BEERSHEBA
BEERSHEBA
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Sunday Evening Service, May 27, 2012, The Year of our Lord
Oath, Covenant; the seven spirits of God.
”Beersheba” the chief city of Negev, means “well of an oath; Beer-Sheba.” “Eer” means pit, well; to dig, engrave; figuratively, to explain and “Sheba” (“seven”) Strong’s #7650 “Shaba” which means “to be complete; to seven oneself, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times).
Beersheba was considered the southern extremity of the Promised Land, giving rise to the often-used expression, “from Dan (in the north) to Beersheba.”
In this geographical location, a number of important encounters took place between God and man.
Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba after they had been put out of Abraham’s house. It was at a well in Beersheba where the first mention of a visitation of “the angel of God” is recorded. “The angel of God” called to Hagar out of Heaven and spoke to her. The Lord told Hagar not to fear, the Lord had heard the voice of Ishmael and would make a great nation from him. (Genesis 21:12-21)
Abraham remained in the Negev area for a time. In this rather arid region the wells of Beersheba were of great importance to man and beast. It is not surprising that something of a boundary dispute should break out from time to time. Abimelech’s servants violently took the well at Beersheba. However, Abraham was conciliatory and agreed to not hold this against Abimelech. Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. Abraham pledged to Abimelech seven ewe lambs to bear witness to the sincerity of his oath; from this transaction came the name “Beersheba.” There was a lamb for each well.
21:31: “He called that place Beersheba because there they swore both of them… Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, “the Lord, the everlasting God.” (Jehovah El Olam)
Jehovah El Olam is one of the twenty Redemptive Names of Jehovah in the Old Testament.
In Genesis 2:4, Jehovah reveals Himself as The Lord, our Creator; Genesis. 14:22: The Lord, the Most High God; Gen. 15:2: The Lord, the Master; and now in Gen. 21:33, with the covenant of seven ewe lambs at the well of Beersheba, he is “The Lord, the Everlasting God.
In Genesis 22: 1-19, After the Lord tempted Abraham on Mt Moriah with regard to the sacrifice of Isaac, the angel of the Lord called to Abraham out of heaven the second time: The angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said by myself have I sworn, says the Lord, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son; that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in your seed shall the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice. Thereafter, Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
The next mention of Beersheba is with Isaac. The Philistines had filled all the wells that Abraham dug with earth. Isaac re-dug those wells. However, each time he dug a well, the herdsmen of Gerar strove with him over the wells.
Isaac then went to Beersheba. There the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham your father; fear not, for I am with you and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. So Isaac built an altar at Beersheba. Here again, another covenant was made between God and man at Beersheba.
Remember the covenant the Lord made with Abraham that “your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies”. The Lord is honoring the Covenant he made with the father on behalf of the son.
Both the father and the son cut the everlasting covenant and confirmed it with an oath.
Abimelech said, “We saw certainly that the Lord was with you; and we said, let there be now an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you…you are blessed of the Lord…and they departed from him in peace (Gen. 26: 23-32). For the time being, this was the end of the strife over the wells.
In Genesis 46:1, we fast forward and find another visitation of the Lord at “Beersheba”. Israel was on his journey to Egypt to meet Joseph with all his family and all that he had, and came to “Beersheba”, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob, and he said, Here am I, and he said, I am God, the God of your father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will surely bring you up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes. Jacob rose from Beersheba with all his cattle, family and goods and went to Egypt.
Again the Lord confirmed the covenant he made with Abraham to bless His seed and make of them a great nation.
In The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1-4), of the testimony of Jesus Christ, John writes Grace and Peace to the hearers of the churches from the trinity of:
(1) “Him which is and which was, and which is to come, the Eternal One, Yahweh, “I am who I am”, (Ex. 3: 13-15);
(2) The Seven Spirits which are before his throne (the seven-fold work of the Holy Spirit; and
(3) Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth…”
In the Pattern Son, Jesus Christ was the “well of the seven” spirits of God (the fullness of the Spirit), anointed with the Spirit without measure (Jn. 3:34). It pleased the Father that in Him should dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Again the Father and the Son cut the everlasting covenant and confirmed it with an oath. Heb. 6:13-18: “ When God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. After he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them and end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”
When Isaac faced his enemies, he fed them. When Abraham faced his enemies, he blessed them. He found the "key" to end strife. This "key" is part of our inheritance through the Blood of Jesus. We dwell safely in Christ, “every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-Sheba.
1 Kings 4: 24-25: “And he (Solomon) had dominion over all the region on this side of the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river; and he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and Israel dwell safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
Beersheba was in the tribe of Simeon, which means “he who hears”---hearing and obeying the voice of God is the basis of covenant. Every spirit-filled Christian has become a “well of the oath, the New Covenant completed in Jesus’ blood. The water of His Word is a well springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14: “Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
We have been given the firstfruits of the Spirit by measure, the earnest of our inheritance. The church has been promised the same anointing that rests upon Jesus, “the seven Spirits” of God, the spirit of fullness.
Rev. 3:1”Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things says he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars…”
Rev. 4:5: “Out of the throne proceeds lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
The phrase “seven lamps of fire” is used only once in the Holy Scripture and it is in this verse. However, “lamps of fire” is also used in Daniel 10:6. The glorified Christ, is describes with eyes like lamps of fire. The living creatures in Ezekiel 1:12, “their appearance was like “burning coals of fire, like the appearance of lamps.” Here the burning coals point to the intensely pure and consuming justice of God. The fire traveled up and down, indicates the energy or vigor of God’s spirit which is unwearied and un-resting. The Holy Spirit is a fiery-moving light.
While I was preaching, I stated that I did not have a clear revelation on the seven lamps of fire, but it came to me while I was preaching about the four living creatures, “wherever the Spirit was to go they went”, then the lamps of fire is the active, fire-moving light of the seven spirits of God. The living creatures ran and returned continually as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Rev. 5:6: “And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood “a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”
I didn’t know until I started this study on the Book of Revelation that among Commentaries, there is a dispute over the seven spirits of God. Some believe they are the seven angels involved in the judgments of God. This is not my belief. I believe this denotes the Holy Spirit in the plenitude of His grace and power. Isa. 11:2: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and Godliness, the spirit of the fear of God.
With great joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.
Isaiah 12: 2-3: “Behold God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. In that day shall you say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his “name is exalted’.
All of the redemptive names of Jehovah in the Old Testament find their ultimate fulfillment in the greatest compound Redemptive Name ever revealed, The Lord Jesus Christ.
I AM the Bread of Life.
I AM the Light of the world.
I AM the door.
I AM the resurrection and the Life.
I AM the way, the Truth and the Life.
I AM the true Vine.
I AM the Good shepherd.
Rev. 1: “His (Jesus) head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.”
Taught by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V.; Resources: Understanding Types and Shadows by: Kelly Varner.