1Sa 5:1-5 KJV And the
Philistines took the ark of God, and
brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. (2) When the
Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of
Dagon, and set it by Dagon. (3) 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. (4) And when they arose early on the
morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground
before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of
his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was
left to him. (5) Therefore neither the priests of Dagon,
nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon
in Ashdod unto this day.
Eli was high priest at this time of history.
- Samuel was a boy prophet.
- Israel was backslidden.
- The leaders usually determine the state of the people.
- The religious leader, Eli, was backslidden as well.
1Sa 3:1-4 KJV And the child
Samuel ministered unto the LORD
before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there
was no open vision. (2) And it came to pass at that time,
when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim,
that he could not see; (3) And ere the lamp of God went out
in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was
laid down to sleep; (4) That the LORD called Samuel: and he
answered, Here am I.
After reading of all the bad state of things at this time, we read at
that time that Samuel was called by God.
- Samuel was summoned due to the bad state of everyone else in
leadership.
There was no lamp lit in the Tabernacle.
Exo 27:20 KJV And thou shalt
command the children of Israel, that
they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp
to burn always.
No open vision.
Pro 29:18 KJV Where there is
no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The word of God was precious because it was rare!
1Sa 1:3 KJV And this man
went up out of his city yearly to
worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two
sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
These two sons of Eli were wicked men.
HOPHNI's name means: Pugilist, or fist fighter.
PHINEHAS' name means: Mouth of the Serpent.
These boys were adulterers, and forced people to give offerings, and
cheated the offerings for themselves.
1Sa 2:12 KJV Now the sons of
Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
Notice that while they were Eli's sons, they were also called "sons of
Belial.
- Connections.
- Two boys who were sons of the high priest were also
connected to Belial/Satan, and called sons of Belial.
The enemy saw the removal of God's protection from Israel due to
Israel's sin, and the enemy came and shook the kingdom.
The Church is spiritual Israel.
- When people in the church are not hearing from God, but
hearing
instead a repeated sermon without life, and no inspiration and
anointing, things are in bad shape.
- The lamp of the Tabernacle had to be maintained and kept lit.
- This required commitment.
- Lack of commitment is found in many Christians' lives.
The 7 candlesticks on the lamp represent the churches.
Rev 1:20 KJV The mystery of
the seven stars which thou sawest in
my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are
the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou
sawest are the seven churches.
Jesus walked amidst the candlesticks:
Rev 1:13 KJV And in the
midst of the seven candlesticks one like
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt
about the paps with a golden girdle.
Rev 2:1 KJV Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These
things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who
walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
He told the church their problem, and commented about their candlestick
(church) and how it would be removed if they did not set things right.
Rev 2:4 KJV Nevertheless I
have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5 KJV Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and
repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly,
and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
If Jesus walked in the midst of the candlesticks, and said He'd remove
the candlestick from its place, then that means he would remove the
candlesticks from where He walked.
- The Churches are the candlesticks, so He would remove the
church from His presence.
- The church would no longer be connected to Him.
The tabernacle Candlesticks were shaped like an almond tree with
six branches and a shaft comprising the seven candlesticks.
- The light was the tree's produce.
- So,
if there is a removing of the candlestick due to the church's loss
of
its first love, then it is like a branch being broken off Christ, the
Vine, so as to be unable to produce fruit.
Joh 15:5-6 KJV I
am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing.
(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.
One can bear no fruit without connection to Jesus.
- A person is cast forth from Him, so there can be no fruit
produced.
- And all of this points us back to the problem of there being
no love for Jesus.
- Loss of the first love.
Abiding in Him, in John 15:, involves loving Jesus.
- If you lose your love for Him, then you lost your first love.
- No
wonder John was told to tell the Ephesian church that they lost their
first love and would therefore be removed from Him should they not
repent.
Eli's eyes were dim.
- He could not hear God's word.
Mat
13:15 KJV For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears
are
dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they
should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal
them.
The very two things Jesus mentioned were represented by the state in
which Eli existed.
- Dull of hearing (word was precious in those days)
- Eyes dim.
When we slip away from God our spiritual eyesight is gone.
- Cannot see in the Spirit.
- Cannot hear in the Spirit.
Eli was an "old man".
1Sa
4:18 KJV And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of
God,
that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and
his neck brake, and he died: for he
was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Rom 6:6 KJV 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.
1Sa
4:10-11 KJV And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten,
and
they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great
slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
(11) And
the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
were slain.
PHILISTINE literally means "immigrant".
- Not from here.
- In the spiritual realm, an immigrant in God's Kingdom is of
the devil.
- Sin is an immigrant.
- Sin does not belong in a believer's life.
- It did not originate in the church.
- But too many believers learn to live with it.
Sin does what the Philistines did.
- It conquers.
- Pillages.
- Terrorizes.
Rom 6:2 KJV God forbid. How
shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:12 KJV Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:14 KJV For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are
not under the law, but under grace.
If we feel that nothing can be done about sin, our eyes are dim, and we
cannot hear God.
- We're not keeping the Holy Ghost burning in our lives.
1Sa
4:12 KJV And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and
came to
Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
The man from the tribe of Benjamin ran with a message to Eli.
- Earth was on his head, he was in distress, and mourning.
This man represents PAUL THE APOSTLE AND HIS UNIQUE MESSAGE TO THE
CHURCH.
- Paul was used powerfully to teach a certain message more
than the other apostles.
- VICTORY OVER SIN.
Phi
3:5 KJV Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of
the
tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a
Pharisee;
He was a Benjamite just like the messenger in Eli's day.
1Sa
4:13-18 KJV And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the
wayside
watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man
came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
(14) And
when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise
of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.
(15) Now
Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he
could not see. (16) And the man said unto Eli, I am he that
came out
of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is
there done, my son? (17) And the messenger answered and
said, Israel
is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great
slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas,
are dead, and the ark of God is taken. (18) And it came to
pass, when
he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat
backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for
he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Eli was an OLD MAN and HEAVY.
- His heavy weight represents MUCH FLESHLINESS.
- The OLD MAN of our lives is the part of use that gives us
trouble,
- It is VERY CARNAL/FLESHLY.
- The work of the cross sees to it that this old man is
crucified with Christ.
- HE MUST DIE.
- If our lives are like the sad state in which Israel existed
in Eli's time, it is because our flesh and OLD MAN rule our lives.
Rom
6:6 KJV 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.
Paul's message was that the work of the cross was accomplished so that
the OLD MAN might be crucified with Christ.
- The word "DESTROYED" in the verse above is translated from
the Greek term that actually means "of none effect."
- You can read the same Greek word translated as "of none
effect" in Romans 4:4.
- "Bring to naught".
- Our old man needs to be made ineffective.
- But it is very effective when we do know truth and do
not live by it.
- We think we must sin, and this connects us to the devil!
- Fleshly people are ruled by their OLD MAN who is deaf and
blind.
When we are overweight, we retain much "fat".
- "Fat" exists in a person due to inactivity.
- "Muscle" requires discipline in one's need for activity.
- When we "let go" of ourselves and leave our physical health
without attention, fat builds up.
- But when we become disciplined and active, muscle can build.
- FAT reminds me of the OLD MAN who rules and
lives and thrives when we lack spiritual discipline.
- When we let our lives go without disciple to pray and keep
the flesh under, the OLD MAN THRIVES.
- But
when we are spiritually disciplined, and seek God and keep the flesh at
bay, we become spiritually strong, as though with much muscle.
Self-centered
people who are picky with others, touchy and intolerant, and easily set
off, are people whose OLD MAN is alive and well.
1Co 13:4-7 KJV
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, (5) Doth not behave
itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil; (6) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the
truth;
(7) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things.
This love is the love of God that carnal people cannot manifest very
often.
Our OLD MAN produces two kinds of sons.
- PHINEHAS: means in English "mouth of a serpent".
- HOPHNI means in English: "fist fighter".
A fighting nature and one who speaks words of the devil are
perfect representations of the works of our flesh.
- It is being mean, and self-centred and proud.
Paul's
message about some further purposes of the cross, aside from initial
salvation, deals a death blow to the OLD MAN in our lives, and also
slays the works of the flesh represented by the sons of Eli.
- Learning how to walk after the Spirit destroys the old man
and works of the flesh.
Rom 6:2 KJV God forbid. How
shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
How, indeed!
- The
way we continue to live in sin when we have been made dead to it by the
cross is through IGNORANCE of these truths regarding the purpose of the
cross.
- And many believers are ignorant of these truths!
- For that reason, Paul kept asking "Know ye not?"
- By letting our flesh go without disciplining it, causes us
to continue to live in sin.
Rom
6:6-7 KJV 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. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin.
If we KNOW these truths, our old man will be made ineffective!
- We will realize we are freed from sin since we died with
Jesus!
- If we KNOW this, and GET THIS TRUTH in our hearts, the old
man will be made ineffective, for THIS TRUTH BREAKS HIS NECK!
1 Sam 4:(18) And it came to
pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that
he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his
neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had
judged Israel forty years.
We must let the Spirit of God take over our lives, by voluntary
presentation of ourselves to Him, and let Him rule!
Rom
6:13 KJV Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that
are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
After Eli died when the Benjamite
messenger came with the message, it is no coincidence we read the
following immediately afterwards:
1Sa 5:1-4 KJV And the
Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto
Ashdod. (2) When the Philistines took the ark of God, they
brought it
into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. (3) 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. (4) And when they arose early
on the
morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground
before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of
his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was
left to him.
Keep Paul's message of the cross in mind when you read the above
verses.
The Benjamite's message causes the "old man" to break his neck and die.
- We then read of the ark that is a representation of Jesus
Christ, the glory of God (John 1:14).
- The events with the ark represent the works of the cross of
Jesus.
Day 1: the ark is put into Dagon's temple.
Day 2: Dagon is fallen on its face before the ark, and set up again
upon its pedestal.
Day
3: Dagon falls again but on the threshold this time, and its head
and
hands, shaped like human head and hands, are broken off , and the idol
is ruined.
The tomb in which Jesus was buried is represented by the temple of
Dagon.
- Dagon represents the devil.
- Since the devil had the power of death, you could say the
devil's temple was a tomb!
- Satan was fully defeated on the third day when Jesus
resurrected from the dead.
Watch these words:
1Sa
5:7 KJV And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said,
The
ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore
upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
The people said God's hand was sore upon them and upon their god, Dagon.
- Sin and the devil are represented by these people and Dagon.
- So they sought to get rid of the ark!
It was the third day when the idol's head and hands were
broken off, and not the first nor second.
- The third day always represents Christ's resurrection.
1Sa
5:4 KJV And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold,
Dagon
was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and
the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the
threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
Literally, only the FISHY PART of Dagon remained.
1Sa
5:4 YLT And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo,
Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah,
and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at
the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;
Since
Dagon represents the devil, then the form of a fish with human head and
hands represents the devil with head and hands from a person whom he
controls.
- When the old man rules your life, your MIND is undisciplined
and your ACTIONS are sinful.
- The HEAD represents the MIND and the HANDS represent the
ACTIONS.
- Your HEAD AND
HANDS are spiritually connected to the devil when your old man is
ruling your life.
- Your head and hands do not belong to the devil any more
than human head and hands belong to a fish!
That is the reason Paul said we must come to KNOW about the works
of the cross.
- TRUTH of the cross slays the old man.
- It renders the old man ineffective when you truly understand
and believe it!
- KNOWING is getting truth IN OUR HEADS!
- Our heads and minds then are not available for the devil to
use any more!
- It disconnects our HEADS from the devil.
- The devil uses all of our fleshly thinking.
- We need to RENEW OUR MINDS to alignment with what the word
of God teaches.
If a person does not learn the truths of Romans 6, that person
will invariably see the devil use their MINDS and ACTIONS.
- Once the enemy can use your MIND, your actions will follow
suit.
We need to learn that we are dead to sin, and then realize we are
alive to God!
- Once a person is dead to sin, they become alive to God.
- Read this very carefully:
Rom
6:9-13 KJV Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth
no
more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in
that he died,
he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
(11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto
sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (12) Let
not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the
lusts thereof. (13) Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that
are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
Jesus died to sin once, and is now alive unto God.
- LIKEWISE -- in just the same degree -- we are to
consider/reckon ourselves dead indeed to sin and alive to God.
- And it is all through Jesus' Christ's experience that it is
true for us.
- In other words, He did it and stood for us, as though we
actually did it through Him.
- That is just the way God sees it, and we must begin to see
it as so, as well.
Breaking the human head and hands off the devil is accomplished by
stopping him from using our minds.
- And
when we begin to UNDERSTAND the truth of our deaths with Christ, this
KNOWING causes us to no longer let the devil use our minds.
- Knowing we can conquer sin is the truth we require to
disconnect our minds from the devil's use.
- The devil can use the minds of people who think they
cannot get victory over sin.
But there is a danger.
- If
we only know the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in an
elementary fashion, where we only realize JESUS experienced those
things, we can see the devil fall, but he is only set back up and
controls us again later.
- Just like Dagon falling the second day, but being set up
again upon its pedestal.
- When
we have not come to the full knowledge of what the work of the cross
means to us, in regards to being dead with Christ to sin, and only
understand that Jesus became dead to sin, it is as though we have not
gone through the entire THREE DAY period in terms of our understanding.
- We can look at the three day period in which Christ died,
was buried and resurrected as representing the FULL TRUTH.
- Stopping on the second day before Jesus resurrected,
represents only learning PART of the full truth.
- Every Christian clearly understands the truth that Jesus
died, was buried and resurrected.
- But, like the Romans to whom Paul wrote, most do not
understand that they died, were buried and resurrected WITH JESUS!
So
when a believer only knows the first half of the truth -- namely,
that
Jesus died, was buried and resurrected -- it is as though they can see
the devil fall every now and then.
- But the devil can still get back up and attack them later.
- And the devil STILL HAS THEIR MINDS (head) AND ACTIONS
(hands) connected to him!
- Until
we learn that WE DIED TO SIN WITH JESUS, and that WE ARE ALIVE UNTO GOD
WITH JESUS, the devil still is connected to our head and hands to a
degree.
- When we learn
the FULL TRUTH, this message breaks our head and hands off the
devil, and the OLD MAN DIES.
Many have heard of "identifying with Christ's death, burial
and resurrection."
- This means His death counted as our deaths on the cross.
- His burial counted as our burials.
- And his resurrection counted as our resurrections.
- We
even read that His seating in heavenly places far above all powers
counts as OUR SEATING together with Him in heavenly places.
Eph
2:5-6 KJV Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together
with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised
us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Too many believers do not understand this.
- So they think they HAVE TO SIN.
- They see no victory over sin, since they look to their
natural abilities and realize they cannot resist sin through that means.
- They are correct!
- We cannot resist sin through natural abilities.
- What they lack in their understanding is that Christ died
for us so that we can say we died to sin.
- That is not seeing victory through natural abilities.
- That is the supernatural work of God through the cross!
But when we do not understand this truth, we are actually
identifying with the devil!
- We think we HAVE TO SIN.
- The devil can do nothing but sin.
- And we identify with him, inadvertently and unintentionally,
when we think we cannot stop sinning.
So you can see how identification with Christ's death, burial and
resurrection destroys identification with the devil!
- In other words, our hands and head become disconnected from
the devil and become united to the Lord!
- We are even told to have the same mind in ourselves that
Christ had.
1Pe
4:1 KJV Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the
flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered
in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
Peter even says we
cease from sin when we obtain the same mind of suffering in the
flesh with Christ that Christ had.
You died with Jesus!
- Identify with Him in his death!
- Claim His death as your own death!
The devil cannot use your head and hands after you truly realize
you died with Christ!
Part of the Ark of the Covenant is the MERCYSEAT.
- It represents the throne of God on earth.
- As Isaiah saw Seraphims over the throne of God in Isaiah 6,
the Ark has cherubims over the mercyseat.
- When we identify with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and
resurrection, we realize we are SEATED WITH HIM IN HEAVENLY PLACES.
- We are on the Ark's Mercyseat, so to speak!
- This means we
are CONNECTED TO THE ARK INSTEAD OF DAGON!
The old man's head is what the devil can use.
- When we identify with Christ, we are corrected in our minds
about WHO WE REALLY ARE.
- This breaks the neck of the OLD MAN and causes our heads to
be broken off the devil!
- Notice
that Eli's neck broke when he heard the message of the ark, and the
head came off Dagon three days after the Ark was put into the pagan
temple!
- Eli's broken neck and the head broken off Dagon are
ASSOCIATED TOGETHER.
Old man thinking connects us to the devil.
New man thinking connects us to JESUS!
Rom
6:13 KJV Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that
are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
Notice in the verse above that TWO THINGS must be presented to God.
- OURSELVES and OUR BODILY MEMBERS.
- Our HEADS represent ourselves.
- OUR HANDS represent all our bodily members.
Where is the mark of the beast said to be worn?
Rev
13:16 KJV And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor,
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads:
HEAD or HAND.
What did the names of the two sons of Eli mean in English?
FIST FIGHTER - HANDS
MOUTH OF SERPENT - HEAD
To where did God say the Law of God is bound when we love it with all
our hearts?
Deu
6:5-8 KJV And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (6) And
these words,
which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: (7)
And thou
shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them
when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (8) And thou shalt
bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between thine eyes.
FRONTLETS BETWEEN EYES - HEAD
And HAND
Notice that LOVING the law of God is associated with having it in our
heads and hands.
- Our MINDS and ACTIONS will comply to the Law of God if we
LOVE IT.
- And Jesus told the church at Ephesus that LOSS OF LOVING
HIM causes us to BE BROKEN OFF HIM, like a branch off a vine.
- If we are broken off the devil to be connected to Jesus,
what happens when we are broken off Jesus?
- WE ARE CONNECTED TO THE DEVIL!
It all boils down to LOVE FOR JESUS.
This truth attacks two people -- THE DEVIL AND THE OLD MAN.
Let us remove the opportunity for the devil to use our head and hands!
TO WHOM IS YOUR HEAD CONNECTED?
