Secrets of the Kingdom part 23
Time and opportunity happens to every man
| Ecclesiastes 9:11 | I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. |
Chance 6294. pega' from H6293; impact (causal):--chance, Opportunity
Ever heard the question; “why do some people get all the breaks?”
Well God’s Word tells us that time and opportunity happens to all of us. It is often said and is true that, we are what we are by reason of the choices we have made in life, and the choices we make are largely a product of what we think and believe.
Acceleration a phenomena of out times
It would be accurate to say that because of technology and other modern day innovations, that almost everything around us in our lives is in a state of acceleration. Computers are responsible for speeding up many aspects of our lives. A negative ripple in the stock market 20 years ago would have taken weeks to filter through, but today it takes only a few hours. The decisions we make today impact upon us much more quickly than they would have a few years ago. The process of sowing and reaping is in a state of constant acceleration. God spoke about this phenomena in relation to the harvest in these last days in this way.
| Amos 9:13 | Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. |
The Lord spoke to me at the end of last year saying that the decisions we make this year will have a profound impact on the next fourteen years of our lives.
Seasons come and go, eras end and new ones begin, during times of major change courses are SET for the following years of our lives and we are in such a change of seasons right now. New alignments we make can affect the rest of our lives.
The importance of making right decisions
David and Jonathon were great friends, Jonathan new that God had ordained that David was to become the King of Israel. Jonathan had some understanding of what God was saying and purposing in his day:
| 1 Samual 23:17 | And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. |
The times in Israel were changing and although Jonathan new this, he stayed loyal to something that was dead or dying intending to join with David later; he did not have the courage to align himself with David who represented this new era that was dawning in Israel. This decision cost him his life: 1 Sam 31:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
| 1 Samual 31:2 | And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. |
Aaron the high priest under pressure sided with the makers of the Golden calf, God forgave him but he never got into the Promised Land.
The bible talks about the Sons of Zadok as having a very special place in the end times and future purposes of God.
| Ezekiel 44:5 | And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. |
Mark well those who enter in:
God limited access to His presence and purposes to certain individuals.
| Ezekiel 44:10 | And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. |
| 11 | Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gatesof the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. |
| 13 | And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. |
| 14 | But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. |
We see that these were not allowed into the manifest presence of God
They were limited to the outer courts of God presence.
However there was another category of people who had access to the very presence of God and the higher purposes of God.
| Ezekiel 44:15 | But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: |
| 16 | They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. |
| 23 | And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. |
| 24 | And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. |
Who were these sons of Zadok and why did they have favor with God?
In 2 Samual 18-17 we are given a list of people who ruled with David one of which was a young priest by the name of Zadok. He and another priest Abiathar had left the house of Saul and sided with David crossing over into the new era in Israel.
Both of these men had fruitful ministries but both would face decisions that would determine the rest of their lives.
Shortly after this there was a revolt in the Kingdom, and Absalom who had favor with most of the people sought to take the kingdom from David. This forced the two priests Abiathar and Zadok into making a decision over whom they would side with.
| 2 Samual 15:23 | And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. |
| 24 | And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiatharwent up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. |
Both of these priests made the right choice, it must be remembered that if Absalom had prevailed in this struggle both Zadok and Abiathar would have lost their lives
Time again went by and soon another critical decision was required of both these men. God had purposed that Solomon would become King after the Death of King David, however a man named Adonijah made a move to oust Solomon and make himself King. This again put these two priests in a difficult position which would put their lives in jeopardy.
This time Abiathar would make a wrong choice
| 1 Kings 1:5 | Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. |
| 6 | And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. |
| 7 | And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar thepriest: and they following Adonijah helped him. |
| 8 | But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. |
This cost Abiathar his priesthood 1 Kings 2: 27. The consequences of the decision that Abiathar made were far reaching in his life along with his descendants lives.
The testing of these two priests is a graphic remainder to us of the importance of making right decisions
Zadok along with his descendants found favor with God that was worth of mention in Gods Word and is used as an example to us all.
| Ezekiel 44:15 | But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: |
| 16 | They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. |
However those who did not make the right choices were limited to the outer courts of God presence
| Ezekiel 44:10 | And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel wentastray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. |
| 11 | Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gatesof the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. |
| 13 | And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. |
| 14 | But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. |
Many years later the prophet Ezekiel spoke of a coming new Temple or Order, this temple has never been physically built but it pictures the Body of Christ in the end times foreshadowing the church which enters the millennium reign of Jesus. The law of this house was the Law of holiness.
| Ezekiel 43:12 | This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. |
The Sons or descendants of Zadok have a special mention as those who will rule and reign with Jesus.
Time and opportunity happens to us all, choose wisely your decisions will determine the direction of the rest of your life.
| Job 34:4 | Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. |
| 2 Chronicies 16:9a | For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. |
God Bless youN Johnson © May 24 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment