomes the gou that woulu go befoie
the people. It takes the place of Chiist in the life of the chuich
anu its membeis.
0nce the chuich has wiitten uown what it will uo anu
how it will uo it, no fuithei listening, tiusting anu obeying is
iequiieu. The chuich is now on "auto-pilot". Neanwhile, foou is
seiveu on a pei-set scheuule anu movies aie playeu on
uemanu as passengeis (chuich membeis) settle uown foi a
smooth anu comfoitable flight.
Nany yeais ago, while I was seiving as a missionaiy in
Cential Asia, one of the things I uo was to mentoi local pastois.
Some of them aie even oluei than I am. So I tiieu to be as polite
anu humble as i coulu. Nost of theii complaints was about the
lack of commitment to anu intimacy with uou in theii
membeis. In one paiticulai case, the pastoi lamenteu that his
membeis weie not looking at }esus. }ust as he was saying those
woius to me, the Boly Spiiit was whispeiing to my spiiit:
"That's because he isn't looking at Ne. Be is looking at the
vision he has wiitten foi the chuich."
As you can imagine, I was tiembling in my chaii. "Bow am
I going to ielease this woiu of knowleuge to him." I askeu

16S
myself. I leaineu then anu theie that theie is only one way to
speak the tiuth in love. Speak it uiiectly. So I uiu.
Be ieauily aumitteu that he himself was not looking at
Chiist, though he appeais to be outwaiuly. Be was constantly
piaying, whenevei he piayeu, foi the fulfillment of the vision.
Eveiy seimon he pieacheu was about the vision. The vision
hau become the gou of the chuich.
Eventually, he iepenteu of it. A few yeais latei, his chuich
was giowing again. Piaise the Loiu.


164
Chapter 27

Old and New Covenant

In the thiiu month aftei leaving Egypt, the chiluien of Isiael
jouineyeu fiom Rephiuim anu into the Wilueiness of Sinai.
Anu they campeu "befoie the mountain" which has come to be
known as Nount Sinai (Ex 19:2). Theie, uou establisheu a
covenant with them. This paiticulai covenant is known as the
Nosaic Covenant.
Eveiy covenant must fiist be ESTABLISBEB, then
RATIFIEB, then SEALEB, anu then KEPT. Eveiy covenant is
also accompanieu by a SIuN. We will now look foi these points
in the Nosaic Covenant.

Establi shi ng a Covenant
A covenant, unlike a contiact, is unilateial. That is, it is
initiateu by one paity, who also uictates its teims. The othei
paity may eithei accept oi ieject what has been put foith.
Theie is no ioom foi negotiation oi compiomise. In the case of
the Isiaelites, uou fiist spoke the teims to Noses on the
mountain. Anu when Noses hau conveyeu them to the people,
they unanimously accepteu it, saying, "All that the Loiu has
spoken we will uo" (Ex 19:8 anu 24:7). By this was the
covenant iatifieu oi confiimeu.
Now that the covenant hau been accepteu by the people,
uou then put the covenant in wiiting. Be wiote it on two
tablets of stone (Ex 24:12). (The contents of the two stone

16S
tablets aie iuentical. 0ne is the uuplicate of the othei.) It is also
known as the "Book of Covenant".
It must be noteu that the covenant uou maue with
Abiaham (in uenesis 1S) is uiffeient fiom the one Be is making
with Isiael heie (in Exouus 19) in that the foimei is
unconuitional while the lattei is conuitional as seen by these
woius: "Now theiefoie, IF you will inueeu obey my voice anu
keep my covenant, you shall be my tieasuieu possession
among all peoples, foi all the eaith is mine; anu you shall be to
me a kinguom of piiests anu a holy nation" (Ex 19:S-6).
It is also impoitant to note that both covenants weie
sealeu with bloou, as we will now see.

Seali ng a Covenant
Aftei making the piomise to Abiaham, the following events
tianspiieu:

"Brinq me o beifer tbree yeors olJ, o femole qoot tbree
yeors olJ, o rom tbree yeors olJ, o turtleJove, onJ o younq
piqeon." AnJ be brouqbt bim oll tbese, cut tbem in bolf, onJ
loiJ eocb bolf over oqoinst tbe otber. But be JiJ not cut tbe
birJs in bolf. AnJ wben birJs of prey come Jown on tbe
corcosses, Abrom Jrove tbem owoy. Wben tbe sun boJ qone
Jown onJ it wos Jork, bebolJ, o smokinq fire pot onJ o
flominq torcb posseJ between tbese pieces. {6en 1S:9-11
onJ 17)

The covenant between uou anu Abiaham, oi the Abiahamic
Covenant, was sealeu with bloou that came fiom animal
saciifices.
The covenant between uou anu Isiael, oi the Nosaic
Covenant, was also sealeu with bloou fiom an animal saciifice.
Anu he sent young men of the people of Isiael, who
offeieu buint offeiings anu saciificeu peace offeiings of oxen
to the L0RB. Anu Noses took half of the bloou anu put it in
basins, anu half of the bloou he thiew against the altai. Then

166
he took the Book of the Covenant anu ieau it in the heaiing of
the people. Anu they saiu, "All that the L0RB has spoken we
will uo, anu we will be obeuient." Anu Noses took the bloou
anu thiew it on the people anu saiu, "Beholu the bloou of the
covenant that the L0RB has maue with you in accoiuance with
all these woius." (Ex 24:S-8)

The New Covenant, which we will be uiscussing latei in this
post, is also sealeu with bloou, the Bloou of the Lamb.

Keepi ng the Covenant
Now that the covenant has been establisheu anu accepteu anu
sealeu with bloou, the Isiaelites must keep the covenant by
being obeuient to eveiy commanu of uou. When the Isiaelites
aie faithful in keeping theii pait of the covenant, uou will uo as
Be has piomiseu in the covenant as well. Be will PR0vIBE,
PR0TECT ANB PR0SPER them.

"AnJ if you foitbfully obey tbe voice of tbe l0RB your 6oJ,
beinq coreful to Jo oll bis commonJments tbot l commonJ
you toJoy, tbe l0RB your 6oJ will set you biqb obove oll
tbe notions of tbe eortb. AnJ oll tbese blessinqs sboll come
upon you onJ overtoke you, if you obey tbe voice of tbe
l0RB your 6oJ. {Beut 28:1-2)

"But if you will not obey tbe voice of tbe l0RB your 6oJ or
be coreful to Jo oll bis commonJments onJ bis stotutes tbot
l commonJ you toJoy, tben oll tbese curses sboll come upon
you onJ overtoke you. {Beut 28:1S)

Si gn of the Covenant
Bencefoith, the Isiaelites weie a covenant people of uou. Anu
ciicumcision was the uou-chosen way foi a man to show that
he was unuei the covenant. Eveiy Bebiew male must be
ciicumciseu on the eighth uay aftei his biith.

167

Inadequaci es of the Old Covenant

Soon aftei establishing the Nosaic Covenant with Bis people, it
became cleai that it was veiy inauequate on many counts.

It was unable to piouuce obeuience in the people.
Insteau, the law meiely biought about the knowleuge
of sin;
it iequiieu a continual saciifice foi sin (since the
people weie unable to keep the law continually);
it was auministeieu by an impeifect high piiest who
himself neeueu atonement;
anu it coveieu only the }ewish people.

Seeing all this, uou began to intiouuce a "bettei covenant"
(Beibews 7:22; 8:6; 12:24).

New Covenant
The New Covenant that uou was intiouucing woulu ieplace the
Nosaic Covenant anu make it obsolete (Beb 8:1S). Although
uou hau veiy much wanteu Bis people, the Isiaelites, to be the
fiist to be incluueu into it - because salvation is fiist to the
}ews anu then to the uieeks (Rom 1:16) -it was not to be.
Because of the haiuness of theii heaits, "uou gave them a spiiit
of stupoi, eyes that they shoulu not see, anu eais that they
shoulu not heai, unto this veiy uay" (Rom 11:8). Anu while
they weie in this state, "salvation of uou has been sent to the
uentiles" (Acts 28:28). But make no mistake about it: this
piivilege comes with a iesponsibility "to make Isiael jealous"
(Rom 11:11).
Bow well aie uoing in making Isiael jealous. Bow uo we
uo it in the fiist place.

168
Sauly, most of the people I askeu coulu not tell me what
they knew about the New Covenant. This was in spite of the
fact that Chiistians use this teim veiy often, such as when they
have the Boly Communion: "This cup is the New Covenant in
Ny bloou." This ignoiance is nothing to be pleaseu oi piouu
about. Being unuei a covenant but not knowing what it entails
is like knowing that Chiist uieu but not being awaie that Be
also has iisen.

Latei, uou woulu use Bis piophets, piimaiily }eiemiah anu
Ezekiel, to announce this New Covenant. This is what uou saiu
thiough them:

"BebolJ, tbe Joys ore cominq, Jeclores tbe l0RB, wben l
will moke o new covenont witb tbe bouse of lsroel onJ tbe
bouse of }uJob, not like tbe covenont tbot l moJe witb tbeir
fotbers on tbe Joy wben l took tbem by tbe bonJ to brinq
tbem out of tbe lonJ of Fqypt, my covenont tbot tbey broke,
tbouqb l wos tbeir busbonJ, Jeclores tbe l0RB.
But tbis is tbe covenont tbot l will moke witb tbe bouse of
lsroel ofter tbose Joys, Jeclores tbe l0RB: l will put my low
witbin tbem, onJ l will write it on tbeir beorts. AnJ l will be
tbeir 6oJ, onJ tbey sboll be my people.
AnJ no lonqer sboll eocb one teocb bis neiqbbor onJ eocb
bis brotber, soyinq, Know tbe l0RB, for tbey sboll oll know
me, from tbe leost of tbem to tbe qreotest, Jeclores tbe
l0RB. Ior l will forqive tbeir iniquity, onJ l will remember
tbeir sin no more." {}eremiob S1:S1-S4)

l will sprinkle cleon woter on you, onJ you sboll be cleon
from oll your uncleonnesses, onJ from oll your iJols l will
cleonse you. AnJ l will qive you o new beort, onJ o new
spirit l will put witbin you. AnJ l will remove tbe beort of
stone from your flesb onJ qive you o beort of flesb. AnJ l
will put my Spirit witbin you, onJ couse you to wolk in my
stotutes onJ be coreful to obey my rules. {Fzekiel S6:2S-27)


169
As with the Nosaic Covenant, uou establisheu the New
Covenant; but insteau of Noses, this covenant was meuiateu by
Chiist anu sealeu by Bis bloou sheu on the cioss. While the
sign of the Nosaic Covenant was ciicumcision of the flesh, the
sign of the New Covenant woulu be the ciicumcision of heaits
by the Boly Spiiit. As you can alieauy see, this New Covenant is
bettei than the olu in many ways. Not foigetting that this time
those who hau been "fai off", the uentiles, (Eph 2:1S) have
been biought neai.

Piaise the Loiu that we aie unuei the New Covenant, anu not
the 0lu. But what uoes it mean to be unuei the New Covenant.

What i t means to be under the New Covenant
When }ames saiu that "faith by itself, if it uoes not have woiks,
is ueau" (}as 2:17), he was in fact challenging those believeis
who claim to have faith but have no eviuence of it in theii lives.
Too often, we aie expecteu to take it by faith that someone has
faith simply because he says so.
In the same vein, I cannot take it by faith that you aie
unuei the New Covenant just because you have believeu in the
Loiu }esus Chiist. Although theoietically you aie unuei the
New Covenant, but theie must be piactical signs that piove it
to be tiue. Theie aie many possible signs of the New Covenant,
but I will only mention five heie.

1. You wi ll know God
This is one of the most exciting things about the New Covenant
because foi a long time people have wanteu to know uou, anu
know Bim intimately. While, as Paul says, uou's "invisible
attiibutes, namely, his eteinal powei anu uivine natuie, have
been cleaily peiceiveu, evei since the cieation of the woilu, in
the things that have been maue" (Rom 1:2u), the intimacy with
uou still eluues most people. What they enu up having is, at
best, a theology of uou insteau of a ievelation. (Till now, most

17u
people aie leaining about uou thiough theology, not thiough
uivine ievelation.) Revelation of the knowleuge of uou,
accoiuing to Paul, can only come thiough the "spiiit of wisuom
anu of ievelation" (Eph 1:17), which eveiy one in Chiist woulu
have ieceiveu.
Thiough the piophet }eiemiah, uou paints a pictuie of
what it woulu be like foi those who aie unuei the New
Covenant. Be says that, "no longei shall each one teach his
neighboi anu each his biothei, saying, 'Know the L0RB,' foi
they shall all know me, fiom the least of them to the gieatest"
(}ei S1:S4).
Bo you know uou intimately.

2. You wi ll know Hi s law
Not only will you know uou, you will also know Bis law
because it will be wiitten on youi heait. This law, howevei, is
not the Law of Noses, as founu in the 0lu Testament. It is the
"law of Chiist" (ual 6:2).
Inteiestingly, you will not finu the law of Chiist
compiehensively listeu in the Bible like the Ten
Commanuments aie; they aie only mentioneu anu alluueu to
heie anu theie. That's because, it is to be wiitten in oui heaits.
In his lettei to the Romans, Paul compaieu the }ews - who
have the law wiitten in paichments - with the uentiles, who uo
not have the law but "by natuie uo what the law iequiies"

(Rom 2:14). Be concluues that, "they show that the woik of the
law is written on tbeir beorts, while theii conscience also beais
witness, anu theii conflicting thoughts accuse oi even excuse
them" (Rom 2:1S).
Bo you have the law of Chiist wiitten on youi heait.

3. You wi ll keep Hi s law
With the law wiitten in youi heait, the Boly Spiiit in you then
swings into action to "cause you to walk in |Bisj statutes anu
be caieful to obey |Bisj iules" (Ezek S6:27). This, by no means,

171
mean that you will suuuenly become peifect oi without sin.
Fieewill is still alive anu well. Baving saiu this, you shoulu finu
it much easiei to obey uou anu Chiist now than evei befoie.
It is stiange to finu Chiistians still stiuggling to keep the
commanuments of uou. Anu yet, they have the cheek to call
themselves "a fiienu of uou". Bon't they know that a fiienu of
uou is one who uoes what Be commanus. (}ohn 1S:14) }esus
coulu not have put it moie simply than this: Ny sheep heai my
voice . anu they follow me." (}ohn 1u:27)

4. You wi ll mani fest the Grace of God
The twelfth chaptei of Paul's fiist lettei to the Coiinthians is
the well-known chaptei on Spiiitual uifts. In most English
Bibles, it begins this way: "Now conceining spiiitual gifts,
biotheis, I uo not want you to be uninfoimeu." (1 Coi 12:1)
But the uieek woiu "pneumotikos" that is useu in this veise
uoes not mean "spiiitual gifts" but liteially anu simply
"spiiitual" (oi non-cainal). If they hau inueeu ieceiveu the
Boly Spiiit, it woulu not have been necessaiy foi Paul to wiite
to them about spiiitual things because the Boly Spiiit woulu
have ievealeu it to them (1 Coi 12:1). But, appaiently, they aie
not spiiitual but cainal: full of jealousy anu stiife (1 Coi S:S),
which has iesulteu in uivision among them. "Foi it has been
iepoiteu to me by Chloe's people that theie is quaiieling
among you, my biotheis. What I mean is that each one of you
says, "I follow Paul," oi "I follow Apollos," oi "I follow Cephas,"
oi "I follow Chiist." (1 Coi 1:11-12)
While Paul uoes not uoubt that the Coiinthian believeis
hau ieceiveu the Boly Spiiit - "Bo you not know that you aie
uou's temple anu that uou's Spiiit uwells in you." (1 Coi S:16)
- he hau noticeu a lack of the manifestation of the Spiiit (oi
cborismoto) in theii lives. Chaiismata (pluial foi cborismo) has
often been tianslateu as "gifts" oi "spiiitual gifts" but in fact
they aie the vaiious ways uou's giace in the believei is
outwaiuly anu visibly expiesseu. Paul categoiizes these
expiessions into two Jiokonio (oi ministiies) anu enerqemo

172
(oi woiks) (1 Coi 12:S-6). Examples of ministiies anu woiks
aie: utteiance of wisuom anu utteiance of knowleuge, faith,
healing, miiacles, piophecy, uistinguishing spiiits, tongues anu
inteipietation of tongues. They aie empoweieu anu
appoitioneu by the Spiiit; anu all of them have been given foi
"the common goou". The best place foi them to be expiesseu is
in the gatheiing of uou's people. "When you come togethei,
each one has a hymn, a lesson, a ievelation, a tongue, oi an
inteipietation. Let all things be uone foi builuing up." (1 Coi
14:26)
Aie you manifesting the Spiiit in youi life. Aie you using
the giace-expiessions to builu up othei believeis.

5. You wi ll produce ri vers of li vi ng water
0n the last anu gieat uay of the feast of Tabeinacles, }esus was
stanuing in the miust of the ciowu that weie lining the stieets
of }eiusalem to obseive the piocession. Eveiyuay, foi seven
uays, the piiest woulu scoop a pitch of watei fiom the Pool of
Shilom, walk to the Temple anu empty it theie. 0n the seventh
uay, howevei, this piocess woulu be uone seven times (hence
it was "the gieat uay").
While the people's eyes weie fixeu on the piocession,
peihaps the pitchei of watei, }esus' eyes weie on the people,
paiticulaily on theii heaits. What Be saw - because Be is uou
anu sees the heaits of men - conceineu Bim gieatly: they weie
thiisty in theii souls but uiun't know it. Theie is no gieatei
tiageuy that this: to be uying but not iealizing it.
0nable to holu it in anymoie, Bis compassion buist out
with a louu ciy: "If any man thiist, let him come to Ne anu
uiink." (}ohn 7:S7). As you woulu expect, all the people tuineu
towaius Bim. Some thought Be was the piophet; otheis
believeu Be was the Chiist - but wasn't the Chiist supposeu to
come out of Bethlehem. Anu theie was uivision among the
people ovei Bim.
Funny isn't it how when uou tiies to show us the
conuition of oui souls, the fiist thing we uo is to check out the

17S
piophet. In the enu, "they went each to his own house". If
anyone hau iesponueu anu believeu (as the Sciiptuie has saiu),
"0ut of his heait will flow iiveis of living watei" (}ohn 7:S8).
What woulu these iiveis look like.

In the book of Ezekiel, we ieau about a iivei that floweu
out of the Temple. At fiist, the iivei was "ankle-ueep"; then the
fuithei it floweu the ueepei it got, until it "coulu not be passeu
thiough" (Ezek 47:S). What was fascinating about this iivei
was that "on the bank of the iivei veiy many tiees on the one
siue anu on the othei", anu "wheievei the iivei goes, eveiy
living cieatuie that swaims will live, anu theie will be veiy
many fish". Nost amazing of all: "when the watei flows into the
sea, the watei will become fiesh".
In case you uiun't know, the watei in the seas aie salty;
anu they aie salty because seas aie basically huge stagnant
bouies of watei. Riveis, on the othei hanu, aie supplieu by iain,
ice anu snow; hence they contain fiesh watei. Typically, when
iiveis empty into the sea, the fiesh watei aie oveicome by the
saltiness of the sea-watei. But the ieveise will be tiue foi the
iivei that flows out of the Temple; it is able to oveicome anu
tuin sea-watei fiesh. This is an analogy of how believeis can
impact anu tiansfoim people anu societies if "iiveis of living
watei" aie alloweu flow fieely out of the temple - they aie the
"temple of uou".
Bo you see iiveis of living watei flowing out of you. Aie
those who cioss youi path changeu foi the bettei.

6. You wi ll have power
The othei thing that the Boly Spiiit uoes foi a believei is to
give him powei. }esus saiu, "But you will ieceive powei when
the Boly Spiiit has come upon you, anu you will be my
witnesses in }eiusalem anu in all }uuea anu Samaiia, anu to the
enu of the eaith." (Acts 1:8) It is with this powei - the powei of
the Boly Spiiit - that we will witness foi Chiist eveiywheie.
The success of Paul's ministiy can be attiibuteu to this powei,

174
as he himself testifies: "because oui gospel came to you not
only in woiu, but also in powei anu in the Boly Spiiit anu with
full conviction" (1 Thes 1:S). To communicate the message of
the gospel, at times, Paul woulu teach (Acts 11:26), pieach
(Acts 9:27; 14:21; 1 Coiinthians 1S:1, 2), anu even peisuaue
(Acts 17:4; 19:26); anu when necessaiy he woulu also peifoim
signs anu wonueis (Acts 14:S; 1S:2; Romans 1S:19; 2
Coiinthians 12:12). Paul's ministiy has confiimeu in so many
ways the woius }esus spoke to Bis uisciples: "Tiuly, tiuly, I say
to you, whoevei believes in me will also uo the woiks that I uo;
anu gieatei woiks than these will he uo, because I am going to
the Fathei" (}ohn 14:12).
}esus has gone to the Fathei, anu the Boly Spiiit has been
given to those who believe in the Loiu }esus. Bave you
ieceiveu Bim. Bave you ieceiveu the powei to be Bis witness.

Now, let me ask you the question again: "Aie you unuei the Ne
Covenant. Bow will I know."

17S

Part III

176
chapter 28

Seeking the Kingdom

From the start, God had warned His people about the
consequences of their continual disobedience. He said: And I
myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle
in it shall be appalled at it. And I will scatter you among the
nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your
land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste
(Lev 26:32-33). Obviously, the warning was not taken
seriously at all. They transgressed the commandments of God,
breaking the covenant between them in the process. And, true
enough, because of all their abominations that they have
committed, God made the land a desolation and a waste and
brought Israels proud might to an end by making them
serve the king of Babylon seventy years (Ezek 33:28-29 and
jer 25:11).
At the end of seventy years, a remnant (numbering about
50,000 led by Zerubbabel) returned to the land and began to
rebuild the ancient ruins, repair the breach, restore streets
to dwell in, and raise up the foundations of many
generations (Isa 58:12). Even the Temple, which Solomon
built, and which King Nebuchadnezzar razed to the ground,
was rebuilt after some delay. And, as God had promised
through Ezra, the glory of the latter house was greater than that
of the former (Ezra 2:9). In spite of all this, neither Israel nor
Judah would be the same again. Judah was politically rebuilt as
a Persian satrapy, a semi-autonomous administrative province,

177
ruled by a priestly elite that re-migrated from Babylonia.
1
For
the next few hundred years, the land that God called His would
pass through many hands: first the Persians, then the Greeks,
the Egyptians, and the Romans. From 37 to 4 B.C., the region
known as Judea was a vassal state of the Roman Empire ruled
by Herod the Great. In short, the kingdom of God was non-
existent on the face of the earth during this time.

But when the fullness of time had come, says Paul, God
sent His Son, born of a woman (Gal 4:4). This was none other
than Jesus the Christ. Growing up, he was unlike any other
boy: He increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with
God and man (Luke 2:52). And at age 30, He was baptized
and filled with the Holy Spirit. From that time, He began to
call people to repentance because the kingdom of heaven is
at hand and to preach the gospel of the kingdom (Matt 4:17,
23). He told them who would inherit the kingdom of heaven:
the poor and the persecuted (Matt 5:3, 10). At the same time,
He made it clear that not all who call Him Lord, lord, will
enter the kingdom (Matt 7:21).
Listening to this, and other things that Jesus said about
the kingdom of God and heaven, any Jew would be led to
believe that Jesus was indeed his king, and that he had come to
reunite the children of Israel once again, just as King David
had done previously. Every good Jew would have known of
the prophecies about a son who would be born and given to
them; one who would ascend Davids throne and rule over his
kingdom with righteousness and justice from this time forth
and forevermore (Isa 9:6, 7). But was this why Jesus had
indeed come?
Jesus gave many clues to what the purpose of His coming
was. Clearly, for one, He had come to seek and to save the
lost (Luke 19:10). And, unapologetically, He clarifies that He
had been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
(Matt 15:24). This was the reason, for the duration of His time

1
Babylonian Exile anu Beyonu. Boston 0niveisity.

178
on the earth, that Jesus preached almost exclusively to the
Jews, and performed His miracles amongst them, with the
exception of a few Gentiles, such as the Samaritan woman at
the well and the Roman Centurion. As He moved around and
among them, He saw the multitudes and was moved with
compassion for them because they were weary and scattered,
like sheep having no shepherd (Matt 9:36).
His people, the Jews, were scattered indeed. At the time
of Jesus, many Jews lived in Jerusalem, and as many (known
as the Dispora) also lived outside Jerusalem. Those living
outside Jerusalem had been there since the Babylonian exile.
Later, in Acts 8, even those in Jerusalem would be scattered as
a result of a great persecution against the church there.
But, worse than being scattered, they were splintered.
According to the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus,
the three parties in contemporary Judaism were the Pharisees
and Sadducees and Essenes, the last of these three being
apparently marginalized and in some cases retired to quasi-
monastic communities. Josephus also speaks of "Fourth
Movement" Zealots, Lestai or Sicari. However, B. A.
Robinson, writing for ReligiousTolerance.org, states that
[A]bout 24 religious sects had formed by the 1st century CE
of which the largest were the Basusim, Essenes, Pharisees,
Sadducees and Zealots. Many anticipated the arrival of the
Messiah, a religious-political-military leader who was
expected to drive out the Roman invaders and restore
independence.
2
About the Diversity of Judaism, Professor
Michael White writes, Indeed, what we're seeing more and
more through the research and the archaeological discoveries,
is how diverse Judaism was in this period
3
.
This splintering within the people God could be directly
attributed to the absence of shepherds. But they have had
shepherds in the form of the priests and Levites. However, in
truth, they were shepherds who have no understanding; they

2
Besciiption of }uuaism: }ewish Bistoiy anu Texts. ReligiousToleiance.oig
S
Biveisity of }uuaism. L. Nichael White (Piofessoi of Classics anu Biiectoi of the Religious
Stuuies Piogiam 0niveisity of Texas at Austin)

179
have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain (Isa
56:11). Those who handle the law did not know me, says the
Lord; the shepherds transgressed against me (Jer 2:8). They
are stupid and do not inquire of the LORD; therefore they
have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered (Jer 10:21).
Therefore, says the Lord, You have scattered my flock and
have driven them away, and you have not attended to them.
Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the
LORD (Jer 23:2). And I will give you shepherds after my
own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and
understanding (Jer 3:15).
The Gentile Church did not fared any better than their
Jewish brothers in this aspect. The church at Corinth, for
example, was divided between Paul, Apollos, Cephas and
Christ. This was representative of what was happening in the
Body of Christ everywhere. Christ saw this coming long before
it happened and so prayed for unity among His believers, that
they would all be one (John 17:21). Two thousand years on,
the Gentile Church is still divided more so than ever before.
According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity
(CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, there are
approximately 41,000 Christian denominations and
organizations in the world (as of 2011).
4
I wonder how Jesus
would feel if He walked among us today. Will He be moved
with compassion for us because we are likewise weary and
scattered? And how will He judge the shepherds who have
been given charge over the flock of God, of which I am one?

Because they have not had good shepherds to teach them
correctly, the Jews became weary. In what way were they
weary?
John Gill explains that they were being fatigued and
tired, not in their bodies, through journeying from place to
place, to hear the word, but in their minds; being burdened and
wearied with the various traditions and doctrines of the Scribes

4
This statistic takes into consiueiation cultuial uistinctions of uenominations in uiffeient
countiies, so theie is oveilapping of many uenominations.

18u
and Pharisees.
5
Put simply, they were made weary by the
man-made rules and traditions espoused by the Pharisees. If
the Pharisees had simply and solely taught the commandments
of God, the people would be in a better state because Gods
commandment are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). It was to
the same commandments of God that Jesus was referring to
when He said in Matthew 11:30, My burden is light.
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus was inviting His people,
who were then burdened and wearied by the doctrines and
traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees, to come to Him to
receive rest. Jesus is giving the same the invitation today
because many are likewise burdened and wearied. But, let it be
clear that coming to Jesus is only the first step in receiving rest.
After that, we are to take up His yoke and learn from Him
(verse 29). What does this mean?
First, lets understand what a yoke is. A yoke is a wooden
beam normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to
enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs,
as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual
animals.
6
Of the pair, one of them is usually older and
therefore more experienced. It has done this before and has
learned to recognize and obey the subtle instructions of the one
who holds the plow. A younger animal is yoked with it so that
it can learn from the older. In the same way, we must be yoked
with Jesus if we wish to learn from His example of obedience
and holiness.
In Part I of this book, I talked about how I was discipled by
Christ. Here, in Matthew 11, the invitation Jesus is giving is
exactly that: an invitation to be personally discipled by Him. It
is an offer that you should not refuse.
But before you can take up His yoke, you must first take
off the yoke that is already on your back. It didnt come from
Jesus. He didnt give it to you. It was the world that gave it to
you and insisted that you put it on. And attached to the yoke is

S
Exposition of the Entiie Bible by }ohn uill |1746-6Sj.
6
Wikipeuia: Yoke

181
a very heavy burden. It is more than you are able to bear; yet,
you must because of the one who holds the plow.
He is not like Jesus, gentle and lowly in heart (verse 29).
Instead, he is most likely brutal and unscrupulous. He is
comparable to the taskmasters that were placed over the
Israelites, who afflicted them with heavy burdens by building
the supply cities Pithom and Ramses (Ex 1:11). You must
realize and admit that this is the reason you are weary and
heavy-laden and in desperate need of rest.
For some reason, preachers have chosen to focus only on
verse 28 and neglect verse 29. Why they have shrunk from
declaring the whole counsel of God, I do not know. But one
things for sure, this kind of teaching is responsible for the
emergence of a new form of worship called the soaking
session. They are popping up everywhere, and soakers (a
term given to those who attend these sessions) are flocking to
them in droves. While soaking sessions do fulfill a particular
purpose (I have conducted a few of them myself), we have to
acknowledge that it falls short in providing the rest that Jesus
was offering in Matthew 11. Like perfume, the effect of the
soaking session wears off quickly. The rest that Jesus gives,
rest for our souls, lasts for a long time.

But thats not all. The delinquent shepherds of Israel had also
caused the people to wander from the path. They have
wandered so far that when the Lord said to His people, Stand
by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the
good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls, they
replied, We will not walk in it (Jer 6:16).
Foreseeing that His people would reject His way, God
foretold of a ruler in Israel. He would come out of Bethlehem
and he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of
the LORD (Micah 5:4). This was fulfilled, of course, in Jesus
about 700 years later. He was to be the good shepherd who
lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).
When He came, Matthew tells us, He went everywhere
teaching in the synagogues and preaching the gospel of the
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182
kingdom. By doing so, Jesus was attempting to dispel the
misconceptions the people had about God and His
commandments, which came about mainly as a result of the
erroneous teaching by the Pharisees who had made void the
word of God by their traditions (Matt 15:6).
Seeing that His people had become anxious (which is a
form of toil) from going about to meet their own needs the way
the Gentiles were meeting theirs by working for a living
Jesus issues a call to them to seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness (Matt 6:33). But He did not do this without first
introducing the Father to them.
Prior to Matthew 6:33, Jesus used the term Father in
reference to God 15 times (and 40 times overall in Matthews
gospel narrative). He taught that in prayer they were really
speaking with their Father who is in heaven (Matt 6:9). And
since their Father already knows the things they need before
they ask Him, they do not need to pray using vain repetitions,
as the heathen do (Matt 6:7 KJV). He also told them that
because God already knows what they need, He has made
provisions for them, and they are stored up in His kingdom.
And if they would seek His kingdom, all these things will be
theirs.
In a sense, the call by Jesus to seek Gods kingdom was a
call for the renewal of the peoples trust in the Providence of God
their Father. Providence, particularly Divine Providence, means
more than just Gods Provision. The word Providence comes from
Latin providentia "foresight, prudence", from pro- "ahead" and
videre "to see"
7
. It says that God foreknew your needs before they
even existed, and provided for them. This is apparent throughout
the Bible, starting in Genesis.
In Genesis, we saw God creating the great sea creatures
and every winged bird (Gen 1:21). He also created the beasts
and livestock of all kinds (Gen 1:25). What all these creatures
have in common is their need for food. Knowing this, God,
beforehand, caused the earth to bring forth vegetation, plants

7
http:en.wikipeuia.oigwikiBivine_pioviuence

18S
yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit
in which is their seed, each according to its kind, and gave them
as food to everything that has the breath of life (Gen 1:12 and
30).
In Genesis, we also saw how God created Man in His own
image and likeness. And, beforehand, planted a Garden full of fruit
trees and vegetation that would be food for the Man. This is the
Providence of a Father.
It is clear, from Scripture, that God was (and is) the father of
Israel too. This is seen (1) in His reference to Israel as His
firstborn son (Ex 4:22); in the way God worked on Israel and
formed a nation out of her (Isa 64:8); and in His giving of an
inheritance (the land of Canaan) to them (Deut 26:1). But, in spite
of all this, Israel failed to recognized God as their Father; and so
prophets, namely Isaiah and Jeremiah, had to be sent to remind
them of this truth (Isa 63:16; 64:8 and Jer 31:9).
Viewing God as Father, indeed, isnt easy at all. As if
programmed from birth to view God as someone to be obeyed
and worshipped out of fear and reverence, we can only see
ourselves as servants (perhaps even slaves) of God, and never
as children of God. Hence, although we know that we ought to
love God and trust Him, we do not know how. For many, their
earthly fathers have painted a distorted fatherly image which
has, in turn, been projected upon God. (Its unfair, I know.)
Since our earthly fathers have disappointed us time and time
again, we unconsciously expect God to disappoint us also. This
wrong perception can be changed (Mine has) but it will take
time to do so. I say this because, in all my years of helping
Christians grow spiritually, I have found that many, if not the
majority, struggle most in this area.
The solution to this is not more theology, where we study
about the character and nature and names of God. Tell me,
what child knows his/her father by reading and studying about
him? Only orphans do that; but we are not orphans. Christ did
not leave us as orphans. The Holy Spirit was given to us after
He had ascended to heaven to be at His Fathers Right Hand.

184
The Holy Spirit, says Paul, is the spirit of wisdom and
revelation who will reveal the Father to us.
If God can be known through study, then He would have
simply told Moses to write down all His names and their
meanings in the Torah. Generations of Israelites only had to
read and memorize them, and they would have known their
God. But He did not do that; instead He revealed Himself to
individuals, such as Abraham, through situations and events.
Hence, the way to know God as Father is through revelation in
the context of a relationship. And there was no better
demonstration of this relationship than that provided by Jesus
the Son of God.
Unfortunately, His efforts were in vain. In the words of John:
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him (John
1:11). And in rejecting Jesus, they rejected the Father also.

In summary, Israel had not had God as their King, and
therefore had not been a kingdom, for a long time now. By
sending Jesus to them, God was reintroducing Himself to His
people; only this time, not merely as their God but as their
Father in heaven as well. Through Jesus, God was also re-
inviting them into His kingdom; and complete trust in Him was
the key pre-requisite (as we will see in the next chapter).


18S

chapter 29

Entering the Kingdom

Traditionally, Christians have been taught that, based on
Colossians 1:13 "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son," a person
who makes a profession of faith in Christ is IMMEDIATELY
"transferred" into God's kingdom. I happen to think otherwise
based on many other verses of Scripture.
For one, Jesus said that He is "the Way, the Truth, and the
Life" (John 14:6), and that no one comes to the Father expect by
Him. Then He also says that He is the "Door" and those who enter
in will "be saved ... and find pasture" (John 10:9). Put them
together and you will see that coming to Christ is only the first step
in the journey towards the Father.
Some might argue that Christ and the Father are one, and
therefore by coming to Christ one has already come to the Father.
Well, Christ and the Father may be one but their roles in the
salvation process of man differ from one another. The Holy Spirit
has His own role too. So let's not confuse them or lump them all
together.
Furthermore, from the story of the Exodus, God did not lead
the Israelites right away to the Promised land (symbolizing the
kingdom of God). Instead, He made them camp at Mount Sinai for

186
about a year to teach them His law, give them the blueprint to the
Tabernacle, implement a system of worship, and appoint the
Levitical priesthood.
Coming back to our original question: "How do you enter
into the kingdom of God?"
Previously, I have told you that the Garden in Eden is one of
the pictures of the kingdom of God in the Hebrew Bible
(commonly known as the Old Testament). It is useful for us to
refer to it again, but this time we will zoom in on its occupants:
Adam, in particular.
The Bible tells us that, "God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." (Gen 2:7).
This took place in an undisclosed location on the earth outside the
Garden. We know this because it was only after Adam was formed
that God put him in the Garden (verse 8).
But what I really want you to see is this: Adam was naked
when he entered the Garden - he had nothing with him or on him.
This is how each one of us must enter the kingdom of God.
For the unconvinced, I will provide another witness that will
testify to this point.
When the Israelites entered the Promised land, they too had
no personal possessions apart from the clothes on their backs.
Recall that they had to leave Egypt in a hurry. There was hardly
time to even leaven the dough. "And they baked unleavened cakes
of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not
leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait,
nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves" (Ex 12:39).
Yes, the Lord gave them so much favor such that "they let
them have what they asked" (Ex 12:36). In short, "they despoiled
the Egyptians". But what became of the gold and silver that was
taken from the Egyptians? They were used for the construction of
the Tabernacle in the wilderness. They were meant for worship.
In the end, the most valuable thing the Israelites possessed as
they entered the Promised land was the Ark of the Covenant and
the other furniture of the Tabernacle which were made of pure
gold. This must be the state of every believer who enters the
Kingdom of God: poor except for the Temple of God within him.

187

Fast forward to the New Testament and we find Jesus
preaching the gospel of the kingdom and teaching about it
extensively.
One of the first things He says about the kingdom was this:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
(Matt 5:3).
Understandably, many insist that it is unbelieving pagans -
they are spiritual poor, even bankrupt - that Jesus was referring to.
But if Luke was consulted, we will discover, to our horror perhaps,
that it isn't the case. Luke categorically specifies that it is the poor,
period, that will be given the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20).
Later in Luke's narrative of the gospel, we have another
witness to this spiritual principle.
There was a rich young man in Luke 18. He was rich and
religious and young - a dangerous combination. He came to Jesus
and asked, "Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Right away, Jesus points the man to the commandments of
God, namely the Ten Commandments. The young man claims to
have kept them from his youth. What he was, in effect, saying was,
"I am righteous. I have not sinned."
This man was either lying or deluded, or both. Jesus, peering
through his religious facade, saw that he still lacked one thing. But
instead of simply telling him what it was, Jesus decided to let him
discover it for himself by asking him to sell all he has and give the
money to the poor (Luk 18:22).
Jesus was doing to this man what God did to the Israelites in
the wilderness prior to entering the Promised land.
In the wilderness, God made the Israelites hunger and fed
them with manna alone. He did this to humble them, to test them
and to know what was in their hearts - whether or not they would
obey him (Deut 8:2-3). So, in the same way, Jesus, was testing the
heart of the young man, to see if he was as obedient to God as he
said he was.
"Why is this necessary?" you ask. "Isn't salvation by grace, a
gift of God?"
Yes indeed. And you will see it is so...soon.

188

In the meantime, you need to know that those who enter into
the kingdom of God immediately become citizens and subjects at
the same time. As citizens, they are entitled to all the benefits of
God (Psa 103:2). And as subjects, they have a duty: to abide by the
laws of God. Unfortunately, Christians like to focus on the benefits
mostly. To them, any talk of obedience and keeping the
commandments of God is legalism.
As the story goes, the rich young man was unable to do what
Jesus demanded of him. "He became very sad, because he was
extremely rich" (Luk 18:23).
The man's reaction confirmed a spiritual principle that Jesus
here articulates: How difficult it is for those who have wealth to
enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the
kingdom of God" (Luk 18:24-25).
What goes on in your mind when you hear these words of
Jesus? Are the same as what the disciples thought when they heard
them?
They asked Jesus, "Who then can be saved?"
"The things that are impossible with men are possible with
God," Jesus replied. What does this mean?
Was it impossible for the young man to sell all his
possessions and give to the poor? Humanly, it would be very hard,
if not impossible. I know of no one, including myself, who could
do this also...unless they have been enabled by God.
Remember this: when God gives you a command, He will
give you the grace to obey along with it. When God sets a standard,
He will give you the grace to meet it. When God sends you on a
mission, He will go along with you. He will make His grace
abound to you. You just got to know it and rely on it.
The disciples then began to think about themselves. They had
given up ALL to follow Christ. Secretly, they felt a mixture of joy
and relief because of it.

Application
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"


189

I am not here today to tell you to sell your possessions and
give the money to the poor. In fact, I am not telling you to do
anything. I do not have the authority to do so. Only God through
the Holy Spirt can. So listen to what He is telling you to do as an
application of this lesson.
To help you, I can suggest a few things for you to begin
doing so that your faith will be built up.

1. Increase your giving.

If you are currently giving to the Lord 10% monthly, aim to
increase it to 20% in the coming months. (Did you know that the
Israelites gave more than 10% - more like 30% - of their income as
tithe?) You will feel the strain on your finances at this point. That's
good, because now you will learn why Jesus taught us to pray
"Give us this day our daily bread". You have, I'm sure, prayed this
prayer when you didn't need it. Now, you will pray because you
need it.
When you faith has grown stronger, you may increase your
giving by another 10%.

2. Go for "Broke".
Go for Broke simply means emptying out your bank account
plus giving away that month's salary

19u
chapter 30

Word of the Kingdom

The thirteenth chapter of Matthews narrative contains the
most number of parables on the kingdom of God 7, to be exact.
They are:
1. The Sower and the Soils (13:1-23)

2. The Tares (13:24-30)

3. The Mustard Seed (13:31-32)

4. The Leaven (13:33)

5. The Hidden Treasure (13:44)

6. The Costly Pearl (13:45-46)

7. The Dragnet (13:47-50)

The first one is about a sower who went out to sow seeds.
And as he sowed, some of the seeds fell on the wayside; some fell
on stony places; some fell among thorns; but others fell on good
ground. Unknown to those listening, Jesus was really describing
the condition of their hearts. Since it is not my goal to exposit this
parable, I will not dwell on the meaning of the different grounds
on which the seeds fell. Rather, I would like to point out to you

191
what the seed represents. It represents the word of the kingdom
(verse 19).
Beginning with John the Baptist, God was sowing the word
of the kingdom into the hearts of men. But how the word was
received varied because the condition of their hearts varied as well.
Some received it with joy, but only for a while. Others rejected it
right away. Only in a few was the word able to be fruitful.
The most common way that the word of the kingdom was
being sown into the hearts of men was, of course, preaching. John
the Baptist was the first distinctive preacher of the word of the
kingdom. In Matthew 11:14, Jesus said that John the Baptist was
Elijah if you care to accept it. What does that mean? By this,
Jesus was reminding the people about Malachi 4:5, which said that
Elijah would come, announce the arrival of the Messiah and the
Kingdom would begin. Johns ministry showed that he was indeed
the Elijah Malachi prophesied about, and Jesus confirmed it saying,
John is Elijah.
According to Malachi, the Elijah who is to come would
prepare the way of the Lord (Mal 3:1). Who is this Lord? It is
Jesus Christ, and He is the Lord of the kingdom of God. This is so
important, friends. Many seek the kingdom of God without
knowing or acknowledging its Lord. You cannot have one without
the other. As a matter of fact, it is the Lord who grants you (or
denies you) entry into His kingdom. In Matthew 7, Jesus foretold
of what would most likely take place on that day (the Day of
Judgment): many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do
many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to
them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of
lawlessness. (Matt 7:22-23).
So you see, it is not enough to know the Lord Jesus; he must
know you too. And who are those that are known by the Lord?
They are, Jesus says, His sheep that hear His voice and He
knows them and follow Him (John 10:27).

At the beginning of Matthew 13, we saw God sowing the seed,
which is the word of the kingdom. But by the middle of the

192
chapter (in verse 37 and 38), we see a switch. This time, it is the
Son of Man who sows the good seed; the field is the world, and
the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. In short, God began
by sowing the word into mans heart; then the Son of Man later
comes to sow sons into the world. What a wonderful picture? But
what does it mean?
It means that though a seed might seem insignificant, it
possesses great power and potential the power and potential to
transform any one from a being a sinner into a saint, from being a
slave (to sin) into a son (of God). This is, in essence, the good
news, the gospel. We should also understand that God desires that
each of us mature and become sons, rather than remaining as
children. Without going into great depth, there are two different
words in the Greek for a child (teknon) and a son (huios).
1
God
loves all His children no doubt about that but He can only use
those who have become sons for His kingdoms sake. Those who
are still a child, Paul says, are no better than a slave in his fathers
house (Gal 4:1). Knowing this, you wouldnt want to remain a
child, would you?
Spiritual children, like their natural counterpart, spend most
their time at home. They are hardly left alone but are under
constant supervision. Sons, on the other hand, are independent and
responsible. They can go anywhere by themselves. Hence, they
can be planted by the Father anywhere in the world. And
wherever they are planted, they act as ambassadors for Christ,
having in them the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19-20).
But more than ambassadors, they are Christ Incarnate.

In this parable, Christ paints a picture of a field in which the good
seed was sown. But since most of it was unfavorable, only a
fractional proportion of it bore fruit. In Pinks view, instead of
promising that the good-ground section of the field would yield
greater and greater returns, He announced that there would be a

1
The Biffeience between Teknon anu Buios as useu in the New
Testament.http:stempublishing.commagazinesbtBT121878_191_Teknon_Buios.ht
ml

19S
decreasing harvestsome an hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty.
2
He goes on to say:
In the second parable, our Lord revealed the field as over-
sown with "tares," and declared that these should continue until
the harvest-time, which He defined as "the end of the age."
This fixes beyond all doubt the evil consequences of the
Enemys work, and positively forbids the expectation of a
world won to Christ during this present dispensation, Christ
plainly warned us that the evil effects of the Devils labors at
the beginning of the age would never be repaired. The crop as a
whole is spoiled!

This, in a sense, sets the backdrop of the third and fourth
parable. And because many have not taken into consideration the
meaning of this parable, they have unwittingly misinterpreted the
next two parables.

2
The Piophetic Paiables of Natthew 1S by A.W. Pink Chaptei S: The Paiable of the
Nustaiu Seeu http:www.pbministiies.oigbookspinkPaiablespaiables_uS.htm

194

chapter 21

The kingdom is like

I enueu the pievious chaptei by saying that if the thiiu anu
fouith paiable of Natthew 1S aie not inteipieteu in the
context of the fiist anu seconu, they woulu mostly likely be
mis-inteipieteu. Pink says that, "They have been tuineu
completely upsiue uown; that is to say, they have been maue to
mean the veiy opposite of what the Loiu }esus taught"
1
.

Leaven
In }esus' uay, leaven was spoileu uough in a state of
feimentation which, when mingleu with noimal uough, will
cause the bieau to iise when bakeu. Not a lot is neeueu to
cieate this effect; a small amount of leaven was sufficient to
leaven a laige amount of uough. Nany inteipiet the leaven as
symbolic of the woiu of uou being pieacheu thioughout the
whole woilu until all nations have heaiu it. Bowevei, this
inteipietation of leaven is sciiptuially unsounu. Thioughout
the 0lu Testament, leaven caiiies a consistently negative
connotation. In the New Testament, leaven was spoken of
metaphoiically by }esus anu Paul to symbolize not the woiu of
uou but iathei the uoctiine of men being mixeu with the woiu

1

19S
of uou, theieby coiiupting it: }esus saiu to them, "Watch anu
bewaie of the leaven of the Phaiisees anu Sauuucees."
(Natthew 16:6 See also Luke 12:1, ual S:7-1u anu 1 Coi S:6)
Theie is not a single place in the entiie Bible wheie
leaven uenotes anything positive. With this in minu, it seems
likely that this paiable has a negative connotation: the leaven
iepiesents the uoctiines of men being mixeu with the woiu of
uou, theieby coiiupting the whole of it. Baving alieauy seen
what the Phaiisees hau uone with theii false uoctiine, }esus
may have unueistoou that Bis own chuich woulu follow the
same couise as it became laigei.

Mustard Seed

The paiable of the mustaiu seeu can be founu in Natthew anu
Luke's naiiatives. In it, }esus speaks of a man who took a
mustaiu seeu anu soweu it in his fielu. When it is giown, "it is
gieatei than the heibs, anu becomes a tiee, so that the biius of
the aii come anu nest in its bianches" (Natt 1S:S2). Theie aie
many passages in the 0lu Testament that contain this imageiy
- of biius nesting in the bianches of a big tiee - anu they all
caiiy a positive connotation (See Ban 4:1u-12, Ezek S:1-9 anu
17:22-2S). If the paiable of the mustaiu seeu was conceiveu
out of these passages, it woulu then seem to have a positive
connotation. But, the pioblem is this: the type of tiees in the
0lu Testament passages was not mentioneu anu cannot be
assumeu to have oiiginateu fiom a mustaiu seeu.
Beie's some infoimation about the mustaiu seeu.
Nustaiu belongs to a family that incluues such well
known plants as cabbage, tuinips, anu bioccoli
2
. All of these
aie meuium-sizeu plants. We woulu call them heibs oi
vegetables. Accoiuing to Richaiu T. Ritenbaugh, "The mustaiu
plant itself giows to about foui feet high, anu it will senu up a
stalk with some spinuly little bianches on it, anu it has floweis.

2
Bible Plants: Nustaiu. 0lu Bominion 0niveisity.
http:ww2.ouu.euu~lmusselmplantbiblemustaiu.php

196
Nustaiu plants have been known to giow as high as about 1S
to 2u feet-but they'ie still not a tiee. With theii spinuly stalk,
anu theii spinuly little bianches, they may iesemble a tiee, but
they'ie not a tiee. In fact one man tolu my uau, anu it was
ielayeu to me, that even when they get kinu of big, they'ie still
not steauythey can haiuly holu a humming biiu's nest."
S

The mustaiu is a heib. A giown black mustaiu woulu
still be a heib, botanically speaking, but sometimes a veiy big
heib, populaily consiueieu a shiub.
4
Yet, }esus tells us that
when this mustaiu-seeu is giown, it is the "gieatest among the
heib, anu becomes a tiee" (veise S2); that is to say, "it
uevelopeu into something entiiely foieign to its veiy natuie
anu constitution"
S
. Theiefoie, what Chiist uesciibes heie is a
monstrosity.
What uo the biius iepiesent. 0ne possible answei is
founu by ievisiting the context of the paiable. The man is a
faimei planting an heib gaiuen. Be plants this tiny seeu in his
fielu, but it becomes a tiee so laige that it attiacts the biius to
make theii homes theie. Taken out of context, this image of the
biius may seem pleasant. Bowevei, biius aie usually an
unwelcome piesence in a gaiuen, foi they eat up all the seeu,
as poitiayeu in the paiable of the sowei, wheie some of his
seeus get eaten up by the biius befoie they have a chance to
giow. The biius, then, may be seen to iepiesent false teacheis
who, when the chuich becomes laige, will be able to come anu
make theii home in it, pieventing it fiom biinging foith much
fiuit.
Pink also says: "But we uo not have to go outsiue of
Natthew 1S itself to uiscovei what Chiist iefeiieu to unuei the
figuie of these "biius." The uieek woiu in veise S2 is piecisely
the same as that which is ienueieu "fowls" in veise 4, which
aie explaineu in veise 19 as "the wickeu." Bow, then, can this

S
Seimon: Paiables of Natthew 1S (Pait 2): The Paiable of the Leaven. Pieacheu by
Richaiu T. Ritenbaugh on 2u
th
Sept 1997 at the Chuich of the uieat uou.
4
Bible Plants: Nustaiu
S

197
gieat "tiee" iepiesent the tiue Chuich of Chiist, while its
bianches affoiu sheltei foi the Bevil anu his emissaiies."

Hidden Treasure

The inteipietation of this paiable by Bi. }ohn uill
iepiesents that of most Chiistians. Be tells us that the tieasuie
in this paiable is "the uospel," that the fielu in which the
tieasuie is hiuuen is "the Sciiptuies," anu that the man who
sought anu founu the tieasuie is "an elect anu awakeneu
sinnei."
6

Consequently, the message of the paiable in question
heie becomes this: a sinnei who becomes spiiitual awakeneu
anu finus the uospel in the Sciiptuies, goes anu sells all that he
has to possess it. Although it is the intent of the paiable to
show the immense value to the "hiuuen tieasuie", such that a
man is moveu to sell all he has to obtain it, it haiuly evei
happens in ieal life. Few has given up all foi the sake of the
gospel.
Is Bi. uill (anu the millions of Chiistians who agiee with
him) iight.
Let us examine the Sciiptuie anu see.
In the fiist anu seconu paiable (in this chaptei), the fielu
is the woilu. Likewise, we have been tolu who the man (who
went out to sow) in the fiist two paiables is: the Loiu }esus
Bimself tells us that, "Be that sows the goou seeu is the Son of
man" (v. S7). This being so, how coulu the fielu anu the man
mean something (anu someone) uiffeient in this fifth paiable.
0sing this inteipietation, the paiable now has a
uiffeient message. Thiough this paiable, }esus was telling Bis
uisciples what Be woulu soon uo - the giving of Bimself in
ueath - anu the ieason foi it: so that Be coulu ieueem the
woilu fiom its sins.

6
}ohn uill's Exposition of the Bible. Natthew 1S:44

198
Pearl of great price

Similaily, the next paiable - the Paiable of the Peail of uieat
Piice - is about what the Son of Nan is willing to uo in oiuei to
have the peail of gieat piice. We, mankinu, is the peail of gieat
piice in Bis eyes; anu inueeu Be has paiu the highest piice
anyone can pay foi it.

Dragnet

We have come to the seventh anu last paiable in this chaptei of
Natthew's naiiative. But befoie we uiscuss its inteipietation it
is impoitant to unueistanu the significance of the aiiangement
of all seven paiables.
Accoiuing to Pink, "The fiist one stanus out by itself,
being uistinguisheu fiom the othei six that follow by the
omission of the opening clause "the kinguom of heaven is like
unto". The fiist paiable is not a similituue of the kinguom of
heaven; the last six aie. The fiist paiable tieats of a
piepaiatoiy woik, uone piioi to the intiouuction of the
kinguom of heaven in its piesent foim; that intiouuctoiy woik
being the bioaucast sowing of the seeu; fiist by the Loiu
Bimself, afteiwaius by the apostles."
7

The six paiables that follow may be uiviueu into two
gioups of thiee. The fiist thiee weie spoken by }esus fiom a
boat to the multituue stanuing on the shoie. In them, }esus
piesents the "moie public aspect of the kinguom of heaven in
its piesent foim - the kinguom of heaven in this woilu as it is
seen by men".
The last thiee, on the othei hanu, weie tolu to the
uisciples in piivate, aftei Be hau sent the multituue away.
Thiough the last thiee paiables, }esus was ievealing to Bis
uisciples the hiuuen aspects of the kinguom of heaven, that
which is not visible to the woilu.

7
The Piophetic Paiables of Natthew 1S by A.W. Pink Chaptei 7: The Paiable of the
Biagnet http:www.pbministiies.oigbookspinkPaiablespaiables_u7.htm

199
Taken togethei, the seven paiables foim a "piophetical
outline of Chiistenuom" uuiing Chiist's absence fiom the eaith.
We have seen how the fifth anu sixth paiables point to the
ieuemption of the woilu by Chiist's ueath on the cioss. 0ne
man was all that was neeueu to accomplish ieuemption. But to
uo the final woik - of casting anu uiawing anu sepaiating - the
help of angels will be iequiieu.
This last paiable, as you can see, speaks of the final
haivest of souls that woulu take place just befoie the Bay of
the Loiu, when angels will cast the "net" into the sea (the
woilu) anu gathei the souls of men on the eaith. 0nce this is
uone, the task of sepaiating the wickeu fiom the just iemains.
The wickeu will be cast into the fuinace of fiie, anu "theie will
be wailing anu gnashing of teeth" (veise Su).


2uu
chapter 22

Waiting for the Kingdom

The next time the phiase "The kinguom of heaven is like."
appeais in Natthew's gospel naiiative is in chaptei 2S wheie
we finu two familiai paiables: the Paiable of the Ten viigins
anu the Paiable of the Talents. Thiough them, }esus was telling
Bis people what they ought to be uoing while they wait foi the
kinguom of uou to aiiive. These two paiables will be the focal
point of this chaptei.

Parable of the Ten Virgins

"The kinguom of heaven is like ten viigins." In the Bible, ten is
almost always useu to iepiesent completeness anu Bivine
oiuei. Notice that theie weie 1u Commanuments, 1u clauses in
the Loiu's Piayei, 1u plagues that afflicteu Egypt, the tithe
consisteu of 1u peicent of one's inciease, anu heie we have ten
viigins.
In this paiable, }esus uiviues Bis listeneis into two
gioups: the "wise" anu the "foolish". If }esus weie, heie,
speaking to the multituue, it not be wiong to concluue that the
wise anu foolish (viigins) iepiesent the iegeneiateu anu un-
iegeneiateu iespectively. But, the fact is, }esus was not
speaking to the multituue; Be was speaking to Bis uisciples on
the Nount of 0lives (See Natt 24:S). So, the wise anu foolish
(viigins) aie iefeiences to two sub-gioups within "the Biiue",
which compiises the Elect. Let me explain.

2u1
Eailiei, in Natthew 7, }esus hau alieauy categoiically
stateu that not eveiy one who calls Bim "Loiu, loiu" will entei
the kinguom of heaven, but "the one who uoes the will of Bis
Fathei in heaven" (Natt 7:21). These, }esus says, aie the ones
Be knows. To those who uo not uo the Fathei's will, }esus will
say, "I nevei knew you; uepait fiom Ne, you woikeis of
lawlessness" (veise 2S).
The twelve uisciples, whom }esus hau chosen anu
appointeu as "apostles", piesumably belong to the gioup that is
known by Bim. Even then, within this gioup of uoeis of the
Fathei' will, theie aie the "wise" anu the "foolish". The wise
hau ample supply of oil that lasteu till the Biiuegioom aiiiveu
anu so weie alloweu to paiticipate in the celebiations. The
foolish, on the hanu, weien't as ieauy, anu they weie left out of
the celebiations.
This is a haiu tiuth to swallow inueeu; but it is the
tiuth, nonetheless, that election uoes not automatically mean
salvation. It is impeiative, theiefoie, that you "woik out youi
own salvation with feai anu tiembling" (Phil 2:12). Those who
ignoie this might finu themselves suipiiseu at the Enu.

Who aie the "foolish viigins".
0utwaiuly, the foolish viigins uo not uiffei fiom the
wise. Accoiuing to A. W. Pink, they "iepiesent not the
iiieligious anu immoial, but unsaveu chuich membeis . who
have nevei expeiienceu a miiacle of giace in theii heaits.
Though having lamps in theii hanus, they hau no oil "in theii
vessels" (veises S anu 4)no giace in theii souls!"
0nsaveu chuich membeis. Is that even possible.
Ceitainly. They aie the "taies" that }esus spoke of in anothei
paiable (Natt 1S:24-Su). They, says }esus, aie sown by the
"enemy", Satan, "among the wheat" (tiue believeis). In the
paiable, the seivants weie piohibiteu fiom tiying to iemove
the taies because in the piocess they might (oi most piobably
will) "upioot the wheat with them". The taies must be alloweu
to "giow togethei until the haivest" (veise Su). When haivest
time comes, the taies will be gatheieu, bounu anu buineu

2u2
while the wheat will be gatheieu into the bain (see also Rev
14:19).
}uuas was an example of an "unsaveu chuich membei",
a taie. Be was chosen anu appointeu to be an apostle with the
eleven. Be heaiu eveiy teaching given by the Loiu. Be was a
witness to all the miiacles }esus peifoimeu; even uiu one oi
two himself. (0n that uay many will say to me, 'Loiu, Loiu, uiu
we not piophesy in youi name, anu cast out uemons in youi
name, anu uo many mighty woiks in youi name.') Anu he
walkeu with the Loiu. Yet, in spite of all this, theie was a pait
of }uuas that was un-toucheu, un-iegeneiateu. Consequently,
Satan was able to secuie a footholu in his life, which he uiu not
hesitate to capitalize on when the time came. Bue to his gieeu
foi money, }uuas "solu" }esus to the authoiities foi "Su pieces
of silvei" (Natt 26:1S). But, in tiuth, Su pieces of silvei was the
value }uuas placeu on his own soul.
Whethei oi not Satan planteu }uuas, like a taie, among
the othei eleven uisciples we might nevei know. What we
know is that }esus calleu him a "son of peiuition"
1
, meaning "a
man uoomeu to eteinal uestiuction". In spite of this, }esus
nevei stoppeu loving him, neithei uiu Be give up tiying to get
}uuas to iepent of what he was about to uo - by offeiing him a
moisel of bieau (}ohn 1S:26).
In the same way, following in oui Nastei's example,
we shoulu nevei juuge one anothei - especially the spiiitually
weak - but iathei "aumonish the iule, encouiage the
faintheaiteu, help the weak, be patient with them all" (1 Thess
S:14). No one can say foi suie that he (oi she) will not be
anothei "}uuas" because "the heait is ueceitful above all things
anu uespeiately sick" (}ei 17:9). You might be walking close to
the Loiu touay, but the ueceitfulness of sin will cause youi
heait to become haiueneu, filling it with unbelief until you "fall

1
A veiy goou pictuie of a peison who is a "son of peiuition" appeais in Bebiews 6:4-8,
which uesciibes a peison who, like }uuas, has expeiienceu a ceitain closeness to uou anu
has a goou unueistanuing of salvation, but then uenies it. Insteau of beaiing goou fiuit he
beais "thoins anu thistles." This is a peison who sees the path to salvation, which is
tiusting in uou's giace to covei sin (Ephesians 2:8-9), anu insteau eithei flatly uenies the
existence of uou oi uenies uou's gift of salvation, piefeiiing to pay theii own uebt. }uuas
chose the seconu path, punishing himself by suiciue insteau of accepting giace.

2uS
away fiom the living uou". To guaiu against this, the wiitei of
Bebiews stiongly iecommenus that we "exhoit one anothei
eveiy uay, as long as it is calleu 'touay'" (Beb S:1S).

"The kinguom of heaven will be like ten viigins who took theii
lamps anu went to meet the biiuegioom." Next we see that the
ten viigins weie caiiying lamps in theii hanus. This ieminus
me of }esus telling Bis uisciples that they aie the "light of the
woilu" (Natt S:14). Notice that Be uiu not say, "you have the
light", oi "be a light". Insteau Be saiu "you aie the light" anu
"let youi light shine befoie otheis, so that they may see youi
goou woiks anu give gloiy to youi Fathei who is in heaven".
Sounus simple. But, theie is moie to it than meets the eye.
To accuiately unueistanu what }esus meant heie, we must
know the paits of the lamp (useu in those uays) anu how it
piouuces light.
In }esus' uay, the instiument of illumination was the oil
lamp, which consisteu of a vessel to contain oil anu a wick that
emeiges fiom it. Light is piouuceu in the lamp when an
exteinal flame is intiouuceu to the oil-soakeu wick. Anu the
wick will continue to buin (anu piouuce light) as long as theie
is oil in the vessel. }esus was using this metaphoi to help Bis
uisciples unueistanu how they woulu latei - when the Boly
Spiiit baptizes them - become "the light of the woilu".
You, too, aie the light of the woilu. You aie the "vessel"
anu the "oil" is the giace of uou that is given to you with the
Boly Spiiit. As long as the oil iemains in the vessel, it will not
piouuce light. Foi the lamp to fulfill its puipose, it neeus a wick.
The wick caiiies the oil out of the vessel wheie it is set ablaze
in a contiolleu mannei. But what uoes this all mean.
The giace of uou has been thus fai seen as "uou's
unueseiveu favoi, Bis unmeiiteu love".
2
While tiue, the giace
of uou is not limiteu to this. It is something that uou gives us oi
uoes foi us oi enables us to uo that we uiu not in any way eain,
oi ueseive, oi meiit. Stiong uefines "giace" as "the uivine
influence upon the heait, anu its ieflection in the life." In this

2
}. I. Packei, "uou's Woius", Inteivaisity Piess, 1981 (papeiback) p.96

2u4
sense, giace can be seen as the powei of uou woiking in us to
enable us to uo anu be what Be wants us to be. It is uou's giace
that makes it possible foi us to live in obeuience to his will.
But the Will of uou is both absolute anu uynamic. It is
absolute in that what Be has uecieeu fiom the beginning will
come to pass in the enu. An example of this woulu be that "all
Isiael will be saveu" (Rom 11:26) anu that Chiist, the seeu of
the woman, will biuise the heau of the seipent, who is Satan.
The Will of uou is uynamic because it vaiies fiom
situation to situation. Bow then will you know what uou's will
is in a paiticulai situation. By listening to the voice of the
Spiiit within you. When you tune youi spiiitual eais to Bis
voice, the Boly Spiiit will piompt you with a veise of Sciiptuie
oi a commanu of Chiist that will be applicable to the situation
you'ie in. Youi obeuience to the Spiiit is the "goou woik" that
you uo befoie men; anu when they see it, they will "give gloiy
to youi Fathei in heaven" (Natt S:16).
Put anothei way: the giace of uou must have its
expiession thiough youi woius anu ueeus. The wick in the
lamp is the means by which uou's giace is expiesseu. When
you aie not obeuient to the Spiiit's leauing, you pievent uou's
giace fiom being manifesteu. Then, as Paul says, you have
ieceiveu the giace of uou "in vain" (2 Coi 6:1).
This biings to minu anothei exhoitation by the wiitei of
Bebiews. This time it is fiom the tenth chaptei:
"Anu let us consiuei how to stii up one anothei to love
anu goou woiks, not neglecting to meet togethei, as is the
habit of some, but encouiaging one anothei, anu all the
moie as you see the Bay uiawing neai." (Beb 1u:24-2S)

The quality of Chiistian Fellowship is not measuieu by the
amount of time Chiistians spenu togethei, but by what they uo
when they aie togethei. The wiitei of Bebiews has given us a
useful suggestion of what we can uo when we gathei togethei.
In fact, I woulu like to submit to you that this be the main
agenua foi oui meetings, eveiy time, because the Bay is
uiawing neai.


2uS

Parable of the Talents

The Paiable of the Talents is anothei one that touches on the
kinguom that is coming, anu teaches us how we shoulu live as
we wait foi it.

In the paiable, a mastei entiusts his wealth (oi "talents" in
some tianslations) to his thiee seivants just befoie embaiking
on a long jouiney. "To one he gave five talents, to anothei two,
to anothei one, to each accoiuing to his ability." }ust what aie
these talents that weie uistiibuteu.
Nost people believe that the "talents" heie iefei to oui
natuial talents. 0theis have auueu spiiitual gifts to its meaning.
Aie they iight. While I agiee that oui natuial talents anu
spiiitual gifts aie all given to us by uou anu we aie calleu to be
goou stewaius of them, I uo not think that this was what }esus
hau in minu when Be spoke this paiable.
Without a uoubt, the "man" in the paiable iepiesents the
Loiu Bimself; anu Be hau embaikeu on a long jouiney. Be is
now with the Fathei, anu has been with Bim foi the past two
thousanu yeais, anu moie. To piopeily unueistanu what the
"talents" mean, we must ask ouiselves "What uiu }esus give to
Bis seivants when Be left."
Cleaily, it is the Boly Spiiit; anu with Bim, we also
ieceiveu the Fathei's love anu giace. }ust as I have saiu eailiei,
the things we have ieceiveu fiom the Fathei thiough the Boly
Spiiit aie not foi oui benefit alone. They enable us to be a
blessing to otheis as well.
}ohn says that, "we love because Be fiist loveu us" (1 }ohn
4:19). By this, he means that you will not be able to love otheis
unless you have fiist expeiienceu uou's love. Anu if uou has
inueeu loveu us, "we also ought to love one anothei" (veise 11).
Each of us has also ieceiveu uou's giace, oi cborismoto.
But the measuie of giace that each of us aie given uiffei fiom
one anothei. It is the Boly Spiiit who uistiibutes "to each one
inuiviuually as Be will" (1 Coi 12:11). This is in line with the
paiable that we aie uiscussing heie - the mastei uiu not

2u6
uistiibute the talents to his seivants equally, but accoiuing to
theii ability. Whatevei each one has ieceiveu, he was expecteu
to make use of them. Anu fiom how the mastei evaluateu each
of his seivants upon his ietuin, we know that he hau expecteu
them to make a piofit, oi to cause what they hau been given to
multiply.
Those who aie of the opinion that the "talents" in this
paiable iepiesents oui natuial talents anu spiiitual gifts, they
woulu concluue that the Loiu wants us to uevelop oui talents
anu gifts. While I uo not think that they aie completely wiong, I
believe that this unueistanuing is incomplete.
When wiiting his fiist epistle to the Coiinthian believeis,
Paul explains that the giace of uou in them may be expiesseu
in many uiffeient ways. It coulu sometimes be expiesseu as
Jiokonio (oi ministiies), anu at otheis times as enerqemo (oi
activities). We cannot, anu shoulu not, limit what the Spiiit
wants to uo oi how Be wishes to expiess uou's giace thiough
us. Conventional teaching on the Spiiitual uifts has causeu
Chiistians to think that the giace of uou can be expiesseu in
only way in each believei. In othei woius, theie is one gift foi
one believei. If this is so, then what aie we to uo with }ohn
14:12, wheie }esus says, "Tiuly, tiuly, I say to you, whoevei
believes in me will also uo the woiks that I uo".
What weie the woiks that }esus uiu uuiing Bis ministiy
on the eaith.
In Bis own woius, }esus saiu that Be was anointeu "to
pioclaim goou news to the pooi"; "to pioclaim libeity to the
captives anu iecoveiing of sight to the blinu"; "to set at libeity
those who aie oppiesseu"; anu "to pioclaim the yeai of the
Loiu's favoi" (Luke 4:18-19). Accoiuing to the fiist half of }ohn
14:12, those who believe in Bim will be able to uo the above.
But wait. That's not all. }esus goes on to say that "gieatei
woiks than these will he uo, because I am going to the Fathei".
This cleaily uebunks that notion that theie is only one gift foi
each believei. If we woulu only believe anu allow the Boly
Spiiit to have Bis way in us, then we will be able to uo all
things.

2u7
Foi a long time, I have believeu that I hau the spiiitual gift
of teaching. Inueeu, many have complimenteu me on how well
I teach anu convey spiiitual tiuths anu piinciples plainly anu
accuiately.
Then one uay, the Boly Spiiit showeu me that teaching
was inueeu not "my spiiitual gift" but a talent I've hau fiom
biith. I was stunneu, as you can imagine, but only foi a while.
Since then I have alloweu the Boly Spiiit to use me in othei
ways: in piophecy, in healing, in woiu of knowleuge anu
wisuom, anu so on.
You, too, can be a piofitable seivant of uou. Simply let the
Boly Spiiit expiess the giace of uou thiough you in teims of
ministiies anu activities.

chapter 23

Thy Kingdom Come

The Sabbath has just enueu anu a gioup of women weie
making way to the tomb in which the bouy of theii Loiu hau
been buiieu a few uays eailiei. As they aiiiveu, the place was
shaken by an unexpecteu eaithquake. The cause: An angel of
the Loiu hau uescenueu fiom heaven anu has iolleu away the
stone (that coveieu the entiance to the tomb) anu was sitting
on it.
"Be is not heie, but has iisen," the angel tolu the women.
"uo quickly anu tell his uisciples that he has iisen fiom the
ueau, anu beholu, he is going befoie you to ualilee; theie you
will see him." With "feai anu gieat joy" (Natt 28:8) they ian to
tell the uisciples what the angel of the Loiu hau saiu.
In the meantime, the guaius, who weie on uuty at the
tomb, weie teiiifieu by the sight of the angel anu ian away.
They ietuineu to the city anu iepoiteu the whole mattei to the
chief piiests, who, in tuin, biibeu them to say: "Bis uisciples
came by night anu stole him away while we weie asleep"
(veise 1S). The guaius took the money anu uiu as they weie
tolu. This was how the iumoi staiteu, anu it spieau wiuely
among the }ews.
If no one hau seen }esus, the iumoi woulu have been
pioven tiue; but that was not to be. 0vei a peiiou of foity uays
}esus appeaieu to many of Bis uisciples, to as many as five
hunuieu at one time (1 Coi 1S:6). To the eleven, }esus
appeaieu once in }eiusalem anu then again on a mountain in

2u9
ualilee. (Natt 28:16). It was heie that }esus gave them the
uieat Commission: "All authoiity in heaven anu on eaith has
been given to me. uo theiefoie anu make uisciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fathei anu of the
Son anu of the Boly Spiiit, teaching them to obseive all that I
have commanueu you. Anu beholu, I am with you always, to
the enu of the age."
Fiom ualilee, }esus anu Bis uisciples tiaveleu back to
}eiusalem, wheie Be oiueieu them "not to uepait . but to wait
foi the piomise of the Fathei" (Acts 1:4). By this, as you know
by now, Be was iefeiiing to the Boly Spiiit that woulu be
pouieu out on the Bay of Pentecost. Then, just befoie
ascenuing into heaven fiom the Nount of 0lives, Bis uisciples
queiieu: "Loiu, will you at this time iestoie the kinguom to
Isiael." (Acts 1:6).
In asking this question, the uisciples might seem, to many,
to be cainally-minueu, wanting only an political kinguom on
eaith insteau of a spiiitual one in heaven. Tiuth is: theii
unueistanuing of the kinguom was baseu on tiauitional
}uuaism. Like it oi not, it is haiu to unleain what has been
believeu by geneiations of }ews.
}ews, up till }esus uay, have believeu that theie will come
one who will be anointeu as king in the Enu of Bays. Accoiuing
to tiauitional }uuaism
1
,
|tjhe mosbiocb will be a gieat political leauei uescenueu
fiom King Baviu (}eiemiah 2S:S). The mosbiocb is often
iefeiieu to as "mosbiocb ben BoviJ" (mosbiocb, son of
Baviu). Be will be well-veiseu in }ewish law, anu
obseivant of its commanuments (Isaiah 11:2-S). Be will
be a chaiismatic leauei, inspiiing otheis to follow his
example. Be will be a gieat militaiy leauei, who will win
battles foi Isiael. Be will be a gieat juuge, who makes
iighteous uecisions (}eiemiah SS:1S). But above all, he
will be a human being, not a gou, uemi-gou oi othei
supeinatuial being.

1
}uuaism1u1. The Nashiach: the Nessiah.

21u

Baving been with }esus foi ovei thiee yeais, the
uisciples, anu othei }ews as well, hau come to believe that
}esus is the "Hosbiocb". If so, why then uiu the }ews not believe
in }esus.
Well, that's because tiauitional }uuaism also believes
that "in eveiy geneiation, a peison is boin with the potential to
be the mosbiocb. If the time is iight foi the messianic age
within that peison's lifetime, then that peison will be the
mosbiocb. But if that peison uies befoie he completes the
mission of the mosbiocb, then that peison is not the mosbiocb."
Put simply: it was because }esus uieu without usheiing in the
Nessianic Age, the }ews concluueu that Be was not the
Hosbiocb they hau been waiting foi.

Coming back to the question by the uisciples about iestoiing
the kinguom to Isiael. What was }esus' answei to them.
Be nevei saiu that Be was not the Nashiach. Neithei uiu Be say
that the kinguom woulu not be iestoieu to Isiael. What Be saiu
was this: That "it is not foi you to know times oi seasons that
the Fathei has fixeu by his own authoiity" (Acts 1:7).
This simple statement means uiffeient things to uiffeient
people. To the uisciples, }esus was meiely ieplying to theii
queiy about the timing of the iestoiation of the kinguom to
Isiael. The answei they ieceiveu: only the Fathei knows when
it will happen. Chiistians, on the othei hanu, take this as a
iefeience to the Seconu Coming of Chiist, when Be will
establish Bis kinguom eteinally on the eaith. But what uiu
}esus mean.
If }esus was inueeu speaking about Bis Retuin (oi Seconu
Coming), what then must we unueistanu Bis piophecy six
months piioi to Bis ciucifixion. The piophecy is expiesseu in
all thiee synoptic accounts.

Truly, l soy to you, tbere ore some stonJinq bere wbo will not
toste Jeotb until tbey see tbe Son of Hon cominq in bis
kinqJom." {Hott 16:28)

211

"Truly, l soy to you, tbere ore some stonJinq bere wbo will
not toste Jeotb until tbey see tbe kinqJom of 6oJ ofter it bos
come witb power." {Hork 9:1)

But l tell you truly, tbere ore some stonJinq bere wbo will not
toste Jeotb until tbey see tbe kinqJom of 6oJ." {luke 9:27)

Bow woulu it be possible foi any of }esus uisciples to be living
when Be ietuins foi the seconu time. Cleaily, Acts 1:7 uoes
not iefei to the Seconu Coming.only. I wish to submit to you
that Jesus here was speaking about the outpouring of the Spirit on
Pentecost Day.
The circumstances of the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2,
perfectly fit the details of Jesus prophecy concerning the coming
kingdom. For example, most of the disciples that were with Jesus
during His earthly ministry were also present in the upper room
when the Holy Spirit was given. And, as Jesus prophesized, the
kingdom did come with power in two ways. First, it didnt come
quietly, but with a sound like a mighty rushing wind which was
audible to everyone (Acts 2:2, 6). And, secondly, it had such an
effect on the disciples that they began to speak with other tongues
(Acts 2:4). The one most impacted by this power was, perhaps,
Peter. In the midst of the confusion, he stood up and began to
address the curious crowd. Because of what he said, the people
were cut to the heart (Acts 2:37). Luke records that with many
other words (Peter) bore witness and continued to exhort them,
saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those
who received his word were baptized, and there were added that
day about three thousand souls (verses 40 and 41).
With the outpouring of the Spirit, the disciples of Jesus were
empowered and emboldened. Everywhere they went, they
preached about Christ and about the kingdom of God. Signs and
wonders were performed them. Indeed, the disciples were not just
doing what Jesus had done; they were doing greater works
because Jesus had gone to the Father (John 14:12). In doing so,
they were being true and faithful witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem,

212
in Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). In spite
of this, what the world was witnessing, as a result of the works of
the apostles, was but a foreshadow of the coming kingdom of
Christ that has no end (Luke 1:33).

My Journey Towards The Kingdom of God

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My Journey Towards The Kingdom of God

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