Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis. Tonight is study #27 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.
We have been discussing in our last few studies the name “Pharez,” which means “to break forth,” or “to breach.” We have talked about how God views sin, especially sinful doctrines and false teachings in the churches and congregations that caused people to enter in and to profess to be saved, but they were not really saved. And that caused a breach in the wall of salvation, or a breach in the house (of God).
I want to go back to 2Kings 22 because we kind of rushed through this passage at the end of our last study, and I think we will get a better idea of what God means when He speaks of “repairing the breach,” or of Christ standing in the breach. We read in Psalm 106:23:
Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
This is referring to the nation of Israel. Of course Christ is typified by Moses, and Christ is the “repairer of the breach.”
In 2Kings 22, we read of good King Josiah, and it is a very significant chapter having to do with the time of the end. I want to read it so we can see why that is so. It says in 2Kings 22:1:
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem.
So Josiah was a boy king, and he began to reign at age eight, and he would reign for 31 years. Right away God is giving us another number that is not specifically mentioned, and we find that number when we add “8 + 31,” which is the number “39.” Josiah would die at age 39, and his death is recorded in the Bible. He was killed in battle in 609 B. C. He began to reign in 640 B. C., and in 609 B. C. he died, and that began the time of Judah’s tribulation, the 70-year period wherein they were oppressed, first by the Egyptians. And Josiah died in battle against the Egyptians after the first couple of years, and then they were oppressed by the Babylonians for the rest of the time, the vast majority of that 70 years of affliction and tribulation for Judah.
Josiah’s age of 39 is very important and very significant because it breaks down to “3 x 13.” Spiritually, what date would Josiah’s death in the beginning of Judah’s tribulation align with? We know that Judah’s tribulation typified the Great Tribulation, the judgment that came upon the churches, and what date in history would that align with? It would be 1988, the 13,000th year of earth’s history. That is why the Lord is emphasizing Josiah and the number “13.” And it is not just in this verse, as we will see if we keep reading in 2Kings 22:2-3:
And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of JEHOVAH, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of JEHOVAH, saying,
Before we continue reading, we have been given another number. It says, “And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah…” He was aged eight when he began to reign, and when we add 18 years it equals the number “26,” which breaks down to “2 x 13.” Again, the number “13” comes into view. With the number “39,” it was “3 x 13.” So what God is going to tell us here identifies with the time of the end of the world.
Then Josiah sent Shaphan to the house of JEHOVAH, and the name “Shaphan” means “conies,” those creatures that like to hide in the rocks, as we read about in Proverbs. Then it says in 2Kings 22:4-5:
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of JEHOVAH, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of JEHOVAH: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of JEHOVAH, to repair the breaches of the house,
The reason we came to this account is that we are following the word “breach,” the name Pharez. They are going to repair the breaches.
Again, Josiah reigned from 640 to 609 B. C., and his eighteenth year would have been about 622 or 623 B. C. depending on how we count the number of the years of the reign of a king. The house had been built by God using Solomon, and the foundation had been laid in 967 B. C., and it was finished in 960 B. C. So from 960 B. C. to 622 B. C. would make it over 300 years old. Over the course of time we know that things fall apart, and there were breaches in the house, and Josiah told Shaphan to go to Hilkiah the high priest that he may sum the silver which had been gathered of the people. The money was given to the work of God that the Lord would do with it what He determined to do, and they were going to use this money to beautify the house and repair the breaches.
Historically, if you read this account, it makes sense, and a pastor could probably give a couple of good sermons that were historically faithful regarding the need to keep up the appearance of the house of God. Pastors have probably gone to this passage when their churches were falling apart, like the roof needing repair, or wanting to make some improvements and renovations to the building. And it does apply to some degree, so they are not wrong, but if they stop at a physical application…and that is where the hermeneutics of the churches would necessarily stop when they find a historical or moral application to support putting a coat of paint on their building or fixing the roof. And then everyone goes home, and they say, “Oh, that was a good sermon.” No. It was only good so far as it went, but it was all superficial, natural information. And that is why a congregation made up of natural-minded individuals would enjoy it, and they would not miss the fact that there was no spiritual information regarding the riches of the deeper hidden meanings of the Bible. They do not look for that, and they do not miss it because they have no desires along those lines because they are dead in spirit.
But God wrote the Bible, and Christ taught us how to approach the Bible. Christ spoke in parables, and without a parable He did not speak. We must always look beneath the surface meaning. Yes, look for the historical meaning, but also look for the historical parabolic meaning. We must look for the spiritual meaning.
And here we find that the “breach” has to do with false doctrine and false gospels that lead to false believers, and it leads to a faulty “wall of salvation,” and God will finally destroy it. Given the numbers in this account of Josiah’s reign, we can relate it to the 13,000th year of earth’s history, at the time of the end when the Lord opened up the Scriptures to reveal much truth. And we will also see that in this passage.
But first, I want to look at the money in 2Kings 22:4:
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of JEHOVAH, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:
Christ is the door. The Word of God is the door, or portal, into the heavenly kingdom, and the keepers of the door are the people of God. We are doorkeepers. God relays the status of the door to us. In the day of salvation, the door was open, and during the last part of the Great Tribulation the door was wide open, a great and effectual door. Following that, it was Judgment Day and the door closed on all the world, and God’s people heeded the message.
It is like the doorkeeper at a hotel. He is given orders, and maybe at some point he needs to lock the door for safety and security reasons, so the doorkeeper must lock the door to keep everyone out. At other times, of course, the message is to open the door and help the people to come in.
The keepers of the door gathered of the people the money, and it says in 2Kings 22:5:
And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of JEHOVAH: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of JEHOVAH, to repair the breaches of the house,
Again, this verse would have application to a preacher. If he is preaching the truth, he has correct doctrine, and he is going to teach the truth of the Bible. Spiritually, that would be “repairing the breaches.” But at the time of the end God was no longer using the churches and congregations. The 13,000th year of the world’s history was the end of the church age in 1988. (The official end of the church age was 1994.) The church age was over, and God was no longer using them, and yet He had raised up a faithful ministry to be the keepers of the door outside of the churches. He used the ministry of Mr. Camping and Family Radio at that time. (There is a need to stress that Mr. Camping is no longer with us, and Family Radio is no longer a faithful ministry.) But at that time the people of God gave to the work, and they sent their funds to Family Radio in order that the true Gospel would be proclaimed over the airwaves outside of the churches and congregations, and the breaches were repaired.
No longer was there any implication of man’s own faith having anything to do with salvation, but it was a proclamation that we are saved by the faith of Christ. So that is one example of a breach that was repaired, but the Lord kept opening up His Word to show forth the pure truth of the Word of God, correcting us on numerous points of doctrine: the Sunday Sabbath, baptism, the church age having ended, Christ having paid for sin at the foundation of the world; and the fact that Hell was the grave. Much information came forth from the Bible, and the breaches of the house were repaired, and that identifies with a faithful Gospel and doctrines that are true and faithful. Also there was great salvation as the great multitude was brought in.
The faithfulness of the men doing the work is pointed out in 2Kings 22:6:
Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
The word “masons” is a word translated as “repairer” in Isaiah 58:12 regarding “the repairer of the breach.”
Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
There was the faithful use of the funds and good stewardship of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, the mysteries that were delivered unto God’s people to handle properly. That is what we read in 1Corinthians 4:1:
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
What are the mysteries of God? They are the hidden truth, or parables of the Bible. Then it says in 1Corinthians 4:2:
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Only the elect of God are faithful stewards of the mysteries of God because the non-elect (unsaved) professed Christians are of a natural mind, and there is no way they can be good stewards of spiritual things. They do not even recognize them, and that is what God tells us in 1Corinthians 2:13-14:
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
You see, the natural man is anyone that is unsaved. He could be a pope, bishop, priest, pastor, elder, deacon, or member of a congregation, and he could call himself a Christian for fifty years, but if he has not been born again he is a “natural man.” He is not spiritual because the Holy Spirit does not indwell him. As a result, he cannot know or understand. He cannot see with spiritual eyes the truth that is given unto the elect. That is what Christ said when His disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables. He said, “ Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.” And, yes, Christ did use the word “mystery.”
It is given unto the elect to know the mysteries, and that is why God’s elect, who are in the Spirit and have spiritual sight, are proper stewards of the mysteries of the Bible. And although the natural man may have gone to seminary and although he may have a doctorate, and although he may have everyone’s respect in the church world, he cannot even begin to do a proper job of stewardship. The natural man develops natural theology, natural biblical hermeneutic, and a natural way of preaching and teaching because that is the only things they understand – natural things.
Even during the church age, the overwhelming majority of congregational members were natural-minded, so there was a preference towards natural-minded pastors. For example, I remember sitting under the hearing of a very well-known pastor (I will not say who.) I was sitting under the hearing of his sermons for years when I was a new Christian, and yet I came away with barely a sense of understanding the deep things of God. But then when I turned on the Radio and listened to Mr. Camping on the Open Forum or a Bible study, I would have my pen to jot down these wonderful spiritual truths and deeper spiritual meanings that were just flowing out of his mouth. He was in the Spirit, and he was following the correct methodology of interpreting and teaching the Bible.
So this is why only God’s people are capable of being good stewards of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, or the mysteries of the Word, the Bible. Only God’s people can “repair the breaches” as the Lord opens up these things. We see that these people dealt faithfully with the funds. By the way, these funds do not just represent money, but it represents the contribution in the lives of people toward the true Gospel. It says in Mark 12:41-44:
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
It was as though she were giving her very life, and that is what God requires of those that are truly His people, as we read in Romans 12:1:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
So the widow giving “all her living” is really pointing to the fact that God’s people give of themselves. There were great numbers of people who gave financially to Family Radio’s ministry, and many others went on tract trips and gave of their time. Perhaps they did not have the money, but they would go on many tract trips, or they would distribute tracts in their neighborhoods, as well as praying. All of God’s people contributed to the sending forth of the Gospel at that time.
We will stop here for now, and we will pick up in 2Kings 22 in our next study, and then we will come back to talk about Zarah, and then that will conclude our study in Genesis 38.