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Your Word for Today

Your Word for Today

“speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the Commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them (Lev. 4:2).

The words, “through ignorance,” prove that man, whether he be a Chief Priest or a “common person,” cannot know, at least in totality, what sin is. This is humbling and comforting. It reveals that the efficacy of Christ’s Atonement for sin is not to be measured by man’s consciousness of sin, but by God’s measurement of it. To believe this fact fills the heart with a Divine peace.

The Sin Offering was wholly burned outside the camp, but the blood and the fat were offered to God. This double action illuminates the Cross. Jesus suffered “outside the camp,” thereby showing how abhorrent to God is sin; yet, at the same time, was His Blood precious, and the fat, i.e., His inward Personal excellence “most holy.” In fact, the Incense, the Shewbread, the Sin Offering, and the Meal Offering are all named “most holy.” Thus, the Spirit of God, when speaking of Jesus as a Man or as an Offering for sin, repeats with emphasis that He was, in His entire being, “most holy.”

All of this was absolutely necessary if Christ was to serve as the most perfect Sacrifice for sin, at least a Sacrifice which God would accept. God could only accept perfection; therefore, Christ Alone could satisfy these requirements.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and the Priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the Altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the Tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the Altar of the Burnt Offering, which is at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation (Lev. 4:7).

The “Altar of Sweet Incense” was the Golden Altar, which sat immediately in front of the Veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. Blood was to be applied to the four horns of this Altar, which pointed to all directions of the compass. This signified that Intercession by the Saviour is the same the world over, irrespective of race, color, or creed.

The Blood poured out “at the bottom of the Altar of the Burnt Offering” pertained to the Brazen Altar which sat in front of the Tabernacle.

All of this signified that a man is not sentenced to death because of some very great sin, but, in reality, because of any type of sin, irrespective as to how little it might be. In the Eyes of God, even the smallest sin is so great that to expiate its guilt, all the blood of the spotless Sacrifice must be poured out at the bottom of the Altar. So, to atone for, i.e., cover, the smallest conceivable departure from absolute sinlessness, even that done through ignorance, the whole of Christ’s Blood must be shed. This shows us how terrible, how awful, how desperate that sin actually is, even that which we think to be small.

In order to obtain forgiveness of his sin, the man said nothing and did nothing except to lay his hand upon the head of the spotless substitute, thus transferring his guilt and its doom to the substitute. The Law claimed the man’s life as the just penalty for his sin. The sin being transferred, the Law then claimed the life of the substitute; and directly that life was surrendered, the full claim of the Law was satisfied and the man thereby saved.

The knowledge that he was saved was founded upon two facts outside of himself, i.e., the value of the blood shed for him, and the trustworthiness of the Word spoken to him. On this Divine Foundation rests the Christian’s peace. The knowledge that Christ’s Blood is of infinite value to cleanse all sins, and the conviction that the Word of God, which declares that whoever trusts that Saviour shall never be confounded, is always trustworthy — this double knowledge establishes assurance of Salvation (I Jn. 1:9).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the Law of the Burnt Offering: It is the Burnt Offering, because of the burning upon the Altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the Altar shall be burning in it (Lev. 6:9).

The Burnt Offering was to burn all night. In the morning, dressed in his clean linen garments, the Priest was to gather its ashes and place them beside the Altar. Then, in his garments of beauty, he was to bring them with befitting glory into a clean place, which symbolizes the coming cleansed Millennial Earth. Through this night of mystery, the fragrance of Christ’s offering up of Himself to god ascends continually.

“In the morning,” Christ will appear to His people Israel in His double glory as the white-robed Priest and the Glory-crowned Mediator; and it will then be demonstrated to the world, as here foreshadowed by the honorable treatment of the ashes, that His Person and His Work have been accepted of God.

The fire that consumed the Burnt Offering originally came from Heaven (Lev. 9:24), and was maintained perpetually burning by the unwearied ministry of the Priest. It testified, on the one hand, to the unceasing delight of God in the Sacrifice of Christ, and, on the other hand, to His unceasing hatred of sin. False teachers today put this fire out by denying the doctrines of the Atonement and of the Wrath to come.

Let it never be forgotten:

It is Atonement alone which assuages the Wrath of God (Williams).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“besides the cakes, he shall offer for his Offering leavened bread with the Sacrifice of thanksgiving of his Peace Offerings (Lev. 7:13).

The Peace Offering for thanksgiving was eaten the same day it was offered; the Peace Offering for a vow, the same day or the next day — because a vow or a voluntary offering necessarily affected the heart more than an ordinary thanksgiving.

This Law taught the offeror to closely associate the death and sufferings of the slain lamb with the blessing for which he gave thanks. It teaches men today the same lesson. To disassociate worship and thanksgiving from the anguish and the shedding of the Blood of the Lord Jesus is to offer to God an abomination (Lev. 7:18), and to bring death into the soul and into the Church.

Ceremonial cleanliness was obligatory before eating the Peace Offering (Lev. 7:20-21). Disobedience in this matter entailed death. To profess faith in the Person and Atonement of Christ, and to claim fellowship with Him, but to be secretly unclean, insures the Wrath of God.

The Sacrifice of Christ and Faith in that Sacrifice purge sin from the Believer. To claim to believe such and then fail to exercise faith in what Christ has done for us at the Cross proclaim hypocrisy or unbelief, or both. Ultimately, judgment is inevitable.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD (Lev. 10:1-2).

The fact that these two men were Priests made no difference. They suffered the Judgment of God because they ignored Calvary.

Coals of fire were to be taken from the Brazen Altar, which typified Calvary, and placed on the Golden Altar in the Tabernacle. Incense was then to be poured over those coals of fire, which would fill the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, signifying the Intercession of our Lord on behalf of all the Saints.

The “strange fire” they offered was that taken from some other ignition than the Brazen Altar. It had, therefore, no connection with the Atonement. It was the sin of Cain. It is a sin largely committed today. Jesus said, “I am the Way, no man comes unto the Father but by Me.”

Acceptable worship can only be in the energy of the Holy Spirit, in the truth of the Shed Blood, and in obedience to the inspired Word. The fire of the Holy Spirit associates itself alone with the Blood of the Crucified Saviour; all other fire is “strange fire.” As a result of their disobedience, fire came out from the Holy of Holies and struck dead Nadab and Abihu.

From this we understand that the only thing standing between man and the Wrath of God is the Cross of Christ. That accepted, Wrath subsides. That ignored, Wrath remains!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“his shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the Priest (Lev. 14:2).

The Priest alone could judge whether a man was a leper or not. Directly a person was declared to be a leper, he was placed without the camp, and compelled, by voice and clothing, to confess himself a leper. Leprosy was a type of sin.

The leper was cleansed by blood, by water, and by oil (Lev. 14:6, 14-15). These symbolized the Blood of Christ, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit. This triple cleansing restored him to the camp, to the family, and to the Tabernacle. All were based upon the preciousness and efficacy of the shed blood. Apart from the Blood of Jesus moral reformation and spiritual power are impossible.

Excepting the washing of himself in water, the leper did nothing for his cleansing; the Priest did everything. The leper is the sinner, the Priest is Jesus. The Priest “went forth” out of the camp to where the leper was; the leper was “brought” to him. So Christ came down from Heaven to where the sinner is; the Holy Spirit brings the sinner to Him.

The carnal mind finds this Chapter tiresome, uninteresting, and unpleasant; however, to the spiritual mind it is humbling and comforting. Love untiring and infinite wisdom are the foundation of all of these Statutes given in these Chapters. The Reader finds himself as a moral leper in the tender, patient, wise, and loving hands of our Heavenly Priest; accordingly, we should study every word with humility and adoration.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be (Lev. 13:45-46).

Leprosy being a type of sin, we are here told the disposition of such sin.

1. “His clothes shall be rent”: The coat was to be ripped up the back, signifying, spiritually, that sinners are undone.

2. “His head bare”: Under Old Testament Law, the head bare signified that there was no protection against the Judgment of God.

3. “He shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean”: When an individual is asked if they are saved, and they exclaim, “I’m a member of thus-and-so Church,” they are, in essence, saying, “Unclean, unclean.” No Church, nor anything else, can cleanse the sinner, that being effected only by the shed Blood of Christ and our Faith in that cleansing stream.

4. “All the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he shall be defiled”: As long as sin remains, and it will forever remain until the person confesses Christ as Saviour and Lord, such a person will be unclean. There is no cleansing for sin outside of the precious, shed Blood of Jesus Christ.

5. “He shall dwell alone”: Irrespective of the noise and the clamor of society, or association with people, there is a terrible loneliness to sin.

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man has a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. Every bed, whereon he lies that has the issue, it is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sits, shall be unclean (Lev. 15:2, 4).

The lessons of this Fifteenth Chapter of Leviticus are:

First, the Holiness of God and of His Dwelling-place.

Second, the loving and minute interest that He takes in the habits of His Children. Nothing was too small or too private for Him. Their clothing and their health concerned Him deeply.

Third, the corruption of fallen nature; it defiled. Walking or sleeping, sitting, standing or lying, its every touch conveyed pollution — a painful lesson for proud humanity.

Fourth, the cleansing power of the Shed Blood and the sanctifying virtue of the Word of God are the only way of cleansing and Holiness.

Thus, the nature of sin is exhibited in this Chapter. Even that which was unavoidable defiled.

One of the sins, perhaps the greatest sin, of the modern Church is that it seems to little understand the terrible horror of sin. To properly understand that horror, one must understand the price that was paid to assuage its stain — the Death of the Son of God.

Justification assures of Salvation from the guilt of sin; Sanctification effects separation from the filth of sin.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
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Your Word for Today

“and this shall be a Statute forever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger who sojourns among you: For on that day shall the Priest make an Atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD (Lev. 16:29-30).

Leviticus, Chapter 16 describes the Great Day of Atonement. It occurred once a year. There was no other day like it. It dealt with the sins of the whole nation for twelve months. It foreshadowed the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29).

Abel’s lamb redeemed one man; the Pascal Lamb, one family; the Day of Atonement Lamb, one nation; the Lamb of Calvary, the whole world (Jn. 1:29).

This was the only day in the year that the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place. Enveloped in a cloud of Incense, he presented the blood of the Burnt Offering and of the Sin Offering, which he sprinkled once upon the Golden Mercy Seat, for God, knowing its value, needed but the one presentation. Then the blood was sprinkled seven times before the Mercy Seat. “Seven” being God’s number of perfection and totality, as well as universality, proclaimed the total effectiveness of the one presentation.

The Tabernacle and all connected therewith were cleansed, as well as the nation. The atoning Sacrifice of Calvary not only redeemed man so that he can dwell with God, and God can dwell with him, but also made the sin-drenched creation suitable for God. Calvary paid it all!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the Feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My Feasts (Lev. 23:2).

Israel’s sacred year contained one weekly and seven annual Feasts, but the annual Feasts were related to the weekly Feast. The weekly Feast was the Sabbath; the seven annual Feasts were: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.

Leviticus 23:2 declares these to be “Feasts of Jehovah,” and the words, “even these are My Feasts,” are added for emphasis. Alas! When our Lord came in the flesh, they had ceased to be “Feasts of Jehovah,” and had become “feasts of the Jews” (Jn. 2:13; 5:1; 6:4; 11:55).

A similar change may be witnessed presently in what professes to be the Kingdom of God. The Feast of the Sabbath stood apart as being God’s rest. It was a Prophecy and a Promise of the rest in Christ that remains to the people of God.

The foundation of the seven Feasts was Grace; the topstone, Glory; for the first Feast — Passover — proclaimed Redemption through the Blood, and the last Feast — Tabernacles — pictured the Millennium. Between these two Feasts came the sheaf of Firstfruits, i.e., the Resurrection of Christ; Pentecost, i.e., the descent of the Holy Spirit, made possible by the Crucifixion of Christ; and the Great Day of Atonement, when Israel shall look upon Him Whom they have pierced, and, repentant, receive the new heart predicted by Ezekiel.

The Command to do no servile work is repeated ten times in connection with these Feasts. Man’s activities were forbidden to intrude themselves into a Salvation which was Divine and Perfect (Williams).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“this is the Ordinance of the Law which the LORD has commanded, saying, Speak unto the Children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke (Num. 19:2).

Numbers, Chapter 19 contains the Law of the Red Heifer. Some claim that this was an invention by the Priests of Israel; however, if this sacrifice had been invented by the Jews, they would have put it in the Book of Leviticus. As it is, being in Numbers, this proclaims the fact of inspiration.

The heifer symbolized Christ. It was spotless externally, and without blemish internally. It was free from any bondage whatever. It was a female, and it was red. Christ, in His Humanity, was spotless within and without; He was also as gentle as a woman; He was never in bondage to any sin; the Law had no claim upon Him as a debtor; and He robed Himself with the red earth of Manhood.

Eleazar led the heifer forth without the camp; and there was she slain. So was Christ led of the Spirit to Calvary, where He offered up Himself.

The blood of the heifer is only once mentioned in this Chapter. So Christ was once offered. It needed not that other heifers should be slain — the ashes of the first heifer sufficed, and lasted, no doubt, for many years.

Purification from the defilements unavoidable during the sojourn was effected by an application of the ashes of the burnt heifer with running water, i.e., Living Water.

Christ’s Death need not be repeated in order that forgiveness be enjoyed concerning daily sins of the celestial pilgrim. It only needs that the meaning and perfection of His Death, typified by the burnt ashes, should be effectively applied to the conscience by the Living Spirit, symbolized by the running water, and the sense of forgiveness and cleansing is then enjoyed.

There were many things which required the ashes of the red heifer, the touching of a corpse or even a bone being examples. Death is the result of sin — original sin; therefore, it defiles! The only answer for sin and death is the Crucified Christ and Faith in His Finished Work, symbolized by the ashes of the Red Heifer.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: has He said, and shall He not do it? or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19).

This Prophecy, as given by Balaam, proclaims God, and rightly so, as the God of Blessing. In fact, for those who truly follow Him, the Scripture plainly says, “And He has blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” That’s quite a Promise!

Nothing can stop the Blessings of God for those who truly follow the Lord.

The Prophecy then said, “He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has He seen perverseness in Israel.” This is a proclamation of Justification by Faith. This great foundation truth of the Gospel appears in this Prophecy. Neither iniquity in Jacob nor perverseness in Israel were visible to the Divine eye, because that eye rested on the perfections of Him in Whom Israel was chosen.

Who could lay anything to the charge of those whom God justified, i.e., declared righteous? (Rom. 8:33)

This simply says that proper Faith in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross means that God does not necessarily look at us, but rather at the One in Whom we have believed. There He sees nothing but perfection; He can, therefore, refer to all who follow Christ as being placed in the same position — perfection.

Then he said, “And the shout of a king is among them.” Of course, as the Lord referred to Israel of that time, the “King” of Whom he spoke was the One Who would be born in Bethlehem, the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that all “Blessing” and all “Justification” come solely by and through Christ, all made possible by the what He did at the Cross.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a Book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven. And Moses built an Altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi (Ex. 17:14-15).

It is remarkable that the first mention of the Bible should be in connection with the hostility of the natural man (Amalek) to the spiritual man (Israel). War has ever since accompanied the Book. In fact, no Book (the Bible) has been so hated and so loved.

Paul told Timothy: “War a good warfare” (I Tim. 1:18). He also said, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (II Cor. 10:4).

Moses building the “Altar” tells us the manner in which victory is won. It is always through the Sacrifice of Christ and our Faith in that Finished Work. In fact, Paul told us exactly how this warfare is engaged, and how it is won. We speak of the never-ceasing war against the flesh.

He said, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of the our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14).

The “Cross” was the occasion for the victory which Moses saw, even as it regarded the entirety of Israel; the Cross is the scene of our victory. There is no other manner of victory, simply because no other manner is needed.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there (Josh. 2:1).

Rahab would seem to be an unlikely prospect for Salvation, but yet the greatest prospect of all, because Salvation is not gauged upon what a person has been, but the faith they now evidence. Rahab was a debauched member of a doomed race. Yet Grace saved her.

She based her plea for Salvation upon the fact that she was justly ordained by God to destruction. Many people refuse to claim Salvation because of the belief that, if they are ordained to be saved, they will be saved, and, if ordained to be lost, they will be lost. However, all sinners are justly ordained to be lost (Rom. 5:12); therefore, all sinners may be saved.

Rahab prefaced her plea for Salvation by declaring that she knew all were doomed to destruction, and, because of this Divine Judgment, she asked for a true token that would assure her of her safety in the Day of Wrath that was coming. She was immediately provided with a way of Salvation. It was very simple way. She had but to bind some scarlet thread in a window. A child could do that.

This means that Salvation from the Wrath to come is equally simple. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Precious Blood secures eternal Salvation.

Rahab lost not a moment in making her calling and election sure. She bound the scarlet thread in the window. Directly she did so, she was saved — that is, she was in safety and assured of safety. Prior to binding the scarlet line in the window, she was ordained to destruction. But from the moment she trusted that “true token,” she was ordained to Salvation.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by: and you shall bring your father, and your mother, and your brethren, and all your father’s household, home unto you (Josh. 2:18).

Rahab’s Salvation was not necessarily based upon something she trusted within herself, but rather on outward evidence, that is, the scarlet line. In it was perfection because it symbolized the Shed Blood of Christ; in herself, imperfection. Looking upon that “true token” and believing the testimony respecting it, she was assured of deliverance in the Day of Doom that was coming.

Thus, the outward token gave an inward peace.

The Believer in Jesus enjoys a similar peace. The preciousness of Christ’s Blood and the testimony of the Holy Scriptures concerning it are the outward tokens which bring assurance of Salvation to the heart that trusts Christ.

It was vain for Rahab to seek for Salvation upon the basis of personal worthiness; for she was vile indeed. She was a harlot. It is equally vain for the most moral, whoever that might be, to claim Salvation presently; for all have sinned, none are righteous, and all are under sentence of death (Rom. 5:12).

A Faith that is born of God always evidences itself by seeking the Salvation of others. Rahab pleads for her father, her mother, her brothers, her sisters, and all belonging to them; and they were all saved.

The moral effect of this Divine Faith evidenced in Rahab, who previously had been a harlot, now proclaims her joining the People of God, marrying one of its Princes, and her name shines in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Mat. 1:5). Thus, we see what the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do in the heart and life of one, anyone, even one such as Rahab.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you (Josh. 3:5).

Entrance into the Promised Land pictured the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. The wilderness experience proclaims life without this Baptism.

The Priests were to carry the Ark upon their shoulders. Both the Ark and the Priests were types of Christ.

The people were to follow the Ark as it was carried by the Priests, yet there was to be a space of about a half mile between them and it. Due to the fact that the sin debt had not yet been paid, because the Cross was still in the future, mere mortals, except the designated Priests, could not come close to the Ark. Thank God, Calvary has changed all of that!

Before this journey, which would witness the miracle of the opening of the Jordan, the people of Israel were to “sanctify themselves.” Under the Old Covenant, due to the fact that the Holy Spirit did not at that time reside within Believers, because, as stated, the sin debt was not yet paid, Sanctification consisted mostly of externals. Now it is a Work of the Spirit, simply because the sin debt has been paid at Calvary.

Let it ever be known:

The Jordan did not open for the sake of the people, even as much as God loved them, but for the sake of the Ark, which, as stated, was a Type of Christ.

Because of the Cross, now Christ lives in our hearts and lives, and does so through the Person of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20). Consequently, we now have a much Better Covenant, based on Better Promises (Heb. 8:6). Because of the Cross, we are now able to come near (Eph. 2:12-18).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and the Children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the Tribes of the Children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the Priests which bore the Ark of the Covenant stood: and they are there unto this day (Josh. 4:8-9).

If the Reader isn’t careful, he will read over what is actually said here without really understanding what Joshua actually was ordered to do by the Lord. He was instructed to take twelve stones out of the riverbed of Jordan while the waters were pushed back, where the Children of Israel passed over, and take those twelve stones to the Canaan side of the crossing, where they were to set them up for a memorial of what the Lord had done here this particular day.

They also were to take twelve stones from the wilderness side of the Jordan, which signified their wilderness wanderings, and, I might quickly add, great failures, and put those stones in the very place from where they had taken the first twelve stones. When the Jordan came back to its original position, the wilderness stones would be forever covered, which was the idea.

To the unspiritual eye, this would seem to be nonsensical; however, to those who understand what the Spirit was saying, He was telling Israel that their wilderness wanderings were over, their failures were buried deep in the Jordan, and they were not to be discussed any more.

The twelve stones buried in the Jordan River, taken from the wilderness side, signified the death and burial of Israel’s forty years of unbelief and sinning in the wilderness; the stones set up at Gilgal signified Israel’s new life of Resurrection power and Victory. The origin of these stones was the deep bed of Jordan; their purpose was to testify that Israel owed her entrance into the goodly land only, and wholly, to Divine Grace and Power.

The two monuments, so to speak, express the great truths of Romans and Ephesians. The first signifies the Baptism into Christ, as outlined in Romans 6:3-5, where the Believer dies to his old life and rises into a new life. There he was baptized into the Death of Christ, buried with Him by baptism into death, and raised with Him into newness of life.

As to our present position, the first monument of twelve stones set up in Gilgal reminds us that we are now on Resurrection ground and that we are daily to testify to
the glory of Christ, the One and Only Saviour, Who brought us out of the miry clay. It is also a dire sin for Believers, concerning the second monument, to go digging around in the muddy bed of Jordan, attempting to find stones that were forever buried there, meant to surface no more.

What the Lord has buried and forgotten, we had better let stay buried and forgotten.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“at that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the Children of Israel the second time (Josh. 5:2).

Israel was now in the Promised Land, but they find that entrance into its blessings and glory is barred by the strong fortress of Jericho, which loomed in their path. In the natural, its conquest was impossible to Israel, for its walls were great and high.

The city, which was a type of hindrances to blessings, must be subdued. But God cannot give victory to “the flesh,” i.e., to “self.” Hence, “the flesh” must be “put to death,” which can only be done by the Believer looking exclusively to Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross; this then gives the Holy Spirit, Who Alone can subdue the flesh, latitude to work within our lives.

To symbolize what Christ would do, of which all of this was a Type, the Lord gave instructions to Joshua that all the males of Israel had to be circumcised. This had been done nearly 40 years before (Lev. 12:3); however, evidently the generation of males born in the wilderness had not yet been circumcised. So Joshua was instructed now to carry out this rite.

The Lord was instructing Joshua to completely immobilize his entire fighting force. Moreover, they would remain that way for several days. Should they be attacked, the soreness would make it impossible for them to defend Israel. This was, however, what the Lord wanted, in order to show that Israel’s strength was not in its physical power.

Circumcision symbolized the Cross and death to self. First of all, there was shedding of blood, which signified Christ shedding His Blood on the Cross of Calvary. Second, there was a cutting, or separation, of the flesh, which signified death to self. As someone has said, “When Jesus died on the Cross, He died to save us not only from ‘sin,’ but also from ‘self’.” Circumcision signified both!

This tells us that the only way the Believer can have victory over the “Jerichos” in his life is by looking to Christ and what He did at the Cross, which means that self is no longer being trusted or leaned upon, but rather the Spirit, Who functions entirely by the means of what Christ did on the Cross (Rom. 8:2).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“and the Children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho (Josh. 5:10).

After Circumcision, the Lord now commands the Children of Israel to partake of the Passover, which evidently they had not done for some time. By the public eating of the Passover, Israel proclaimed that both her Redemption out of Egypt and her position in the Land of Promise were alike due to the preciousness of the Blood of the Pascal Lamb. True spiritual victories can only be won where there is this testimony to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which the Passover was a Type.

Each family was to kill a lamb, a male lamb without blemish, which, of course, signified Christ and His Death on the Cross. The lamb was to be wholly eaten with bitter herbs, signifying that Christ is to be partaken of in totality, hence, all being eaten. The “bitter herbs” typified the bitterness of the bondage of Egypt from which the Israelites were delivered.

This plainly tells us that we as Believers can walk in victory only by one way and method:

That one way is Faith and Trust in Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross. Ever making the Cross of Christ the Object of our Faith enables the Holy Spirit to work within our lives, Who Alone can give us the victory. If it is to be noticed, the way of the Cross doesn’t change; it cannot change, and it doesn’t need to change.

One of the great efforts of the human race is the “improvement of self.” While self definitely needs to be improved, it can be improved in only one way. The Holy Spirit Alone can improve our lives.

Let the Reader understand that carefully:

It cannot be done any other way (Rom. 8:1-2, 11). In order for the Holy Spirit to do this, He demands of us that the Cross of Christ ever be the Object of our Faith (Rom. 8:2). Unfortunately, virtually all of the ways and means proposed by modern Preachers is that “self” improve “self.” Such is impossible!

Paul said, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be.

“So then they who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
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