Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #22 in Genesis 38, and we will be reading Genesis 38:29-30:

And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

After Zarah had drawn back his hand, then his brother came out, and the midwife said, “How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.”

First, let us talk about some Strong’s numbers because there are three words that have different Strong’s numbers.  The word translated as “broken forth” is Strong’s #6555; the word “breach” is Strong’s #6556; and “Pharez” is Strong’s #6557.  They have identical consonants, so they are the same word, but they have different vowel pointing, which is why they were given different Strong’s numbers, but we know that vowel points are not inspired.  They were not part of the divine Word that God gave us, but they were added later by the Masoretes.  I will not go into that again, but they are meant to help pronounce the words if you were to read the Hebrew.  But we are only interested in the original text that God gave, which were only consonants, so these three words are all the same.

That tells us that Pharez’s name means “broken forth,” or “breach,” which are different words that mean the same thing.  Actually, when we look at some other places in the Bible where this word is found, it is translated in some other ways as well, and I will mention them when I get to those verses.

But we will start by looking at Strong’s #6555, which is translated as “broken forth.”  It is found in 2Samuel 5:19-20:

And David enquired of JEHOVAH, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And JEHOVAH said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, JEHOVAH hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.

The word “broken forth” is #6555, and the word “breach” is #6556.  We can see that David is fighting the Philistines, the enemies of God, and then he came to this place called Baalperazim, and he smote them there and said, “JEHOVAH hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters.”  That is, God burst through their lines like water breaking through a dam, and it led to their destruction or death.

In the next chapter we find this word again.  I am sure you are familiar with this account where they were attempting to transport the Ark of God in the days of David.  We read in 2Samuel 6:2-8:

And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of JEHOVAH of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before JEHOVAH on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of JEHOVAH was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because JEHOVAH had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.

We see the name “Perez,” which is just like the name of one of the twin boys of Tamar, Pharez, although it is spelled a bit differently, but it is the same word.  And the last part of the word is “Uzzah,” which is the name of the man who was struck dead.  It goes on to say in 2Samiuel 6:9-10:

And David was afraid of JEHOVAH that day, and said, How shall the ark of JEHOVAH come to me? So David would not remove the ark of JEHOVAH unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.

So here we have this curious historical happening where they were apparently attempting to do a good thing in moving the ark of God to the city of David.  As they were transporting it, they seemed to be taking various precautions.  They set the ark on a new cart, and they drave the new cart with someone going before it, and with Uzzah following behind.  Then the oxen stumbled and shook the cart, so Uzzah was trying to make sure the ark did not fall off the cart.  That would be a terrible thing if the Ark of the Covenant fell to the ground, so it is a very understandable and reasonable thing, and also a very positive thing, that this man did not want the ark to be damaged in any way.  So he put forth his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it.  Then we read, “And the anger of JEHOVAH was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”  Why was there such a terrible reaction?  Why was God so angry that He slew the man for the error that he committed in putting forth his hand to the ark? 

We can definitely understand that this tells us something about the holiness of God, as that ark represented God’s presence, and sinful man cannot approach God on his own, which is why the Ark of the Covenant was later placed inside the Holy of holies, and only once a year could any man approach it, and it was only the high priest, and he would go in with much incense, which would make seeing very cloudy.  He also went in with the sacrificial blood, indicating that the way of entering into the presence of God is only through the blood of Christ.

Here, there was no blood upon the ark, but this man Uzzah was coming into contact with God directly, as it were, without any Intercessor (Christ), and it led to his death.  Spiritually, we can understand this a little better if we go back to Deuteronomy 10.  Let me set the context first by reading Deuteronomy 10:1-5:

At that time JEHOVAH said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which JEHOVAH spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and JEHOVAH gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as JEHOVAH commanded me.

Here, we see the Ten Commandments were put into the ark, and it became known as the Ark of the Covenant because the Ten Commandments represent the covenant of God.  What do the Ten Commandments represent?  The number “ten” consistently points to the completeness of whatever is in view, and in this case it would be the completeness of God’s commandments, which would identify with the entire Bible.  The Scriptures that God has given us contain the completeness of His commandments from Genesis through Revelation.  Nothing is to be added or subtracted.   It is the whole Word of God, and the Ten Commandments really represent the whole Bible, which is the covenant of God.  We have the old covenant and new covenant, the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

Then we read in Deuteronomy 10:8:

At that time JEHOVAH separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of JEHOVAH, to stand before JEHOVAH to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.

We can see that the tribe of Levi was to bear the Ark of the Covenant.  They were the ones to minister unto God in this way.  It says in Deuteronomy 10:9:

Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; JEHOVAH is his inheritance, according as JEHOVAH thy God promised him.

This really reveals that the Levites are a type and figure of the elect, and the elect have been separated by God to bear the Ark of the Covenant.  Again, what does the Ark of the Covenant represent?  It represents the Bible, and God has separated out of the world certain ones to bear the message of the Bible.  We are the messengers of the Gospel as His elect people who are the only qualified ones because it requires life in the spirit and the Spirit of God in order to be a proper messenger of the Gospel.  That is why Levites were separated, and JEHOVAH was their inheritance, and God is our inheritance.  We inherit God, as He is the essence of all the riches of our eternal blessings.  Everything we have is in God.  We have inherited that wonderful portion, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Let us go to the New Testament and read Romans 1 where Paul, a pattern of the elect believers, is speaking under inspiration of God in Romans 1:1:

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

It is just like we read in Deuteronomy 10:8: “At that time JEHOVAH separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant…”  Paul, a pattern of the true believer, was “called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.”  Where do we find the Gospel?  It is the whole Bible.  He was separated unto the Bible.  He was a Bible bearer.  He would carry the “Ark of the Covenant,” as far as bringing and sharing the Word of God.

It says in Galatians 1:15-16:

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

You see, God separated Paul, and He has separated each one of us who is truly born again.  For what purpose?  It is, “To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen.” 

And the Levites were separated for a purpose, which was to carry the Ark of the Covenant.  They only were qualified.  They only were suited to handle the Bible, and that is what it is saying when we read that the Levites were commissioned and tasked with the duty to carry the Ark of the Covenant.  It was not just any Israelite, and not just any person, like Ahio and Uzzah.  Although they may have been doing their best, and although they had good intentions, from everything we can tell, they were not qualified to bear the Ark of the Covenant.

It is just like so many professed Christians today who get their hands on the Bible, and they start teaching and preaching all kinds of ideas that are unbiblical and not from God; they are bringing “other gospels,” full of errors.  They were never truly born again.  They were never saved, so their eyes and ears were never opened, and they have no spiritual life within them, which means they cannot discern spiritual truth.  They have no indwelling Spirit to guide them, which means they wander around in darkness.  This is the problem, although they could be very nice people with good intentions.  They may want to serve a God.  They may want to handle the Bible, and they may even have respect toward it, and they would not want to see the Bible “fall to the ground,” as it were.

And this was Uzzah’s problem.  He was involved in something that he did not understand.  He was not aware of the severity and seriousness of handling the Ark of the Covenant.  Likewise, it is a very serious matter to handle the Holy Bible, the Word of God, and so many flippantly handle the Word of God lightly and carelessly, but it will result in their death.  They will die just as Uzzah died.

One other place having to do with the idea of “separation” is in Acts 13, and we will see that the Holy Spirit, who is God, wanted certain ones to be separated.  It says in Acts 13:2-3:

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

The Spirit of God enters into the lives of those He has saved, and He qualifies us through salvation: “Now you are equipped to handle this glorious book and the wonderful truth of the Bible.  Now you may transport the Ark of the Covenant.  You may be involved in being the messenger of the ark carrying the Ten commandments.”

King David really touched upon this in Psalm 51 when he was moved to write after his fall into sin, and he was not sure he was truly saved, and he cried out in Psalm 51:10-13:

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

First, David himself had to be “washed.”  He had to be cleansed and made new, spiritually, and then he could turn his attention to teaching the Word to others.  And it is the same for each one of us.  We first need the salvation of God and the grace of God, the washing of the Word for all our sins, and then we can go about teaching others and handling the “Ark of the Covenant,” or the Bible.

We will stop here.  Lord willing, when we get back together in our next study we will look more at the word “Pharez” and the breach.  We saw that Uzzah committed a breach, and it resulted in his death.  In 2Samuel 5, God made a breach against the Philistines, and they died in the battle.  So this word seems to be very powerful.  If there is a breach made, there seems to be death involved.  So we will look at that word a little more in our next EBible Fellowship Bible study, Lord willing.