From my morning study on January 6, 2025.
My encouragement is to read the scriptures more than my words and see what the Holy
Spirit speaks to you personally.
Where are the kings? Where are the deliverers?
Randomly opened Word to 1 Chronicles 16.
Waking song: My Deliverer – Rich Mullins (Listened to song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCRxjomgzCA
As a final confirmation from Jesus own teachings, He told us to in Mark 16:15-18 to deliver
His freedom, His healing to others. Those who deliver God’s promises thru Christ’s
provision, are indeed deliverers.
I am just a student of the Word, so I am open to further understanding, and more depth, or even possible correction. Let me know what you learn from your studies. 😊
Also inspired by prophetic teachings of Emmanuel Makandiwa and Shyju Mathew.
Yesterday as Pastor Shane was teaching on being Empowered and Ready from Isaiah 43: 1-
7, something really caught my attention. He brought to light that the Hebrew word bara for
creation refers only to things that God creates. In studying that this morning, I read further
that the word connotates also His initiation of something and frequently emphasizes the
newness of the object created. It reminded me of Psalm 51:10 from my ESV Bible the
scripture reads “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” The
Hebrew word for Create here is “bara” when the psalmist was asking for a clean heart, he
was asking for a new heart. For further study Ephesians 4 Paul also talks about what it
looks like to be a new man.
But the reason this word bara stood out to me most is because I have been meditating for
several weeks now on a teaching by Shyju Mathew entitled “Measuring your Giants” -not
necessarily to be confused by other teachings of his that can be found such as Overcoming
Giants or Mastery of giants, but this teaching was late 2024, a fresh Word and revelation on
Jericho. He speaks of them walking the around circumference of the wall, to know the
measure of their enemy in comparison to the measure of their God. There is so much
revelation in this passage regarding the picture of the battle, and gives incredible biblical
instruction for fighting battles. But just to focus on one tiny aspect of the measuring part.
God is the only one who can “bara”, if I can say it like that… It is not until we get full
understanding of something that we can give ourselves to believe it, then in turn stand on it
as a promise of God to us personally (thus UNDERstanding). Why is this so profound to
me? Because in all the battles that I currently face, that is ALL the difference in the world.
Jesus told us in John 10:10 that the thief (the enemy of our soul), comes to steal, and kill,
and destroy, but that He has come that we may have life, and have it to the full.
Thus, since I have understanding that I have a God Who can create new, it matters not that
my enemy can do any of those things. My God is One of restoration when it comes to being
stolen from, the enemy will be made to repay me seven-fold – Proverbs 6:31. He is the God
of resurrection and can bring things back to life that have been killed. Jesus is the firstborn
from the dead (Colossians 1:18) and furthermore things that have been destroyed He can
create new, create better. When measuring my enemy, he does not even show up on the
measuring stick, he cannot create. But as a matter of fact, all things consist in Christ
(Colossians 1:17), the enemy has no power of his own, all power belongs to God (1 Peter
5:11 and Psalm 62:11). The measure of my enemy is simply what I give him, whether it be
of my soul (will/actions), of my head (unbelief/doubt), or of my heart .
The Key is that we have an understanding of the power, to which we have access. God’s
plan for us from the beginning was for us to be kings and priests unto Him. Royal
Priesthood. He is desiring to do this NEW thing in the earth, though we have not fully
known this way yet, and it is not NEW to Him. It was His plan all along. Another aspect of
God is that He is a finisher, He finishes what He starts. He started this work long ago, but
for as long as I can remember (and for much longer than I can remember obviously), the
“Jesus” way, the christian life has just been one of attempting to overcome brokenness.
Broken “priests” losing the faith of the people and causing many to spiral into deep
darkness, broken people being stolen from, destroyed, killed, while most of the rest of us,
best case, have been in bare survival mode. And the world well there are oppressive Kings
and wars and violence, and kings in an evolved new man state that can be satisfied for a
time, but with a gaping hole in the center of their being that only God can fill.
After Abraham, met Melchizedek (priest of God, King of Salem) and gave him a tenth of the
spoil from the kings he had slaughtered (Genesis 14).
*Side note, he likely would not have been involved in that battle had those kings not taken
his nephew Lot captive. And his slaughter was brought by the hand of his own 318 men.
It is my full belief that this deliverance that Abraham brought about in Genesis was the way
God wanted Abraham’s descents to function. To bring about justice and freedom from
oppression. Serving God to the people wherever we are. After the order (same way)
Melchizedek operated (he was King and Priest). I believe he was the pre-incarnate Jesus as
Hebrews 7 vs. 3 says “he was without father or mother or genealogy, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life”. Abraham paid homage, or as it were, gave his allegiance
to him.
Sadly, Abraham’s descendants were hi-jacked from this order, as a result there was
division. There was one of the twelve tribes set aside for service to the Lord, which some
may think because they were holy, but it was said of the tribe of Levi by their father Jacob,
that they were fierce in their cruelty so they would be divided up among the tribes.
Seeming to indicate they needed to be divided in order that they not scheme cruel things
together with one another. (Genesis 49:6-7). Furthermore, it was Judah that would
produce a lineage of Royalty/Rulers. Thus, the division of the Kings and Priests.
Just a curiosity, whether an example of Levites cruelty is any kind of picture of how
sometimes religious organization can be cruel, even as early as Jesus’ time when He said
of the scribes and Pharisee’s due to their position and authority in Matthew 23 vs. 3-5 and
other places (tying up heavy, cumbersome loads and putting them on other people’s
shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them). Today,
although possibly not always, many denominations/sects/religious organizations tend to
do this same thing.
So, what if the King and the Priest role were one as 1 Peter 2:9 indicates. For any student of
the Word it is common knowledge that in the time of the kings, that Kings had their part,
and priests had their part, and neither were to step over the boundaries of their role. There
are a couple of stories of Kings that did step over their boundary line and were punished for
doing so (King Saul offering sacrifices to God without Samuel) and King Uzziah (2
Chronicles 26:16), but both were done in pride.
Then I read the passage that I originally opened to for the morning. And found something
that I had never seen before. 1 Chronicles 16:1-2 “David had finished sacrificing the burnt
offerings and fellowship offerings”. It was David that was acting in a priestly role, making
offerings. Why was this different than the other kings. vs. 2 offers a clue it says that when
he was finished sacrificing the burnt offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the
Lord. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and cake of raisins to each Israelite,
man and woman.“ He blessed the people and cared for a real physical need (food) of the
people. He truly cared about the people. His heart was pure before God in love for the
people. God did not punish him for that. He is the second picture of a Royal Priest. He
was from the Tribe of Judah serving God to the people.
*As a side, that is hard for us to understand because the way of the world to “serve”
someone is an oppressive thing, but God’s way is a way of joyful living, in want of nothing
more. The “serving” is as it were to serve the goodness of God to others, being a Waiter is
simply to wait on Him until the time is perfect for what we are waiting on.
So why does any of this matter. The order of our King of kings (Jesus from the Line of the
tribe of Judah, who became the sacrifice lamb), is King over kings (Revelation 19:16). The
kings that He is over are not kings of earth per se, they are those who are loyal to His
Kingdom. In order for Him to be King of kings, there must be kings who enthrone Him as
their King, otherwise he is not the King of kings. Although it may feel strange for a believer
to think of himself as a king, it is completely necessary for one to embrace that. One who
does not know who he is, CANNOT ACT with the power or authority of the role. It takes
complete faith knowing who HE is and knowing who we are to Him, and UNDERSTANDING.
Like David when he faced Goliath on the battlefield. He knew that as a little shepherd boy
he had more power than any giant when he said “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that
he should defy the armies of the living God”. He was not necessarily talking of the
cowering army over in the valley behind him, too scared to fight, he was referring to the
Hosts of Angel Armies that he knew well of, that would come and fight for them. Once
brought to light, it is false humility to refuse to step into that calling of kings. Jesus is the
Light of the world, but He also said that we are the light of the world. We must be kings, we
must be light, and furthermore I want to propose that we must be deliverers. Our King is
the great Deliverer, the Deliverer of deliverers. Abraham was not a king when he went to
fight the kings to deliver his nephew from bondage, but he became a deliverer and
afterward paid homage to the pre-incarnate Christ. God doesn’t need more people with
titles and positions, He needs Royal Priests who can be deliverers of a generation wherever
they are whether on the job, the store, the dance floor, the sporting event, the nursing
home, the hospital. When the enemy defies our God, we go to war on behalf of the Heart of
our God, for the love of our God, and for the love of those whom He created in His own
image. He needs deliverers everywhere. We do not war against flesh and blood
(Ephesians 6:12), we war against the enemy using the Word of God.