Jesus Christ is our rock on which we build and find our refuge in Him as saints. Referring to this truth, I would like to address Elijah in this context, who stayed in the cave on mount Horeb after hearing of Jezebel's devastating plan (see Psalm 18:2; Psalm 31:3 i.c.w. 1 Kings 19:1-3a).

Psalm 18:2:
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield1 and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 31:3:
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

1 Kings 19:1-3a:
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

3a Elijah was afraid1 and ran for his life. …

The Power of Jezebel

Taking a closer look at Jezebel's power in a prophetic context, it is a false prophetic voice, destined by the adversary to stop the people of God (note: who are born from above => spirit filled) on their way (see Revelation 2:20 i.c.w. 2 Kings 9:22).

Revelation 2:20:
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

2 Kings 9:22:
22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”

At the time of the prophet Elijah Jezebel was the wife of king Ahab, who treated her husband and the prophets of God in a tyrannical manner and officially introduced idolatry to Baal in Israel.

Because of Jezebel's intimidation, Elijah escaped from her sphere of influence to save his life. That influence of intimidation is very common in terms of this spiritually evil force of Jezebel. By doing so he finally entered the phase of exhaustion and discouragement to an extent that he merely wanted to die (see 1 Kings 19:4-5a).

1 Kings 19:4-5a:
4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

5a Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. …

But God strengthened him through the presence of an angel who had given him supernatural food which Elijah took in the natural realm (see 1 Kings 19:5b-8).

1 Kings 19:5b-8:
… 5b All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”

8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

Elijah and Moses in the Cave

On mount Horeb the prophet Elijah decided to enter a cave, which represents the presence of the being of God and His revelatory truth (see 1 Kings 19:9).

1 Kings 19:9:
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

This location can also be equated with the cleft in the rock on the mountain into which Moses went at the command of God in order to see the glory of God (see Exodus 33:21-22).

Exodus 33:21-22:
21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.

22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Even though Moses and Elijah were in a cleft or cave on the mountain of God, there was one significant difference between them. Moses longed to see the glory of God. Elijah, on the other hand, felt being in a hopeless state, so that God revealed His power and presence to him. The reason for this was that Elijah was supposed to receive as to fulfill an important commission by God, which was connected with the administration of the kingdom and prophet hood of the future (see 1 Kings 19:10-13a.15-16).

1 Kings 19:10-13a.15-16:
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

13a When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. …

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.

 

The Power of God and Five Events

The revelation of the power of God carries herein five different levels or events. These five events can also be transferred to us as saints. When we as God's people get into circumstances in life that are tough and challenging and our soul is shaken by emotional perception, it is advisable to be aware of God's five steps as well as His power and presence.

These five steps are made up as follows:

In this context, it is essential to realize that we must dwell in the revelatory truth of the Word of God, which is representative of Elijah's stay on the mountain in the cave. Here it is crucial that we unite ourselves with the revelatory truth of God for this time to follow His call and find ourselves stepping out of the zone of intimidation and laziness due to fear.

The goal is that we ultimately stand under an open heaven and experience the very presence of God carrying the direction for our future.

In the prophetic context, the five different events that Elijah experienced on the mountain point to the following things:

These five events point out that it should be important for every individual saint to dwell in the revelatory truth of the Word of God and to respond to His Word. As a result, the Lord shows His power to encourage us to come closer to Him and His presence. The purpose of this is that we will witness how the Lord by His power pulls down false doctrine and tyrannical dominion to pave the way for His promise and servant hood.

 

As an effect, this approach gives us knowledge about what it means to stand in Jesus' side or in Him as our entrance (note: entrance of the cave/cleft in the rock => birthplace of the new wine skin; see John 19:34; John 10:9). Herein we learn to us our God-given anointing in our relationships to maintain the directive truth of the Spirit, which is connected with the directed dominion of God.

The Center of the Word of God

The Hebrew word used for “cave”, into which Elijah went, is the word “mĕ‛ārāh”, which is derived from the root word “`ārar” and means “expose, grind, tear down”. (note: part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the Hebrew word “mĕ‛ārāh – cave” and its root word “`ārar” with the word key number 4708, 6334*)

This explanation makes it clear that Elijah was in the center of the Word of God, formed by God to lay down his own view and receive God's instruction from the mouth of the Son of God for the future (see Hebrews 4:12-13 i.c.w. Revelation 1:16).

Hebrews 4:12-13:
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Revelation 1:16:
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Therefore, learning from the way Elijah acted towards challenging circumstances, we too should always humbly react and respond to God's command (note: strategies) in tough seasons in order to secure our future and the next generation.
 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm

Since we are at the beginning of the new biblical year 5781, which is connected with the tribe of Ephraim and has its origin in the son Joseph, I would like to share the following about the spiritual dimension of Joseph.
 

Joseph is hidden in the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh because their origin is from his sons of the same name. These two tribes are connected with the first two biblical months (note: Tishri (Ethanim) | Marcheshvan (Bul)) within God's annual cycle of blessing.

In Hebrew the beginning of time is described as ‘Rosh’, which means ‘head/peak’. In this context, it is no coincidence that Jacob spoke several blessings over the head of his son Joseph, which were connected with mountains (cf. Genesis 49:22-26).

Genesis 49:22-26:
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.

23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.

24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.

26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

The ‘head’ is the sphere of imagination and the place of constant analysis of thought. Since, according to the Word of God, the heart is the source of thoughts (cf. Matthew 15:19), it is clear that the brain is merely a memory where thoughts are processed, analyzed and set up with the aim of causing certain actions.
 

Jacob spoke his blessing on the head of his son Joseph. This blessing was an indication of a different way of thinking he had towards his brothers. He understood the different spiritual levels of heights and depths, the present and the coming (cf. Genesis 49:25).

Genesis 49:25:
… 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.

Joseph’s Multicolored Robe and the Favor of the Father

Joseph was blessed by his father in a special way by the multicolored robe, which was already an indication of the various colors of the tribes of Israel, which later became the twelve different gems on the Choshen – the breastplate of the high priest (cf. Genesis 37:3 i.c.w. Exodus 28:15-21).

Genesis 37:3:
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

Exodus 28:15-21:
15 “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions – the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
16 It is to be square – a span long and a span wide – and folded double.
17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.
21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

 

It was the favor (note: grace) of the father Jacob, which he bestowed on his son Joseph through the multicolored robe, which enabled him to understand the governing presence of God correctly.
 

This is revealed by his spiritual ability to interpret dreams, a supernatural gift. His brothers also recognized this gift and his God-given mandate, even if they ridiculed it due to their envy. This mandate included the ministry of angels who, on behalf of the Father, assisted Joseph in reaching the respective field of destination (cf. Genesis 37:14-19).

Genesis 37:14-19:
14 So he (note: Jacob) said to him (note: Joseph), “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.

18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other.

His brothers recognized him in the mandate of the ‘dreamer’. The Hebrew word for dreamer is composed of the two Hebrew words ‘ba’al’ and ‘ḥălôm’. These two words translated mean ‘master/owner of dreams’. (note: word explanation from the Elberfelder Study Bible for the words ‘ba'al – Lord’ and ‘ḥălôm – dream’ with the word key number: 1180, 2532)

Joseph had an understanding of the spiritual realm of dreams because he moved under the rainbow and the favor of God, which was represented by the multicolored robe of his father. It is the reflection of the governing presence of God as a rainbow wrapped in ‘green’ (see Revelation 4:2-3).

Revelation 4:2-3:
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

Since God is Spirit, it is evident that Joseph understood the spiritual principles and procedures of God in order to secure entire generations within the people of God in the midst of personal and economic challenges through the Spirit-inspired administration.
 

On the way to this divine administration and leadership, Joseph didn't get bitter because he carried the plan and call of God in his heart and practiced purity, honor and patience in the midst of betrayal and lies.
 

Joseph had to witness that his garment was even misused for deception twice and yet he held fast to God’s promise for his life (cf. Genesis 37:31-32; Genesis 39:12-15).

Genesis 37:31-32:
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
 

Genesis 39:12-15:
12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.

15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

 

A spiritual robe or mantle reveals, among other things, the character of the anointing as well as the commission within the covenant of God. When we are given a ‘mantle’ by God and are operating in a spiritual mandate, it is not unusual to get tested by trials, similar to what Joseph experienced.

 

It is the spiritual dimension of Joseph in which we transform pride and arrogance into humility and meekness. It is also about victimization that transforms into victory, bitterness that transforms into forgiveness, and the transformation of hate/revenge into mercy.

 

Joseph was aware of God’s plan, which is why he was able to share his heart with his brothers in the famine to give glory to God (cf. Genesis 45:4-8).

 

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.

7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

 

The Understanding of the Supernatural Realm and the Plans of God

Joseph understood the supernatural realm and God’s sovereign plan and principles, because he had decided to serve from the dimension of ‘the Father’ and was sent out from there (cf. Genesis 37:14).

Genesis 37:14:
14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, …

Furthermore, this realization enabled Joseph to have himself buried in Egypt with the purpose of having his bones brought to the land of promise to Shechem by the tribes of Israel under the leadership of Moses and Joshua (cf. Genesis 50:25-26 i.c.w. Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32).

Genesis 50:25-26:
25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus 13:19:
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”

Joshua 24:32:
32 And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

The body of Joseph decayed in Egypt and Moses took his bones with him on the way to the Promised Land in order to hand them over to Joshua later on, so that he could finally bury them in the Land of Promise.

The burial of Joseph's body reveals a spiritual principle that points to two different spiritual dimensions, which is illustrated, among other things by the Hebrew word for ‘heaven – šāmajim’, which is used in the plural form in the Word of God. Egypt and the way via Moses and Joshua to the land of promise pointed to the realm of the soul and the realm of the spirit.

According to the body of Joseph that decayed in Egypt, it is essential for us as God's people that we do not act in our own power of the soul (note: will, feeling and intellect in the form of the old nature => “me, myself and I …”), but instead have submitted our soul and ‘flesh’ to the spirit (cf. Galatians 5:17-18; Galatians 6:8).

Galatians 5:17-18:
17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 6:8:
8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Joseph was blessed by his father with the multicolored robe and this means that the LORD through Joseph began to stretch out his ‘rainbow – government presence’ over His people, using people (note: Moses and Joshua, the son of Nun) after His heart, who were connected with the element of ‘water’. It was Moses, who was pulled out of the water and Joshua, who was a son of Nun (note: means fish), who moved with the presence of God.

 

In this context, water reveals the presence of the Word of God (cf. Ephesians 5:26).

Ephesians 5:26:
… 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, …

As the bones of Joseph were carried out of Egypt into the Promised Land, it is clear that a particular type of glory moved with the people of Israel. The glory or presence of God in the form of the Ark of the Covenant was connected with the ministry of bearing it (cf. Exodus 25:14).

Exodus 25:14:
14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.

 

 

Neither can we see it as a coincidence that Joshua came from the tribe of Ephraim, which is related to the month Tishri|Ethanim, which is the month that heralds the blessing cycle of God in the new biblical year.

 

The transfer of Joseph’s bones from Moses to Joshua is at the same time a call from God that we as His people should dive deeper into the presence of His Word like ‘fish’ to reign sovereignly on earth with revelatory truth through His Word and prophecy.

 

That is the ‘blessings of the deep springs below’ with which Jacob blessed his son Joseph (cf. Genesis 49:25). At this point I would like to note that it is the ‘bones of Israel’ that are covered with the Spirit of God from the four chambers of His wind and the Spirit of prophecy (cf. Ezekiel 37).

 

If we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us by leading us from the realm of man to the realm of the ‘fish’, we share in the apostolic mystery of the redemption in Christ Jesus, in which all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (cf. Matthew 4:19 i.c.w. Colossians 2:2-3)

 

19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

 

2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

 

The result of this transformation is that we move from the time of governmental understanding and divine deliverance into the time of the mysteries and the promise of God in Christ Jesus.

 

As ‘sons of Nun’, we are even empowered to bring prophetic callings from the realm of disobedience into contact with the victory of Jesus Christ in order to finally transfer them to the place of destiny. This is similar to what happened to Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish to be spat on land so that he could fulfill his mission (cf. Jonah 1:17; Jonah 2:10)

 

17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

 

10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

 

The prophet Ezekiel also understood the spiritual ‘dimension of the son of Nun’ which goes hand in hand with the pure outpouring of the presence of God in order to swim in it like a fish with its eyes open (cf. Ezekiel 47:5).

 

5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in – a river that no one could cross.

 

For a rainbow to be visible on earth, water and light are needed. Since God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all (see 1 John 1:5), it can be said that through Moses and Joshua the rainbow of God thus extended His reign from Egypt to the land of promise over the people of God so that they stayed and walked in the pneumatic/spiritual realm of the LORD.

 

This spiritual realm can also be understood as the realm of dreams where we reign in the earthly realm through God-given revelation and make things happen. This means that in this presence or atmosphere there are things to be administered that are located in the material and spiritual realms where God is which are linked to the dimension of Joseph.

 

 

It is up to us to bring the presence of the ‘rainbow – the throne room presence of God’ to its predetermined place in the earth in order to unlock the inheritance (cf. Genesis 37:3 i.c.w. Revelation 4:3).

 

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

 

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

 

Furthermore, it is no coincidence that the principle of ‘expanding the rainbow’ is also evident in the decision within the tribe of Manasseh (note: developed from the firstborn son of Joseph of the same name) in connection with the allocation of their inheritance. Half of the tribe of Manasseh decided to settle on the east side of the Jordan, where there was much green grass, and with the other half moving to the west side of the land of promise (cf. Numbers 32:1.5.33).

 

1 The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. …

5 If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.” …

33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan – the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.

 

It was the east side of the Jordan, which had a lot of green and on which Manasseh settled together with Gad (note:‘good fortune’ => favour) and the tribe of Reuben (note:‘Behold a son!’), who had his origin in the first-born son of Jacob. These two and a half tribes preceded the other tribes of Israel in battle, in order to support them in taking possession of their territory in the Promised Land (cf. Numbers 32:17-19).

Numbers 32:17-19:
17 But we will arm ourselves for battle and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land.

18 We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their inheritance.

19 We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”
Thus Reuben, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh extended the governmental presence of ‘the Father and the Son’ to the Promised Land and even marched before the tribe of Judah which normally led the tribes of Israel (cf. Revelation 4:3 i.c.w. Colossians 3:1).

Revelation 4:3:
3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald (note: greenish in color) encircled the throne.

Colossians 3:1:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

 

Based on these revelations in the Word of God in connection with Joseph, it is evident and essential for us to recognize how crucial our willingness is to go forward as a guide for others in the favor of the Father in the heavens and to be faithful in all things so that the kingdom may grow.
 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm