After the people of Israel powerfully crossed the Red Sea through the intervention of God in the form of a strong east wind and thus left the time of slavery in Egypt behind them with dry feet, the Israelites entered a new phase.

 

This was a moment in time of desire in the form of thirst and here they equally arrived at a place that bore bitter water (cf. Exodus 14:21-22; Exodus 15:23-25).

 

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

 

23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)

24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’

25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.

 

 

As the people of God, we are in a time where we have passed through an open new window of time where the LORD is leading us together to a place to taste and see as well as the people within society also come to this place.

 

It is in God’s interest that we as His people taste and see that only He is good (cf. Psalm 34:8).

 

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

 

Tasting and seeing involves the right spiritual discernment or judgment of circumstances within the society we face. This requires us to be active with the gift of discernment of spirits to examine events with the aim of being competent to recognize the right value.

 

According to 1 Thessalonians 5:21, we as God’s people are called to test things (Note: events, circumstances, influences), whereby we as the ecclesia act as a filter within society to filter out the truth of the events or circumstances in question.

 

19 Do not quench the Spirit.

20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, …

 

=> The Greek word for ‘testing’ is ‘dokimạzō’ and means, among other things, to test something for its worth. It includes a certain type of verification of suitability for a public office, for example, or coins that are tested for authenticity with the expectation that the test will be successful.

 

In addition, it means to test or bring to light the good in a believer that God has worked, or to make the believer good and proven. <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is based on a word explanation from the Elberfelder Study Bible for the word ‘testing – dokimạzō’ with the word key number: 1375.)

 

This clearly shows us that a test from God is about revealing the value that we already carry within us in the form of truth. It is like Jesus when He was tested in the desert. Even though the devil tempted Him, God already saw the success that His Son Jesus established by applying the truth of the Word. Jesus did this by resisting the adversary with the truth of God’s Word, so that the devil had to let go of Him without being successful (cf. Luke 4:1-4ff.13).

 

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’

4 Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.” ’ …

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

 

This reveals to us how necessary it is to be aware of the truth of the Word of God according to Romans 8:28 and to live in it, which means that everything must serve us for the best.

 

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

 

When we as God’s people are faced with bitter circumstances as challenges, it is necessary to be focused on the LORD like Moses to recognize the already established contribution of God’s sweetness in the situation at hand, which is about the application of Jesus’ triumph (cf. Exodus 15:25 i.c.w. Galatians 3:13-14).

 

25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.

 

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’

 

14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

 

 

This governmental area is located in the midst of pure water, reflecting the presence of the fruitfulness and nature of God (cf. Revelation 4:6).

 

6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the centre, round the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and behind.

 

It is the crystal sea, which simultaneously reflects all movement in the throne room of God in a moment. This ‘upper water’ prophesies with its character trait the nature of the God of Israel – YHWH – I AM, the name of God is represented by the four beings.

 

This reflection is an indication of the unity of the heavenly movements, because they are simultaneously reflected in the crystal sea in different areas.

 

All movements in the throne room are united with the governing being of the Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ through the presence of the crystal sea (cf. Revelation 4:2-3 i.c.w. Mark 16:19).

 

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.

 

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

 

The Hebrew word for ‘kingdom’ is ‘mamlākāh’ and begins twice with the Hebrew letter ‘Mem’, which is connected to ‘water’, among other things, and has the numerical value ‘40’. The Hebrew word for ‘water’ used in the Word of God is ‘majim’ and is used exclusively in the plural form. It begins with the Hebrew letter ‘Mem’ and ends with it. (Note: Part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the word ‘mamlākāh – kingdom’ with the word key number 4542)

 

This is no coincidence, for at whatever point we encounter challenging ‘waters’ in our lives, they are meant to lead us in a way to apply the already established understanding of Jesus’ triumph on the cross, much like Moses responded to the revelation of God in the form of the wood by taking hold of the wood shown by God and applying it to the situation.

 

 

It points to the need that we as the people of God are not only prepared for the challenge, but also for the time afterwards, which can be described as the ‘sweetness’ or also ‘time of respiring’ (cf. Acts 3:19).

 

19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing [Note: respiring] may come from the Lord, …

 

The situation with the bitter water at ‘Marah’, whose name of the place begins with the Hebrew letter ‘Mem’, is similar to the situation of Jesus on the cross, where, among others, the three Maries (Note: the name ‘Mary’ means ‘bitterness’) and John (Note: means ‘YAHWEH-favored.’) were in front of the cross (cf. John 19:25-27).

 

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ 27 and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

 

To enter into the plan of God’s good future or promise in the midst of challenge, the right communication with God as well as the right focus is important first. We remember that it was Moses, who cried out to the LORD and the LORD showed him the wood.

 

So, it is important that where we are faced with bitter (Note: challenging) circumstances, we look for the grace or favor of God to move us through them. This grace goes hand in hand with the prophetic anointing, which includes an enlightened view of things to come.

 

The grasping by Moses of the wood shown by God implies a willingness to sacrifice (Note: died in Christ Jesus, cf. Colossians 3:3), which results in moving into the higher dimension of truth as revelatory truth through the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the beginning of the new day (Note: the day begins with the evening; cf. Genesis 1:5b) and its like.

 

The Israelites, who had previously faced and tasted the bitter water in Marah together as young and old, came to enjoy the sweet water after Moses intervened. This implies a certain degree of collective experience of challenge within society in the past, which now serves as the basis for sweetness in the near coming future.

 

 

And this includes fellowship with the saints spiritually aligned by the LORD to celebrate in the presence of God, even if it is in the presence of enemies (cf. Psalm 23:5).

 

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

 

We can rejoice that the LORD is about to reveal the presence of His joy, in which He shows Himself in His strength and brings great terror upon the wicked. It is the so-called ‘terror of Isaac’ that manifests itself on earth and contains the mocking of the LORD with which He covers His enemies so that they are terrified (cf. Genesis 31:53 i.c.w. Psalm 2:4).

 

‘… 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.’ So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.

 

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

 

The next five years will play a significant role in this, provided we are watchful and prove ourselves strong as God’s people in humility (cf. Daniel 11:32b).

 

… , 32b but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

 

 

In connection with the ‘terror of Isaac’, the biblical passage from Matthew 1:6, which deals with the descent of Jesus, is of particular significance.

 

… 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, …

 

This refers to the dimension of the Father and the Son, whereby the LORD emphasized the position of Solomon. Solomon stood in a synchronization with his father David and his mother Bathsheba, whereby David was in a one-sided relationship with Solomon in the eyes of God, as God saw Bathsheba as the wife of Uriah.

 

This is a deep mystery in view of the work of the Holy Spirit. Due to Uriah’s willful handing over to death in battle on the part of David and the concealment of his adultery, David’s first son had to die (cf. 2 Samuel 12:13-14).

 

13 Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.

14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.’

 

David, as king of Israel at a time when kings go to war, did not answer this call and remained in his palace, making him a target of the adversary.

 

It was not Bathsheba who seduced David with her beauty, but David’s passivity in not going to war despite the time of war. As a result, he fell prey to the seduction in his own heart because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time to turn from the straight path.

 

Bathsheba, as a woman, was aware that she was safe at the time of war and could not have been seen by the king from the king’s palace, as he was supposed to be at war (cf. 2 Samuel 11:1a.2-5).

 

1a In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, …

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman washing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’

4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’

 

In addition, as previously mentioned, God did not recognize Bathsheba as David’s wife and David was denied by God to build the temple due to the bloodguilt on his hands because of the willful delivery of Uriah to death in battle. It was his son Solomon, however, who was commissioned by God to build the temple (cf. 1 Kings 8:17-19).

 

17 ‘My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

18 But the Lord said to my father David, “You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name.

19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood – he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.”

 

According to the biblical passage from Matthew 1:6, Solomon stood between the ‘beloved/beloved one’ (Note: David) and the ‘daughter of the seven’ (Note: Bathsheba) and therefore of the Spirit of God, because this is revealed in the seven characteristics (cf. Isaiah 11:2).

 

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – …

 

‘Bathsheba’ could also be referred to as ‘daughter of the menorah’, since her husband’s name ‘Uriah’ translates as ‘My light is YAHWEH, flame of God’, whereby his ancestry (Note: a Hittite; cf. 2 Samuel 11:6) is connected with ‘terror’ or also, in a spiritual context, with the ‘fear of the LORD’.

 

The Hebrew word used for ‘terror’ is ‘paḥad’ and also includes ‘trembling, shaking’. (Note: explanation of the word taken from the Elberfelder Study Bible for the Hebrew word for ‘paḥad – terror’ with the word key number: 6475)

 

This kind of fiery flame of God is equivalent to the covering principle of the throne of God, as described in Revelation 4:3.

 

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

 

In Song of Songs 8:6 we are told of the flame of the LORD in connection with the strength of love.

 

Song of Songs 8:6:
6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame (Note: flame of JAH).

 

The strength of love in the form of the flame of JAH is accompanied by the zeal or passion of God, which are like a consuming fire (cf. Deuteronomy 4:24).

 

Deuteronomy 4:24:
24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

 

The power of love is compared with the strength of death, and the influence of passion in connection with the power of Sheol or the realm of the dead, which reveals a principle that life and death are close together. If we want to approach the LORD and follow Him, a sacrifice is required, which includes the laying down of our ‘ego’ (cf. Matthew 16:24-25 i.c.w. Galatians 2:20).

 

Matthew 16:24-25:
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

 

Galatians 2:20:
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

 

In context with the ‘terror’ or ‘fear’, this ‘flame’ represents purple light that encases all seven colors of the rainbow according to the context of ‘Uriah-Bathsheba’ to reveal God’s covenant.

 

The purple light goes hand in hand with the ‘Spirit of the fear of the LORD’, which is mentioned in Isaiah 11:2 in the seventh position and in connection with the new (Note: sonship in the wisdom of God represented by Solomon; cf. 1 Kings 3:12b, 28) that comes forth, so that a reference can be made to ‘Bathsheba – daughter of the seven/of the oath’. Bathsheba also refers to the promise of God (Note: oath).

 

And it is the fear of the LORD that is the ‘birthplace’ of wisdom (cf. Psalm 111:10 i.c.w. Proverbs 9:10).

 

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

 

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

 

Thus, the governing peace of God as ‘Solomon’ means ‘the peaceful one’ has a special significance, which has its seat in childlike faith and in the sonship of God in Christ, if we are willing to walk in it by accepting it in faith (cf. Isaiah 9:5-6).

 

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

Without receiving sonship in Christ Jesus, which completely changes our identity, we remain mere outsiders in the form of people who see the manifestation but are not part of the manifestation or performers of the manifestation of God Himself.

 

It is not enough just to be called, but it requires agreement with the one who has called us to be obedient and to endure in testing (cf. Matthew 22:14).

 

14 ‘For many are invited, but few are chosen.’

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm