A LESSON
FROM INTERCESSION
CONT., page 3
There is only one woman in the whole Bible who took a literal rod into her own hands. It is obviously significant as well though that she did not take it on her own, but indeed it was handed to her, given over to her, by a man in a contractual agreement with her. In this agreement, not only did she get his rod, but she also got his seal and his cord. And not only did she get his rod, but she also got his anatomical rod. And not only did she get his anatomical rod, but she also got his seed. And from this seed she brought forth twins, one whose name meant “light,” and one whose name meant “breach.” This is of course the account of the father of the line that brought forth the Son of God, Judah; and his bilked daughter-in-law, Melchizedek granddaughter Tamar.
First, I must make a correction to what has been said in the past. I have assumed that the cord that Tamar received was the cord of his belt. But upon examining this more carefully, it is found that the cord she received was not the belt, but from the tassels on the corners of his garment. The Hebrew word for “cord” here is “pathil,” and it is never translated as a belt, but always a cord, string, or line. This is the same Hebrew word found in Numbers 15:38 where we read – “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.” The only other time in which an item with this “pathil” is used is with regard to the ephod (Exodus 28:15-30) – blue cords were used to hold the breastplate to it, and gold cords were intermixed in the ephod. Obviously Judah did not have an ephod, so this cord had to have been the tassel. Also, when Tamar is brought before Judah, the same Hebrew word, “pathil,” is used, but this time it is plural – “cords.“ Thus, Tamar did not ask for his belts, but undoubtedly cords from the tassels on the corners of his garment.
So what is the significance of these cords? They are the Remnant that are represented by the corners – the corners of the field for the poor and needy, the corners of a man’s beard that could not be trimmed, the corners of Ezekiel’s temple that contained boiling pots for cooking the offerings, the corners of Yahshua’s garment which when people touched them they were healed (Matthew 9:20, 14:36, the “fringe” was actually the tassel). Tamar thus had an intercessoral legal right from Judah for her offspring to be a type of the fulfillment of the promise of the tassel – the two-part Perez-Zerah Remnant.
In the past, I have correlated Tamar to the Bride, but that is only loosely true. There was always the disparity in that Tamar brought forth the two-part testimony – Zerah and Perez. So how can the Bride bring forth itself? It cannot. The similarity is that, in truth, these are both bride pictures. Tamar is a bride, and the two-part offspring represent the Bride.
What you are about to hear could at first be confusing to you. Perez and Zerah can prophetically represent either the two-part Remnant or the two-part church. Why? Because “that which has been is that which will be.” Yahweh tells us that He does “nothing new under the sun.” The work that He performs at one level, He repeats again at the next level, following the same pattern. Thus, the first to be birthed into immortality will be the two-part Remnant. But in fact, in time the two-part work that enters into immortality will be the Remnant and Christianity. Thus, on one hand, Perez and Zerah represent the two-part Remnant, but on the other, they (and actually more completely) represent Christianity, the “breach;” and the Remnant, the “light.”
This is the identical picture evidenced in the twins in Rebekah’s womb who fought with each other. Esau, who lost his birthright, represents Christianity which loses its rod; but Jacob, who obtained the birthright, represents the Remnant. This is another like testimony that provides different aspects, different facets, of the same truth.
And most notably, in both Tamar’s case, as well as Rebekah’s, both of these women took the rod into their own hands! Tamar literally took Judah’s rod when he gave it to her as a promise for a kid, and Rebekah took the rod of Isaac, the leadership of his home, into her hands when she manipulated the outcome of his blessing. And how did she do this? Once again with the same item – the skins of a kid, in fact two kids. Tamar used the payment of a kid to get Judah to bring forth offspring, while Rebekah used two kids to manipulate Isaac to change the blessing. And we note again, both of these women brought forth twin boys. It is quite significant that these are the only two women in the Bible to bring forth twins!
So what are we seeing here? Quite obviously, a common message of great importance is being revealed here regarding these two women; and if we have eyes to see, we can learn. Who are Tamar and Rebekah? These two women are none other than two representations of Jerusalem above. She is the one who brings forth the Remnant and Christianity, and she does something that she alone can do – she bears the rod!
Based on what we have learned thus far, it is hard to understand why Jerusalem above has the authority to take this rod with positive results and bear good fruit. The highly distinguishing fact though, as you will see, is that Jerusalem above is directly associated with Yahshua who took the curse upon Himself, the Rebekah. The authority of Jerusalem above is infused and granted through the work of Yahshua. Jerusalem above is a feminine representation of Yahshua’s work. Remember, prophetic pictures and types such as men and women, husband and wife, are only mediums which Yahweh uses to relate truth to us. And as we will further see, the authority of Yahshua who took our curse and equally asks us to obey what He says (John 14:15, 21; 15:10), is the manifestation of Jerusalem above.
Thus we gain an important understanding. Just as Tamar was able to take the rod with no ill consequences, as well as Rebekah, insomuch that they represented Jerusalem above, so my wife was able to take the rod of my home with no ill consequences. On the natural level, undeniably all three of these women did wrong; but, each of them were occupying an intercessoral type, and a higher law was dictating their actions. My wife, like Tamar and Rebekah, on the one hand was foreshadowing a critical work in the kingdom of God that had to be revealed in that intercession – the rod passing from the body of Christ to Jerusalem above. And as you continue reading here, you will understand what that work is, and legally how it is carried out.
Continue to page 4 of A lesson From Intercession for THE GOLDEN ROD AND ITS HEAD