On the basis of two stations of the journey of the people of Israel through the desert, the Holy Spirit points to how important it is to have maturity in the gift of the discernment of spirits in order to correctly judge the events and circumstances in the lives of people (cf. Numbers 21:10-11 i.c.w. 1 Corinthians 12:7-8a.10c).
Numbers 21:10-11:
10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth. 11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the sunrise.
1 Corinthians 12:7-8a.10c:
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
8a To one there is given through the Spirit …
… 10c to another distinguishing between spirits, …
The place ‘Oboth’ means ‘water skins’ and is derived from the Hebrew root word ‘’ôb’, which among other things means ‘a skin of an animal that holds water or wine’. It also means ‘(apparently through the idea of prattling a father’s name); properly a mumble, that is, a water skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar): - bottle, familiar spirit’. (note: part excerpt of the words ‘Oboth – water skins’ and ‘’ôb’ – familiar spirit’ from the Strong’s Concordance with the word key number: H88, H178)
From these Hebrew words a spiritual principle is revealed, that calls to test the spirits whether they are from God. This is based on the presence of the Heavenly Father in the Holy Spirit in the revelatory truth that we receive through the Word of God (cf. 1 John 4:1a).
1 John 4:1a:
1a Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, …
Familiarity – Familiar Spirit
=> Familiarity is originally a spiritual term that defines the breeding ground of contempt (according to the saying, “familiarity breeds contempt”; note of the translator). From this perspective, it deliberately spawns disrespect and rebellion.
This kind of ‘familiarity’ has its roots in the familiar spirit – the old Greek ‘Pytho spirit’ and the
ancient work of Satan's ancestral spirit network in human genealogy – their family lines.
Familiarity is the perverse extreme of friendship and relationship that seeks to promote the
undeserving and diminish authority.
Familiarity operates with the attending forces of slander, gossip, abuse, slight, neglect, criticism, or
judging. “Attending” is an original Latin form of the word “familiarity”.
These are known weapons in the arsenal of Satan.
Prophetically, familiarity may be seen as the calculated onslaught of Satan taking place in the life of a minister or servant of God. It manifests ultimately as an impending warfare set to wage against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and all established authority in general. <= (note: Text marked ‘=>’ is a part excerpt from the “Prophet's Dictionary” by Paula A. Price, PH.D.; page 212; paraphrased)
People who are too familiar with persons of responsibility show a poor or immature understanding
of authority; this is also connected to boundaries and permission (note: respect, regard/esteem).
The Reformation within the Church and the New Time
At the times when the LORD brings about a reformation within His church (note: gr. ‘ekklēsia’), which includes the change in the structure of the ‘new wineskin’ and the ‘one new man’ according to Mark 2:22 and Colossians 3:11, it is not to be missed that the adversary wants to influence our inner being (note: spirit, soul) with false voices in order to manipulate or even stop us on our way of righteousness.
Mark 2:22:
22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Colossians 3:11:
11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
The call of the Son of God regarding the new wine in the new wineskins, points to a new time when it is necessary to allow the Holy Spirit to be renewed in spirit and mind, in order to do the right things in Christ Jesus with the right people in the right place at the right time (cf. Romans 12:2 i.c.w. Ephesians 4:23).
Romans 12:2:
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Ephesians 4:23:
… 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; …
In order to move within the structure of the new wineskin or the one new man, a sacrifice is also required, since a wineskin is made of animal skin, as mentioned above. This makes it clear that it is important to lay down outdated or worn-out thought patterns and cultivate God's high thoughts for this time as well as to move within them (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9).
Isaiah 55:8-9:
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
It is essential that we should proof with what kind of mindset or in what spirit we are moving into the future. (note: Which voice echoes in our spirit?)
With reference to the encampment of the people of Israel in ‘Oboth’ and its meaning, it is obvious how crucial it is to move forward into the future with the right mindset and the revelatory guidance of the Holy Spirit as well as trained senses (cf. Hebrews 5:14).
Hebrews 5:14:
14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
This change in the trained five spiritual senses (note: smelling, hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling) results in that we receive the Word of God with a higher spiritual weight in our spirit man, so that we can act with more power and strength. It enables us to even plough the soil (note: hearts of men), so that the Holy Spirit opens up the truth of the Word of God in the hearts of men.
Since Numbers 21 is about a cooperative journey of the people of Israel, this is a call for us as God's people to act together and let ourselves be trained by the Holy Spirit in the respective God-determined community. What we learn from the training of the Spirit helps us to settle down at the next sub-goal and there to serve in a supportive way those who find themselves in challenging circumstances and do not know that they are in a new phase of time.
The Place of the Rebuilding of the Ruins
This is revealed by the second station of the settlement of the people of Israel in Iye Abarim in the desert (cf. Numbers 21:11).
Numbers 21:11:
11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the sunrise.
The Place ‘Iye Abarim’ means ‘ruins of the passers’.
It is no coincidence that in the Hebrew word of the place ‘Oboth’ we find the word for ‘Father – ℶℵ – Ab’ and as a final letter the cross in the form of a ‘ת – Taw’ letter, which carries the meaning of the love of the Father for us as human beings, who gave His Son Jesus Christ for us (cf. John 3:16).
John 3:16:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
On the basis of the love of the Father, which is Jesus Christ and has a redemptive effect, we enter with trained senses in the form of the gift of discernment of spirits into a new place where people are in a state of transition, and due to the challenge see no way out and consider their lives as a kind of ruin. The reason for this is because a transition leads from one state to another.
=> Times of transition or transformation always take place when the Lord redefines something and makes the necessary adjustments to guarantee the progress of His people. Here He reveals to us what we should keep our eyes on while He gives the direction. Furthermore, the Lord teaches us and reveals Himself in a new facet.
A transition in the literary sense is a sentence that connects the last thought or section with a coming one. Therefore, it is important that we ask the Lord for revelation as well as for us to recognize His ways in a time of change.
The perspective He reveals to us is the bridge between the past period and the new time.
Without clear revelation and communication, the power and wisdom gained through past victories may be lost.
In a birth, this transitional phase is the most difficult phase. It is the time when the woman in labour feels: “I can't take it anymore!” Only the gaze of the child who is coming gives the perseverance and endurance towards this aim of maintaining the family and securing the inheritance.
It is not the new that is coming that is so difficult to handle, but the transition from the old to the new state is the difficult thing. What matters is how we respond to the phase of transition before the Lord establishes the new in the earthly realm, which reflects the realm of the Spirit as a shadow image.
Therefore it is important to proceed with the right strategy and protect the coming promise.
Phases of change are closely related to the process of expansion, in which it is necessary to live within the structure of the new wineskin. The term ‘enlargement’ means that something expands, releases and increases in form, or increases in scale and intensity. <= (note: The text set in ‘=>’ is based on the message ‘At the Crossroads of Change’ by James W. Goll from the year 2013)
It is therefore important that we meet the relevant people who are in transition with enlightened eyes of the heart in the form of wisdom and revelation, to let them know that their apparent ruins are being transformed into a strong wall and city (cf. Isaiah 61:4).
Isaiah 61:4:
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
=> We should be aware of the fact that Jesus was also tested in the desert when He went into His ministry and later also in a more intensive way in Gethsemane before He finally gave His life for the people on the cross.
In strategic times of transition people are very vulnerable and therefore it is advisable to ask the following questions when you are in times of transition to have the right focus:
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In what facet of my God-given identity, in which I have never walked before, should I walk now?
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What is the task I have to do that I have never done before?
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In what facet does God appear to me in this context?
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Who will God be for me in this time, that He has never been for me before?
<= (note: The text in ‘=>’ is based on a teaching by Lance Wallnau with the English title ‘How to Keep from Sabotaging your Own Transition’)
It is therefore necessary for us, as God's people in transition, to recognize in what we are allowed to develop our senses and to advance in a greater capacity for trust, in order to overcome immature and superficial ways of dealing with authority in general and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This results in a higher dimension of faith to lead with vision and to be able to build up and spiritually strengthen others in power from on high.
Herein lies the blessing to set our hearts only on Jesus Christ as the only truth and to orient ourselves to the love of the Father and His plan and will, in order to increase in our destiny in the transition which leads us to the higher realms of the heavenly dimension, in new power and authority to build the Kingdom of God.
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
