WE ARE BLESSED AND COVERED WITH GOLD

(Psalms 1:1-6) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight [Hebrew: pleasure: purpose, willingly] is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate [Heb: ponder: study] day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water [nourished by the Holy Spirit], that bringeth forth his fruit [versus no fruit Mark 4:7; Luke 8:14; not fruit John 15:2] in his season; his leaf [Hebrew: branch] [offspring] also shall not wither [through lack of water]; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalms 1:4-6) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff [Hebrew: chaff (as pressed out, i.e. winnowed or [rather] threshed loose)] which the wind [symbol of the Holy Spirit] driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (2 Timothy 2:15) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman [Greek: a toiler: labourer] that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. dividing = Gk: make a straight cut, i.e. (fig.) to dissect (expound) correctly (the divine message) /// straight, upright /// & /// (to cut; more comprehensive or decisive than G2875, as if by a single stroke; whereas G2875 implies repeated blows like hacking); more keen:--sharper. (Hebrew 4:12) For the word of God is quick [Gk: alive], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder [Greek: separating] of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner [Greek: discriminator /// judge] of the thoughts and intents [Greek: moral understanding] of the heart. wither = Heb: to fall away, fail, faint; fig. to be foolish or (mor.) wicked; causat. to despise, disgrace:-- dishonour, lightly esteem, fade (away, -ing), fall (down, -ling, off), do foolishly, come to nought, X surely, make vile.

prosper = Heb: to push forward, in various senses:--break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect, make to, send) prosper (ity, -ous, -ously). (Luke 23:26-31) And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon [Heb: hearing], a Cyrenian [modern Libya], coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus [much here is unrevealed]. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed [Greek: beat the breast in grief] and lamented him [Greek: mourned]. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then [at the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ in grace for us and judgment for them] shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us [Revelations 6:16,17]. For if they do these things in a green tree [a tree full of the water of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ], what shall be done in the dry [a tree having no water, the unsaved]? perish = Heb: wander away, i.e. lose oneself:--be broken, be destroyed, + not escape, fail, lose, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee. THE SHITTIM WOOD ARK WITH A CROWN OF GOLD (Exodus 25:8,9) And let them make me a sanctuary [Hebrew: a consecrated thing or place, especially a palace: holy place]; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle [given to Moses sometime on Mount Sinai], and the pattern of all the instruments [Hebrew: something prepared] [you are an instrument of God being prepared (trained up) by God for His use] thereof, even so shall ye make it. tabernacle = Heb: mishkan; a residence (including a shepherd's hut, the lair of animals, figuratively, the grave; also the Temple); spec. the Tabernacle (prop. its wooden walls):--dwelleth, dwelling (place), habitation, tabernacle, tent.

(Exodus 25:10-12) And they shall make an ark of shittim wood [i.e., built with the finished product, having been transformed from earthbound tree to heaven bound board or plank by the Great Carpenter]: two cubits and a half [5 feet (arbitrarily using 24 = 1 cubit)] shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half [3 feet] the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half [3 feet] the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side [Hebrew: a rib (as curved), lit. (of the body)] of it, and two rings in the other side [Hebrew: a rib (as curved), lit. (of the body)] of it.

Ark = Hebrew: (in the sense of gathering); a box:--ark, [treasure] chest, coffin /// to pluck: gather, pluck. Commentary: a chest, even more so than a box, is wherein we tend to keep valuable things, else we would tend to not keep them at all; hence, one may infer with great probability the correctness of the allusion herein to a treasure chest (connoting life), especially when viewed against a contrasting coffin (connoting death) (Matthew 6:19-21) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. shittim = Hebrew: shittah; sticks of wood; the acacia (from its scourging thorns) /// (prop. to pierce) to flog; a goad:--scourge. Commentary: shittim wood = Shittim wood is the symbol of man. Shittim wood is derived from a tree of the Acacia species. Shittim trees thrive in dry areas, and were then abundantly found in the Sinai peninsula and the wilderness country east of the Jordan river. Shittim translates from Hebrew into thorny; scourging thorns. It is a very hard, densely-grained tree, large, with thorny rough gnarled bark. It was the only wood used in the construction of the Tabernacle of Moses. Commentary: gold = Gold is the symbol of God. The word means to shimmer in Hebrew; that brings Shekinah to mind. Gold is a soft, bright yellow metal. It can be found and used in its pure state, without smelting. Gold never tarnishes. It is extremely malleable which means that it can be easily formed into thin strips, delicate objects, and coverings. Gold is too soft a metal to be used for tools or weapons. Commentary: We may herein assemble the composite figurative indications (signs, road-signs pointing to something) of Exodus 25:8-12 that God has given us for mankind. The tabernacle itself is your grave for you shall certainly die. The ark which lays inside the tabernacle is either a (saved) shepherds hut and thus by extension a treasure chest connoting life, and something saved. Again, the ark which lays inside the tabernacle is the lair of (unsaved) animals and thus by extension a coffin connoting death, and something not saved. Whichever description of the ark (treasure chest or coffin) is applicable for you is dependent upon whether or not the finger of the consuming fire of God has come down from Heaven to enlighten the brazen altar of your heart. (Psalms 18:28) For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Amen.