Towards, unto, into and in Theos

Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shall thou be when thou come in, and blessed shall thou be when thou go out…Cursed shall thou be in the city, and cursed shall thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shall thou be when thou come in, and cursed shall thou be when thou go out. (Deuteronomy 28.4-6; 16-19)

Following on from the previous chapter we see here the enunciations of the blessings and cursings dependent, as they are, on the hearkening, or failure to do so, to the commandments of Yahweh and obedience, or lack thereof, to such precepts. Obviously, as we saw in the previous post, there is the antithesis of the blessings and cursings being pronounced from two mountains facing each other. We also have another interesting antithesis here, that of coming in and going out. We have seen various journeys up to this point, and many later, which have points of setting forth and points of entering in. We have seen ‘Abram setting forth from ‘Ur arriving at Haran, setting off from Haran and coming into the land of Kana’an. Setting forth from thence and entering into Mitsraym and returning to enter into the precincts of his allotted inheritance. Ultimately the children of Yisra’el have set forth from Mitsraym to enter into the land beyond Yarden. We have also seen, and will see once again in upcoming posts, the miniature journeys they took in the course of the larger one. All of these journeys, it might be argued, had a setting out point and an entering in. In the light of the above, bearing in mind that these blessings and cursings were set to be pronounced and fulfilled once the people had entered into the land, what can these journeyings allude to, if they had reached their destination?

The verb ‘to come in’ is the Hebrew bo’ (בוא). It is a common verb and is often translated as ‘come (in)’, ‘bring (in)’ and ‘enter (in)’. The sense of ‘in’ seems to be intrinsic to its meaning. Its first occurrence is in Genesis 2:

And out of the ground Yahweh ‘elohym formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto (אל) the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof…And the rib, which Yahweh ‘elohym had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto (אל) the man. Genesis 2.19,22)

Here the bringing is closely linked with ‘unto’ (אל) which, as we will recall is homographic to the title ‘el (אל) and thus alludes to a fundamental element of the character and definition of ‘el (אל). ‘Unto’, of course has, at its final point, ‘in’ as its destination. This alludes to the completion of the journey when man is ‘in’ Yahweh. Here, Yahweh brings animals unto the man to be named but there is no ‘help as before’ him and therefore there is no possibility of union. The woman, formed out of the man, is brought unto him and, because of her ability to be in a reciprocal relationship with the man (‘as before him’), union is a possible outcome of the journey ‘out of’ and ‘towards’. Bringing, in this case, is an act perpetrated by Yahweh ‘elohym towards the man. The possibility of it being received and reciprocated is down to what is brought and the man’s, and ultimately the woman’s, response. There is a kerubic manifestation towards the man and, it is to be hoped, such manifestation will be taken up by the man towards the woman. As we saw in the previous post, sadly, this is not the case. Following the sin of the woman and man, however, reconciliation and forgiveness can be afforded to them by sacrifice, looking forward, as it does, to the sacrifice of the woman’s seed. Thus:

And in process of time it came to pass, that Qayn brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Yahweh. And Hebel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Yahweh had respect unto (אל) Hebel and unto (אל) his offering: (Genesis 4.3,4)

The two sons of the man and the woman brought sacrifices unto Yahweh but only that which had been ordained by Yahweh was accepted. It required the death of the lamb to take away sin. The meal offering was not acceptable because it did not foresee the death of Iesous and the overcoming of the flesh in his death and resurrection. There is antithesis here between the two brothers: Hebel (as we are told in Hebrews 11) was motivated by belief, understanding the pattern of sacrifice required by the woman’s seed to overcome the curse; in contrast, Qayn lacked such understanding and belief and simply gave what seemed right in his eyes. Hebel ‘brought’ unto Yahweh such things as Yahweh had taught them he required. He was involved in an obedient and reciprocal relationship. Qayn did not hearken, obey or understand.

In Deuteronomy 28 the verb ‘to go out’ is yatsa’ (יצא). We have seen this verb used when we considered the children of Yisra’el’s journeyings in the post before last. We saw it used to describe the words that proceed from Yahweh’s mouth by which man ought to live. We saw it in the springing forth of the plants from the earth, and their subsequent fruitfulness, in creation. We saw it in the journeyings of ‘Abram:

And Terah took ‘Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Saray his daughter in law, his son ‘Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from ‘Ur of the Keshadym, to go into the land of Kana’an; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. (Genesis 11.31)

And ‘Abram took Saray his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Kana’an; and into the land of Kana’an they came. (Genesis 12.5)

In both these journeys we see the use of both ‘going out’ and ‘coming in’. The journeys match the micro journeyings of the children of Yisra’el. They are steps in a larger journey. As it were, journeys within a journey.

We might consider further occurrences of the two verbs occurring together:

And it was, when Mosheh went out unto (אל) the tent, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was come into the tent. (Exodus 33.8)

We will recall the context of this passage. The children of Yisra’el have defiled themselves in serving the golden calf and, as a result, Yahweh removes the tabernacle from within the camp and sets it outside the camp. As a result, in order for Mosheh to receive instruction from Yahweh, to hearken unto his voice which proceeds from between the kerubym, he must go forth out of the camp and, after having received ‘elohym’s commandments he returns with those words back to the camp to deliver the message to the people. We can see the order of going and coming in this chapter. The going forth is seen as if standing in the camp and watching him, the coming into is seen as if stood within the tabernacle. Coming and going, or going and coming, are very much words of perspective. In this sense they are like revelation itself which is seen in the ‘I’ form of Yahweh speaking (from his perspective) but it is also seen as the ‘he’ speaking, as we saw in an earlier post on gender and identity, in a third person capacity given to us to be able to perceive him. He is the revelatory ‘I’ giving us the capacity to see the ‘him’ from our stance. We saw this in the movement of the naming of himself from the ‘I will be’ to the ‘he will be’ in Exodus 3. Exodus 33 and 34 give us the context of the calling of that name before Mosheh on account of the favour that Mosheh has found in Yahweh’s eyes. After the renewal of the covenant following the calling of the name Yahweh we see the outcome of that manifestation, that is, the knowing of Mosheh and ‘elohym one to another, as in the kaporeth from whence he received the commandments, and his subsequent mediation of such to the people.

And when Moses came in before Yahweh to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he went out. And he went out, and spoke unto (אל) the children of Yisra’el that which he was commanded. (Exodus 34.34)

Mosheh has emerged from speaking with Yahweh and his face shone so brightly that it was difficult for the hard hearted people to countenance. As a result he wore a vail except when he received instruction from Yahweh and gave it to the people.

Implicit in the verb ‘to come into’ is the idea of direction which results in being ‘in’ the house, the destination. Implicit in the verb to go forth is to proceed from a point outwards. It seems to, at the very least, be an auditory pun, on the the command/commandment family of words and is associated on other occasions, as well as this one, with the direction of commandments going forth from Yahweh or his representative. The representative of Yahweh must come in to the place where Yahweh is to be able to go forth with his words.

The same ‘coming into’ and ‘going forth’, in the same order as Exodus 34, also occurs in the context of the day of the atonements, reinforcing the link between reciprocal manifestation, as represented in the kaporeth, with the work of anointed:

And there shall be no man in the tent of the congregation when he comes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he goes out, and has made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Yisra’el. (Leviticus 16.17)

In keeping with our previous post on the antitheses of ‘blessing’ and ‘cursing’ these two words, ‘come into’ and ‘go forth/out’, are used in the context of the blessings and cursings of Gerizym and ‘Ebal:

Therefore shall you keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land, where you go to possess it; And that you may prolong your days in the land, which Yahweh sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that flows with milk and honey. For the land, where thou come in there to possess it, is not as the land of Mitsraym, from where you went forth, where thou sowed thy seed, and watered it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: (Deuteronomy 11.8-10)

This passage is set in the run up to the children of Yisra’el passing over Yarden and, once they have entered into that possession, coming to ‘Ebal and Gerizym to pronounce the cursings and blessings:

Blessed are thou be when thou come in, and blessed aret thou be when thou go out…Cursed are thou be when thou come in, and cursed are thou be when thou go out. (Deuteronomy 28.6,19)

Thus, the potential for long life, figuratively for ‘olam, is conditional upon keeping the commandments that proceeded, via Mosheh, from the mouth of ‘elohym. The larger journey is completed by a coming in, as if Yahweh is already in the possession, which he is, of course, as he is the possession. This journey, once it began by the proceeding forth from Mitsraym at the commandment of Yahweh, is seemingly complete at the settling of being in the land, However, it is evident from the blessings and the cursings that there are other journeys still to be completed within that possession which will be blessed or cursed, dependent on obedience to the commandments of Yahweh.

‘Comings in’ and ‘goings out’ were what described the shepherd who had brought them to the verge of entering in to the land and to the one who was to replace him in crossing the Yarden and casting out the inhabitants of the land:

Let Yahweh, the ‘elohym of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Who may go out before them, and who may go in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Yahweh be not as sheep which have no shepherd. And Yahweh said unto (אל) Mosheh, Take thee Yehoshua’ the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; And set him before ‘Ele’azar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shall put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el may be obedient. And he shall stand before ‘Ele’azar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of ‘Urim before Yahweh: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Yisra’el with him, even all the congregation. (Numbers 27.17-21)

Mosheh can no longer fulfill the role of shepherd to the children of Yisra’el. He has brought them out and he has placed them on the verge of entering (coming) into the possession. It is now for Yehoshua’ (the Hebrew equivalent, as we have seen, of Iesous in the New Testament Greek), who has been the faithful minister to Mosheh throughout the wilderness journey, to bring them in and to lead them forward to subdue their enemies and take full possession of the land. It is as an outcome of Mosheh’s manifestation of the role of ‘elohym to Yehoshua’ and the passing on of Mosheh’s role to him that Yehoshua’ is able to lead them out and bring them in according to his word. This same role of shepherd to Yisra’el, as an outcome of wisdom manifested to the receiver by ‘elohym, is replayed in the lives of Dawid and Shelomah:

Also in time past, when Sha’ul was king over us, thou was he that led out and brought in Yisra’el: and Yahweh said to thee, Thou shall feed my people Yisra’el, and thou shall be a captain over Yisra’el. (2 Shemu’el 5.2)

The elders of Yisra’el come to Dawid after he has been in exile from Sha’ul, after he has reigned over Yehudah for seven years and now they require him, having fought the battles of Yahweh, and being able to fight more, to provide a settled state in which to feed the flock of Yisra’el. The same transition from war to peace in the context of shepherding is repeated when Shelomah, Dawid’s son, becomes king and wrestles with the qualities he will need to take over this role:

Now, Yahweh ‘elohym, let thy promise unto Dawid my father be established: for thou has made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? (2 Chronicles 1.9-10)

In Yehoshua’ and in Dawid there is an element of their goings forth and comings in that was linked to fighting the battles of Yahweh. The victories of the battles of Yahweh are what leads to the possibility of the flock being able to be at rest and to be fed in that state of peace. This was the inheritance offered to Shelomah who presided over a period of calm afforded to him by the victories enjoyed by his father. His goings out and comings in were occasioned by the wisdom that was given to him by Yahweh, as it was with Mosheh and Yehoshua’. We saw, and will see again in upcoming posts, the micro journeys that the children of Yisra’el engaged in en route to their inheriting the possession, the greater journey. They took down the camp and followed the ark to their new destination where they pitched, which we saw was related to the word for ‘grace’. They were involved in disruptive moments that led them to progression and peace where the kerubic relationship of the kaporeth could be re-established. Once in the land there were more goings forth and comings in that were occasioned by Yehoshua’ fighting the battles required to clear the land of the enemies of Yahweh’s people. These themes of shepherding the people of Theos, fighting the battles necessary to liberate his people, and that these things are occasioned by the gift of the wisdom of Theos granted to the shepherd to accomplish these ends, are brought into focus in the latter day Yehoshua’:

Amen, amen, I say unto you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice…Then said Iesous unto them again, Amen, amen, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep…I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture…I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his soul for the sheep. (Iohannes 10.1-4,7,9,11)

The repeated use of the ‘I am’ shows that Iesous here is a fulfilment of the ‘I will be’ of his father. He is here manifesting his name. The sheepfold is the inheritance of Theos, which is Theos. Firstly, Iesous must enter in. He did this by hearkening to his father’s voice (the word) and becoming totally obedient. In this he lay down his natural identity that he might take up that new man which he had become by being as Theos. His performing of this exemplary role of shepherd allowed him to enter into Theos via the correct way. By doing this, he becomes the way that we enter, by endeavouring to follow his way. If we do this we can become in Theos too, by him. Once in Theos we may also go out and enter in. We have seen the battles fought by Iesous and his subsequent victory by which he is sat with the father, highly favoured of him. By virtue of this we have received his commandments by which we can inherit the favour that comes from reciprocal manifestation, while fighting the battles of Theos against the natural man, embodied in ourselves and others.