JOAB

 

"And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."
Malachi 4:6

This is not a teaching I have put together; this is a teaching Yahweh has put together, and through intercession/identification my eyes have been opened to see that which He has done. And it can only be concluded that He has opened our eyes for the expressed purpose of revealing Himself and His ways in these days before His return. Only Yahweh could perform a teaching like you are getting ready to read.

In June, 1994, when the Spirit of Yahweh came upon me for a week and a half, two men stood out to me as the greatest mysteries in all the Bible - David and the commander of his army, Joab. Four or five years after that, I began to understand something of the prophetic message regarding David; and even now, like the opening of a beautiful and complex rose, his amazingly prophetic testimony continues to reveal Yahweh and His ways and works in an ever increasing manner. In the beginning the rose is secretly concealed under the envelope of common sepals; but in time, slowly it opens to reveal layers upon layers of unfolding wonder. Such is the mystery of David.

But Joab is equally a wonder and mystery, but one that for this man had never in the remotest begun to open, even after eight years of wonder and puzzlement. Every attempt to peel back the sepals covering the certain splendor hidden within, only revealed the great difficulty of understanding this man of deep mystery. Tightly, seemingly ever so tightly, the sepals held his identity until one morning, just as the sun dawned and I began to awake, the morning light of this mystery man equally dawned and I began to awake to the unfolding splendor of Yahweh that is revealed in him. The flower began to open!

Only two days before this, I told my son - "I wish I understood David and Joab," referring particularly to their highly unique relationship, but especially in regard to this man Joab. My son responded to me - "If you understood them, you would understand God." Little did I know that the morning light would so quickly begin to dawn and this mysterious flower begin its long awaited blossoming.

But as is the case in all things of value, understanding God has its price. When Elijah told Elisha that he had asked a hard thing when asking for a double portion of his spirit, we find foreshadowed here that this request is hard because it involves coming to know the things and ways and person of Yahweh in such a way and to such a degree that gaining that knowledge dearly costs! Just as it is written in Ecclesiastes 1:18, so it is true with a knowledge of God - "Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." Oh how very true; and this was clearly true regarding the price this man had to pay in order to understand the prophetic testimony in the mystery of Joab.

In 1982 the Spirit of Yahweh told me that my example in the flesh was a man by the name of Rees Howells. You can find out more about this man by reading the book, Rees Howells, Intercessor, by Norman Grubb. What one finds in intercession is that in order to have a right or authority before Yahweh, one must obtain that right through intercession or identification (the latter being what intercession is). By identification, one finds a union with the place of victory or understanding to the extent that that place can be secured. The chief and greatest example of this is Yahshua. Because He was willing to come to earth and take on the body of a man, He became the Savior of all mankind. His identification with man gave Him authority with Yahweh on behalf of man. Insomuch that He was tempted in all manner as a man, feeling things the way we feel them, He identified with man so as to be able to have the authority to deliver him and to understand him (Hebrews 2:17-18).

Continuing in like example, if one wants to obtain the very benefits of Yahshua, then one must equally identify with Him. It is written in Romans 8:17 and 1 Peter 4:13 that if we are to reign with Yahshua, then we must also suffer with Him; for to the degree that we suffer with Him, so we will be glorified with Him. Paul declared - "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17). Yahshua also said that if one wants to follow after Him, he must take up his cross and deny himself (Mathew 16:24-25). One can never feel the things the way Yahweh feels them, until they have gone through that which He has gone through. Thus it is written - "For zeal for Thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me." One can only begin to feel the reproaches that Yahweh has felt, when those same reproaches fall upon them. Only when we identify with God in our present experiences, can we begin to understand God.

I do not believe this identification with Yahshua is as surface as one might think, for I believe that Yahweh works through and in us in such a way and in a degree of time and circumstances, that we do not even realize or account that which He is doing. When we think we are being "spiritual" and serving Him, very likely it does not have the weight of fulfillment that we might think. But Yahweh works over time and circumstances that we may even be praying will change, when all the time He is at work in us to will and to work according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Such was the case in Yahweh's work in this man's life, which opened my eyes to see that which will be shared here. I have had to suffer the pains of this conflict between David and Joab in order to even begin to understand these matters. I have had to feel that which Yahweh feels in order to begin to understand Him. This is a most incredible and vital truth that I hope you will begin to understand even better as I share my own personal experience regarding this.

Before we present what it is that makes this man, Joab, such a mystery, there is one other point that needs to be made in order to prepare for this examination. But in fact that which will be said here is not new to anyone who has read these writings, but is repeated now for the sake of emphasis.

The entire Bible, both Old Testament as well as New Testament, is one vast parable or riddle. When Yahshua came to this earth, He hardly spoke anything except in parables, or in a few cases to explain those parables to His disciples. Why? Because this is the very nature of Yahweh towards man. He says everything in advance, but He says it in such a way that man does not understand - in a parable, a riddle. And why does He do this? I am sure there are many reasons, both naturally and philosophically, but basically it is because He does not want man to see yet, not until it is the right time. Yahshua said as He quoted from Isaiah 6:9:

"You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
And you will keep on seeing , but will not perceive;
For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes
Lest they should see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and turn again,
And I should heal them" (Matthew 13:14-15).

To cover all of the reasons why Yahweh does this would take an entire writing in itself, so we will limit ourselves here to simply state again that the entire Bible is a great riddle or parable. All of the accounts regarding people's lives, the way the Bible is laid out, when Yahweh's name is used and when it is not, even the order of the history of man, is one huge riddle or parable; and if we had eyes to see, we would marvel! Yet Yahweh is indeed beginning to open the eyes of His Bride to see a glimpse of just some of these things, for which we exceedingly marvel and are glad! This is certainly true and even quite evident when we come to this man Joab and his highly unusual relationship with David. Let us now see.

 

Continue to page 2 of JOAB for WHAT'S IN A NAME?

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