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On the Valley of Weeping and Giants, on the Path of Pilgrimage
Children, we are on a journey. We are on a path of Pilgrimage toward the Feast of Tabernacles. Man has not gone this way before and not all who begin this journey will finish it. This trek is overseen by the Lord of Hosts, the Captain of Angelic Armies, the God of Righteous War. This journey is for the desperate. The contented need not apply. This journey is for the ones who cry out with all of their being -- soul, heart and flesh -- for more of God, all of God that their fleshly tabernacle can contain. This is for the one who knows he has no more rights or possessions than a sparrow, like a little bird that hovers near the sacrifice for any crumb left behind. The little bird of Matthew 6:26 that puts all of its trust in God. This journey is not for those who desire to visit the presence of God. It is for those who want to become a dwelling place for that Presence.
Blessed is the man who strength is in You. This word for "strength" is Strongs #5797, from #5810, and means "force, security, trust, majesty, praise, boldness, might and power." Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. "Pilgrimage" is Strongs #4033, from #1481, and means a "temporary abode, a lodging. It suggest being a "sojourner, a stranger in a strange land" where one travels with a sense of fear and danger. It also means to be a "resident foreigner." We are pilgrims on the Way. As they pass through the Valley of Baca..." Baca (Bah-KAH) means "weeping." Baca also means "balsam." The balsam plant in this valley is an evergreen that grows from 12 to 14 feet in height. It secretes a pale yellow, aromatic resin that was used as incense and dissolved in water as an ointment. "Balsam" also means "Balm." "Balm" is from Strongs #6875 which means to "crack as by pressure, to leak, to distill." It is the pressure of our pilgrimage that causes us to crack. Our own strength fails us. We must trust Him. As we crack that which is pure is secreted from us and becomes "the balm of Gilead." "Gilead" means "heap of testimony, memorial cairn, or pile of testimonial stones." Our pilgrimage through the Valley of Weeping is marked by memorial stones. The stones tell of the weakness of our flesh and the power of His grace. Balsam (Song of Songs 5:1) can also be translated "spice," "myrrh," and "mulberry."
On our pilgrimage toward the Feast of Tabernacles we go through dry lands. In the verse above is an important point that will disqualify many. "They make it a spring." There is effort here. We must dig deep into the earth to find a spring or excavate a well. Our flesh is that soil. We must go deep, we must excavate a chamber, a pool inside of ourselves. We must pursue both inner healing and death-to-self. In one verse we have both self-effort and sovereign grace. We dig a spring but He covers both our path and the spring with His rain. The pilgrim on the way to the Feast of Tabernacles has already experienced the Feasts of Passover and Pentecost. There is a spring resident within this pilgrim. But it is not enough. More work is needed. Room must be made. There is a need for expansion.
The first "strength" mentioned was "trust." This is a different word, it is Strongs #2428, taken from #2342. It goes way beyond "trust." Trust is only the door. This word means "army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength, goods, host, might, power, riches, virtues, war, worthy," and comes from a root meaning "to twist, to whirl, to dance, to writhe in pain as if giving birth, to bring forth and to wait carefully." This is a process, a path of glory to glory, from freedom to indescribable freedoms, from victory to overwhelming victories. From joy to great joy.
In the Feast of Tabernacles no priest is a man's intercessor. Each individual is prophet/priest/king. Each individual is a tabernacle, a human dwelling place of the Holy Spirit of the Most High.
This is a cry to the Captain of Hosts, the Almighty in Battle, Great and Glorious. This cry to the Lord of Hosts is because the battle is not over for the Valley of Baca is also known as the Valley of Rephaim (2 Samuel 5:22-24).
THE VALLEY OF REPHAIM
David met and defeated the Philistines in Baal Perazim. As most of you know, Baal Perazim means "He has broken through." We have heard much about "breakthrough" the past few years. I believe Bob Jones and Paul Keith Davis first had the revelation of an Angel of Breakthrough that had been sent to earth, and others followed with words about "the breaker's anointing." I have prayed for breakthrough for years, but breakthrough is not enough.
Baal Perazim was a setback for the Philistines and a breakthrough for David, but breakthrough was not sufficient. The enemy was not vanquished. "Rephaim" means "giant." The Rephaim and the Nephilim were the giants of Genesis 6 produced by evil angelic beings mating with human women. Battling "giants" is different than battling normal enemies. You can "go up" against the flesh, meaning charge it straight on. In verse 23 David inquired of the Lord about this new situation and the Lord said: "You shall not go up; circle around behind them and come upon them in front of the mulberry (balsam) trees." Bible scholars believe that the Valley of Baca from Psalm 84 and The Valley of Rephaim from 2 Samuel 5 are the same place. The Lord continued to speak: "And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry (balsam, balm) trees, then you shall advance quickly. For the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines." When David secured the first victory at Baal Perazim he had "dug a spring." He trusted God and charged head-on. The Final Battle is His. We do not charge Giants head on. We arrange ourselves behind them and we shut up. We get still and listen. We listen for the sound of Lord of Hosts. We listen for the marching of the Army of Hosts, the Angelic Army. We, afterall, make our marches below the mulberry trees. The Army of Hosts marches "in the tops of the mulberry trees." (We must hear His presence moving in our balm, our healing, our wholeness.) When we hear the angels marching our orders are to "advance quickly." It is not a time to pause and wonder; for reason and logic. The Lord strikes the Giant Enemy in its camp. He does not give it time to fully assemble. We are simply allowed to clean up, to finish what He has accomplished. We are on a path of pilgrimage. We understand our Kingship, yet there is still a journey before us to reach the Feast of Tabernacles. When Breakthrough comes, realize that Breakthrough, like Pentecost, is not enough. The Final Battle is against the Giants and the Final Battle is His. We are called to participate but the test is in our hearing. We must hear the sound of the marching in the mulberry trees. Rushing forward too soon spells our doom, going too late robs us of our share of the victor's spoils. Let us march on, from well to rainfall, from strength to Strength, from visitation to habitation; let us know well that the battle and final victory is His. Let us listen for the Angels of Righteous War that carry healing balm in their wings. Let us be still when it is time to be still and listen for the sounds of deep healing. Let us look, see, and remember the memorial stones and the Balm of Gilead. |
