The Feast of Jeroboam
I dare say here that even many "sonship" aspirants today are worshiping a golden calf, even celebrating a phony feast, not the true Feast of Tabernacles. We might call this phony feast "The Feast of Jeroboam."
Without going into much detail on this here, let me just say that God is building something very awesome in our day -- a dwelling place for Himself, and He gives vision for this building project through understanding and celebration of the true Feast of Tabernacles. I say, "true Feast of Tabernacles" here because there is an Old Testament allegory which reveals there to be an impostor of this glorious feast, a phony. This allegory can be found in the story of king Jeroboam; a type of the spirit of Antichrist working through the selfish desires of men, even in and through the hearts of Christians who are not really willing to live the sacrificial life. Let me share just a little more on this ...
King Solomon was greatly blessed of the Lord in his day but he did not follow fully after God as did his father David. No, Solomon's wives turned away his heart after other gods and he built high places to worship those gods, so the Lord said that He would tear the kingdom from Solomon and give it to one of his servants. The Lord promised to leave Solomon one tribe for David's sake, though. So after Solomon died, Jeroboam, Solomon's former servant, was raised up to be the king over ten tribes in Israel, while Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was given reign in Jerusalem over the house of Judah and Benjamin.
Now, king Jeroboam was afraid that if the Israelites went up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the feasts their hearts would turn again unto Rehoboam. Jeroboam feared that the end result of this would be that he could be dethroned or even killed. So, Jeroboam took counsel with men who didn't want to lose their jobs (or their heads) and they all came up with a plan, something that would trouble Israel for many generations. This plan was for Jeroboam to make two calves of gold, something that the people could worship "in Bethel and Dan," and something that would prevent them from going to Jerusalem to celebrate the true Feast of Tabernacles (representative of the sacrificed life).
Now, this topic deserves more attention, but I'm going to keep this short here. You can find more about this on the website. I will say though that Jeroboam's establishment of a phony feast is representative of the selfish and idolatrous thinking in much of the church today. The golden calves in Bethel and Dan can represent for us the things that we worship and then try to justify as true and right Christian living. The calves represent the lie that we don't really need not go all the way "up to Jerusalem to sacrifice." They represent the things that keep us from the sacrificed life which leads us into the power and the glory of the resurrection. They represent that which leads to weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, not blessing, for they are that which causes BELIEVERS to miss out on their glorious inheritance as Firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
I know that some people squirm a little bit when I share things like I have shared recently.This is more than likely because some golden calves are being identified, because there is a difference being distinguished between the true reality of the Lord and His desire for His disciples and the feast that Jeroboam is celebrating today.
Dear ones, Satan, just as Jeroboam, has devised a counterfeit feast to keep you from entering into the fullness of your inheritance in Christ. DO NOT be ignorant of his devices.
Let me end with this (it may seem like a digression, but it is not) ...
When we read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, it can plainly be seen that it was only a remnant of the "church" of that day that was called OUT FROM "the captivity" to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. It can also be plainly seen in those books that this very same remnant actually celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, something that had been lost to the sons of Israel from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to the very day of the rebuilding. This "celebration" is something that is also lost to most Christians today. It represents REALLY living as sacrifices ... only our reasonable service. - D
Okay ...
I was on my way home from the diner where I sent this morning's message from, when I saw Ezra wheeling on down the sidewalk towards me. He was passing by a church when a man from that church came out to talk with Ezra. They talked for a moment, and I then saw the man from the church nod his head and then proceed on back into the building. I thought to myself, "Oh great! Perhaps these are some people with some compassion for hurting people. Maybe they will reach out and actually help Ezra!"
When I reached Ezra I asked him if the people from that church were going to help him. He said to me, "Yeah. The man said that he would go in and get me a donut." A DONUT?!!
Now, here's a guy with no money, no help from anyone, wounded and in a wheelchair and living under a bridge, and the best that this "Christian" congregation can do for him is give him a donut? Oh my, oh my...You wanna know what that is? It's Jeroboam's Feast.
D