Baal Perazim- Part Four

Lessons We Can Learn from David in 2 Samuel 5

 

19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” 

 

King David in Prayer

1. David took time to inquire of the Lord. So often the people of God find ourselves in a difficult situation and we don't know how to respond. Often the situation involves confusion, conflicts of opinions and strife between two or more people, or groups of people within the family or organization. Since God gave us intelligence and reasoning, humans usually default to our own natural understanding and decide to do what we think is the right thing for us. Often we draw conclusions based on insufficient, incorrect or biased information. Sometimes our thinking is based on the Scriptures, but often it is not.

Christians are also real good at finding a scripture to support our particular viewpoint and find fault with the viewpoints, attitudes and behavior of other Christians who oppose us. When we get offended our natural tendency is to defend our position and find fault with what others think. Without the Spirit of Christ directing them, humans default to blame shifting and justifying why we believe we are right and others have to be wrong. Often during times of conflict both parties are wrong and refuse to compromise their position for the higher ideals of righteousness and being peacemakers.

Two of the biggest problems Christians have are self-righteousness and spiritual pride. When we are confronted with stress and conflict, we defend our rights, our opinions and our positions without taking the time to inquire of the Lord. When we do this we are operating in works of the flesh and not being led by the Holy Spirit. We open ourselves to deception from the enemy and fall right into his blinding trap. We lose sight of the truth as God's knows it, can't hear objectively from the Lord and make poor decisions we end up regretting later.

2. Failure to hear from the Lord results in NOT knowing God's WILL.

David asked the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? He needed to hear a fresh word from God in order to know-- the will of God for him in that situation. David understood the importance of staying hidden away until he heard from God. That secret cave in the desert was David's prayer closet, a place to spend time alone with God and to know God's will. It most certainly was a suicide mission if God was NOT going with Him into the battle against the heavily armed Philistines. He did not dare move out to fight the enemy until he got his instructions from the commander of the Lord's army Himself.

In the first battle with the enemy, God told him to go straight up and attack them. It was a full, head-on confrontation, a power encounter with the enemy. When David obeyed the instructions, God gave him the victory. When we are operating IN God's will, He will fight for us, defend us and enable us to walk in righteousness. When we are in God's will, we are doing the right thing in His eyes and His hand of protection and provision will be upon us.

3. Failure to hear from the Lord results in NOT knowing God's WAY.

David's second question to the Lord was, “Will You deliver them into my hand?” It is one thing to know God's will and quite another to understand His ways. Even a casual reading of the Scriptures informs us of God's commandments, His laws and statutes. We know from the Ten Commandments it is not God's will for us to murder people or dishonor our parents. However, gaining revelation regarding God's ways with His people and purposes takes years of study and divine revelation by the Holy Spirit.

Knowing the ways of God require that we become mature sons and daughters of God who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in all matters pertaining to life. We learn by experiencing His divine guidance, making mistakes, being convicted by the Holy Spirit, or being given revelation in the deeper truths found in God's Word. We learn by recognizing when the voice of God speaks to us, and when it is our own flesh, or even satan's minions trying to influence our mind, will and emotions.

23 “You shall not go (straight) up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

In verse 22 of 2 Samuel 5, the Philistines gathered a second time to do battle with the Israelites. David again inquired of the Lord, but was given different instructions. He was told to go a different way; to circle around behind the Philistines. God told him to wait in front of the mulberry trees for the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. At that point David could advance upon the enemy and God would go before them. In this battle God had a different way for David to defeat his enemies and handle the situation.

In this passage we see God gave David a different set of instructions. God told him to get in position and to WAIT expectantly for God to show up. If we want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, we have to wait expectantly in His Presence trusting the Lord to keep His promise to us. If we want to achieve victory over our enemies, we have to follow His instructions exactly for us in each particular situation in life. What worked before in a difficult situation is probably not what God wants us to do the next time. Assuming we know God's way in a matter, results in missing God and failure to do it God's way. Presumption has gotten more Christians in trouble with God than probably any other type of mistake.

God knew David and his mighty men would need supernatural help winning this second battle. The Philistines returned to the Valley of the Rephaim empowered with revenge and total annihilation in mind. The Israelites were told to wait in silence until they heard the sound of the army of the Lord coming; his angelic hosts marching overhead. God knew that David and his men were no match for the demonic forces of darkness gathering to attack. God sent his angelic army to go before David into the battle. After this confrontation, David and his mighty men marched triumphantly into Jerusalem into his destiny as the new king of Israel.

In summary, what is the body of Christ's number one mistake when it comes to confrontation with others? Remember our warfare is not with flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities in the heavenlies controlling people who may be blind and deceived. Our mistake is that we FAIL to inquire of the Lord FIRST, before we make decisions and take action. We fail to take time out in prayer and fasting to hear from God before we engage our brethren in disputes and disagreements.

We make false assumptions about what is God's will in a situation. We take action to fix the problem on our own and God is not with us! When God does not send us out to fight the battle, we will suffer the consequences of being out of His will. The Lord will not go out with us or before us to fight the battle with us. We are on our own and subject to the deceptions and destruction of the enemy.

Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark,  Tissot, c. 1900

4. Final warning about disobedience!

Look one more time at 2 Samuel 6 to see the consequences of not knowing God's way in a situation. David was marching triumphantly into Jerusalem with the ark of the covenant conveniently loaded onto a cart. The oxen stumbled and the priest Uzzah reached out his hand to steady it. Instantly, God's wrath broke out against him and he was struck down. David named that place Perez Uzzah- which means outbreak against Uzzah. The Lord shows no favorites! He breaks out against foe and friend alike. The ark of the covenant contained the glory of the Lord and the Israelites were instructed not to touch it. They were commanded to carry it on poles on the shoulders of the priest at all times when transporting it. David's failure to follow God's instructions resulted in the death of one of his priests.

The focus of this article was on how to receive breakthrough from the Lord. However, we also need to know that disobedience results in God Himself breaking out against us. Failure to take the time to inquire of the Lord and wait for His instructions may result in sickness, disease, accident or even death. God blesses us when we obey His commandments, but we bring destruction upon ourselves when we fail to obey. Another example of how God's people “failed to inquire of the Lord” can be found in Joshua 9 in the story of the Gibeonite deception.

The Good News!

God is in the business of redeeming our mistakes! If we will humble ourselves and pray, Jehovah Raphael will be there to counter attack with His mighty flood of power and anointing for deliverance. Last fall God announced through John Kilpatrick that He is going to bring Supernatural Breakthrough to His people! He is the Master of Breakthrough when the times seem to be the darkest. When the enemy attacks trying to kill, steal and destroy us, our God will be there fighting for us. God has declared this is a new season for breakthrough over all the power of the enemy and God's people will go forth to established God's kingdom on earth.


In part 5 we will look at some additional hindrances to breakthrough and keys to receiving spiritual breakthroughs. If these articles have provided you with new insights and wisdom, please share the link with others. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions below.

Paintings from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ark_of_the_Covenant

Baal Perazim, Part Three

“Baal Perazim- God of the Breakthrough” is the title of this message and comes from

2 Samuel 5: 17-25 and is also found in I Chronicles 14: 8-17. (Please take the time to read parts 1 and 2 first so you will know how this message came about and the three principles the Holy Spirit gave to me to include.) 

17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their images (idols) there, and David and his men carried them away (and burned them).

22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up (straight up); circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer. (New King James translation). 

Scripture Study

Let's go through a deeper study of this passage and see what we can learn from God's Word to help us today in our walk with the Lord. The Hebrew meaning of Baal Perazim is “the Lord who breaks out” in the New International Version. The New King James translation says, “the Master of Breakthrough.” Originally, Ba'al was a word the Israelites used for the position, authority or function of “Lord or Master.” But the pagan religions began to use it for their gods as well, such as Jezebel's prophets of Baal. So the Israelites stopped using it as a title for God. Satan always manages to provide a counterfeit for God's truth so he can deceive people. Now let's look at some of the historical information I discovered.

The Valley of Rephaim

This was a fertile valley that bordered ancient Jerusalem on the west and southwest. In the Hebrew dictionary (#8329), rephaim means “the ghosts of the dead giants.” The Lexicon Aids section (#8327) says “spirits of the dead.” This valley was known in David's time for being haunted with the ghosts of the dead giants. These giants were the same race from which Goliath and his ancestors came.

In Strong's Concordance we learn that (H7497) râphâ' is the root word of rephaim and means invigorating, powerful, a giant. (See also H1051). However, when used as a name of God, (#8330) “Repha-el”, rapha means heals. So then we have “the God who heals.” Jehovah Raphael is the God who heals, repairs, recovers, restores (Strong's 7501).

Who were the Rephaites? (Gen. 14:5, Deut. 3:11, 2 Sam. 21)

The Rephaites (giants or mighty ones) were a race of giants with superhuman size and strength that originally lived in the large fertile valley west of Jerusalem. The Philistines hired the Rephaites to fight with them against King Saul. David's first encounter with these giants was during Saul's reign when he went out to fight Goliath. The Valley of the Rephaim was known for being haunted by the ghosts of this race of giants who were between 6-10 feet tall. Giants first appeared in Scripture in Genesis 6 where they were called Nephilim. Fallen angels saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and married with them.

Who did the Rephaites worship?

In the Valley of the Rephaim, archaeologists have discovered a pagan temple site. Just outside the temple were found the bones of numerous pigs and rats. It appears that the Rephaites sanctified themselves by eating the unclean meat of swine's flesh and rats before they entered the temple. In the center of this temple was an altar area with a large hole in the ground lined with stones. Laying in the center were the bones of a pregnant sheep carrying an unborn lamb still inside the rib cage. Evidently, this was the altar where the lamb was slain and burned as an offering, a fragrant aroma to the god of Baal.

The Rephaites practiced satanic worship in the Valley of the Rephaim near David's hideout. In the scripture above, the Philistine army was empowered by the spirits of the dead giants. They were gathered to kill David, the new king of Israel. Satan has been trying to prevent men and women of God from reaching their destiny in Christ since Eve's encounter in the Garden of Eden.

Ephesians 6 tells us that our battle today is with the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We are instructed to put on the full armor of God so we can take our stand against the devil's schemes. If we are to fulfill our destiny in God's kingdom we will have to overcome all the devil's schemes to kill, steal and destroy us.

Who were the Philistines?

Panaramic view of the area morth of Adullum

The Philistines were a fierce war-like people that occupied the promise land God had given to the Israelites. They were expert iron smiths and were fully equipped with the most advanced weaponry of the day making them nearly invincible on the battlefield. They migrated from someplace near the Aegean Sea to the land of Israel. The Philistines worshiped the pagan gods Baal, Astarte, and Dagon. They were renowned for both their production and consumption of alcoholic beverages and they engaged in week-long drinking festivals. 

The Philistine army was made up of fierce fighting men controlled by demons of war, alcohol and murder. Now you understand why God instructed David to destroy his enemies and why David did not dare venture out of his cave to go to battle-- unless the Most High God Himself was going with him!


Frank Hultgren, a professor at Oral Roberts University in the 1980s wrote a book entitled, Prophetic Insights to Spiritual Warfare. I just happened to re-read his book in September and found some interesting insight into what David was up against that day. Frank reported that, “David went out to meet the Philistines in the Valley of Rephaim, the valley of the dead spirits. It was a ghostly, sinister place of fear and suspicion. The giants loved to go there, because it was a satanic holy place. I believe it was the very place where David wrote the 23^rd Psalm. David literally went into the valley of the shadow of death to fight the enemies of God; the demonic powers that came after his anointing” (p. 114-115).
 
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 
 

The entrance to the Cave of Adullum in Israel

The Cave of Adullam
Adullam means “Israelite” or "justice of the people" and was the the stronghold where David hid in the desert from King Saul with 400 of his mighty men. (See 1 Sam. 22:1-14 and 2 Sam. 5)

First of all, the cave of Adullam was a place of natural protection and provision. It was a place where David could escape from the clamor of war, the confusion, the chaos, the stress and the demands on him as the future king of Israel. Israel has thousands of caves in the mountain regions and some have caverns large enough to hold 200-300 men with streams of water running through them. God provided a place of safety in the mountains for David well in advance of when he would need it.

Secondly, that stronghold was David's secret place of prayer- a place of rest and peace hidden away in the dessert. It was a secret place where his enemies could not find him in the Presence of God. You can be sure that David battled discouragement and depression, but it was a place to pray and seek the Lord for His help. The Cave of Adullam was a place of worship, a place where David heard from God and soaked in His Presence.

Psalm 91 comes to mind. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty... No harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

In part 4 of this message, we will look at the important lessons we can learn from David's desert experience in 2 Samual 5. We will also look at the hindrances to BT and five keys to receiving BT in your life and ministry.

Resources: 

1. E-Sword- an electronic Bible program with Strong's Concordance for the Hebrew meanings of the words. 

2. Hebrew-Greek Study Bible, NIV with Kohlenberger's Dictionary. 

3. http://www.biblegateway.com- for scriptures used in this article. 

4. http://www.openbible.info/geo/photos/valley_of_rephaim.

5. http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/Special_Issues/Oct90/art16.htm- archaeological finds in The Valley of the Rephaim. 

6. http://www.biblewalks.com/sites/Adullam.html
7. Hultgren, Frank. Prophetic Insights Into Spiritual Warfare (1994), Frank Hulthren Ministries, Dallas, Texas.

“Baal Perazim- God of the Breakthrough”

Part I. Introduction and Principle One.
During January of 2013 I was attending a traditional, denominational church which was struggling with some past issues. The pastor asked everyone to pray and ask God to give them a fresh vision for the new year. On the way to church one morning, the Holy Spirit told me to pray for breakthrough for the church. Since I was not really sure how to do that, I knew I needed the Holy Spirit to give me understanding and show me how to accomplish a supernatural breakthrough (from now on BT) for myself and for others. That's when my study on this topic began. Over the past year I collected quite a lot of material, prophecies and revelation from the Holy Spirit. I could write a whole book, but for this blogpage format, I divided it into multiple sections and will post them separately.

To my amazement, I discovered that the Lord was speaking about BT to many people in the body of Christ this past year. Numerous prophetic voices are talking and writing about how the Lord plans to bring about supernatural BT to the body of Christ in order for God's purposes to be fulfilled in 2014. I'll be sharing some of these later as I go along.

Let's begin with the definition of breakthrough from the Random House Dictionary.

1. a military advance all the way through and beyond an enemy's front-line of defense.
2. an act of removing an obstruction; the overcoming of a stalemate.
3. any significant achievement or advancement that removes a barrier to progress.

So to achieve BT one must advance past the enemy's line of defense and overcome all obstructions, stalemates and barriers to progress. Aren't you glad God doesn't ask us to do all that by ourselves! Later on we'll see how He is Baal Perazim- God of the Breakthrough! He leads us into the battle, fights with us and enables us to be overcomers in this life.

Supernatural Results!

Examples of BT would be receiving a miracle, emotional or physical healing, deliverance from demonic strongholds, experiencing restoration of a broken relationship, experiencing the loving Presence of God or reaching our destiny in the kingdom of God. All the fleshly or demonic barriers to spiritual progress are destroyed and we become overcomers in Christ Jesus. With God's supernatural help we are enabled to accomplish something we could never achieve on our own and the glory of the Lord will arise upon us!

I want to introduce this message by sharing three principles for BT which the Holy Spirit has shown me over the last year. Then we'll study 2 Samuel 5 to learn how David was able to acheive BT. We'll look at Hindrances to BT and finally, some Keys for How to Receive a Spiritual BT. Does this message sound like one from which you could benefit? Do you feel fairly competent or incompetent at knowing how to achieve BT? Would you like learn more about how to help others receive a BT?

Principle #1
The first principle came to me back in May through an Elijah List newsletter entitled, “God of Our Breakthrough.” The author said that for a church or organization to obtain a spiritual BT there has to be an end of all “works of the flesh first” in the leadership and organization. Wow! That caught my attention. I knew the Spirit was speaking to me that day.

There has to be a breakdown of the current way of doing something before God can bring about a breakthrough. The old way of doing something has to come to an end; such as the traditional worship music or leadership style. It has to come to a halt! It has to be discontinued for a time so it can be replaced with God's new and living way. If there isn't this complete breakdown, then the new way of the Spirit will be competing with the old ways. The result will be conflict, competition, strife and discontentment from both groups within the organization. All this results in people being dissatisfied and leaving.

Scriptures to support this principle would be the following:
Judges 16:28-30. The story of Samson and Delilah, his imprisonment and eventual revenge on the Philistines.
Jeremiah 31:28. “And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.”
Matthew 9:16 -17. “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Luke 5:39. “And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
Galatians 5:19-20. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

In Churches
Traditional, denominational churches for the most part do not experience signs, wonders and miracles, or the awesome Presence of God in their services. This is because they just “keep on keeping on” with the same traditional way they have always managed their services for the last 50 years. They are not willing to embrace anything new or different. They insist on having only “sacred music” and a printed bulletin with the order of service every Sunday. Change is not something they wish to embrace, and indeed, resist it at all cost. These types of churches are filled with wonderful people who love God, obey His Word and serve Jesus Christ faithfully. However, adhering to tradition is a priority with the members and leadership.

On the other hand, some non-denominational, charismatic churches also get “stuck in a rut,” habitually doing what they have always done, because it always “worked in the past.” What once was a fresh, vibrant move of God twenty years ago, becomes a routine program with only a resemblance of the way things used to be. We get comfortable with our routine and don't want change. We don't even realize the Presence of the Holy Spirit is no longer manifest in the services. “The show must go on” as they say in the theater, so our services become more entertainment and hype than true worship “in spirit and truth.”

Warning! 
Works of the flesh, no matter how religious or spiritual they may seem to be, will not produce the Presence of God, nor the anointing of the Holy Spirit in a church or organization. Doing what we've always done, because we're comfortable with it will not produce BT no matter how many scriptures we use, or how loud we may preach. When we insist on managing services our way, we leave out the possibility of the Holy Spirit doing something fresh and new. The Holy Spirit is alive and wants to produce vibrant change in our lives on a regular basis. Getting in the flow with what the Holy Spirit is doing today requires change! Bringing an end to the current way has to proceed a BT by the Holy Spirit. It can be a difficult process to bring about change, but not impossible with guidance from the Lord. All things are possible with God in control.

In Marriages
My husband Tommy and I have a Christian counseling ministry called Tree of Life Ministries. Couples come to us for marriage counseling, because they are... in crisis. They experience a critical event, such as adultery or pornography, where there is a breakdown of their relationship. This crisis brings them to their knees where they humbly ask God to help them change.

When they both acknowledge and repent of the “works of the flesh”, then we can help them. They have to bring a halt to all the destructive attitudes and behaviors, and humbly repent before God. Then we can help them achieve the BT they need through emotional healing and deliverance ministry.

The crisis becomes the opportunity for growth.
In fact, it is going through the restoration process, experiencing the breakdown and the breakthrough, that the Holy Spirit empowers a husband and a wife or a church with new covenant hearts capable of demonstrating God's agape love toward one another. The crisis becomes the opportunity for growth toward Christ-like maturity and a new loving future together. God removes the critical, judgmental hearts and give them tender, pliable hearts capable of loving and serving each other.

Some questions to consider.

Have you ever experienced this negative principle of “breakdown before breakthrough” in your life, family or church? What was the outcome? Were you able to successfully achieve the desired Godly results, or did it end in a stalemate, division or broken relationships? Were you able to overcome all the obstacles and barriers to progress? Were you able to overcome all the plans of the enemy to keep you stuck in the breakdown stage? Have you also observed that in time with wisdom and guidance, God can bring restoration and reconciliation to broken churches and marriages? Yes, and Amen, He can bring about supernatural BT.

Part Two follows in the next post.