June 2000

By Carole Forde

[8 of 8]

The UNgodly are as dross (Dict. "Scum") that accompanies (and devalues) precious metals like silver and gold. GOLD represents God’s deity hid in each Sperm-Word sowed in the dust of earthy humanity. This "Gold of Godliness" is the protected resource within every sown Word! SILVER typifies REDEMPTION that secures the release of God’s Word from its earthen prison. This "Silver of Redemption" is Christ’s ‘ticket Home’ to Heaven after falling into the earth to be stripped naked of all anointing; broken, scattered and covered in a myriad of outer husks (bodies) as a disguise shielding His true identity from a world of defiling sin and death. God fully intended to save His Word by His Grace at the appropriate time; and with this divine goal in mind He made every housing of His crucified Word out of corruptible (decayable) material. He designed it so the DUST-components of its CON-struction would serve as the final agent of its DE-struction! And the catalyst effecting this emancipation-through-corruption was DEATH!
                 In the same way that removing the peel of a banana to free its inner fruit is not an evil work; nor is the removal of a tree’s bark to release its beautiful wood grain an evil work; nor the breaking of Gideon’s clay pot to reveal the torchlight within an evil work; so God’s removal of the ‘dross’ of mortal flesh so as to redeem His lovely Christ nature within, is likewise no evil work! To God, Death is merely a MEANS to bring about an expected END of that which satisfied His Purpose and is obsolete. Remember that everything on which God imposed spatial limitations has not only a BEGINNING but a GUARANTEED ENDING as well! Everything in this world (including us) has "come to pass"! God’s Wisdom never surrendered creation to be OUT OF HIS CONTROL! His world has never left His Protective Custody for a moment!
                 As God used famine to bring about the family division between Abraham and Lot; so when He plans to terminate old ways in the lives of His people; and initiate untried patbs for them to take; He "starves to death" their former options to force them to seek out His new direction for them. So when signs of change begin to manifest, we must enter our "Ark of Rest"(Christ) and pray for GOD’S WILL to be done; and for HIS THOUGHTS to guide our judgment; and for HIS LOVE to calm the seas of our emotions; then ride out the "storm" till our "Ark" has safely landed on His Mount of Righteousness (thr"ROCK"of Christ) where the Wind of His Holy Spirit sets us.
                 Lot chose what looked good and prosperous to his natural eyes, which landed him in a hell; but he was eventually delivered from [suffering only the loss of his wife who was so attached to that evil place, she was made a pillar of salt] and he went on to beget more children (through incest with his daughters as he lay in a drunken stupor). Then we hear no more of Lot’s life in Scripture after God delivered His "Godly man" from the wicked, godless Sodom and Gomorrah!
                 Abram relinquished to Lot his right as elder of first choice; trusting God to lead him; and He did to a place with no eye-appeal; but was blessed of the Lord (and one day was to be Moses’ Promised Land)! This land called "Hebron" meant "Fellowship"! Here this servant of God would have fellowship with God; and receive the new name, Abraham! But Abram was not yet changed to his new nature when embarking on his sojourn to the plains of Mamre. There was ’dross’ yet to be removed from this Godly man. [Mamre (Heb 4471) means: "LUSTY (in the sense of vigor); from 4754: "TO REBEL ; be FILTHY ; and LIFT UP SELF ! "]
                 Whether we choose first, last, best or worst- any flesh exalting itself in our lives must be quelled! The Jewish Passover tradition says each father must go through his house with a feather to find any leaven (representing self-exaltation) left from his wife’s baking to make Bread rise! This "elevating" in a positive sense typifies Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension from the earth. In a negative sense it typifies man’s pride and self-righteousness. Carnal man can never ascend beyond his appointed purpose however he tries. He remains unleavened in the Holy Presence of God; as all is humbled before Him. Nothing is lost from God’s creation when all is done! Knowing this undergirds our Faith in our humblings and disciplinings. Whether, as Lot, we seek out the better looking way"; or, as Abram, we yield to God’s Will; all dross must be chastised till our sin nature is utterly expunged. For "His Will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven"! Amen!