Sermon 1578 - The Ark of the Testimony and the Ark of the Covenant - 4th Message…..(Sun am 9/21/97)

THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT — 4TH MESSAGE......(SUN AM 9/21/97)

In the beginning of the message is a reminder that the Stature of Truth in our Spiritual Education and the Stature of Truth in our deeds of moral development must be the same. There also is a brief overview of Israel’s spiritual growth from Egypt to Canaan’s Land. In Egypt, Israel was called a Son. In the wilderness, she was called a Church. This was the Espoused phase of Israel’s spiritual growth. In Canaan’s Land, she was called a Wife. On Mount Zion, she was a spiritual Mother, and she brought forth children.

In Joshua 5:1-9, Israel’s first experience after crossing Jordan and entering into Canaan’s Land was circumcision. When the new generation who had been born in the wilderness was circumcised, God said, “Now is the reproach of Egypt rolled away.” The same spirit of rebellion that Pharaoh had was on the Israelites who came out of Egypt, and their refusal to circumcise their children who were born in the wilderness was the evidence of their rebellion. The Wheel of the LORD’s Name and the Wheel of Reproach always roll in opposite directions. The outward circumcision of the flesh is a picture of the inward spiritual circumcision we must experience in our heart, our ears, and our mouth