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Tag: curse

Gardener, Shepherd and Hunter: 5- the Hunter

the hunter

Do you see him?

I strained my eyes to look back beyond the time when I had just witnessed the killing of Abel by Cain. Not only was he not the hunter, but I could no longer see him in the chaotic mist of that place beyond the field of Abel’s blood. In fact, I could no longer see their field at the edge of the garden.

I can’t tell what I see, but I don’t see a hunter.

Did you read what I just showed you from in the beginning Book?

I thought I knew it without having actually read the Scripture to which my Guide had pointed me. With a questioning tone in my uncertain voice I read:

“So it came about in the course of time that Cain…

No, son.. You must look back further in the beginning of the Book to what I showed you. Do you see it again?

My mind wandered aimlessly back to what I almost recalled, but could not see.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep..

and God divided the light from the darkness.. ..the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.. And God created .. every living creature..

(Then my thoughts continued out loud.)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them…

“No,” I replied with the cluelessness of a student caught off-guard by a teacher. “I don’t see it. I don’t see any hunter.

Do you think that you know good and evil from the beginning of the Bible?

I dared not answer from this chaotic recall from my mind. (But I had read this frequently in the past.)

You open your eyes in a place of darkness. And darkness and deception are the place where the hunter hides.

Was this a hint from my Guide?

Please, won’t you just tell me where I can find the hunter?

If you look closely you will find the hunter wherever there is disobedience to God.

I gave his words weighty thought as I listened to my Guide read what I had missed as my Guide then read from the Beginning to me.

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

I had once memorized this from Genesis 2:16-17 and thought that I knew it well. But when my Guide recited it, NOT for my memorization but with authority, he said it differently.

“The Lord God commanded the man,” my guide had emphasized.

And then, as if to underline what he had just read, my Guide paused.. and looked into my eyes, making sure I was paying attention before he continued with what the Lord God had said.. I mean, what the Lord God had commanded.

I wasn’t really thinking about the Hunter, then, but I knew it was important. He read on about the man being lonely and the woman being made from him.

I tried not to let the naked part distract me (as it often did when I was a boy). So recalling that they were Cain and Abel’s parents helped. But then I couldn’t really see the serpent as a talking snake..

Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made.
Genesis 3:1a NASB20

Why did you stop?

So you could tell me about the serpent you see.

It’s a snake and I don’t really like snakes at all. You know, I can’t really picture a snake talking to Eve either..

You’re not saying that this serpent didn’t talk, are you?

Oh? .. No, I guess not. Moses said that THIS serpent talked to Eve.

I’d just never thought about her being Cain and Abel’s mom.. or how that meant that Cain and his brother would not grow up in Eden. Looking back, I guess I see the serpent talking to Cain’s mom.

Then I recited the next part from some long-ago memory.

“Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

And why does Moses’ story tell us that this serpent was cunning?

Isn’t the serpent asking Eve to tell him something he already knows?

Indeed he is.

Is it a good question?

I thought about it.. A good question? Is it a good question.. good..? good. Why would the serpent ask that?

Isn’t the serpent trying to trick Eve? I don’t think that could be good. It can’t be a good question like the questions God asks.

No it can’t.

And if the serpent’s question is not a good question what kind of question is it?

The serpent is up to no good. So I guess that makes it an evil question.

You have already seen what happened to the man and the woman, before Cain killed Abel. Do you recall what happened to the serpent?

That’s why he has to crawl on his belly?

It’s much more than that.

And I will make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your offspring and her Descendant;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”
Genesis 3:15 NASB20 – click here for more versions

Finally I asked, “Is the Serpent the Hunter?”

Yes. The Serpent is the Hunter.

But this cunning hunter of souls so willing to question God appears in other forms, clothing himself in unsuspecting ways to wayward men and unsuspecting women.

We will meet up with this hunter again…

the hunter

The hunter hisses at God

Pursues his own passion

Questions glorious Light

Hissing silently

Ruling a pit of darkness

Darkness of stolen light

Devouring his fallen prey

Drawing blood from Adam

DEATH in dry dust

Stung by sin’s ever-damning curse

.. therefore, beware.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.
Matthew 10:16 NASB + Caution of the Lord Jesus to his disciples

April 30, 2022
But IF: the Consequence of broken promise – Will the LORD not surely do -2
So what! Did you HEAR the consequences?

What is the consequence of broken promise? WE seldom consider CLEAR consequences. Whether Old Testament Commandment, warning of a Prophet or New Testament Command of the Lord Christ Jesus, SO OFTEN WE do not have ‘ears to hear’ the promised consequence of disobedience to God.

DO YOU REMEMBER when someone PROMISED to do something for you?

And THEY broke their promise?

What IF WE break our promise to God?

Followers of the LORD make many Covenants with God. New and Old Testaments both provide us with Scriptural assurance of blessings. BUT IF we abandon our PROMISE to GOD, clear consequences await us. (Curse, rather than Blessing.)

Christians should not expect grace without genuine repentance for our sin against God.
Roger@talkofJESUS.com

Yesterday I took us back to hear two earlier themes.

Below you may read the next post of this New Testament series from earlier this year from the Gospel of John.

(Make sure you have ears to hear.)

God’s Personal Love -2 His Love of the Church

Click ‘Continue reading to view / TYPE “God’s Personal Love in SEARCH to read more of this series.

Old Testament Promises: Blessing OR the Consequence of Curse

Earlier in our Summer Scriptural Reruns I also pointed us back to this important look at the Law from Deuteronomy in D.C. al Coda – Deuteronomy – But IF...

‘Will the LORD not surely do what He has said?’ focused on Jesus’ Command from the Gospel of John in PART 1. TODAY we return to OLD TESTAMENT promises. These Scriptures build a firm foundation and confidence in what GOD has really said.

But IF you break it.. What is the consequence of broken promise?

Again, I point us to a Scripture which connects our theme: hearing the consequence of a broken promise.

“This is what God has said, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD and do not prosper?
Because you have abandoned the LORD,
He has also abandoned you.’”
2 Chronicles 24:20b NASB20

Scriptures

Deuteronomy 30

1 Samuel 1,2,12 excerpts

1 Kings 9

Original talkofJesus.com post

But if…

Original post July 19, 2014, with repost July 7, 2021

Summer {Scriptural} Reruns
- CLICK “…Continue reading ” above,
- THEN Ask a question or comment at the end of this post
- OR email Roger@talkofJesus.com with your reaction, questions & comments.
Stay tuned from more Summer of 2021 Reruns from talkofJESUS.com
1. Will the LORD not surely do what He has said?
2. But if…
3. NEXT: … your heart turns away …
July 27, 2021
A Day of the silence of the Passover Lamb
The Son of Man is Slain
- Jesus, the King of the Jews
- Day of Preparation
- The Passover Lamb
- He was already dead
- Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby they laid Jesus there.
- Joseph rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! – John 1:36
From the day the Son of Man is delivered into the world and laid in a manger the shadow of the Cross foretold Christ’s Sacrifice.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.. For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
John 1:14,16-17 NASB

וַיִּקְרָ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה לְכָל־זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם מִֽשְׁכ֗וּ וּקְח֨וּ לָכֶ֥ם צֹ֛אן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתֵיכֶ֖ם וְשַׁחֲט֥וּ הַפָּֽסַח׃
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb.
Exodus 12:21 WLC; NASB http://blb.sc/002lS2

Jesus has prepared unwilling ears of the Disciples for this shabbath of the pecach, which takes away the sins of the world.

Crucifixion! – Scripture Fulfilled

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up..

– John 3:13 NASB

The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’?
Who is this Son of Man?”
John 12:34 NASB

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
Hebrews 11:28 NASB

Now the body of the Son of Man lays lifeless and bloodied, partially wrapped in the shrouds of burial and entombed in darkness sealed away from the living by a guarded stone door.

Jesus the ROCK of Salvation

The Song of Moses

“Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth!
2 May my teaching drip as the rain,
My speech trickle as the dew,
As droplets on the fresh grass,
And as the showers on the vegetation.
3 For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
Ascribe greatness to our God!

4 The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and just is He.
5 They have acted corruptly against Him,
They are not His children, because of their defect;
But are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Is this what you do to the Lord,
You foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your Father who has purchased you?
He has made you and established you.

הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃

2 יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃

3 כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה אֶקְרָ֑א הָב֥וּ גֹ֖דֶל לֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ׃

4 הַצּוּר֙ תָּמִ֣ים פָּעֳל֔וֹ כִּ֥י כָל־דְּרָכָ֖יו מִשְׁפָּ֑ט אֵ֤ל אֱמוּנָה֙ וְאֵ֣ין עָ֔וֶל צַדִּ֥יק וְיָשָׁ֖ר הֽוּא׃

5 שִׁחֵ֥ת ל֛וֹ לֹ֖א בָּנָ֣יו מוּמָ֑ם דּ֥וֹר עִקֵּ֖שׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּֽל׃

6 הֲ־לַיְהוָה֙ תִּגְמְלוּ־זֹ֔את עַ֥ם נָבָ֖ל וְלֹ֣א חָכָ֑ם הֲלוֹא־הוּא֙ אָבִ֣יךָ קָּנֶ֔ךָ ה֥וּא עָֽשְׂךָ֖ וַֽיְכֹנְנֶֽךָ׃

The Messiah & the Pharisees

Philip found Nathanael and said to him,
“We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Gospel of John 1:45 NASB

The Pharisees had often come to Jesus before they crucified Him and now faithful men have laid their Messiah in a grave. Joseph, Nicodemus and a remnant of influential Jews believe and follow the Messiah secretly out of fear of their own lives.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
John 5:25

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

“I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves…

The Pharisees had tested Jesus. Yet most continued to give glory to each other rather than the Messiah who came to teach truth in their midst.

Jesus preached the truth of Scripture to the Jews who claimed to be teachers.

“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father;
the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
John 5: NASB

The Writings of Moshe

Deuteronomy 32:
New American Standard Bible

.. And you drank wine of the blood of grapes..

18 You forgot the Rock who fathered you,
And forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 “The Lord saw this, and spurned them
Because of the provocation by His sons and daughters.

20 Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be;
For they are a perverse generation,
Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.

…

39 See now that I, I am He,
And there is no god besides Me;
It is I who put to death and give life.
I have wounded and it is I who heal,
And there is no one who can save anyone from My hand.
40 Indeed, I raise My hand to heaven,
And say, as I live forever,
41 If I have sharpened My flashing sword,
And My hand has taken hold of justice,
I will return vengeance on My adversaries,
And I will repay those who hate Me.

דברים 32
Westminster Leningrad Codex

18 צ֥וּר יְלָדְךָ֖ תֶּ֑שִׁי וַתִּשְׁכַּ֖ח אֵ֥ל מְחֹלְלֶֽךָ׃

19 וַיַּ֥רְא יְהוָ֖ה וַיִּנְאָ֑ץ מִכַּ֥עַס בָּנָ֖יו וּבְנֹתָֽיו׃

20 וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַסְתִּ֤ירָה פָנַי֙ מֵהֶ֔ם אֶרְאֶ֖ה מָ֣ה אַחֲרִיתָ֑ם כִּ֣י ד֤וֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת֙ הֵ֔מָּה בָּנִ֖ים לֹא־אֵמֻ֥ן בָּֽם׃

…

39 רְא֣וּ׀ עַתָּ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י אֲנִי֙ ה֔וּא וְאֵ֥ין אֱלֹהִ֖ים עִמָּדִ֑י אֲנִ֧י אָמִ֣ית וַאֲחַיֶּ֗ה מָחַ֙צְתִּי֙ וַאֲנִ֣י אֶרְפָּ֔א וְאֵ֥ין מִיָּדִ֖י מַצִּֽיל׃

40 כִּֽי־אֶשָּׂ֥א אֶל־שָׁמַ֖יִם יָדִ֑י וְאָמַ֕רְתִּי חַ֥י אָנֹכִ֖י לְעֹלָֽם׃

41 אִם־שַׁנּוֹתִי֙ בְּרַ֣ק חַרְבִּ֔י וְתֹאחֵ֥ז בְּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט יָדִ֑י אָשִׁ֤יב נָקָם֙ לְצָרָ֔י וְלִמְשַׂנְאַ֖י אֲשַׁלֵּֽם׃

Prophesy: Curses on Disobedience

Deuteronomy 28 :: HNV / WLC

20 The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me.

33 The fruit of your ground, and all your labors, shall a nation which you don’t know eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always..

45-46 All these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you didn’t listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his mitzvot and his statutes which he commanded you: and they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your seed forever.

יְשַׁלַּח יְהוָה בְּךָ אֶת־הַמְּאֵרָה אֶת־הַמְּהוּמָה וְאֶת־הַמִּגְעֶרֶת בְּכָל־מִשְׁלַח יָדְךָ אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה עַד הִשָּֽׁמֶדְךָ וְעַד־אֲבָדְךָ מַהֵר מִפְּנֵי רֹעַ מַֽעֲלָלֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר עֲזַבְתָּֽנִי׃

פְּרִי אַדְמָֽתְךָ וְכָל־יְגִיעֲךָ יֹאכַל עַם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדָעְתָּ וְהָיִיתָ רַק עָשׁוּק וְרָצוּץ כָּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃

וּבָאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל־הַקְּלָלוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וּרְדָפוּךָ וְהִשִּׂיגוּךָ עַד הִשָּֽׁמְדָךְ כִּי־לֹא שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו אֲשֶׁר צִוָּֽךְ׃

וְהָיוּ בְךָ לְאוֹת וּלְמוֹפֵת וּֽבְזַרְעֲךָ עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

“In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’
And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’
because of the fear which terrifies your heart,
and because of the sight which your eyes see.
Deuteronomy 28:67 NKJV – curse of the LORD on Israel for breaking His Covenant

Judgment by a Savior
- Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. – Amos 7:7 ASV
- Flight of the Prisoners, Artist: Tissot, Photographer: John Parnell, Photo © The Jewish Museum, New York
- “I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
a resurrection of judgment…
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth;
those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
The words of Jesus – John 5:28-29 NASB

As the crowds had approached Jerusalem for the seven-day celebration they laid palms before Jesus at the gates atop the holy hill.

Now as Jesus lay in the grave, His broken and bloodied Body partially prepared for burial, the public mourning of the faithful must wait for a sacred celebration of the final feast of pecach.

As Jesus lay on a slab of stone in a tomb sealed by a rock rolled before its entrance, faithful Jews knew well the curses of their own disobedience and separation from the Lord their God.

The Prophet Hosea (~755–710 B.C)

Hosea’s name means: salvation, as did that of Moses’ successor Joshua and as does that of the Son of Man known of Nazareth, Jesus.

From the hand of Sheol I do ransom them,
From death I redeem them,
Where is thy plague, O death?
Where thy destruction, O Sheol?
Repentance is hid from Mine eyes.
Hosea 13:14 YLT

After this day of irony in the festival feast would come the sorrowful day of mourning on the first day of the week.

Yet the words of Jesus before summoning Lazarus from the grave surly resounded in the hearts of their recent memory.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
the Good News of John 11:25-26 NASB

She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.” – John 11:27 Hebrew Names Version

The Silence of this Shabbat

There, as Jesus’ loved ones, family and followers mourned silently during the final feast of the Passover, the preparations of their hearts found no solace in His upcoming burial on the first day of the week.

For they had witnessed the brutality of sin against the Sinless One on the Cross of Calvary.

The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life,
but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
the Good News of John 3:35-36 Hebrew Names Version
November 21, 2020