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Responding to being Sent

In Deuteronomy 1:6, Moses began his series of speeches, saying,

⁶ The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.”

The Israelites at the time were camped at Mount Horeb (or Sinai), the place where God had come down as fire, establishing the feast of weeks (i.e., Pentecost). Though Pentecost was a great feast, marked by the baptism of fire and the voice of God, it was time for the Israelites to move on. Verse 8 says, “See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land” (of Canaan). As long as they remained in the place of Pentecost, they could not actually receive the promise of God in the Promised Land.

Mount Horeb was a place of preparation for the next feast. But one cannot prepare forever. At some point, the preparation must conclude so that the purpose of preparation may be experienced.

The lesson for us today is that we ought to experience Pentecost through the baptism of fire and through hearing the word with open ears, while knowing that the feast of Tabernacles is the real goal of the lessons of Pentecost. There are many who do not comprehend this simple message, because they have enjoyed Pentecost immensely and cannot conceive of anything greater.

Yet in Moses’ first speech he sets forth this divine command for “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38 KJV), and this also establishes the pattern for the church today. Israel had spent nearly 40 years in the wilderness under Pentecost, and it was time to move on. The NT church too has spent 40 Jubilee cycles in the wilderness, and it is now time to move on into the promises through the feast of Tabernacles.

Today is the sixth day of the feast of Tabernacles. It correlates with the sixth miracle-sign in the gospel of John in John 9 and 10, where Jesus healed the man born blind. John 9:7 says,

⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

The blind man was “sent” to the pool called “Sent.” If we ever hope to see clearly, we must obey when Christ sends us away from our Pentecostal roots into the new day of Tabernacles. The revelation of the feast of Tabernacles, then, is a key factor in opening our eyes to the truth of the Word. Those who cannot or will not move on will remain blind. Blind men will have a difficult time finding their way to the Promised Land.

So also, Jesus explained this miracle in John 9:39,

³⁹ And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”

At that time, the Pharisees and other religious leaders were among the blind, especially because they claimed to see while they yet rejected Jesus as the Christ.

The tenth chapter of John follows up with another illustration of the sixth miracle-sign in John’s gospel. It is about the open door, which is available to those who go through the door that God makes available to them. In John 10:7 Jesus says, “I am the door of the sheep.” Verse 3 says also, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice.” If one rejects Jesus as the Christ, he cannot see this door, nor will the doorkeeper allow him to enter.

The two chapters in John show a prophetic sequence. First we must respond to the One who has “sent” us from Horeb to the Jordan River. Secondly, the Jordan is the gate/door to the Promised Land, and if we are His sheep—hearing His voice—the doorkeeper will open the door to us. Verse 9 says,

⁹ I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Apply this to the Promised Land under Joshua. When the Jordan River was dried up, allowing the Israelites to cross (Joshua 4:18, 23), God was opening the door for them so that they could enter His rest and receive their promised inheritance. This was a type and shadow of greater things to come through our greater Joshua (Yeshua), Jesus Christ.

At Christ’s first coming, we crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. At Christ’s second coming, we are crossing the Jordan River on dry ground. Yet not everyone will make that crossing. There is a division among the people, as we read in John 10:19,

¹⁹ A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words.

They were divided over their opinion about Jesus Himself. Some had faith that He was indeed the Messiah; others disagreed and refused to hear His words. Another way of putting it is found in Matthew 22:14, “many are called, but few are chosen.” Just because one has been “called” does not mean that he is one of the “chosen.” Jesus’ parable in Matthew 22:1-14 makes this very clear.

Paul put it another way in Romans 11:1-7. All of the Israelites were called, but only the remnant of grace (a tiny minority) were actually chosen. The Pharisees themselves were among the called. But Romans 11:7 concludes,

⁷ What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened [i.e., blinded].

Hence, being “called” fell short of being “chosen.” There are no chosen people apart from faith in Jesus Christ. The man born blind was healed because he was sent and he heard/obeyed. In the broader picture, those who refuse to acknowledge the door/doorkeeper remain blind and are excluded from the Promised Land until they repent at a later opportunity.

So today, on the sixth day of Tabernacles, let us reaffirm our faith in Him with a simple response:

“Jesus, I have heard Your voice. I am one of Your sheep. I am of the remnant of grace, asking You to open the door so that I may enter Your rest.”