Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #10 of Genesis 30, and we are going to read Genesis 30:11-13:

And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

We were looking at Gad and his name and its relationship to a “troop.”  We had gone to 1Samuel 30, and we saw how a troop came and took David’s wives and the wives of his men captive, and then David went after them and defeated them.  He freed the captives, a picture of Christ taking “captivity captive,” and, therefore, a picture of salvation.

So the word “troop” was a very negative tie-in.  As we were following this word “troop,” we went to Genesis 49.  Let me read that verse again, in Genesis 49:19:

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

And this particular word was #1416 in Strong’s Concordance, and it is that same word found in 1Samuel 30, and it is also in 2Kings 24, where it is found a few different times.  The Hebrew word, #1416, is translated as “bands” here, but it is the same word that is translated as “troops.”  It says in 2Kings 24:1-4:

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And JEHOVAH sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of JEHOVAH, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of JEHOVAH came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which JEHOVAH would not pardon.

Talk about a strange scenario, but it was the true historical situation where Nebuchadnezzar was called God’s servant, as God raised him up to destroy the city called by His name – His own people, the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.  When Jehoiakim, king of Judah, rebelled against the king of Babylon, we read in verse 2 that JEHOVAH sent against him “bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon.” 

For a second, we might think that God was helping Jehoiakim and Judah, and that God was sending bands against that evil king.  But we would be wrong.  God was punishing the king of Judah and the land of Judah for their rebellion against the king of Babylon.  And the king of Babylon typifies Satan, and that is because the whole historical situation is a parable.  While it is true history, it is parabolic because it points to God’s judgment on the churches at the time of the end when the Lord loosed Satan, thereby raising him up as a destroying weapon upon the corporate church.  God’s command to the people of Judah was to submit and to go into captivity and not fight against it, but they rebelled against that command they heard through the prophet Jeremiah.  Again, they did not listen or hearken to the Word of God.  In fighting back against King Nebuchadnezzar, they were really fighting against God, and God fought against them by sending these four bands or groups of men.  And the number “4” points to universality or the furthest extent of whatever is in view.  In this case, God’s judgment came against all the churches in the world.  It was a universal judgment against all churches, one hundred percent.  And He sent troops against them.  As it was said of Gad, “a troop shall overcome him,” and Gad was part of the nation of Israel.  He was one of the tribes.  And, again, Israel is a type and figure of the corporate church, and so is Gad a type and figure of the corporate church.

Of course, the same holds true for the all the tribes that can also typify “spiritual Israel,” and Gad is one of the tribes mentioned in Revelation 7, where the Lord said He would “seal” (which is language of salvation) 12,000 out of the tribe of Gad.  And that would picture God’s elect or those that would truly become saved.

But that is like Israel itself, which can picture the corporate body, the outward representation (of the kingdom of God), or it can picture spiritual Israel.   The same is true of Jerusalem.  It can typify earthly Jerusalem or Jerusalem above.  The same is true of the “house of God.”  Judgment began at the house of God, the corporate church, but there is also a “spiritual house” that God has built with “living stones,” everyone He has saved.  With Zion or with all these other examples, there can be two levels of meanings or two applications, as far as the spiritual teaching.

Here, troops were coming against Judah, in 2Kings 24, and they are clearly emissaries of Satan.  They are not the people of God. God was using these troops, just like He used Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.  They are enemies of God and His kingdom, and that is why they are coming against Judah.  Therefore, they are like emissaries of Satan.

The word “troops” is also found a couple of times in Hosea 6, starting with Hosea 6:9-10:

And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

The troops of robbers are likened to a company of priests that murder in the way, and this identifies with false doctrines and false gospels and those that set up their own salvation plan.  They are likes troops of robbers, and it goes on to say in Hosea 7:1:

When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.

So, again, this relates to Israel and their teachings, and Israel is corresponding to the New Testament churches and their teachings, and they teach falsehoods.  And through this lie, the thief comes in, and the troops of robbers spoil without.  There are “thieves and robbers.”  Where have we heard that before?  We can go to Matthew 21:12-13:

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Also, it says in John 10:7:

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

This has to do with salvation.  Christ is the Door.  He is the Shepherd of the sheep, and the sheep hear His voice, and they are able to go in and experience salvation.  But there were those that came before that are likened to “thieves and robbers,” and the sheep did not hear them, so they had the “voice” of stranger, who is Satan.

So it is not a good thing for Gad that the meaning of this word “troop” applies to him, although it may not apply to Gad as a person, but to the tribe.  Of course, they, too, are a type and figure, and some of the Gadites could have been saved, as well as of the other tribes of Israel, as well as any person.  You know, in God’s plan of election, He would save “Jew and Gentile,” and for those He saved of the Jews, they would have been from every tribe.  The number “144,000” is a figurative number made up of 12,000 people from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.  God did not mean that a literal 12,000 Gadites or 12,000 Benjaminites, and so forth, were saved to form that 144,000.  In actuality, the “144,000” of the 12 tribes of Israel are typifying those saved in the churches and congregations, so the majority of them were Gentiles, although some Jews did enter into the churches and congregations, but they would have been a minority.  Even though God is not using this number literally to indicate those that were sealed within the 12 tribes, it meant that there would be no exclusion for someone from the tribe of Dan, for example.  There were things said of the tribe of Dan that were not very good either, and the same is true for the tribe of Gad.  Potentially, God could have saved Gad or some of his descendants, just as well as He could have saved anyone else.

Let us continue on, and we will read Genesis 30:12-13:

And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

Asher is Strong’s #836, and the word “happy” is #837, and it is only found in this verse.  It is the only time it is used.  The word “blessed” is #833, and it is used 16 times in the Old Testament.  That is, this particular word, Strong’s #833, which is translated as “blessed,” is found 16 times.  There is another word that is translated as “blessed” or “blessings,” and it is found dozens of times.  But this particular word follows our traditional understanding, I guess we could say, of the word “blessed.”  For example, this same word is found in Psalm 41:1-2:

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: JEHOVAH will deliver him in time of trouble. JEHOVAH will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

So one that “considereth the poor” will be blessed upon the earth, and that reminds us of The Beatitudes.  Turn to Matthew 5, where Jesus was teaching the multitudes, and we read in Matthew 5:3-12:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, and the “poor in spirit” refer to God’s elect people, as well as every other reference here.  The blessings of God are upon them, and it has to do with the promise of inheritance, as we are heirs in the Lord Jesus Christ of the Promised Land of Canaan, so we will “inherit the earth,” which Canaan typified, and so forth.  So there are just blessings, upon blessings for the people of God, and we read some specifics about this blessing a littler further on in Matthew 13.  This was after Jesus had just spoken a parable, and He said in Matthew 13:9-17:

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

“Blessed are your eyes,” Christ said to His disciples, and He is speaking to every elect child of God.  “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”  This is the blessing of God, as He opens up the ears of the spiritually blind, and He opens up the ears of the spiritually deaf.  And we could also add that He opens up the mouths of the spiritually dumb.  He gives life to the spiritually dead, and He raises them up, and now they have “senses,” as it were, that are active, aware and able to be exercised, and they are able to hear and see things that the rest of the world cannot.  And that would include the overwhelming majority of mankind, including a high percentage of “Christians” that are merely professed Christians.  They cannot hear.  They cannot perceive these things because it has not been given to them.  “But it has been given to you,” Jesus said to His disciples and His people.  God has given us this wonderful gift of salvation, and with it, we see and hear. 

And these are just ways of expressing the fact that we understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.  We understand as we come to know the hidden truths of the Bible, the buried treasure that God has hidden everywhere in the Scriptures.  The people of God can see it.  We can hear it.  We rejoice in it, and it is a wonderful blessing to us.  It is something that comforts, strengthens, and helps the child of God.

We also read in Luke 11:27-28:

And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Here, God is expanding on the whole idea of being blessed.  You hear the Word of God?  Very good.  But if you keep it, then blessed are ye.  Many hear, but they do not keep the Word, and they would qualify as those that “hear, but hear not,” even though they may have an intellectual understanding.  They may have understood, “Oh, this is the parabolic meaning of this passage.”  They may get that, and that is good, but there is also the keeping of it.  Do we keep the mysteries of the Bible?  Do we obey the parables that Christ opens up to our eyes and to our hearing?  Of course we do!  Just think of Matthew 24, which is a good example that we are most familiar with, where we read of the abomination of desolation being in the holy place, and then Christ said, “…whoso readeth, let him understand.”  That is, let the one who reads it, hear that, or see that, and perceive the spiritual truth (understanding) of it after seeing and hearing.  Then God said, “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.”  And with that verse, too, you have to hear and understand, and realize that Judaea is a representation of the church, and the “abomination of desolation” is a picture of Satan having been loosed and standing in the holy place.  Then we were to get out the churches.  It was a command.  And that is where the keeping or doing of the Word of God comes in.  It was a command that was hidden on a spiritual level, and it was revealed in its proper time and season at the end of the world when judgment began at the house of God.  And when something is hidden spiritually like that, to natural-minded people it is almost an excuse not to obey it.  “Oh, you know. There is a lot of discussion among theologians and their commentaries that dispute what Judaea means there, and most of them think that Matthew 24 is set in the first century and has to do with 70 A. D.”  And there is all this jargon that clouds the issue and allows most of the hearers to avoid obeying and hearkening.  And “hearkening” is a word that means you have heard, and you are acting upon it (in obedience).  You are hearing and doing, and that is what Christ was saying: “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

A similar statement is made in Revelation 1:3:

Blessed is he that readeth…

So it is a blessing to read the Bible.  It is a blessing that we can hear the Bible.  There is no doubting that.  It is a supreme blessing.  But notice what it says after that, in Revelation 1:3:

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

So it is not limited to just reading the Bible.  You have to “hear” it.  On one level, you can read the Bible, but you have to hear it.  And hearing it is also not enough.  You have to keep it and do it.  You have to obey what God has said, and that would relate to a very important statement in James, where we are told in James 1:22-25:

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.