KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 16:2 “And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, the asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink”.

King David left his palace in Jerusalem to avoid any open confrontation with Absalom. On his way, he was met by Ziba, who brought food on a couple of asses saddled for King David’s men. This man was Mephibosheth’s servant. Would Ziba have come out to show kindness to David if David had also not shown some kindness to Mephibosheth? May we always learn to show kindness to one another. God is the rewarder of a kind deed done to others. Some people may not return a kind deed done to them, but don’t be worried about those who will not reciprocate a kind deed. Always know that whatever good thing you do for somebody, you do it unto the Lord. Matthew 25:44 “Then shall they also answer Him saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or thirsty or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them saying, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Our heavenly Father is the final receiver of every good or bad deed we render to one another. Be very careful how you treat people. Some have entertained angels unaware.

As David and his men were going to their new destination, one Shemei, who is also a Benjamite from the house of Saul, came up and rained insults on David. He even cast stones at him. Abishai, one of David’s men, requested that David go and discipline Shemei. David was furious at him and said, “And the king said, what have I to do with you ye Abishai, sons of Zeruiah? So, let him curse because the Lord has said unto him Curse David. Who shall then say wherefore hast thou done so?

David was ready to accept God’s discipline to the limit. He never wanted to act against God’s way. David also knew that it was God who enthroned and dethroned. He was not going to act according to his will any longer. David also said further in verse 12 as follows, “it may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day”. May we always learn to let God have his way in our lives.

CONFESSION

My will is subjected to the will of God. Pleasing Him in everything I do is all that positive living entails.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Colossians 3:17 ” And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him”.

Psalms 119:30-31” I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Rom 12:1 KJV” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

In our study about the makeup of the ark, we left out two qualities of the gold that I would want us to talk about now. We said the gold naturally must be pure. Its process of purification is through fire. This act means it naturally accepts great sacrifice to attain its desired end. The word is sacrifice. Sacrifice is to willingly give up something dear or precious that ultimately glorifies God. It is a willing act.

As the living Ark of God, we must make lots of sacrifices. When I talk about sacrifices, I do not mean things like sickness. The Lord taught that sickness is an oppression of Satan, and the child of God must not tolerate. He must always stand against it and resist it in faith, and the Lord says it would flee away like its source. When I talk about sacrifice, I mean actions that keep us more pure and holy as saints of God. A Saint of God must fast and pray. Many times, it is not praying for ourselves but praying for others. Especially those who are bound by sin and all kinds of demonic activities. We must also endure hardships as ministers or servants of God. 2Co 6:4 KJV “But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;” Apostle Paul says he w8llingly accepts to go through these distressing circumstances and does not get offended in any way. This is one of the means of sacrificing.

The essence of sacrifices is to end up very pure. Purity is seen in a heart truly in love with God, and that makes you want to please God. Purity is not about showing anything to men, but a state that increases your commitment to God. It is this true love for God that constantly drives you away from sinful fleshly life to always choose that which would honour God. Sacrifice should be normal with us because that is our nature. When dealing with certain difficult people, we must bear with their difficulties. This is a sacrifice. When we have to go out of our way to support the weak and needy. Many times, this is done not out of our abundance but at quite challenging times. Mar 12:43 KJV “And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:” This woman made a great and real sacrifice. Such unqualified sacrifice always attracts God’s unqualified attention. Please, how many of the worshippers who offered touched Jesus to make any comment but this poor widow? In the way Jesus commented, Heaven would release angels to go and assist her so she does not go hungry and poor. God would always respond to your sacrifice.

CONFESSION

I am a living Ark of God, and I represent God by making sacrifices on every occasion as the word of God and the Spirit of God would demand. My sacrifice draws me closer to the Father in love and purity. God also responds in many amazing ways, showing his power and providence. Amen

FURTHER STUDIES

1Co 15:58 KJV:” Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Phi 2:17 KJV” Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Sa 5:3 KJV” And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again.”

The scripture (1st Sam 4) teaches that once the Israelites and the Philistines were engaged in a war, in which Israel was losing, they said, “Let us bring the Ark, and the tables would turn to our favour.” They were defeated instead. What was the cause of their defeat? The sons of Eli, the priest, had defiled the priesthood. These were the men who went for the Ark. Please, God is not a mechanical God. If you live in sin, do not expect gallons of oil to change anything about you. Isa 59:1 KJV “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Remember, your sin is so powerful to drive God far from you.

The Philistines captured the Ark and carried it to Dagon, their god, whom they associate with agriculture and also the chief of their gods. This meant Dagon was a very powerful God. The scripture said that by the next morning, Dagon had fallen face down. They might have thought that some wicked person might have done this. They took him up and placed him back again. The next morning, Dagon was totally shattered on the ground. His head, hands, and legs were all broken to the ground. God in the Ark seriously finished Dagon. It is simply wrong for any deity to claim he is messing up the Christian, or the living Ark of God. Well, this is possible if the child of God is either ignorant or living in sin. In the absence of these, no power should take you captive. The presence of God is very much conscious of working on your behalf. You must be bold to challenge that condition with the word.

These Philistines were very scared and wanted to send the Ark away. They first sent the Ark to Ashdod, where many were slain and were afflicted with emerods.  These people started crying and shouting, they have brought the Ark of God to slay us. The Ark was taken to another town, and hell broke loose. This so-called wooden box was not just ordinary but the headquarters of God’s presence, and very terrible and destructive to those who oppose and do not honour.  Dear child of God, there is a person in you that makes you a living wonder.  In our case, He does not function without our awareness and permission.  It takes our faith for Him to fully express Himself.

Those who have exercised their faith well enough express Him very well. You also have the opportunity to throw away the garment of ignorance, and then you put His word into action.

CONFESSION

Thank you, heavenly father, for your great act of mercy, to make my body your house of abode. Every power to conquer, be a solution, and have a victorious life is all within me. I refuse every negative trend from now, and commit my life to becoming the Real light answer to this generation as I have been made to be. I thank you.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 8:12 KJV Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

1John 4:4 KJV “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.:

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:17 KJV “And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof”.

The Lord asked Moses to make a mercy seat. It was the center of the upper cover of the Ark. He called it the mercy seat because it was the place where the high priest always presented the blood of the sacrifice. Lev 16:14 KJV” And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times”. Whenever the blood of sacrifice was offered, the presence of God appeared above the mercy seat as fire, and the Lord spoke to the high priest from that fire.

What is our relation to the mercy seat as the living Ark of God? Please note that the Lord did not talk about the power seat, grace seat, love seat, but the mercy seat. Mercy is when, by our actions, we deserve to be punished, but God overlooks our mistakes to accept and even blesses us.

This mercy seat clearly shows us that men are naturally sinners who would need a lot of mercy.

One area to demonstrate our mercy is through intercession.

Intercession is not a special ministry. Every Christian is an intercessor. Every Christian is a priest. Rev 1:6 KJV And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Dear reader, one of the reasons the Christian cannot marry two and take girlfriends is that we are the living Ark of God as well as priests unto God. Our relationship to God was never known by anyone under the old covenant

A heart of intercession is a seat of mercy, where we feel the weight of the sins, destruction, pain, and failure of humanity. It is very unfortunate when the church and people of God become so selfish and pray for themselves only. We’ve got to be filled with great mercy. The secret of a merciful heart is a heart filled with love for God and holiness. This is a product of dedication to God Jas 3:17 KJV But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

PRAYER

Father, our world is hurting, lost in sin, and living in fear. stir in me the desire to know you to the point that your passion of love also fills me to show the same mercy to mankind

FURTHER STUDIES

Isaiah 59:16 KJV” And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.”

Isaiah 53:12 KJV” Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:16 KJV” And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.”

To all those who might be reading for the first time, we are studying the Ark of the covenant with the background understanding that, since it was a place God dwelt among the people of Israel, and we are also God’s present dwelling, place on the earth, then we could easily say we are the living Ark of the covenant. We consider the makeup of the Ark and apply it to ourselves, drawing lessons about how we ought to live so we can be a real living Ark of God. This time, we examine the tablet of testimony which God asked Moses to place in the Ark. The tablet of testimony was the Ten Commandments.

What was the significance of the tablet of testimony in the Ark.? Please note that the Ark was indwelt by the invisible God. God asked him to place the tablet of testimony there as the only visible thing.

This meant the tablet represented Him. The tablet of testimony is the word of God. God and His word are one. What God is telling us in this act is that His word in us is He in our hearts. God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through His word. The word of God must have the first place in our lives. The word of God is not just letters but the very Spirit of God expressing Himself in thoughts. John 6:63,2 Tim 3:16, 17. To also have God mightily in you, the word of God should likewise dwell in you. Col 3:16 KJV” Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

When God’s word dominates our hearts, we will function in our true capacity as the living Ark of God. Please, there is an unlimited power in every child of God. How we activate this power is through knowing the word, believing it, and speaking it forth in faith. We ought to be very bold in speaking out what the word says. The next thing to make the word effective in our lives is to be obedient to what it says. James 1:22 KJV “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” As God’s living Ark, we have the kingdom of God within us. Luk 17:21 KJV “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” The kingdom of God is the seat of government of the throne of Almighty God. This is the Lord taught lives in us. The implication of this statement is far-reaching. We are the headquarters of God’s power and authority. A storehouse of immense power and glory. We have the responsibility to bring the impact of the kingdom of God to bear on our world. We cannot afford to be hiding but shine.

CONFESSION

I am a living Ark of God on earth. God lives in me. His presence is demonstrated by how much his word is seen in my day-to-day life. His kingdom is in me. I walk in the authority of Jesus and refuse to allow satanic controls over my life in any way. My life reveals his glory, wisdom, and love to a lost, hurting world.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Psalms 82:6 KJV “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:12 KJV “And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.”

The Lord instructed Moses to place four golden rings at the upper corners of the Ark. He was to insert a staff of shittim fully plated with Gold. These rings were designed to facilitate easy movement of the Ark from one point to another.

What is the significance of these rings to us as the living Ark of God? These rings stand for a life of surrender. To have those rings means it was ever ready to be carried to wherever the priest chose. The child of God must cease to be in control of his life. Any child of God in control of his or her life is of no use to the Lord. The Lord said in John 12:24,25 that ” Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” The Lord taught that you would be virtually fruitless if you hold to your life and are not ready to let Him have it. He even said that the one who does not love Him above his father, mother, wife, brothers or sisters, sons and daughters, and even his very life cannot be His disciple. Luke 14:26. The word servant of God also means a slave of God. This means you have no choice of your own.

The mark of all those God used mightily was people who totally yielded to the Lord. At Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus, seeing the weight of what He was to go through, asked the Father to take the cup of suffering away, yet He added, not my will but thy will be done. Please note that the secret of an anointed man or woman of God is a totally surrendered life. That is the life placed on the altar of sacrifice. The fire always comes on such sacrifice. Apostle Paul said, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain ” (Phil 1:21). The man was stoned almost to death, yet he rose by God’s grace, and was ready to continue preaching in the next towns. His life did not mean so dear to him. No wonder he was so anointed that he healed all the sick who were brought to him, at the Island of Malta.

Today, we decide to open up to the Holy Spirit. Let him have every aspect of your life. Forsake every sinful way. You would soon realise the great joy that would flood your soul.

PRAYER

Father, I yield my life to you. Whatever area of my life that I used to be in control of is surrendered to you. I also turn away from any sinful way. Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee.

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom 12:1 KJV “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Acts 21:13 KJV “Then Paul answered,” What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:11 KJV “And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.”

We continue with some of the significance of the gold in the Ark of the Covenant. In our heading for this study, we described it as graced with Gold. To have gold on the wood is an act of grace. Consider the wood with its many shortcomings, and the gold covers all these. This is grace. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is just the same. The Holy Spirit fully covers our inefficiencies. Sadly, most children of God are still walking in the flesh.

Another significance of the gold is that it brings glory to the wood. You are glorified by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Rom 8:30 KJV “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Glory is splendor, beauty, majesty, and power. This is what the gold stands for in the Ark. Please note that the glory of God is very synonymous with purity. There can never be the glory of God outside Holiness or purity. Exo 28:2 KJV “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.” Aaron and the priesthood were to have holy garments that showed glory and beauty. Garments always talk about the manner of life. It is about how you walk. Your dealings must be done in purity or Holiness. Wherever God is, His glory is there. It is your holiness that keeps his presence around you. Heb 12:14 KJV “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Since holiness is the foundation for our relation with the Lord, let me state the main components of holiness. They are love, light, and being just.

Once again, as children of God, we have been brought into glory. Heb 2:10 KJV” For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” This glory is not a future one. It is given through our relationship with Jesus. It is explained in our exaltation with Jesus in the heavenly realms far above all principalities and powers Eph 2:6. This glory makes us winners on the earth, for it is an all-surpassing power. 1Pet 2:9 KJV” But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” Our activities on the earth is to show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. This is not about saying his praises, but doing things that would make men see His works in us and give Him the praise. It is this glory in us that shows His great power through us.

CONFESSION

Thank you, Lord, for bringing me into glory by the presence of the Holy Spirit. I maintain this glory as I walk in holiness, living with a sincere conscience towards God and man

The glory of God in my life has given me victory in all aspects of my life as men see it and glorify the name of my father.

FURTHER STUDIES

2Pe 1:3 KJV” According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:”

2Th 1:12 KJV” That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:11 KJV “And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about”.

The Lord instructed Moses to ask those making the Ark to overlay the wood with Gold. Every part was to be covered with Gold. The Ark appeared like a completely golden box. Why did God make it that way? Please know that this was the house of God and nothing carnal must relate to God. I explained that the wood symbolised human flesh. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth John 4:24.The  flesh has infirmities or weaknesses that would make it unacceptable to render any services to God. Now the gold is a symbol of divinity or the Spirit.

The Gold has the following status.

1. Perfect purity or Holiness

2. Glory

3. Spiritual.

4. Sacrificial

We consider each status in turn

1 Perfect purity and Holiness

Pure gold is refined at a temperature of 1064 degrees Celsius. At that temperature, no impure substance would survive. They would all sublime into gases. God is a holy God. Exo 15:11 KJV “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” God’s throne is identified with Holiness. Nothing impure can and should come near Him. The wood that is the flesh cannot have that level of purity. Wood would burn at a temperature between 280-500 degrees Celsius. It cannot in any way be compared to gold. The spirit cannot sin, but the flesh does. The bible says in Rom 8:10 that our flesh is dead because of sin, and the spirit is life because of righteousness. This means in our dealings and service of the Lord, the flesh should be totally relegated to the background. Like the wood in the Ark, it is perfectly hidden, although it is very present

The wood only carries or is a frame for the gold. It does nothing again. Any work or deed done in the flesh or that seeks the praise of self is totally unacceptable before God. This is the reason God opposes the proud. Pride is the height of the display of the flesh. All strive, wrong competitive spirit, acts that seek the praise of men are all works of the flesh and are unacceptable in the sight of God. God’s expectation of us is holiness unto the Lord, and this implies yielding totally to the Spirit’s influence and dominance. In our role as the living Ark of God, we must consciously or deliberately give no place to the flesh. It is supposed to be fully in the background. This is what would make all the presence of God in us perfectly manifest His power. Remember our Lord Jesus was the first living Ark of God, we must follow His example to manifest that same power of God.

PRAYER

Father, I surrender my flesh to the dominance of the Spirit. I give it no place to control or influence my actions. Let the Spirit continually rule my life to bring glory to your name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom 12:1 KJV” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”.

Rom 13:14 KJV “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:11 KJV “And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.”

The Lord asked that Moses instruct the makers of the Ark to overlay it with Gold, both inside and outside. There is so much to discuss about this act, but let’s pause for a moment and talk about the basic significance of the Ark. God Almighty lives in heaven. He needed a place and a means where men could come to Him, seek forgiveness, and he could likewise talk to them and also leave a testimony among men that He is alive among men. The ark was that means. Dear brethren, this role has squarely been laid on us, His children.

Our Lord Jesus on earth was a physical representation of God. Everything about God could be seen, received, and presented to Him. Jesus was the only begotten of the Father, and so the only living Ark of God. John 3:16. From the day He died and resurrected, everyone who believed in Him became the begotten Son of God. John 1:12 KJV But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Dear ones, our Lord Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God; every one of us who has truly surrendered his life unto Him is also begotten of God. He or she enrolls as a living Ark of God.

The Ark reveals God. It shows His power. Miracles are wrought wherever the Ark goes. When the high priest presents the blood of the animal once a year, the presence of God manifests as fire over the mercy seat, and He speaks to them. In our time, our Lord Jesus has sacrificed His blood once and for all for the eternal redemption of mankind. Heb 9:12 KJV “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” We do not need any sacrifices made to us, but we make sacrifices on their behalf through our intercessory ministry. Every Christian is a priest, and intercession for humanity is our first calling. 1Ti 2:1 KJV “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;” Intercession is not a pleasure trip it is a real sacrifice and that is what moves God’s hands to intervene as well communicate His mind for the people. Intercession is not a duty of a special few. Every Christian is a priest, and it is a must for you to make intercession for all humanity.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would enable us to appreciate our role as the living Ark of God, to reveal God to humanity like our master Jesus successfully did.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, help me to understand my true representation in the Ark of testimony, so that men would encounter God through my testimony. Let whatever way, thing, or person that may be a stumbling block be taken off my way, in Jesus’ name I pray.

FURTHER STUDIES

Joh 17:18 KJV” As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”

Rom 8:29 KJV For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exo 25:10 KJV “And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.”

We would consider the various components of the Ark and consider how they paint or describe the true nature of the Christian. I believe that having this clear picture of how God has made us would urge us to walk in our true nature and capacity as sons of God.

Our key scripture says the ark was to be made of shittim wood. Shittim is the same as acacia wood. Dear one, wood in the scriptures always represents man. Psalm 1:2,3 speaks of the man who delights in the word as a tree planted by the rivers of water. In Judges 9:7-18, Jotham, the only son of Gideon who escaped from the massacre of the sixty-one sons of Gideon, described how they ultimately settled on Abimelech, who killed his brothers. He described it by saying the trees wanted a king and went to various trees, which refused to rule over them. Finally, they settled on the bramble tree, which was Abimelech. By these analogies, I wish to establish that trees in the bible symbolise men. The shittim wood talks of human flesh.

The shittim wood is very durable. Shittim has a natural resistance to water and decay. It also has high versatility, making it a good choice for various uses and woodwork. It responds well to fine polishing. There are more beautiful qualities of the acacia wood which I may not go into for now. One may ask how we compare this to our frail, weak, sinful body. This is the error we have always held about ourselves. The bible teaches that at our conversion, everything changed about us. It says in Rom 8:3,4 that what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 6:6 also reveals that “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Sin is the master or seed of corruption; its destruction from us meant a new body full of strength and wholeness. Romans 8:11 informs us that the Holy Spirit in us gives life to our mortal flesh.

Let me show you another reason why our bodies as children of God are not the old delipidated ones. In Matthew 9:16,17 the Lord taught that no one will put new wine into an old wineskin. For the new wine to be safely preserved, it must be put into a new wine skin that is strong enough to endure any future fermentation of the wine. In the light of all that I have described about us, may we change our mindset about ourselves as weak, sinful, ailing people left to the mercy of any evil that blows around. We are God’s substance for His dwelling place and must be of the highest excellent durability in every way.

CONFESSION

Thank you, heavenly father, for your perfect work in me, even in my flesh. You took from me the power of sin and its corresponding effects of sickness. I am made qualified by your grace to be a house or a temple for you. I am humbled by this knowledge and awareness. May your name be praised forevermore.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Cor 3:5 KJV “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”

Col 2:11 KJV” In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:”