God has made Mount Zion his address forever.
A week or so ago, I was led to read 2 passages (one after another) that talks about God's permanent change of address from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion. I only realised the significance of the passages I was being led to read when the second passage popped up. No coincidence that one after another a phrase on mountains and Zion was shown to me I feel. It was as if God wanted me to meditate on these 2 verses and drink from them.
So I drank and fed and wow... it was a buffet spread. =D
Psalm 68:15-16
15-16 You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.
All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
He'll rule from this mountain forever.
According to the NASB version it goes like this:
Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks, At the mountain which God has desired for His abode? Surely the LORD will dwell there forever.
The word "desired" means to delight in or chamad in Hebrew, which is defined in the Lexicon as -- beauty, greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, (great) delight, desire, goodly, lust, (be) pleasant (thing), precious (thing).
When I read the definition, I could not help but recall Phil 4:8. In that verse, we are being asked to meditate on the things God desires, to dwell on Mount Zion, not park at Mount Sinai.
A commentary states:
Mountains are often symbols of nations (Ps 46:2; 65:6). That of Bashan, northeast of Palestine, denotes a heathen nation, which is described as a "hill of God," or a great hill. Such are represented as envious of the hill (Zion) on which God resides (- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
----------------------------------------------------@
The next verse I was led to was as follows:
Joel 3:18-21 (and really I seldom ever ever flip to or read the book of Joel lol)
Milk Rivering Out of the Hills
18-21 "What a day!
Wine streaming off the mountains,
Milk rivering out of the hills,
water flowing everywhere in Judah,
A fountain pouring out of God's Sanctuary,
watering all the parks and gardens!
But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot,
Edom turned into barren badlands,
All because of brutalities to the Judean people,
the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents.
Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,
Jerusalem inhabited forever.
The sins I haven't already forgiven, I'll forgive."
God has moved into Zion for good.
In v12, it further says "Let the pagan nations set out for Judgement Valley (YLT/ Lexicon: valley of Jehoshaphat - which means Jehovah-judged)" - the pagans are being called to the judgement seat of God, not the believers. This is because Christ was judged guilty for our sins already thus there is therefore now no more condemnation in those of us who are in Him. =D
It is clear is it not? God has moved into Zion for good - permanent change of address. What is interesting is that the OT talks about God's moving plans so clearly, talks about His intentions to move and reveals when He will move, NT reveals how he has moved already, and yet people are still heading to Mount Sinai to seek Him.
If you have been informed by your friend that he/she has moved from her old place of residence to a new place of residence, would you still write to them or look for them at their old address?
No right? The address is already obsolete! For all you know someone is replying to mail sent to that address falsely, using it to cause a rift between you and the your friend out of sheer mischief and evilness of heart.
So why do we still persist in seeking God at His old address which is of a fading glory, instead of His new address where His glory now shnes through the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ?
Another phrase I was just led to says,
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. - Obadiah 1:17 (another book I hardly ever read unless led to)
So what do we know now about God's change of address?
1) No more Sinai, it is at Zion
2) The change is PERMANENT (He isn't living on both mountains)
3) Wine flows from it, milk streams down its hills, water flows everywhere - it is not a dusty, dry wilderness where the devil roams in
4) Deliverance takes place on that mountain
5) It is HOLY
6) We will possess our possessions on Zion - restoration!!
"Eh House of Jacob possessed their possessions on Zion... not us Christians!"
FYI Jacob means supplanter or heel-catcher and house means Family. Since we are heirs to the promises of Abrahaim in Christ, we are also in Jacob's spiritual family. And we have supplanted and overcome the devil in Christ!
And I love the Hebrew word used in this passage to say "shall possess" - "yarash". The Lexicon defines it as:
shall possess
yarash (yaw-rash')
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin
Hallelujah!
Has the devil robbed you? You will yarash your posessions by expeling and driving him out. And praise the LORD we bind the strongman (devil) and rob his kingdom (of darkness). We have inheritance as heirs to the promises God made to Abraham, Christ has paid the curses so we have the good, not the bad. And Woohoo! This all takes place on ZION where the LORD's grace and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives**.
==========================
** So what goodness are we talking about? What is this goodness that stalks us and hunts us down and blesses us????
===========================
Scripture repeatedly tells us that we will be overwhelmed by His blessings because when God blesses, there is an overflow, an abundance. Our God has such a big heart!!
It also says that the blessings of God will literally seek us out and hunt us down until they find us!
Let us remember thought that it clearly says that the blessings will seek us out – in no way are we to first seek the blessings of God before seeking God himself!. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you." Not the reverse =D
I look at those people around me who lead blessed, abundant and overflowing lives and I realise a lot of them seek God first, seek God hard - and because they seek Him with such fervour, God seeks to bless them with equal fervour!
Romans 8:32 ‘He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’
So how gracious do you think your God is?
Let us not, by our own understanding and presumption, limit our wonderful Heavenly Daddy. He graciously gives us ALL things, not some things, not a few things.
Deuteronomy 28:2 ‘All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God’
What blessings? The blessings that Jesus has qualified us for by His death and victory on the Cross:
Deut 28:3-12
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
On Mount Zion, we are promised when we show good stewardship:
Malachi 3:10 ‘ See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’
And why are does God bless us abundantly insteaf of just-nice, or so-so or barely enough?
Beacuse -
2 Corinthians 9:8 ‘God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’
2 Corinthians 9:11 ‘You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’
So I drank and fed and wow... it was a buffet spread. =D
Psalm 68:15-16
15-16 You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.
All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
He'll rule from this mountain forever.
According to the NASB version it goes like this:
Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks, At the mountain which God has desired for His abode? Surely the LORD will dwell there forever.
The word "desired" means to delight in or chamad in Hebrew, which is defined in the Lexicon as -- beauty, greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, (great) delight, desire, goodly, lust, (be) pleasant (thing), precious (thing).
When I read the definition, I could not help but recall Phil 4:8. In that verse, we are being asked to meditate on the things God desires, to dwell on Mount Zion, not park at Mount Sinai.
A commentary states:
Mountains are often symbols of nations (Ps 46:2; 65:6). That of Bashan, northeast of Palestine, denotes a heathen nation, which is described as a "hill of God," or a great hill. Such are represented as envious of the hill (Zion) on which God resides (- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
----------------------------------------------------@
The next verse I was led to was as follows:
Joel 3:18-21 (and really I seldom ever ever flip to or read the book of Joel lol)
Milk Rivering Out of the Hills
18-21 "What a day!
Wine streaming off the mountains,
Milk rivering out of the hills,
water flowing everywhere in Judah,
A fountain pouring out of God's Sanctuary,
watering all the parks and gardens!
But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot,
Edom turned into barren badlands,
All because of brutalities to the Judean people,
the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents.
Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,
Jerusalem inhabited forever.
The sins I haven't already forgiven, I'll forgive."
God has moved into Zion for good.
In v12, it further says "Let the pagan nations set out for Judgement Valley (YLT/ Lexicon: valley of Jehoshaphat - which means Jehovah-judged)" - the pagans are being called to the judgement seat of God, not the believers. This is because Christ was judged guilty for our sins already thus there is therefore now no more condemnation in those of us who are in Him. =D
It is clear is it not? God has moved into Zion for good - permanent change of address. What is interesting is that the OT talks about God's moving plans so clearly, talks about His intentions to move and reveals when He will move, NT reveals how he has moved already, and yet people are still heading to Mount Sinai to seek Him.
If you have been informed by your friend that he/she has moved from her old place of residence to a new place of residence, would you still write to them or look for them at their old address?
No right? The address is already obsolete! For all you know someone is replying to mail sent to that address falsely, using it to cause a rift between you and the your friend out of sheer mischief and evilness of heart.
So why do we still persist in seeking God at His old address which is of a fading glory, instead of His new address where His glory now shnes through the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ?
Another phrase I was just led to says,
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. - Obadiah 1:17 (another book I hardly ever read unless led to)
So what do we know now about God's change of address?
1) No more Sinai, it is at Zion
2) The change is PERMANENT (He isn't living on both mountains)
3) Wine flows from it, milk streams down its hills, water flows everywhere - it is not a dusty, dry wilderness where the devil roams in
4) Deliverance takes place on that mountain
5) It is HOLY
6) We will possess our possessions on Zion - restoration!!
"Eh House of Jacob possessed their possessions on Zion... not us Christians!"
FYI Jacob means supplanter or heel-catcher and house means Family. Since we are heirs to the promises of Abrahaim in Christ, we are also in Jacob's spiritual family. And we have supplanted and overcome the devil in Christ!
And I love the Hebrew word used in this passage to say "shall possess" - "yarash". The Lexicon defines it as:
shall possess
yarash (yaw-rash')
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin
Hallelujah!
Has the devil robbed you? You will yarash your posessions by expeling and driving him out. And praise the LORD we bind the strongman (devil) and rob his kingdom (of darkness). We have inheritance as heirs to the promises God made to Abraham, Christ has paid the curses so we have the good, not the bad. And Woohoo! This all takes place on ZION where the LORD's grace and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives**.
==========================
** So what goodness are we talking about? What is this goodness that stalks us and hunts us down and blesses us????
===========================
Scripture repeatedly tells us that we will be overwhelmed by His blessings because when God blesses, there is an overflow, an abundance. Our God has such a big heart!!
It also says that the blessings of God will literally seek us out and hunt us down until they find us!
Let us remember thought that it clearly says that the blessings will seek us out – in no way are we to first seek the blessings of God before seeking God himself!. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you." Not the reverse =D
I look at those people around me who lead blessed, abundant and overflowing lives and I realise a lot of them seek God first, seek God hard - and because they seek Him with such fervour, God seeks to bless them with equal fervour!
Romans 8:32 ‘He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’
So how gracious do you think your God is?
Let us not, by our own understanding and presumption, limit our wonderful Heavenly Daddy. He graciously gives us ALL things, not some things, not a few things.
Deuteronomy 28:2 ‘All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God’
What blessings? The blessings that Jesus has qualified us for by His death and victory on the Cross:
Deut 28:3-12
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
On Mount Zion, we are promised when we show good stewardship:
Malachi 3:10 ‘ See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’
And why are does God bless us abundantly insteaf of just-nice, or so-so or barely enough?
Beacuse -
2 Corinthians 9:8 ‘God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’
2 Corinthians 9:11 ‘You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’
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