Life Matters

a. Detailed Instructions to Protect the Family Structure

Israel was an extremely privileged nation to receive the law of God at Mt Sinai and many specific instructions on how to keep this law and therefore stay connected to the channel of blessing.

Many instructions were designed to teach Israelite families the critical nature of family relationships. Some of the instructions seem extremely harsh until we realize that the breakdown of the family unit is a direct path to tyranny, oppression and misery. Notice the following verses that God gave to Israel:

Lev 20:8-10 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you. 9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. 10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

A man who strikes his parents or curses them, shows clear evidence that he has rejected the channel of authority and blessing. Such a man is a danger to himself and society. Such actions reveal the seeds of tyranny and will certainly destroy a society if left unchecked. It was not God’s desire to put people to death, but for the Israelites to see in these instructions the terrible consequences of rebellion.

Many of us are familiar with the immense pain that comes to families when couples commit adultery. It smashes the family structure, strips away respect and puts a stain on the community. So dangerous are these actions that Israel had to understand that death would be the result.

These instructions seem excessive to many people, but we must remember that most people conceive the human race as possessing an independent life sources free to do as they wish rather than dependent on God for every breath. Such people do not see the crucial nature of family structures and see God as harsh. Once again the lie of the serpent confuses reality.

From the example of Isaac, Jacob and Esau we learnt the vital nature of choosing a correct partner. Israelites were not to marry people from other nations who would not understand the vital nature of the family structure. The story of Nehemiah reveals the urgency of this matter for the survival of God’s family relational system.

Neh 13:23-27 In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: 24 And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. 25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. 27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?

The marrying of strange wives by the Israelites was a direct echo of the antediluvian sons of God marrying the daughters of men. The result would be the same – tyranny. Nehemiah was urgent to prevent this from occurring.

Moses was given much instruction for the protection of the family structure. If Israel had been faithful, they never would have suffered the way they did. God laid out before them the blessings of following His counsel and the curses of failing to obey these instructions. In Leviticus 26, God lays out the key ingredients that we have discussed for connecting to and preserving the channel of blessing. Notice carefully:

Lev 26:1-6 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. 2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; 4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

1. The command to avoid idols was intended to preserve the relational/invisible perception of God. Idols made of material things would cause Israel to drift towards a power based value system and the hardening of relationships – as hard as the wood, stone and gold they would worship.
2. The command concerning the Sabbath was a reminder of the source of the life channel and who had created them.
3. The Sanctuary, as we discussed, provided the highway or journey for writing God’s protective law in their hearts.
4. The Ten Commandments (and the detailed instructions concerning this law), as we have noted, is the protector of the channel of blessing. The Sabbath and command not to worship idols is part of the commandments, but has been singled out for special focus.

God warned the Israelites that if they failed to cling to these principles they would be cursed and suffer oppression, sorrow and be scattered abroad.

Lev 26:14-17,28-33 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: 16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. … 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. 32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

When God’s people step out from the channel of blessing, He cannot protect them. He represents Himself as bringing these calamities upon His people, but the calamities are a natural reaping process of rejecting God’s family kingdom. God would use the curses as a father wishing to correct His wayward children; He would allow them to suffer the consequences of their bad choices and since He allows them to suffer, He takes the responsibility for what takes place.

b. Israel Turns Away From God

If Israel had faithfully followed these things, they would have had peace and prosperity and a life free from fear and war. Israel did start well but after Moses, Aaron, Joshua and all their peers died, a new generation arose who failed to preserve these principles.

Judg 2:8-12 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

The peace and prosperity that Israel experienced under Joshua’s leadership did not cause them to thank God, but rather caused them to slide into complacency. This trend has occurred many times in history and is a warning to us. Observe the western nations of today that were raised on Christian principles. Many of these nations became prosperous and wealthy and now all of them are slowly turning away from their original principles to serve materialism.

Israel turned from God to serve Baalim. Baalim was a god patterned after Nimrod’s worship system; a worship of the inherent power of nature and especially the sun. In turning away from the true God, Israel turned from the source of life. The husband and wife relationship was no longer patterned on headship and submission principles as reflected in the Father and Son relationship in heaven, but the deities worshipped were all based around inherent power. The loss of an example of a submissive agent spelt doom for Israel. It cut off the relational value system of heaven and raised a generation that became insecure, worthless and fearful.

The book of Judges details a litany of evils and sorrows that befell the Israelites. They were subdued by neighboring tribes and their families were desolated. The society became feminized because the role of a father to bless his children was lost. Men lost their courage due to their insecurity and lack of blessing. To help Israel escape from the tyranny of their enemies, God had to use the services of a woman, because the male leadership had been decimated.

Deborah was raised as a prophetess to assist Israel escape the tyranny they were under. Under the seed and nurture principles, she never would have taken the mantle of the leader of God’s people, but desperate times require desperate measures and God used the faithfulness of Deborah to deliver Israel. Deborah asked Barak to lead an army to route their enemies, but notice Barak’s response:

Judg 4:8-9 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. 9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Without the channel of blessing operating correctly, Barak was fearful and desired Deborah to hold his hand like a mother; as a result, the honour of victory would go to a woman who acted with courage.

This is the result of rejecting God’s family blessing system. As Isaiah states later on:

Isa 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

When women are required to lead God’s people, it is a sign that they are in deep apostasy and the channel of blessing is smashed. The headship and submission principles can never work correctly under female leadership, because this confuses male and female roles. But it was better for the Israelites to be delivered by the hands of a woman than to continue to suffer in bondage to their enemies – this would have been much worse.

It is no accident that the book of Judges presents Samson as a weak-willed womanizer who loved to joke around, have fun and terrorise people. This too is the result of the channel of blessing being broken. Again God made events work together to deliver His people from the bondage of their enemies, but Samson is a poor example of male leadership.

We see Samson’s unwise choice of a partner:

Judg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

Samson had no sense of the vital nature of choosing a faithful wife; all that mattered was that it pleased him. Samson had grown to be a selfish, self-centred boy in a man’s body.

Samson was indeed ruled by his desire for women. A man ruled by passion is a typical outcome when the relational blessing system is destroyed and God’s people turn away from the Father and Son, headship and submission pattern; to the inherent power equality models of Baal.

Samson, grinding at the mill of the Philistines, is a fitting example of God’s people turning away from the true God. He was wretched, poor, blind and naked; enslaved to a false value system and lacking the seeds of blessing that every man needs to be a wise and discerning leader.

c. Israel Enshrines the Inherent Power Belief System

After many years of trial and sorrow, God raised up a prophet – Samuel – to lead God’s people. Looking at the context of Samuel’s story, again we see the curse of the inherent power system in the life of Eli. He was not a man that could restrain his sons and be a strong leader. Samuel’s father was not a discerning man and does not appear to be the spiritual leader he should have been.

God used Samuel to bring Israel back to the worship system of God and he did a great work of reform, but even Samuel struggled to raise a family after God’s order and his sons failed to follow in the right path.

Samuel’s faltering steps as a father provided the leading men of Israel with the opportunity for which they had been seeking for some time.

1Sam 8:4-5 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

The Israelite leaders were not content to remain in family groups and be led by the benevolent leadership of the prophet. They wanted a Monarch that ruled absolutely. The desire for a King was a call for the principles of Nimrod. They wanted to be like the other nations. They did not want to be different and peculiar. Their insecurities could not deal with being different. This request was a complete rejection of God and His family kingdom principles.

1Sam 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

The desire for a king would ensure Israel’s ultimate destruction. Once they entered this path there would be no escape until they were completely ruled, not only in mind, but also in body. This is exactly what happened with the later captivity in Assyria and Babylon. Satan was on the verge of a great victory. If he could draw Israel into a desire for a king, he could enthrone his principles of family and government, patterned after Nimrod, and ensure the smashing of the family channel of blessing system.

Samuel pleaded with them to not do this, but they were determined.

1Sam 8:10-20 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

Everything that Samuel warned about – came to pass. They wanted a king to fight their battles for them. Their insecurities and lack of blessing caused them to lack courage and they revealed that they were boys in men’s bodies looking for a strong deliverer to protect them. The key point they overlooked is that the desolating effects of their broken society leave them hard pressed to produce a man that was courageous, strong and upright. Saul, to all appearances, looked the perfect choice, but he was but a child of insecurity, fear and worthlessness in a man’s body. His worthlessness caused him to rule as a moody tyrant.

This is a warning for the world today. Today we live in the soup of a feminized society that is revealing ever increasing tyranny and godlessness. Eventually the people will cry out for a deliverer to save them – but it will be a ruthless and heartless king like Nimrod without regard for true family values; not a king like Jesus who is the very embodiment of true blessing principles and Godly manhood.

d. The Kings of Israel

The results of Israel’s choice for a king are very sad. The foundations were never laid correctly and therefore the channel of blessing rarely flowed. As we stated, Saul bore all the hallmarks of an insecure cursed child.

When Saul saw David kill Goliath, he saw David as an opportunity, but when the people started to sing David’s praises for his courage in war, Saul then saw him as a threat.

1Sam 18:6-9 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. 7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

The opportunity and threat mentality is clear evidence of the serpent’s lie at work in Saul. His failure to recognize that all things come from God caused him to pursue David for the rest of his life. His insecurities and his lack of worth so overwhelmed him that he was constantly harassed by evil spirits.

1Sam 18:10-12 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit [allowed] from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. 11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

The rest of Saul’s life is a woeful tale of a man drowning in his own worthlessness; using his power to attack and destroy perceived and real threats, to secure his throne.

The Lord was with David, and his faith in God and trust in God’s power rather than his own, enabled him to be used to do mighty things. For whatever reason though, the lessons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob concerning family structure were not impressed upon him and he failed to establish his kingdom upon correct headship and submission principles.

2Sam 3:2-5 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

If David had known, he would have prayerfully sought for one wife that would act as a submissive nurturing agent to carefully raise his children and secure his kingdom. But David appears ignorant of these vital issues and builds the foundations of his kingdom upon several wives, including one wife – Maacah – as a contract of peace with the king of Geshur.

The house of David was laid upon a flawed foundation and the fruits would soon manifest in his children. The multiple wives competing for David’s affection combined with each woman’s aspirations for her son to be the next king developed a royal court of jealousy, scheming and intrigue.

David’s firstborn Amnon, tempted of the devil, seduced his half sister Tamar and raped her. This enraged Absalom and he quietly plotted his death. Absalom was the son of Maacah, David’s foreign wife who was meant to be the means of a contract of peace. Little would David realize that the seeds of Maacah’s training in Absalom would make him extremely ambitious, crafty and scheming. This woman that was meant as a bond of peace nearly destroyed David’s entire kingdom.

There is a mystery that surrounds Abigail’s son – Chileab or Daniel as is expressed in 1 Chron 3:1. Abigail appeared to be the wisest of David’s wives and understood the principles of submission, but after Amnon’s death, Chileab is never mentioned as being in line for kingship. There appears to be no mention of what happened to him.

Instead, the successor to David would come via an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. We might pretend that this woman is innocently washing herself on her roof top and she had no idea that she was in view of the king, but that would reflect a high degree of ignorance as to what she was doing.

2Sam 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

If Bathsheba was innocent, she would have declined the king’s invitation to sleep with him, but she appeared quite willing for the story records no protest on her part. For David to act in this way, revealed that he was completely lacking in understanding of God’s channel of blessing system.

The seeds of guilt that resided in David and Bathsheba from the adultery and David’s killing of Bathsheba’s husband were part of the recipe that went into their child Solomon. It is true that the Lord loved Solomon and blessed him with wisdom because there were many good traits passed to him from his parents, but the bad seeds of worthlessness and bad family structure would eventually surface.

Though Solomon possessed great wisdom in many areas, the one vital area where it was needed he failed and he failed greatly. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He built up his army and engaged in great building projects, and then taxed the people and put them to work. While many people point to the glory of Solomon, in reality the end result of his kingship was a disaster and ended up in his kingdom being divided. He ended up worshipping the false gods of some of his wives and built them temples. What an insult to the God of heaven.

1Kings 11:1-4 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Solomon set the trend for a very bad ride for Israel. The kingdom of Israel that spilt from Judah after Solomon’s death did not produce one good king. A number of the kings of Israel did right in the sight of the Lord, but even the good kings appeared to lack discernment. For instance Jehosophat allowed his son to marry the daughter of Jezebel. What on earth was he thinking! The fallout from the marriage led to the first female “king” of Judah – Athaliah and she nearly destroyed the entire nation.[1] Hezekiah was greatly blessed by the Lord and he did many good things to preserve the worship of the true God, but when the Babylonians came knocking at his door, he showed them all of his wealth and treasure and left a seed in the minds of the Babylonians that they should come back one day and take this treasure home.[2]

The failure of Israel to preserve a family channel system ensured that the principles of Nimrod would rule the world. The desire for territory and power would not be satisfied until there arose a leader that dominated the entire world. The principles of inherent power with all its worthlessness demand of men the craving for limitless power. This power is the only drug to sooth their fragile egos and worthless souls. The first of these world empires emerged in the nation of Babylon.

Though Israel desired a king to rule over them and fight their battles, they did not discern that the families of kings do not often produce children that are fit to rule and tyranny is usually the result. And the willing slavery of Israel’s leaders to the principles of Nimrod’s kingdom would leave their children as physical captives of this system.