GOD’S PLAGUES AGAINST ISRAEL
~ The ELOHIM Culls HIS People
Who is going to be NUMBERED with the Faithful ?
The Book
of Numbers faithfully records accounts of GOD, The ELOHIM, culling the
unfaithful and the faith-less ones from among HIS people; those culled could
not enter into the Promised Land.
Exodus
and Joshua also have accounts of The LORD CULLING His people.
WHEN THE
LORD CULLS, it is not pleasant nor comfortable for any of us to embrace or even
to read about it, for His Culling is deadly serious and very, very final.
HE culls His People in order to maintain a CORRECT KNOWLEDGE amongst them of WHO HE is, in truth.
The
unified, Divine Character, Purpose, Will, and Power of The ELOHIM --- The FATHER,
SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT --- never change; they are the same in both the Old
Covenant and the New Covenant.
The LORD
culls out from among those HE considers “HIS” people the ones who
are “mechanical” followers of GOD.
In name,
look, dress, tribe, and birth they seem to be followers of HIM and of HIS SON+,
CHRIST JESUS, but their hearts are far from HIM+. Knowing every man’s heart, of
what sort it is, The LORD does not allow the mechanical, nominal followers whose
hearts are far from HIM to be
numbered with the Faithful.
Here are
a few examples of the Scriptural accounts of the Cullings of GOD, The ELOHIM.
THE CULLINGS
Most all
agree that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their followers should have been
culled from the midst of the faithful.
The LORD
culled them from the number of His People when HE opened up the ground and had them meet an
unusual but timely death. They were swallowed alive into the earth --- and all
that pertained to them . See Numbers 16.
After
that horrific judgment, The LORD culled 14,700 others the very next morning by
a plague. They had accused Moses and Aaron of killing Korah and company !
Were Moses and Aaron able to open up the ground to swallow those families ?
It was
sad enough that Korah of the tribe of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, of the tribe
of Reuben, and all their company, died .
It was
even more grievous that the REMAINING REBELS did not LAY IT TO HEART that The
LORD was not to be thwarted.
They
refused to BELIEVE that it was GOD WHO had brought HIS judgment
to bear. They did not learn to fear GOD even seeing HIS horrific and swift
judgment upon Korah and company.
In their
pride, the rebels rejected the prophet Moses and the leadership of Aaron, the
first high priest, whom The LORD HIMSELF called to lead them on their exodus
from Egypt. So in their rebellion, the wayward men blamed Moses and Aaron of
doing something only GOD HIMSELF could do.
They
wanted to stone the very men The LORD had prepared and selected to lead them
out of their cruel slavery to Pharaoh ! Thus, these Israelites provoked The
LORD to cull 14,700 from among HIS people. This account is in Numbers 16.
YET ANOTHER CULLING FROM THE LORD
In
Numbers 25, we see another Culling by The LORD of HIS own people brought on by
Israelites who sinned and refused to stay separated from pagan neighbors and
their idols.
Provoking
this Culling, some Israelites had been lured by the women of the pagan
neighboring peoples of Moab and Midian. They fornicated with them, ate the
women’s sacrifices to idols, and even bowed down to their demonic idols.
The LORD
culled 24,000 Israelites with the plague just BEFORE they were scheduled to end
their 40 year exodus through the wilderness and enter the Promised Land.
Had Israel entered the Promised Land with morally and spiritually compromised men, they would NEVER have been able to stand before their enemies and put them to flight victoriously !
Morally-
and spiritually-compromised people greatly weaken the power of GOD’S People
against the enemy, both physical and spiritual enemies.
We see
this occurring in the defeat of Israel before its enemy in Joshua 7, which
brought about an earlier culling.
In that
occurrence, we see the defeat of the Israelites before their enemy because of
the sin of Achan who had hidden a cursed thing under his tent.
Strictly under
orders NOT to take anything from the spoils of their unclean, pagan enemy,
Achan disobeyed when he thought no-one was looking.
However, GOD was.
And the demons were.
Thus,
Achan AND HIS FAMILY were culled from among the children of Israel. His
disobedience caused the defeat of the Israelites in the battle of Ai.
Thirty-six Israelites died because of Achan’s spiritual and moral disobedience which
he thought no-one could see !
Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed:
neither will I be with you any more,
except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD GOD of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel:
thou canst not stand before thine enemies,
until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Joshua 7: 12-13
Earlier
in Exodus, we see the murmuring of the Israelites who had manna to eat but
lusted after flesh. The LORD sent them quails to eat but slew the ones who
would not turn away from their lust. Psalm 78: 27-31.
From the First Covenant to the New Covenant, we see these facts:
· The LORD’S character never changes.
· The LORD’S purposes never change.
· The LORD’S power to effect HIS Will among mankind never changes.
The
LORD culls His people. HE did in the Old Covenant and HE does in the New
Covenant. His Divine CULLING is one promise of GOD seldom preached-upon but
ALWAYS Divinely enacted, right on time.
Hear
the Words of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST, recorded in John 15:6.
If a man abide not in ME+, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Notice
that those words are addressed TO HIS PEOPLE, to the ones following CHRIST, to
those who are on the True VINE+ and living there as a branch.
They are the ones who on the VINE+ but are not bearing THAT fruit which is PLEASING to The LORD.
We are grafted into the Israel of
GOD .
In the days before The LORD returns, HE+ sends forth HIS+ Angels to
gather OUT OF HIS+ KINGDOM all things that offend. They are gathered together in bundles to be
BURNED. Hear the warning from The LORD JESUS CHRIST, recorded by Matthew.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I+ will say to the reapers, Gather ye together FIRST THE TARES, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into MY+ BARN. Matthew 13:30
The Son of Man+ shall send forth His+ angels, and they shall gather out of His+ Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41-42
Harvest time is HERE. The falling
away has been in progress for a number of years. The WORD of The LORD to His+
Followers is this:
SEPARATE YOURSELF
from the bundles being gathered to be burned.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Wherefore the
rather, brethren,
give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 2 Peter 1:10
+ + +
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