God’s abhorrence at the killing of children.

“The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes”, declares the Lord. “They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my name and have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire – something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.” (Jeremiah 7:30-31)

Jeremiah does not identify the pagan gods or goddesses that had been set up in the Temple, but his description of what was happening in the Valley of Ben Hinnom fits the description of Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites, who had been introduced to the land of Judah by King Solomon when he set up shrines to each of the gods of his foreign wives (1 Kings 11:7).

Molech was a particularly evil god to whom children were sacrificed in the fire. This form of religious sacrifice was so abhorrent to God that Moses was told to make it a capital offence: “The Lord said to Moses, say to the Israelites: any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him” (Lev 20:1-2).

The Fires of Gehenna

Hezekiah had cleansed the land of many foreign shrines on the high places but Manasseh, his son, re-introduced a wide range of idolatry including the worship of Molech: “In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practising sorcery and divination” (2 Kings 21:5- 6).

All this was reversed when the young Josiah came of age and instituted reforms, removing “from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts” (2 Kings 23:4). Josiah also “desecrated Topheth which was in the valley of Ben Hinnom, so no-one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire of Molech” (2 Kings 23:10).

Sacrificing children in pagan fire was so abhorrent to God that Moses was told to make it a capital offence.

But all this was reversed once again by Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, which is what caused Jeremiah to explode in righteous anger. The reason why Jehoiakim re-established the burning of babies in the valley of Ben Hinnom is probably to be found in a passing reference in 2 Kings 24:2, which says: “The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him.” It was a common practice to buy off raiders by installing a shrine to their god, acknowledging defeat and reducing the amount of treasure that had to be given to them. The fact that Ammonite raiders are mentioned here would be a reason for re-installing a shrine to Molech.

Jeremiah was outraged: he refers to the shrine as ‘Topheth’ which in Hebrew is a pun, rhyming with the word bosheth (‘shame’) and pronounced like the verb ‘to spit’ used in Job 17:6. The Valley of Ben Hinnom certainly became a ‘valley of shame’ as Jerusalem’s refuse tip which was burning constantly. The name was later shortened to ‘Ge Hinnom’, which when translated into Aramaic and Greek becomes the Gehenna that we meet in the New Testament, as the word for hell whose fires are never extinguished.

Speechlessness

Jeremiah’s level of outrage at the burning of little children in this valley of shame had no measure. He was virtually rendered speechless; as can be seen from the words he puts into the mouth of God: “[this is] something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.” This strange anthropomorphism is unlike any other pronouncement from Jeremiah.

It gives us another little glimpse into the life and ministry of Jeremiah and his amazing relationship with God. The words must have just tumbled out of Jeremiah’s mouth without him stopping to remember that he was speaking on behalf of the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe, who was not only omnipotent but also omniscient. It is hard to think that God would actually have said that he had been taken by surprise – that the sins of the people of Judah had actually not ever entered his mind!!

The Valley of Ben Hinnom is the Gehenna we meet in the New Testament as the word for hell whose fires are never extinguished.

Jeremiah’s use of this phrase reveals the nature of genuine, God-inspired prophecy that is expressed through our own human mind and in our human language. It is a reflection of Jeremiah’s own shock and horror, and the abhorrence of the Holy Spirit, that Jehoiakim could have sunk to such a depth of spiritual degradation and offence against the word of God. He was actually committing a crime of which God had said a perpetrator should be stoned to death. Here was the King himself bringing into the land of Judah this terrible practice of burning babies alive.

Glory Departed

It was probably at this moment that Jeremiah realised why God had told him to cease praying for the welfare of the nation - because its fate was already sealed. The holiness of the God of Israel, who had created human beings in his own image for fellowship with him, could not keep company with such detestable behaviour.

God could do no other than remove his presence from the Temple, from Jerusalem and from among the people of Judah. They would now be left to their fate which Jeremiah knew meant that the Babylonians would come and conquer the land, tearing down the walls of Jerusalem, setting fire to the King’s palace and first desecrating and then destroying the Temple. Jeremiah could already foresee what Ezekiel was later to speak about – the word ICHABOD, ‘Glory Departed’, over the Temple.

So, what is God saying to us today? He sees hundreds of live babies torn from their mother’s wombs every day, thrown into a black plastic bag and taken out of the back door of our hospitals and thrown into the incinerator – the modern equivalent of the shrine of Molech. Can we really expect God to bless a nation whose land is filled with the blood of the innocent?

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here to read previous instalments. You may also be interested in our News Page this week, which features several pro-life events coming up in September.

Our picks and yours…

August can be an ideal month to catch up on some reading, as we enjoy a break from other commitments and the pace of life slows slightly (at least for some!). If you are looking for some reading material that beats the poolside novels currently swamping Britain’s bookshops, below you’ll find our pick of the books we have reviewed on Prophecy Today so far this year – as well as the top three most popular with our readers.

Our Picks

Walk the Emmaus Road with Lois Tverberg as she shows how a Hebraic perspective can transform our understanding of the Bible in Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, the third in a worthy series on the Jewishness of our Saviour.

Whether or not you have already embarked on this journey of discovery, we recommend David Hoffbrand’s book The Jewish Jesus, which not only provides this transformative perspective on the Messiah, but also asks how it ought to affect us practically, as members of the ‘One New Man’ community of faithful Jews and Gentiles.

For those seeking just such a practical challenge, we commend Dan Lucarini’s It’s Not About the Music, which will shake up your attitude to worship (both personal and corporate) with a resolute call for reform and a return to scriptural ideals.

Or, why not take the plunge and allow God to examine your attitude to that most basic of issues – money? In his accessible and comprehensive book Money: The Great Deception, Gottfried Hetzer brings Kingdom principles to bear on the global financial system, including plenty of practical, personal advice for Christians seeking to handle their money more biblically. In a similar vein, Randy Alcorn’s compact challenge to our giving habits in The Treasure Principle has been described by our Resources Editor as “worth its weight in gold, and more”.

For those hoping to use the summer holidays to better equip themselves on hot-button cultural issues, look no further than the sterling work being published by Wilberforce Publications, CARE and Sovereign World. Zooming out to the global level, David Cross’s What’s Wrong with Human Rights? exposes the false ideology which has helped produce our individualistic, entitled culture.

Closer to home, Walter R. Schumm takes on the gender ideology juggernaut with his scholarly review of literature on same-sex parenting and its impacts on children, Same-Sex Parenting Research, a thoroughly worthwhile investment for those wanting to arm themselves with specific details on this subject.

Finally, are you aware of the extent to which science fiction is rapidly becoming science fact? On the increasingly important subject of artificial intelligence, Professor Nigel Cameron is a leading thinker seeking to help Christians get ‘smart’ when it comes to technology. The Robots Are Coming is a ‘must read’ on today’s technological developments and what they mean for humanity and our relationship with God, while God and My Mobile presents a more personal challenge about how Christians should handle the digital revolution – ideal to read with the family in mind, as well as oneself. Both (at the time of writing) are currently being offered by CARE at a discount price.

Most Loved by You

Two of our 2019 book reviews that have been most popular with Prophecy Today readers have been secular offerings. Take former BBC journalist and executive Robin Aitken on holiday with you for a cathartic read on BBC bias in The Noble Liar, an insider’s exposé of our national broadcaster’s ingrained ideological slant.

Or enjoy a hard-hitting, in-depth modern political history of Britain and an uncompromising review of Labour’s radically Marxist leader in investigative journalist Tom Bower’s biography of Jeremy Corbyn, Dangerous Hero.

Finally, in case you somehow missed our review of ‘the most important book you’ve never heard of’, here’s your second chance to discover the Didache, the ancient instruction manual which illuminates how the early Church did discipleship.

Have a blessed and fruitful summer!

Home schooling in Britain is growing rapidly - and with good reason.

It is August and the schools are closed for the holidays. Traditionally, this has been a time when children are with their parents, whether at home or on holiday – that special time of the year that offers opportunities for families to be together.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 comes to mind: a mandate given by God long ago, that all might go well with us. We can picture parents and children considering the beauty of God’s Creation on summer days when, walking and talking, they learn together about him.

Yet in this continuing season of political tension and upheaval, it is much more likely that we will be encouraged to dwell on the new Prime Minister’s tactics to win parliamentary battles (especially the battle to come out of Europe) than on how we might bring up the nation’s children in the ways of God.

Indeed, when September comes round and the schools re-open, for Christian parents the prospect of what will be taught to their children is of ever-growing concern. Watchmen in our nation, such as our own team at Prophecy Today and Issachar Ministries and others such as Christian Concern, inform us of more and more examples of the danger posed to our children through agendas at work within our educational establishments.

Godless Agendas

Unbiblical agendas such as those that have been imposed by the LGBTQ+ movement are impacting even the youngest primary school children, who are being driven to question their God-given biological gender.¹ The movement to eradicate belief in the God of Creation has long imposed itself and now we move on to the consequences, clearly outlined in Romans 1.

For Christian parents the prospect of what is being taught to their children in schools is of ever-growing concern.

Ungodly forces are being allowed to influence the teaching of our children and take them off that wonderful, God-given path for each one. “Train a child in the way he should go” (Prov 22:6) is the mandate given to parents, for which a sensitive, protected, God-given educational programme is needed whereby a child, nurtured first by parents and helped by teachers, learns how to walk with God themselves. Woe to those who perpetuate godless agendas in our schools. Jesus had these words of warning for them:

If anyone causes one of these little ones, those who believe in me, to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. (Matt 18:6)

Pressure Upon Pressure

The latest LGBTQ+ pressures on children add to others already well-established and highlighted in Prophecy Today for many years. The bigger picture, over the longer term, is of powers of darkness at work to divide up families and destroy the faith of an entire generation.

For example, before our eyes are growing numbers of teenagers being drawn into gang warfare and knife crime, to the extent that MPs are now recommending police officers in schools.² Does this not illustrate a society that is increasingly unguarded against the seductive powers of evil?

Even Christian schools are under pressure, as central Government has taken it upon itself to impose pressures to conform to secular humanist ideals, especially through Ofsted. If Ofsted were encouraging biblically-based curricula and putting in measures to protect our children by reinforcing the God-given mandate that parents have been given, then we could be grateful. If instead, we find an increasing departure and enforcement of ungodly educational content and strategy (dubbed ‘muscular liberalism’ by Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman), then it is time to be very concerned.

The bigger picture, over the longer term, is of powers of darkness at work to divide up families and destroy the faith of an entire generation.

Enough is Enough?

Many Christian parents are alarmed at what is happening in schools because of Government pressures to conform, and are saying, ‘enough is enough’. According to Ephesians 6:4 and elsewhere in the Bible, it is parents who have responsibility for their children. In the coming days, I do not doubt that many will seek to withdraw from or avoid the growing corruption of the world, including that which is in many schools.

Home education of children is an obvious, and still legal, option, that has much support in the USA and which many Christian families in the UK are already pursuing with great success. The number of home-schooled children in Britain has doubled in the last four years.³ It could become even more widespread here if those of us with experience in education can help make it an attractive and meaningful possibility.

If there is not a major move of repentance across the nation as a whole, home education could be a vital means to strengthen Christian families for the days ahead. Education of our children in a Christ-centred way should be a central priority in this, and will require those with expertise to seek the Lord in considering how to provide support. Could this be part of God’s strategy for safeguarding faithful families in future? What part might you play?

References

1 It is interesting to note the furore which has broken out in Birmingham primary schools between school staff intent on imposing a radical LGBTQ+ agenda and concerned parents. Most of the parents protesting are Muslim, prompting some difficult questions for the Government on how to negotiate the competing demands of these two minority groups, Islam and LGBTQ+.

2 MPs call for police in schools to cut youth violence. BBC News, 31 July 2019.

3 See here. This is for a variety of reasons, one of which is undoubtedly the impulse of Christian parents to protect their children.

Natural signs of a spiritual reality.

‘LEAVE NOW’ screamed the front page of the Daily Mirror yesterday. Did this signal a major political change in the Labour-supporting, strongly ‘Remain’ newspaper? Certainly not! It was referring to the imminent danger of a reservoir bursting in Derbyshire that could threaten the safety of many people in Whaley Bridge in the Peak District.

Strangely enough, Ruth George, the Labour MP for the High Peak district which includes Whaley Bridge, not only voted to remain in the 2016 referendum, but is an outstanding campaigner against leaving the EU. She is out of step with the rest of Derbyshire, which voted to leave the EU by approximately 60:40.

Time to Reflect

Ruth George MP

Mrs George is also out of step with the official position of the Labour Party, who are desperately trying to combat anti-Semitism among their MPs. She jumps onto any opportunity to criticise Israel, although she got her fingers burnt earlier this year when she criticised Luciana Berger, a Jewish MP, for leaving Labour.

Mrs George suggested that financial support for Labour Friends of Israel, which Ms Berger formerly directed, was coming from Israel. Mrs George later apologised saying that she was quite wrong to suggest that there was a conspiracy involving Israel.¹ 

Perhaps Mrs George should reflect upon the ‘coincidence’ of the floods that have swept through her constituency and the urgent command to all the residents of the town she represents to LEAVE NOW!

Watching Signs in Nature

The prophets of Israel always watched what was happening in nature as signs of what God might be saying to the nation. Amos 4 is a classic example, where the prophet details the droughts, floods and plagues that had hit the nation with the much-repeated phrase “‘Yet you have not returned to me’ declares the Lord”. Maybe the floods, which are not only affecting the residents of Derbyshire, should be taken as a sign to all residents of the UK.

What is God saying to us? Surely, we are a nation under judgment, but there is still time for repentance and turning. Is the Lord saying to the people of Britain, “LEAVE NOW and put your trust in me!”?

"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22)

References

1 See Labour MP apologises for suggesting Israel funds Independent Group. The Guardian, 19 February 2019. Ruth George MP has also received criticism for failing to call out a Labour councillor in her constituency who posted anti-Semitic material online. Read more here and here.

Giving thanks for the Jews’ most precious gift to us

Just as the modern state of Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust in perfect fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy of dry bones coming back to life, so too did a new love for the Jewish people emerge from the rubble of Germany.

Shocked and devastated by the destruction of their home city of Darmstadt through the RAF bombing of 11 September 1944, which saw 12,000 killed and many more made homeless, Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary founder Basilea Schlink saw it as judgment for her country’s mass murder of the Jews.

But it stirred her heart to repentance and sorrow, as a result of which the movement was dedicated to confessing the sin of her nation and to making restitution with God’s chosen people, chiefly by loving and serving them in whatever way they could.

Now an international organisation with branches all over the world, they continue to bless the Jewish people as, full of the joy of Jesus, they demonstrate unbounding gratitude for their gift of the scriptures and, most of all, of their Messiah.

Solidarity and Reconciliation

My wife Linda and I have just attended the golden anniversary of the UK branch, based in a Hertfordshire village near London, when they looked back with amazement at the reconciling power of the Cross modelled beautifully by the current residents – Sister Thekla from Germany and Sister Glory from England – representing the nations once at war with each other.

Just as the modern state of Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, so too did a new love for the Jewish people emerge from the rubble of Germany.

A measure of the impact they have made is apparent in the way they have been embraced by the local Jewish community, who have not only accepted invitations to their many events but have also in turn welcomed the sisters into their synagogues!

One of the sisters’ annual 'Israel Day' events included the testimony of the son of a Nazi now reaching out in love to the Jews as part of his role as a disciple of Jesus. Half the audience on that occasion were from the Jewish community, one of whom later wrote: “We were overwhelmed by the event.”

Sister Thekla explained that, in sharing their shame and sorrow for the guilt of the nations, Jewish groups are greatly moved. “The smallest sign that we recognise what they went through touches them deeply.”

Maranatha

Bearing in mind that the name of their UK home is Jesus’ Return, the weekend theme was, appropriately, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” (Rev 22:17) – a reference to the Second Coming. And as their house name implies, their focus is very much on Jesus himself and his soon return.

Always welcoming, praying, believing and encouraging, their irrepressible joy is impossible to ignore, proving a magnetic draw to the One they adore.

Against the background of Christianity’s guilt towards the Jewish nation, guest speaker Sister Verita (currently based at their Jerusalem branch and originally from New York) challenged us from Romans 11:11: “That is the call of the Church – making the Jews jealous, causing them to ask what is the source of the faith, hope, love and joy that we have in the Messiah” (see Psalm 126).

Above all, the sisters point to Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). But we have lost our way as a nation, and need to rediscover our true destiny.

Always welcoming, praying, believing and encouraging, the sisters’ irrepressible joy is impossible to ignore, proving a magnetic draw to the One they adore.

Jesus is the Way

This was brought home to us when we temporarily got lost after losing our GPS signal en route to the event. Even the road sign we were looking for was covered in foliage, an increasingly common sight across the country, causing Linda to remark: “In a year’s time, no-one will know where to go.”

A prophetic statement indeed for where we are today – lost in a fog of pointless activity as we struggle through a maze of no-through-roads, disconnected from the true source of life and direction while blindly taking wrong turns.

We desperately need to rediscover how to find our way through life, plugged into the Maker’s instructions rather than unreliable Satnavs. Jesus is the way!

Walking in Ancient Paths

We took a lovely walk in the Cotswolds on our journey back, but again got lost temporarily where the once well-worn path was overgrown. We needed to retrace our steps and get back on track.

As Jeremiah wrote, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls’” (Jer 6:16).

Jesus fulfilled that promise when he said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened…and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:28f).

Worship is not a substitute for obedience.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: “Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other offerings and eat the meat yourselves! For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.

But they did not listen or pay attention, instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiffnecked and did more evil than their forefathers.” (Jeremiah 7:21-26)

This is another of Jeremiah’s sweeping statements condemning the official religion in Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoiakim and shortly before the Babylonian invasion of 598 BC. The positioning of this word in Jeremiah 7 is highly significant. It follows Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon and his declaration that God was actually going to destroy his own sanctuary, as he had done at Shiloh.

Jeremiah was told to tell the people that the message from God was: “I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim” (Jer 7:15). He then received a personal command to stop praying for the welfare of the nation because God was no longer prepared to turn a blind eye to what they were doing. God could see whole families indulging in the worship of Astarte, the goddess of fertility – and actually doing these things openly in the streets of Jerusalem!

These things were provoking the anger of the Lord, but his wrath was primarily turned upon the religious leaders of the nation – the Temple priests and prophets who were allowing such things to happen openly, in sight of the Temple, without rebuke!

The people were provoking God’s anger, but his wrath was primarily turned upon the religious leaders of the nation.

Call to Obedience

This word from Jeremiah is directed to the priests who were responsible for the daily morning and evening sacrifices in the Temple. They were told not to bother with these ritual sacrifices any more – they were wasting their time, because God would no longer heed their prayers and petitions on behalf of the nation. They might as well eat the meat for themselves rather than burn it on the altar as “a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire” (Ex 29:41).

The presenting of a regular daily offering at the Tent of Meeting was a command given to Moses (Ex 29:38-45; Num 28:11-13). This practice was still being observed when David became king over all Israel, even before he established Jerusalem as his capital. When the Ark was recaptured from the Philistines we read, “David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening” (1 Chron 16:39). When Jerusalem became the capital of the nation, this daily offering was transferred to Solomon’s Temple.

In the reading we are studying today, God reminded Jeremiah that the central command he had given to Moses was a call for obedience. The First Commandment was that the people of Israel should have no other God than Yahweh their Lord. This was of supreme importance. Obedience to the teaching given to Moses was far more important than offering sacrifices. The sacrifices were acts of worship during which prayers and petitions were offered, but worship was not a substitute for obedience.

God reminded Jeremiah that the central command he had given to Moses was a call for obedience.

Meaningless Offerings

Jeremiah, in accordance with prophetic tradition in Israel, gave little importance to the ritual of sacrificial practices. Back in the 8^th Century, some 200 years earlier, Isaiah had begun his ministry with a devastating attack upon the whole sacrificial system:

The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals…Stop bringing meaningless offerings!…Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen…Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed… (Isa 1:11-17)

In a similar vein, Amos lambasted the people in the northern Kingdom of Israel: “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them…Away with the noise of your songs!…But let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21-24).

Jeremiah said that there was a long history of the people failing to obey the commands of the Lord. He had sent them prophets to declare his word in every generation, ever since they left Egypt: “Day after day, again and again…But they did not listen to me or pay attention.” The people were doing just as their forefathers had done, relying upon the traditional ritual of religion carried out by the priests on behalf of the nation and thinking that they were thereby fulfilling the requirements of God.

The priests were at fault for not teaching the people that obedience to the commandments of the Lord was essential. They could not expect God to fulfil the promises of his covenant relationship with the nation unless this requirement of obedience to the Torah was fulfilled.

But the level of disobedience and refusal to listen to correction was so ingrained in the nation, due to it being institutionalised in their religion, that Jeremiah was told by God that neither the priests nor the people would listen to him. He was to say, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips” (Jer 7:28).

The priests were at fault for not teaching the people that obedience to the commandments of the Lord was essential.

True Worship

It is a basic biblical teaching in the prophetic tradition of Israel that worship, however loud and exuberant, does not absolve the worshippers from obedience to the teaching that God has given. This is an instruction that ought to be heeded today!

Faithful attendance at church and participation in worship on Sundays does not absolve us from ungodly behaviour on weekdays – especially in the denial of justice and compassion in our human relationships.

This prophetic tradition also applies to preachers and teachers and worship leaders today. It is no use turning up the volume on our sound system if the teaching we are giving is contrary to biblical truth! If truth has ‘vanished from our lips’, we may be sure that the Lord will be saying, “Away with your songs! Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.”

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here for previous instalments.

Clifford Denton reviews ‘Beloved Warrior’ by Gail Dixon (ICT Media Tech/Print, 2019)

Gail Dixon has been in Christian ministry and missionary work for nearly 40 years, first with World Horizons and more lately leading its sister organisation, Nations Trust. This inspiring devotional book emerges from her wide-ranging experiences and is based on personal reflection over a long life of discipleship.

One imagines her sitting before the Lord, after all these years of walking with him and praying to him, and being inspired to share the most central aspects of her relationship with him. What has resulted is a book is about the covenant love of Jesus within the battle for the salvation of many - hence the title, Beloved Warrior.

The Battle and the Warrior

Gail includes some remarkable accounts of the intensity of this wider battle, which have resulted in fruit being borne for the Kingdom in lives saved and transformed by Jesus’ love. The accounts draw on both scriptural examples, of those who have gone before, and a multitude of modern-day examples.

But even though the book is about the battle for salvation, the book is structured around and focused on Jesus, the Beloved Warrior. Each of its ten chapters focus on a different characteristic of our Saviour and our relationship with him, including prayer, worship, rest, perseverance, faithfulness and surrender.

Beautiful Writing

Gail seeks to draw the reader into experiencing the Lord’s love and sharing it with others, whatever the commitment and cost. Her writing is scriptural, tender and powerful:

His warfare is full of mercy, full of healing, because the weapon is love. He woos us, through our bruising, and breathes onto us when our flame is dying. He longs for us to know that we are His beloved. He is never discouraged, and as we stand into His love, so we too will discover that we are warriors. His love, His power, flows through us. (p271)

All income from the book will be donated to the work of Nations Trust.

Beloved Warrior (158pp) is available from Amazon as a paperback (£10) and on Kindle (£2.65).

Torah portion: Numbers 22:2-25:9

Balak

Following the Lord’s leading to take the land of the Amorites and of Bashan when their kings Sihon and Og fought against Israel to prevent them passing through the land (Numbers 21:23, 33), Israel camped in the plains of Moab. Here, King Balak, fearful of their large numbers, called upon Balaam, a seer from Pethor (near the Euphrates), to curse them using pagan divination.

This week’s important and prophetic Torah portion describes the way Balak tried three times to seduce and bribe Balaam into coming to Moab to curse the Israelites, but God intervened, only allowing Balaam to move and speak according to what He told him.

New Spiritual Vision

God revealed Himself first to Balaam’s donkey, who saw the Angel of the Lord with a drawn sword in his hand standing in the narrow way. He opened her mouth to challenge Balaam’s anger, and then opened Balaam’s spiritual eyes to bow before Him in worship and obedience.

God knew the intention of Balaam’s heart, and how his greed and hatred for Israel had blinded his spiritual vision. But when his eyes were opened he saw Israel’s true condition, which was to be blessed - as a well-watered garden in the Lord’s hand (24:6-7) - and not cursed. Balaam could do no other than bless them. Would that we would ‘see’ that also!

Balaam’s Prophetic Oracles

God could now give Balaam seven important prophetic oracles concerning Israel:

1. Balaam was not to curse or denounce when God had not cursed or denounced. His people are not to be reckoned among the nations (23:7-10) or involved in occult works.
2. God is Israel’s sovereign King. No sorcery could be effective against Jacob, no divination against Israel (23:18-24). They are His people by His covenant.
3. Balaam saw clearly Israel’s blessing under God’s powerful protection (24:3-9). He reiterated the promise in Genesis 12:3: those who bless Israel are blessed and those who curse or denounce them come under God’s full curse (24:9). A word for us also.
4. Balaam was then given a wondrous vision of the Messiah of Israel, Yeshua. Balaam said, with certainty: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him but not near. A star will come out of Jacob, a sceptre will arise out of Israel…” (24:15-19).

And finally (5, 6, 7): nations raised up to attack Israel or supplant other nations (in this case, Amalek, the Kenites and Kittim) would come to ruin.

The Lesson of Choice

Balaam became a prophet who stood in the counsel of the Almighty, yet sadly he later returned to divination and occult practices. When Israel were camped in Moab, Balaam seduced them into sexual immorality and idolatry in worshipping Baal (Num 31:16, 25:1-6).

Israel suffered plague (24,000 died) and Moab was destroyed for their part in this deception, which led to Israel showing contempt for holy things. Holiness - separation from the world’s values - was to characterise Israel, so they could witness to God’s values.

The character of Balaam can be contrasted strongly with that of Abraham by three characteristics: an evil eye (greed, envy), a haughty spirit and a proud soul (Balaam) compared with a good eye (generosity), a lowly spirit and a humble soul (Abraham).¹ This is echoed in what the Lord showed us by Micah (6:8): that to do good is to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.

May we be disciples of our father Abraham, agree with the will of God expressed through Balaam and Micah, and keep our eyes on Him. May He open our eyes to receive spiritual sight, and may we obey the word He gives us, to bless His people Israel.

References

1 Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 5:22. See also http://chateaumezcal.com/avot/avot5.htm.

Author: Greg Stevenson