Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #17 of Genesis 30, and we will read Genesis 30:21:

And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

We have been looking at “daughters” in the Bible, and we saw a few Scriptures in Isaiah where God speaks of bringing sons and daughters to Him in salvation.  And that led us to Isaiah 49, and we are going to turn there.  It says in Isaiah 49:22-23:

Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet…

From here, we began to check out the word “nursing” because it was curious, as it spoke about “nursing fathers.”  And that led us to Numbers where it was speaking of Moses, and it said in Numbers 11:11-12:

And Moses said unto JEHOVAH, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?

We saw that the word “nursing” that is used twice in Isaiah 49 is a translation of two different Hebrew words.  The word “nursing” that was used in relationship to “nursing fathers” is Strong’s #539, and it is the word used here in Numbers 11:12.  But then it speaks of the “sucking child,” and the word “sucking” is the other Hebrew word that was translated as “nursing” in Isaiah 49:23 regarding “nursing mothers.”  So when we search the Bible and find out some information, it makes us interested and curious to find out more, and that has led us to look up the word “bosom,” as Moses said, “Have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child…?” And “bosom” is a word we saw in Ruth 4:16 when Naomi laid the child of Ruth and Boaz in her bosom and became “nurse” to him.  And we started following that word “bosom,” which took us to Isaiah 40:10:

Behold, JEHOVAH GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

We can compare that to Revelation 22:12, and it matches pretty well, and Revelation 22:12 is referring to Christ coming in judgment in the Day of Judgment, our present time, and Jesus is Judge of the earth right now.   He is ruling the earth with a rod of iron, and “his arm shall rule for him.”  As Judge, He is also evaluating the innocence or guilt of those before Him, and He will give to His elect their reward of eternal life at the conclusion of the judgment process on the last day, and so forth.  So it fits with what is happening in this prolonged period of judgment.  Then it says in Isaiah 4:11:

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

And that also fits with Christ feeding His flock like a shepherd in the Day of Judgment.  That is what we have learned from John 21 regarding the great catch of fish, which pictured the great multitude that were saved out of Great Tribulation, and their coming out of the water is a picture of the Great Tribulation and the Latter Rain.  Then the next time period is Judgment Day, which occurs “immediately after the tribulation of those days,” when the sun is darkened, spiritually.  Therefore, God’s intention to feed His sheep who have been left on the earth to go through the judgment, and He will nourish them spiritually and feed them with His Word as He reveals the Scriptures and opens up the information and revelation of His righteous judgment program.

I mentioned last time that from here we are going to jump over to the New Testament, and look at the word “bosom” as it is used in the New Testament.  It is found a few times, starting in John 1:17-18:

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

The “only begotten” is a reference to the Lord Jesus dying and resurrecting at the foundation of the world, and at that point, He was declared to be the Son of God, His only begotten, the first born from the dead.  That is how Christ became the Son of God.  It is a name or title he received upon rising up from death at the foundation of the world.  So before He died on the cross and 33 A. D. and rose early that Sunday morning, He was already called the “Son of God” several times in the Gospel accounts.  So how could He have the name Son of God, “the only begotten Son,” as it says here, before He died and resurrected?  It is plainly laid out in Romans 1:4-5 that He was declared the Son of God through the resurrection from the dead.  And, of course, the answer is that Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and that is when He also rose up out of death at the point of the foundation of the world in eternity past, and at that point He was declared “the Son of God,” firstborn from the dead.  Then He was the “only begotten,” and it is a name that completely identifies with resurrection, so it is a strong proof that Christ had already died and resurrected before He was born of the Virgin Mary, and before He went to the cross in 33 A. D. because He already was called “the Son of God” prior to going to the cross.

But it says here, “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” In the bosom of the Father, you see, is a position or place that is one of comfort and intimacy and love.  If you are “in the bosom,” like Ruth and Boaz’ baby was in Naomi’s bosom, then that baby is loved and cared for.  And the only begotten Son was in the bosom of the Father, a very close and intimate relationship.  And, of course, it showed the tremendous love of the Father and Son.

Let us go to another verse that is also in John.  We read in John 13:23-26:

Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

So there was a disciple who was leaning on Jesus’ bosom whom Jesus loved.  Jesus loved all the disciples that were elect, so He loved Peter, James, and John, and He loved this disciple because God loves all His chosen people.  But in this relationship, it is emphasized as the disciple whom Jesus loved, as though Jesus’ love for Him had been confirmed and everyone knew that Jesus certainly loved this man.  Again, it makes us wonder which disciple this is whom Jesus loved.  There are a few references to this disciple in the Gospel accounts, like in the Gospel of John, in John 21.  After the great catch of fish, and Jesus asking Peter if he loved Him, and their back-and-forth exchange, then it says in John 21:19-20:

This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?

And verse 13 is just recounting what we just read in John 13, and then it says in John 21:21-23:

Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

It is very strange.  Why would this kind of rumor spread that Jesus had said this disciple would not die?  Well, it is because it appears that this disciple was Lazarus.  The disciple that Jesus loved was Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  Remember, back in John 11, Lazarus had died and had been lying in the tomb for four days when Jesus approached, and we read of that very emotional scene in John 11:32-36:

Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

Keep that in mind concerning how this disciple was known as the disciple that Jesus loved.  Again, it says in John 11:36-44:

Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Lazarus was loosed, and in the next chapter Lazarus was at the supper table when Jesus was at the  house, and many Jews came not only to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus, the man whom Jesus loved.  He would not have raised him from the dead after he had been dead four days unless He had loved him.  It is a strong indicator that Christ loved Lazarus.  He was the disciple whom Jesus loved, and that disciple was leaning on Jesus’ bosom. 

You know, this is a man leaning on another man’s bosom, and that does not happen too often.  Regarding the other disciples, we do not read of that kind of close, intimate relationship.  But Lazarus had gone through the experience of death.  We know that when he physically died, his spirit had to go to be with the Lord in heaven, but we do not know what kind of experience he had in heaven.  But we do know that when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, his soul came back to his body, and he came forth a “different man.”  I think that is one thing that would be certain.  He would more than likely not fear death any longer because he had gone through it, and he had experienced heaven and the kingdom of God in the presence of the Lord.  And he would also have had a tremendous trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing He is God, knowing He is Saviour, in an experiential way. 

You know, there are barriers in men’s minds as we grow, and we keep a (physical) distance to some degree, except for those in our immediate family, for the most part.  Well, that was no longer a problem here – Lazarus just leaned back on Jesus’ bosom, fully trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that Christ loved Him. 

So the “bosom” represents a place of intimate trust and care and, certainly, comfort.  Christ was comforting him.  By the way, there was a booklet written several years ago by an individual (and I am not sure if he was a Family Radio listener), but I remember Mr. Camping mentioning it on the Open Forum.  I got the book, and the author laid out the case.  It was largely circumstantial, but there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence that points to Lazarus as being the human author (scribe) of the Gospel of John, rather than the disciple John.  I am aware of this, but I still call it the book of John because the evidence is circumstantial, and it seems to lack conclusive proof.  Also, when we say John 13 or John 14, people know where to go, but if you say Lazarus 13 or Lazarus 14, it may pose a problem with the Bible as it is laid out, but it is very possible – and even likely – that Lazarus was the man God used to pen the fourth Gospel.

Let us go to Luke 16, and we will find the word “bosom” used here a couple of times.  It says in Luke 16:19-25:

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

I will stop reading there.  We are familiar with this parable.  We know, based on other Scripture and biblical evidence, that there is no place called “Hell.”  Hell is the grave or death, and “hell” can be the literal grave when people die and go into the earth, or it can be the “condition of death,” as the fallen angels were said to have been “cast down into hell,” although they remained roaming the earth, but they entered into the condition of death.

So, too, when God shut the door on the world on May 21, 2011, the whole world entered into the condition of death wherein one’s spiritual condition of being saved or unsaved became fixed.  And this parable is actually teaching about that fixed position for both the righteous (as represented by Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom) and the rich man in “hell,” or the condition of death. Then it says in Luke 16:26:

And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

There can no longer be any transition from “darkness to light” or from Satan’s kingdom to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is all settled.  And Lazarus is typifying the elect.  And we can understand this regarding the spiritual condition of every one of God’s saved people, and the spiritual condition of every unsaved person in the world being fixed throughout the entire prolonged period of judgment, which began on May 21, 2011 and will continue to a yet unspecified date in the year 2033.  That will be the judgment on the world, the recompence of tribulation, and during this time Lazarus, a type and figure of God’s elect, resides in Abraham’s bosom.  Father Abraham is typifying God the Father, and those he has saved (his sons and his daughters) are in His bosom, just as we saw in Isaiah 40 where it was said of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming, in Isaiah 40:11:

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom…

They will be in His bosom.  They will be comforted.  They will be safe and secure.  They will trust the Lord, and God will love them.  They are as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  They have the eyes of God ever watching over them and caring for them and nourishing them, as He carries them as a sucking child.  They are not sucking the breast of the father, but they are sucking the breast of the mother, the Word of God, and they will be fed.  They will have their spiritual needs taken care of, and God will do everything to lead, guide, and keep His elect people safe until they get to the Promised Land.  And that is where Numbers 11:11 comes in, as Moses said, “Shall I carry them in my bosom, as a nursing father bears the sucking child?”  And the answer is, “Yes.”  That 40-year wilderness sojourn ties in with those 40 years from 1994 to 2033, inclusively.