WE ARE BLESSED TO BE SHITTIM WOOD COVERED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE WITH GOLD
02-17-13
(Psa 1:1-6) Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But
his delight [Heb: pleasure: purpose, willingly] is in the law of
the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate [Heb: ponder: study]
day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water [nourished by the Holy Spirit], that bringeth
forth his fruit [versus “no fruit” Mark 4:7; Luke 8:14; “not
fruit” John 15:2] in his season; his leaf [Heb: branch]
[offspring] also shall not wither [through lack of
water]; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. //// (Psa 1:4-6)
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff [Heb: chaff
(as pressed out, i.e. winnowed or [rather] threshed loose)] which the
wind [symbol of the Holy Spirit] driveth away. Therefore
the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in
the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the
righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
1.
(2 Tim 2:15) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a
workman [Gk: a toiler: labourer] that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
a.
dividing = Gk: make a straight cut, i.e. (fig.) to dissect (expound)
correctly (the divine message) /// straight, upright /// & /// (to cut; more
comprehensive or decisive than G2875, as if by a single stroke;
whereas G2875 implies repeated blows like hacking); more keen:--sharper.
b.
(Heb 4:12) For the word of God is quick [Gk: alive],
and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even
to the dividing asunder [Gk: separating] of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner [Gk:
discriminator /// judge] of the thoughts and intents [Gk:
moral understanding] of the heart.
2.
wither = Heb: to fall away, fail, faint; fig. to be foolish or (mor.)
wicked; causat. to despise, disgrace:-- dishonour, lightly esteem, fade
(away, -ing), fall (down, -ling, off), do foolishly, come to nought, X
surely, make vile.
3.
prosper = Heb: to push forward, in various senses:--break out, come
(mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect,
make to, send) prosper (-ity, -ous, -ously).
4.
(Luke 23:26-31) And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one
Simon [Heb: hearing], a Cyrenian [modern Libya],
coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might
bear it after Jesus [much here is unrevealed]. And there followed
him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed
[Gk: beat the breast in grief] and lamented him [Gk:
mourned]. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of
Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your
children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they
shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the
paps which never gave suck. Then [at the time of the second coming
of Jesus Christ in grace for us and judgment for them] shall they
begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us
[Rev 6:16,17]. For if they do these things in a green tree
[a tree full of the water of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ], what
shall be done in the dry [a tree having no water, the
unsaved]?
5.
perish = Heb: wander away, i.e. lose oneself:--be broken, be
destroyed, + not escape, fail, lose, X and surely, take, be undone, X
utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
THE
SHITTIM WOOD ARK WITH A CROWN OF GOLD
(Exo 25:8,9) And let them make me a
sanctuary [Heb: a consecrated thing or place, espec. a palace:
holy place]; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I
show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle [given to
Moses sometime on Mount Sinai], and the pattern of all the
instruments [Heb: something prepared] [you are an instrument
of God being prepared (trained up) by God for His use] thereof, even so
shall ye make it.
1.
tabernacle = Heb: mishkan; a residence (includ. a
shepherd's hut, the lair of animals, fig. the grave;
also the Temple); spec. the Tabernacle (prop. its wooden walls):--dwelleth,
dwelling (place), habitation, tabernacle, tent.
(Exo 25:10-12) And they shall make an ark of
shittim wood [i.e., built with the finished product, having been
transformed from earthbound tree to heavenbound board or plank by the Great
Carpenter]: two cubits and a half [5 feet (arbitrarily using
24” = 1 cubit)] shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half
[3 feet] the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half [3
feet] the height thereof. 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. 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 [Heb: a rib (as curved), lit. (of the body)]
of it, and two rings in the other side [Heb: a rib (as
curved), lit. (of the body)] of it.
1.
ark = Heb: (in the sense of gathering); a box:--ark, [treasure]
chest, coffin /// to pluck: gather, pluck.
2.
Commentary: a chest, even more so than a box, is wherein we
tend to keep valuable things, else we would tend to not keep them at all;
hence, one may infer with great probability the correctness of the allusion
herein to a “treasure chest” (connoting life), especially when viewed
against a contrasting “coffin” (connoting death)
a.
(Mat 6:19-21) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
3.
shittim = Heb: shittah; sticks of wood; the acacia (from its
scourging thorns) /// (prop. to pierce) to flog; a goad:--scourge.
4.
Commentary: shittim wood = Shittim wood is the
symbol of man. Shittim wood is derived from a tree of the Acacia
species. Shittim trees thrive in dry areas, and were then abundantly found
in the Sinai peninsula and the wilderness country east of the Jordan
river. Shittim translates from Hebrew into “thorny; scourging thorns.” It is
a very hard, densely-grained tree, large, with thorny rough gnarled bark. It
was the only wood used in the construction of the Tabernacle of Moses.
5.
Commentary: gold = Gold is the symbol of God.
The word means “to shimmer” in Hebrew; that brings Shekinah to mind. Gold is
a soft, bright yellow metal. It can be found and used in its pure state,
without smelting. Gold never tarnishes. It is extremely malleable
which means that it can be easily formed into thin strips, delicate objects,
and coverings. Gold is too soft a metal to be used for tools or weapons.
6.
Commentary: We may
herein assemble the composite figurative indications (signs,
road-signs pointing to something) of Exodus 25:8-12 that God has given us
for mankind. The tabernacle itself is your “grave” for you
shall certainly die. The ark which lays inside the tabernacle
is either “a (saved) shepherd’s hut” and thus by extension “a treasure
chest” connoting life, and ‘something saved.’ Again, the ark
which lays inside the tabernacle is “the lair of (unsaved) animals” and thus
by extension “a coffin” connoting death, and ‘something not saved.’
Whichever description of the ark (treasure chest or coffin) is
applicable for you is dependent upon whether or not the finger of the
consuming fire of God has come down from Heaven to enlighten the brazen
altar of your heart.
a.
(Psa 18:28) For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God
will enlighten my darkness.
Amen

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