Genesis Framework part 15

Genesis Framework
GF 15 Isaiah 4
October 4, 2015
Part 15

NKJ Isaiah 4:1-6
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, "We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach."
2 In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped.
3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy –everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.

This is basically a summary of the end of chapter 3,predicting the defeat of the men of Jerusalem in judgment, at Har-Magedon, the Greek transliteration of , “Mountain of Assembly,” a reference to the celestial "mountain" of God in Isa 14:13, personifying new Jerusalem as an abandoned woman begging for a man’s protection. Then the figure of the Branch of the Lord is representative of the Messiah as He spreads His rule over the world in the beauty of His triumph.

Revelation 16:16

And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon [].
noun accusative neuter singular

12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount [] of the congregation [] On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,

The remnant following the judgment is representative of the elect of God, and they are preserved by the application of a permanent remedy to God’s people in Christ; thereby
reversing the curse( upside-down consecration) into beatitude( corrected consecration).God’s presence in the new Jerusalem is to be manifested over the mountain of God by the Glory as a canopy, not unlike a wedding canopy described in other places of Scripture, and as a booth of protection and shelter.

In Eden, divine protection was present in the supernatural form of the Glory-cloud a sheltering canopy over the mountain of God. Because of this theophanic presence, Eden was a sanctuary in two senses: one of security and preservation, as well as being a holy place. So in these six verses of Isaiah 4 we see the Glory of the new Jerusalem described as both sanctifying and protective in function, where the garden of God is pictured descriptively in the form of its eschatological restoration.

Envision if you will, the overarching presence of the Glory-Spirit as the place of holy assembly of the Lord, not only of glory but also as a physical shade from the heat of the sun and a sheltering refuge from the storm.

Isaiah 4.5-6

5 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering.
6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

Look how similar this description found in Psalm 105:39 is compared with that present with Israel in the exodus wilderness and in the garden of God in Eden.

Psalm 105:38-39
38 Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon them.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night.

The divine Presence is consistently shown to impart both blessedness and holiness.

The theophanic Glory made Eden a holy temple and made it a paradise where the occupants of the garden were protected by the divine sheltering canopy from anything that could mar man’s beatitude( state of blessedness).

About now you should be thinking, if the occupants of Eden were protected supernaturally and naturally from all forms of harm, how did an unholy creature get in the garden and inspire so much damage?

We will be addressing this issue soon.

All of this will be understood and appreciated after we discover that an often overlooked aspect of man’s original covenantal state with God existed which provided for a “probationary period,” as a prerogative of the Covenant-Maker to place man under a “testing” period, similar to that which is found in the ancient suzerain covenants, where the vassal is at first placed under a probationary period in order to prove the quality of his works as a covenant-keeper. The probation period must be successfully passed by the servant-vassal before the consummation would proceed, in fulfillment of the rest of the provisions of the covenant. Although God has always consistently proven Himself to
not be a “tempter” of His creatures, He has always maintained the prerogative as All-Wise-Creator “to test” and judge the quality of His creation and the product of the agencies of His creation in the process of its development attaining toward the goal of His purposes and the goal of His eschatological plan and His teleology, when making a covenant of works.

For example…

Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good;

Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. The 7th day was the consummation of the work of the previous days… when God fully blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, after He effectively tested the quality of all His work had been created, examined, and approved of them with regard to its adherence to His overall plan.

(Q) What is the difference between testing and tempting?

(A) They differ according to the intention and purpose in dealing with the results of their respective outcomes.

A temptation event is designed with the purpose in mind for the tempter to entice someone to do evil in order to bring condemnation and negative judgment upon themselves, effectively to intentionally lure them into a harmful trap.

A testing, on the other hand, is an examination or trial, so as to prove the value or ascertain the nature of someone by observing their actions in a set of lesser circumstances in order to see what their behavior would be when placed in a set of greater circumstances.

The term “bullet-proof” originally referred to the actual visual evidence of the capability of a given material to successfully withstand penetration by a bullet fired at it from a real gun. So, a buyer of a “bullet-proof” vest was reassured as to the product quality by simply inspecting the dent created during the final testing of the vest itself.

Christ is our bullet-proof vest. Christ passed the test of probation in the Covenant of Works in His own behalf, so that in His innocence, He could pay the penalty for the sins of those who are called into the Salvation of Christ.

The key to understanding one entire phase of man’s Edenic life with God will fall out into your hand when we discuss the idea of God requirement of a probationary or testing
period for man at the beginning. In the meantime we will continue looking at the circumstances and responsibilities of Adam relative to his role as guardian-priest in his relationship with God while living together with Him in Eden.

NKJ Isaiah 4:5-6
then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain. Here we have a description of the Glory-cloud as a covering chup-pah' . Word Picture of the hebrew Word Chupah Meaning: a canopy, divine protection, defense covering

Root: “a wall opened” action: to cover

a wall concrete object: a cover

an opening abstract idea: innocent

The tent has an opening to allow one into it for protection, and anyone entering will be protected at all costs by the owner of the tent( tabernacle).

We glorify God by, in His image, doing things that God does.

Psalm 105:39 says in a similar manner, that at the exodus God spread that Glory-cloud for a covering.

NKJ Psalm 105:39
He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night.

This Scripture describes a more canopy-style covering in than the pillar forms suggest; this may have been concurrent with, or in addition to the pillars.

KJV a hanging, a covering, a curtain
{masak} a large cloth covering, screen, protection

Meaning: covering, screen

flowing (fluid) root**

thorns (repellent) action: to cover

palm of hand (cover) concrete object: a booth
_________________________

“a protective covering”

**The watcher over the crops, flocks or herd, would construct a covering (booth) as a shelter from the sun, wind or rain. These coverings were often constructed on an elevated
position, and from materials available such as bushes, thorns and small trees. (Eng. shack)

sakak or sakak

sa-kak' Meaning: covering, screen

thorns (repellent) root

palm of hand (cover) action: to cover

palm of hand (cover) concrete object: a hedge
________________________

“an overshadowing protection”

Psalm 140.7 tells us that God covers or overshadows the psalmist’s head in battle; and in Psalm 91.4 gives a descriptive reference to the Glory-cloud with its winged cherubim: “He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge.”

Again we see a consistent description with the terms and images found in Isaiah’s Glory-cloud: the secret hiding place, the shade, and the refuge. From the analogy that merges from these descriptions between God’s protective overshadowing of Eden, of Israel at the exodus, and of the new Jerusalem we may determine a more complete picture of the nature of man’s original state of beatitude in the garden of God.

Now we return to Psalm 91 to see its description of the sovereign providential care provided by the combination of natural and supernatural agencies at work in the context of the Edenic protectorate of God, which secured the blessedness of man in Eden. God’s providence was working through angelic agency (Psalm 91.11) which is also described by reference to the winged protection of the Glory-cloud.

Psalm 91.11

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.”

In order to retain the full impact of the blend of natural and supernatural providential working in Gods general care of man let’s be certain we have a clear understanding of the true meaning of term “providence.”

The concept of providence as a term comes form the Latin compound root-word meaning “to provide”: pro- before + videre to see, as in “to provide” is to get ready beforehand, to set aside provision for a future circumstance.

While the notion of provision does not necessarily imply precise knowledge of future conditions or circumstances, the idea of “providence” does, and therefore requires
superhuman, precise knowledge of future events; thus, providence is only attributed to divine provision that is set in the ready, in advance of future needs as they will occur.

So the divine providence of God operating in Eden is the same as the divine guidance and provisioning of Israel in the wilderness, a combination of natural and supernatural
agencies at work, with a mind directed toward preparations and provisions, based upon divine knowledge of the needs of the future outcome of all events.

In turn, the decision whether to communicate such knowledge His creation through natural and supernatural means is the prerogative of God.

Now let’s take a closer look at a distinctive element in the original government of the Creator’s Covenant of Works with Adam, which was that of federal representation.

Here is a little summary of the federal principle.

As father of all mankind, Adam in his probationary status was patriarchal head of the covenant community in the sense that he acted in a representative capacity for all
others in how he responded to the Creator’s claims and demands.

Later in the process of redemption we see the federal principle at work once again with Christ as second Adam, but in this case federal representation differs from the
original Edenic holy covenant institution in the sense that it coincides in its extension, only with election.

The original covenant extended to all as a covenant of works, whereas the new covenant extends to the elect as a covenant of grace.

To explain, under the original creational covenant the covenant family was the universal cultural authority structure. In its larger aspect it constituted a grand royal family
having proprietorship and dominion over its world environment.

This governmental order was headed up in the patriarchal authority of Adam. In man’s kingly proprietorship of the earth he represented stewardship and was accountable to the Lord God, the Great King. God as ultimate Father of the covenant family was in truth the ruler and protector of the family-kingdom of mankind.

The kingdom related functionally to the King in a manner that was an integration of both the holy cult and culture in a true theocracy. Therefore, all members of the covenant community had priestly as well as royal offices.

The Lord assumed the seat of His royal sovereignty on the mountain of God in Eden.

God’s name was carried by the people of the realm, as well as the land itself, and all was consecrated to God. To be created in God’s image was to be God’s covenant
children, and to have God as Father-Lord was to bear His name, set apart into His holy theocratic family.

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,AMEN

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