Sometimes history can be distorted when certain parties have
a stake in promoting their own agenda. It is possible that our religious
institutions have misled us into believing that the Levitical priesthood has a
preeminent position over any other priesthood, when in fact Ezekiel tells us of
a more pure priesthood. The priesthood established by Shem, which historically
came from Enoch, is a priesthood that existed prior to the Levites and remained
active through the first century. The Priests of Righteousness have been a called
out group of men and women who specialized in the prophetic. These people had
developed a school for anyone who wanted to be pure and make a vow to the Lord.
This group is clearly visible throughout the Bible and yet they have remained
hidden from our understanding. This knowledge of history has enormous implications
for all people today; the Church as well as anyone desiring a spiritual walk
with the Creator, El Elyon. What we find is a rich history of the Priests of
Zedek who flourished even throughout the years the temple was being defiled
with male and female prostitution, and idolatrous practices because they didn’t
worship in the temple. Instead they developed the priesthood in several
locations, and because of their purity the Holy Spirit remained on them. Their
stories are marvelous and it may be time for them to be recognized as the
separate entity that they were. These prophets are not like the people we see
today who use the PT Barnum tactics on others. The false prophets of today use
such vague “prophecies” that their message can apply to just about anyone. Yet
the true prophets are specific, direct, powerful, and their results are many
times immediate. There is hardly any comparison between the true prophets of
Zedek to today’s prophets as we shall see. The power of the Zedek priests is so
intense we even see non prophetic people, with evil intent, coming under the
power of the Holy Spirit in the presence of the true prophets. This group of
men and women are not born into this club, but instead work to become pure and
stay pure so that they wield the miraculous into our world. These men and women
are an example for us today, and this priesthood has not ended. We certainly
have muddied the waters of the prophetic so it is time to go back to school to
see what has been hiding in plain sight.
Just to review the Book of Jasher a bit, Shem is called “Adoni-Zedek,
Lord of Righteousness”. He is also called Melchizedek and was a priest king who
started the first school for people to learn about El Elyon. Remember that
Adoni-Zedek/Shem/Melchizedek died before Jacob went to Laban’s house; he is not
the same Adonizedek of Joshua 10.
Jasher 16:11 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was
Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine,
and they remained together in the valley of Melech. 12 And Adonizedek blessed
Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil
of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God.
Abraham and his people met with Shem and his men. Abraham
grew up in Noah’s house and knew Shem so this was not a first time meeting.
Shem was not a mystery priest, Abraham knew him well. Abraham funded Shem’s
school with the spoils of war. Years later Abraham told Sarah that he was going
to bring Isaac to Shem and Eber’s house to learn the ways of the Lord but in
fact Abraham was bringing Isaac near the school, up to Mt Moriah. Apparently
Sarah was a clingy mother and had a hard time releasing Isaac even though he
was thirty seven years old. Shem and his grandson Eber were teaching others the
ways of the Lord near Mt Moriah which is why it is interesting that Yahweh picked
that place to test Abraham’s faithfulness.
Jasher 23:5 My son Isaac is grown up and he has not for
some time studied the service of his God, now tomorrow I will go and bring him
to Shem, and Eber his son, and there he will learn the ways of the Lord, for
they will teach him to know the Lord as well as to know that when he prayeth
continually before the Lord, he will answer him, therefore there he will know
the way of serving the Lord his God.
Isaac actually went to Shem and Eber’s school for three
years after he came down from Mt Moriah. Mt Moriah is very near to where Shem
and Eber had their school in Jebus/Jerusalem, in the land of Canaan. When Rebekah
was having an unusual symptom with her pregnancy she consulted Shem and Eber as
to what was happening. There were no ultrasounds back then.
Jasher 26:9 And in about seven months after the children
struggled together within her, and it pained her greatly that she was wearied
on account of them, and she said to all the women who were then in the land,
Did such a thing happen to you as it has to me? and they said unto her, No. 10
And she said unto them, Why am I alone in this amongst all the women that were
upon earth? and she went to the land of Moriah to seek the Lord on account of
this; and she went to Shem and Eber his son to make inquiries of them in this
matter, and that they should seek the Lord in this thing respecting her.
This area of Jebus/Jerusalem stayed isolated unto itself
even after the sons of Jacob entered the Promised Land. The Zedek School
continued until David took over the city and then put the tabernacle on the
Jebusite threshing floor over the Gihon Spring. This is where Jacob spent many
years in service to the Lord. As we know, Jacob and Esau were very different
boys.
Jasher 26:17 And the boys grew up to their fifteenth year,
and they came amongst the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful
man, and an expert hunter in the field, and Jacob was a man perfect and wise,
dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the instructions of the Lord and
the commands of his father and mother.
Jacob was wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks, and
learning the instructions of the Lord. This means that Jacob was in service
with Shem and Eber dwelling in tents. Esau was not inclined to serve the Lord.
Jacob was not the kniving trickster we make him out to be. We have to learn to
read the details of his story. In any event he spent thirty two years of
additional study and service in the community of the Zedek’s with Shem and Eber.
Jasher 28: 18 At that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob
to the house of Shem and Eber, and he learned the instructions of the Lord, and
Jacob remained in the house of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, and Esau his
brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he remained in his
father's house in the land of Canaan.
That is a short history of the Zedek priesthood and its
foundation. The Zedek priests were prophetic and lived in community with their
families and worked to support themselves. As we see with Jacob, he tended
flocks. Abraham donated spoils to Shem and Eber, and as we will see the Zedek
priests and prophets continued well into the first century. This is the
relationship that Abraham observed with Yahweh before there was a written law,
or a temple, or any other code. The pure religion of Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob were established and growing in Jebus. Abraham was called a prophet
when he went into Egypt and that idea of one being a prophet carried a lot of
weight.
Gen 20:7 But now return the man his wife; for he is a
prophet, and shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; but if thou restore her
not, know that thou shalt die and all thine. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/
Jacob raised twelve sons and he prayed and prophesied over
all of them. Joseph was prayed over by Jacob as a Nazarite, separate. Joseph’s
blessings are greater than Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s.
Gen 49:26 The blessings of your father [on you] are greater
than the blessings of my forefathers [Abraham and Isaac on me] and are as
lasting as the bounties of the eternal hills; they shall be on the head of
Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was the consecrated one and the
one separated from his brethren and [the one who] is prince among
them. AMP
OT:5139 naziyr (naw-zeer'); or nazir (naw-zeer'); from
OT:5144; separate, i.e. consecrated (as prince, a Nazirite); hence
(figuratively from the latter) an unpruned vine (like an unshorn Nazirite):KJV
- Nazarite [by a false alliteration with Nazareth], separate (-d), vine
undressed.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
It is interesting that Joseph was physically separated from
his brothers for many years in Egypt, but also spiritually as a Nazarite. The
Greek implies Joseph was ahead of his brothers, like in Joseph’s dream, he was
before them. Joseph did not know Shem and Eber, and he did not attend their
school, but Jacob prophesies that Joseph is separate, like the Zedek priests. There
was a related group of people in Egypt who were part of the Zedek priests. In
later years they were known as the Theapeutaes.
We will focus on this idea next week, but for now it would not have been
unusual for Zedek priests to have influenced Joesph, and he may have lived a
covenant consecrated life for the Lord. We do know he somehow had a tremendous
faith in the Lord even in his darkest hours, yet having been sold at a young
age, he probably would have needed further schooling to be considered separated
for the Lord.
Moving further into time in Egypt, Moses was a god and
Aaron a prophet to Pharoh. Remember Moses’ relationship with Yahweh started
before there was a law to follow. Moses, just like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
as well as Jacob’s twelve sons didn’t have a written procedure to follow. Moses
lived in Midian and his father-in-law was a priest, who just happens to be a
grandson of Abraham. Moses met with Yahweh on Sinai, aka Mt Horeb for the first
time. Moses received the commands after the exodus. The laws came later after
the tabernacle was built.
Exodus 7:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Behold, I have made thee a god to Pharao, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy
prophet.
Jacob spent thirty two years with Shem and Eber, and he
prayed over Joseph, that he would be separate,
or a “Nazarite”. Now Moses gets some directions for any man or women who wants
to be separate, or a Nazarite. Notice both men and women are included in the opportunity
here.
Num 6:1-8 AND THE Lord said to Moses, 2 Say to the Israelites, When either a man or
a woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated
and consecrated to the Lord, 3 He shall
separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine
or of strong drink, and shall drink no grape juice, or eat grapes, fresh or
dried. [Luke 1:15.] 4 All the days of
his separation he shall eat nothing produced from the grapevine, not even the
seeds or the skins. 5 All the days of
the vow of his separation and abstinence there shall no razor come upon his
head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord,
he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow
long. 6 All the days that he separates
himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. 7 He shall not make himself unclean for his
father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because his separation and
abstinence to his God is upon his head.
8 All the days of his separation and abstinence he is holy to the Lord.
AMP
Numbers 6:2 G2980Speak G3588to the
G5207sons G*of Israel!
G2532And G2046you
shall say G4314to G1473them,G435A man G2228or G1135woman,
G3739who G302ever G3171should
greatly G2172vow G2171a vow G850.3to
purify oneself G47in
purity G2962to the lord
Vow a vow to purify in purity. This is opened to both men
and women, to whoever wants to vow a vow to purify themselves in purity. There
is no bloodline involved. This is the order of Melchizedek. This order is not
determined by heredity. It is not determined by location. It is also not
determined by sacrifice in the temple.
Mariam, being Moses’ older sister, got a little prideful.
She may have believed that prophets were common in some families, but Yahweh
set her straight. He says that he, Yahweh, will make himself known to prophets
in visions, but Moses was extra special as Yahweh would speak to Moses mouth to
mouth.
Numbers 12:1 And Mariam and Aaron spoke against Moses,
because of the Ethiopian woman whom Moses took; for he had taken an Ethiopian
woman. 2 And they said, Has the Lord spoken to Moses only? has he not
also spoken to us? and the Lord heard it. 3 And the man Moses was
very meek beyond all the men that were upon the earth. 4 And the Lord
said immediately to Moses and Aaron and Mariam, Come forth all three of you to
the tabernacle of witness. 5 And the three came forth to the
tabernacle of witness; and the Lord descended in a pillar of a cloud, and stood
at the door of the tabernacle of witness; and Aaron and Mariam were called; and
both came forth. 6 And he said to them, Hear my words: If there
should be of you a prophet to the Lord, I will be made known to him in a
vision, and in sleep will I speak to him. 7 My servant Moses is not
so; he is faithful in all my house. 8 I will speak to him mouth to
mouth apparently, and not in dark speeches; and he has seen the glory of the
Lord; and why were ye not afraid to speak against my servant
Moses? 9 And the great anger of the Lord was upon
them, and he departed. 10 And the cloud departed from the tabernacle;
and, behold, Mariam was leprous, white as snow; and Aaron
looked upon Mariam, and, behold, she was leprous. 11 And
Aaron said to Moses, I beseech thee, my lord, do not lay sin upon us, for we
were ignorant wherein we sinned. 12 Let her not be as it were like
death, as an abortion coming out of his mother’s womb, when the disease devours
the half of the flesh. 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, O God,
I beseech thee, heal her. 14 And the Lord said to Moses, If her
father had only spit in her face, would she not be ashamed seven days? let her
be set apart seven days without the camp, and afterwards she shall come
in.15 And Mariam was separated without the camp seven days; and the people
moved not forward till Mariam was cleansed. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/
Here we see that Moses encouraged prophecy. He wasn’t
interested in being “the” prophet. But Abraham and Moses have quite a special
relationship with Yahweh that seems to be mirrored in the Zedek priesthood. The
key to the Zedek priesthood is the Spirit of the Lord. That has a very
important understanding for us today. Consider this, selah.
Numbers 11:27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and
spoke, saying, Eldad and Modad prophesy in the camp. 28 And Joshua
the son of Naue, who attended on Moses, the chosen one, said, My lord
Moses, forbid them. 29 And Moses said to him, Art thou jealous on my
account? and would that all the Lord’s people were prophets; whenever the Lord
shall put his spirit upon them. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/
By the time we get to the period of Judges, we can see that
the region of Jebus, Jerusalem, the City of David, was not an Israelite
habitation. It was a small circular area that was surrounded by the twelve
tribes. This neutral city remained independent until David became king. This
was the place where Shem and Eber taught people to worship the Lord. This was
the first school establishing the priests of Zedek, Zadok, Zadik (remember that
vowels vary in Hebrew). Shem was Adoni, Lord of Zadok, “righteousness”. This
priesthood continued right on through to the first century. This is the order
of Melchizedek, the same order that is not of lineage or heredity, but of
people who choose this way of life. The very same order that Jesus is the High
Priest of. Again, consider the Spirit of the Lord on this priesthood.
In this terrible account of rape and murder, a Levite
passing through the region of Jebus decided not to stay there, but to go into
the country of Benjamin.
Judg 19:10-12 But the man would
not stay that night; so he rose up and departed and came opposite to Jebus,
which is Jerusalem. With him were two saddled donkeys [and his servant] and his
concubine. 11 When they were near Jebus, it was late, and the servant said to
his master, Come I pray, and let us turn into this Jebusite city and lodge in
it. 12 His master said to him, We will not turn aside into the city of
foreigners where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah. AMP
This is the story of the
Benjamites raping and murdering a Levite’s wife. The Benjamites wanted to rape
the Levite but negotiated to throw the Levite’s wife out to them. The Levite
was a coward, he was not a prophet, and he wielded no spiritual power. He would
have been better off staying in Jebus. It is interesting that they considered
those of the Jebusite region as “foreigners”. By the time the descendants of
Jacob returned into the Canaanite land, the general population didn’t even know
who the people of Jebus were. They didn’t know the stories of Abraham and Shem,
or that Isaac and Jacob learned from Shem and Eber. They didn’t understand that
Joseph was consecrated and a Nazarite to Yahweh. This particular Levite didn’t
even know about the Zedek priests. Others did, such as Samuel, but it is
interesting that this Levite didn’t consider them relatives but foreigners. At
this same time, Samuel grows up and becomes a prophet.
1 Sam 3:20-21 And all Israel from
Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.21
And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel
in Shiloh through the word of the Lord. AMP
Saul goes looking for Samuel
before Saul becomes king. He calls him the seer.
Seer means someone who has discernment or perception.
1 Sam 9:18-19 Then Saul came near
to Samuel in the gate and said, Tell me where is the seer's house? 19 Samuel
answered Saul, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall
eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is
on your mind. AMP
Later, when David flees and goes
to Samuel, we see Saul trying to apprehend David. But when they came to the
school of the prophets where people were prophesying, the people Saul sent
started prophesying too. This happened three times. Now notice what happens to Saul.
1 Sam 19:18-24 So David fled and escaped and came to Samuel
at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and
dwelt in Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David; and when they saw the company of the
prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed head over them, the
Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. 21
When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And
Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then
Saul himself went to Ramah and came to a great well that is in Secu; and he
asked, Where are Samuel and David? And he was told, They are at Naioth in
Ramah. 23 So he went on to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him
also, and as he went on he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He
took off his royal robes and prophesied before Samuel and lay down stripped
thus all that day and night. So they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? [1
Sam 10:10.] AMP
1 Sam 19:24G2532And G1562he
took off G3588 G2440his
clothes, G1473 G2532and G4395he
prophesied G1799before
G*Samuel.
G2532And G4098he
fell G1131naked G3650[2entire
G3588 G22503day G15651that],
G2532and G3650[2entire
G3588 G35713night G15651that].
G1223Because
of G3778this G3004they
said, G1487Is G2532also G*Saul G1722among G4396the prophets?
In verse 20 we have the phrase “the company of the prophets”,
the word company is ekklesia “the called out, the assembly”.
This is the same word we use for church,
which is not a building but people. This is a called out group of people
prophesying. Someone told Saul that David was at the house of the called out
prophets. Saul was obviously overcome due to the power of the Holy Spirit in
the prophet school. Saul’s messengers were overcome and spontaneously
prophesied, but Saul was so “under the power” he took off all his clothes and
prophesied naked the entire night. What? We don’t hear about this type of power
in Sunday school. The Spirit of the Lord was very strong and powerful in this
school. They were doing something right at this school, so much so that people
with evil intent end up naked and spontaneously prophesying. They probably
didn’t mistake Saul for a prophet for long. If we only had enough pure
separated Zedek type priests today, church television would be so much better. Naioth means a “habitation”, it is the dwelling place of the prophets of Samuel. Ramah
is north of Jerusalem, northwest from the Dead Sea, not far from Jericho.
Notice that this was not in Jerusalem, but is north of Jerusalem. We see Saul’s
kingdom slipping from his hands, and after Samuel’s death he enquires of a
necromancer to bring up Samuel because Yahweh would not speak to Saul himself
or through the prophets.
1 Sam 28:6 When Saul inquired of the Lord, He refused to
answer him, either by dreams or by Urim [a symbol worn by the priest when
seeking the will of God for Israel] or by the prophets. [Prov 1:24-30.] AMP
1 Sam 28:13G2532And G2036[3said
G14734to her
G35881the G9352king],
G3361Do not
G5399fear! G5100Whom G3708do you
see? G2532And G2036[3said
G35881the G11352woman]
G4314to G*Saul, G2316I see
magistrates G3708 G305ascending
G1537from
out of G3588the G1093earth.
14G2532And G2036he
said G1473to
her, G5100What
did G1097you
perceive? G2532And G2036she
said G1473to
him, G1088An
aged man G305ascending
G306being
cloaked G1361.4in a
double-garment. G2532And G1097Saul
knew G* G3754that G3778this G*was Samuel.
G2532And G2955he
bowed G1909upon G4383the face
G1909upon G3588the G1093ground,
G2532an G4352he did
obeisance to G1473him.
1 Sam 28:13 The king said to her, Be not afraid; what do
you see? The woman said to Saul, I see a god [terrifying superhuman being]
coming up out of the earth! AMP
Magistrates is
the word “Theos/Elohim”, “gods”, both of which are plural. She brings Samuel up
and Saul mourns over Samuel’s words. David becomes king and then goes to Jebus to
take it over.
1 Chron 11:4-8 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem,
that is Jebus, where the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were. 5 Then
the Jebusites said to David, You shall not come in here! But David took the
stronghold of Zion, that is, the City of David. 6 And David said, Whoever
smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander. Joab son of Zeruiah
[David's half sister] went up first, and so he was made chief. 7 David dwelt in
the stronghold; so it was called the City of David. 8 He built the city from
the Millo [a fortification] on around; and Joab repaired and revived the rest
of the [old Jebusite] city. AMP
This is the site of the true temple, not the temple mount,
but is over the Gihon Springs, southwest of the present temple mount. After
David establishes the City, he brings the tabernacle into the city. Priests of
Zadok merge with the Levites to bring in the Ark of the Covenant. David
institutes Zadok priests in service within the tabernacle. Solomon also had
Zadok priests in the Temple. We have to remember that when David was on the run
from Saul he went to Engedi. Engedi is a desert oasis along the Dead Sea. This
is interesting because the prophets, the schools of prophets, the Zedek priests
and the people of Shem and Eber’s school lived in this region. It is possible
that along with Samuel’s school in Ramah, there were plenty of other prophets
and groups of people who lived in the desert region that David came to know. David
would not have merged idolatrous priests with the Levites, however we know that
the Levites were not very clean or pure. It was probably a benefit for the
Levites that the Zedek/Zadok priests brought a level of purity that they did
not have. In fact, as we will see later, the Lord says he took some of the sons
of Israel for priests and prophets, but they became defiled. Yet there were
other regions in Israel that were significant for the prophetic. Nazareth is
one place and Mt Carmel is another. Mt Carmel became a very holy place to the
Israelites, probably due to Elijah’s time there.
1 Kings 17:2-4 And the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
3 Go from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of
the Jordan. 4 You shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to
feed you there. AMP
Elijah went east of the Jordon for a while and was fed by
ravens. The Aramaic says ravens is a
mistranslation and should be “Arabians”. That is possible, as Elijah was on a
trade route. Elijah then had the miracle challenge with the prophets of Baal.
1 Kings 18:38-40 Then the fire of the Lord fell and
consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also
licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they
fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God! 40
And Elijah said, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one escape. They seized
them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and [as God's law
required] slew them there. [Deut 13:5; 18:20.] AMP
Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, and just like Samson
killed the Philistines; prophets don’t seem to have a rule about not killing
enemies. Elijah goes from Carmel by the Sea to Beersheba, eighty miles south to
escape Jezebel. Then onto Mt Horeb (Mt Sinai). This is why the angels fed him,
as the journey was too long to travel without food. This was not ordinary food,
but “superfood” that gave him strength as if it were for forty days and nights.
1 Kings 19:15-18 And the Lord said to him, Go, return on
your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to
be king over Syria. 16 And anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel,
and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to be prophet in your place.
17 And him who escapes from the sword of Hazael Jehu shall slay, and him who
escapes the sword of Jehu Elisha shall slay. 18 Yet I will leave Myself 7,000
in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has
not kissed him. AMP
Look at this, he just got to the Sinai Peninsula, to the
mountain of God, now he has to head back north all the way to Syria. Elijah
probably stayed east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, through his home town of
Tishbe, and continued north to Damascus. Elisha is to be anointed as a prophet
who will slay people if needed and there are seven thousand prophets that the
Lord hid. Meanwhile, another prophet had to disguise himself to prophesy
something to Ahab.
1 Kings 20:35-38 And a certain man of the sons of the
prophets said to his neighbor, At the command of the Lord, strike me, I pray
you. And the man refused to strike him. 36 Then said he to him, Because you
have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have left me a
lion will slay you. And as soon as he departed from him, a lion found him and
killed him. 37 Then [the prophet] found another man and said, Strike me, I pray
you. And the man struck him, so that in striking, he wounded him. 38 So the
prophet departed and waited for King Ahab by the way, and disguised himself
with ashes upon his face. AMP
When we read “sons of the prophets” it means the “prophets
in prophet school”; not a day care for children of the prophets. Elijah is
almost ready to be taken up in the whirlwind and Elisha is with him. First they
go to Bethel, then on to Jericho. Both places had people who were in prophet
schools prophesying to Elisha about Elijah. Both men then went down to the
Jordan River along with fifty men from the prophet schools.
2 Kings 2:1-7 WHEN THE Lord was about to take Elijah up to
heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were going from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah
said to Elisha, Tarry here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel. But
Elisha replied, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.
So they went down to Bethel. 3 The prophets' sons who were at Bethel came to
Elisha and said, Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you
today? He said, Yes, I know it; hold your peace. 4 Elijah said to him, Elisha,
tarry here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. But he said, As
the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they came to
Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and
said, Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today? And
he answered, Yes, I know it; hold your peace. 6 Elijah said to him, Tarry here,
I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan. But he said, As the Lord
lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And the two of them went
on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood [to watch] afar
off; and the two of them stood by the Jordan. AMP
Elisha saw Elijah go up and received a double portion of
Elijah’s miracle working power.
2 Kings 2:12-17 And Elisha saw it and he cried, My father,
my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no more. And
he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 He took up also
the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of
the Jordan. 14 And he took the mantle that fell from Elijah and struck the
waters and said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And when he had struck
the waters, they parted this way and that, and Elisha went over. 15 When the
sons of the prophets who were [watching] at Jericho saw him, they said, The
spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed
themselves to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, Behold now, there
are among your servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek
your master. It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast
him on some mountain or into some valley. And he said, You shall not send. 17
But when they urged him till he was embarrassed, he said, Send. So they sent
fifty men, who sought for three days but did not find him. AMP
The fifty prophets went to look for Elijah for three days,
meanwhile the whole region probably heard about Elijah going up in a chariot. Elisha
cursed a few young mockers of Elijah.
2 Kings 2:23-25 He went up from Jericho to Bethel. On the
way, young [maturing and accountable] boys came out of the city and mocked him
and said to him, Go up [in a whirlwind], you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead! 24
And he turned around and looked at them and called a curse down on them in the
name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and ripped up
forty-two of the boys. 25 Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from
there he returned to Samaria. AMP
One of the widowed wives of the prophets came to Elisha and
he helped her with the increase of her supply of oil. This helps us to
understand that the prophets at the prophet school were not necessarily
celibate. They had spouses and children, and apparently debts.
2 Kings 4:1 NOW THE wife of a son of the prophets cried to
Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared
the Lord. But the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his slaves. AMP
Elisha hung around the prophet schools quite a bit.
2 Kings 4:38-41 Elisha came back to Gilgal during a famine
in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to
his servant, Set on the big pot and cook pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39
Then one went into the field to gather herbs and gathered from a wild vine his
lap full of wild gourds, and returned and cut them up into the pot of pottage, for
they were unknown to them. 40 So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as
they ate of the pottage, they cried out, O man of God, there is death in the
pot! And they could not eat it. 41 But he said, Bring meal [as a symbol of
God's healing power]. And he cast it into the pot and said, Pour it out for the
people that they may eat. Then there was no harm in the pot. AMP
After Elisha instructed Naaman to dip seven times in the
Jordan, Naaman was healed. Elisha didn’t want any recompense, but Elisha’s
servant Gehazi tried to scam Naaman for his own profit.
2 Kings 5:21-27 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When
Naaman saw one running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him
and said, Is all well? 22 And he said, All is well. My master has sent me to
say, There have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men
of the sons of the prophets. I pray you, give them a talent of silver and two
changes of garments. 23 And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he
urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of
garments and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bore them before
Gehazi. 24 When he came to the hill, he took them from their hands and put them
in the house; and he sent the men away, and they left. 25 He went in and stood
before his master. Elisha said, Where have you been, Gehazi? He said, Your
servant went nowhere. 26 Elisha said to him, Did not my spirit go with you when
the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money,
garments, olive orchards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, menservants, and
maidservants?27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your
offspring forever. And Gehazi went from his presence a leper as white as snow. AMP
Gehazi used the excuse of the prophet school to get money
from Naaman. Elisha said his spirit went with Gehazi. Elisha was a seer in real
time. Gehazi’s purity was now corrupted. Gehazi and his family were forever
cursed. Elisha and the prophets built another place to live near the Jordan.
The Jordan river feeds into the Dead Sea.
2 Kings 6:1-4 THE SONS of the prophets said to Elisha, Look
now, the place where we live before you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the
Jordan, and each man get there a [house] beam; and let us make us a place there
where we may dwell. And he answered, Go. 3 One said, Be pleased to go with your
servants. He answered, I will go. 4 So he went with them. And when they came to
the Jordan, they cut down trees. AMP
Elisha did many miracles and his stories are truly amazing.
Unfortunately, Israel did not stay pure and as we know there were terrible
things happening in the temple at Jerusalem including male and female
prostitution, the worship of stars and cherubim, and passing children through
the fire. If we notice, since David took over the threshing floor and Solomon
built the temple, the prophet school and the prophets did not reside in
Jerusalem. None of them performed services in the temple, they lived outside of
Jerusalem, the old city of Jebus, in and around the Dead Sea and north in
Carmel. At the time of Josiah, Josiah
was inspired to clean up the temple so he sent the priest Hilkiah to a
prophetess to hear from the Lord.
2 Kings 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and
Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of
Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she
dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. KJV
We have to wonder why the high priest and his fellow priests
didn’t hear from the Lord. It is interesting that the prophets, men and women,
were the ones that guided the nations, but the Levites and priests in the
temple had gone very far off course. The word college here is “Mishnah” in Hebrew, in Greek it is “Masena”. This
is an area of the lower city enclosed by a second wall, Acra/Akra, at the foot
of Mt Zion. It was a “second quarter”, but was also known as a place of
learning and studying of the Torah. Another usage of Mishnah occurs a little
further along in this story. Clearly, we see here that there was a high priest,
Hilkiah, who didn’t hear from the Lord, and he had to enquire with a women
whose husband kept the robes. This is communal living. The schools and colleges
of the prophets were communal societies, having everything in common and
Huldah’s husband was the laundry service. Huldah is the important one in this
story, although the writer mentions her husband, she is the one that hears from
the Lord. This place, the second order, the second quarter, the college of the
Mishnah, is a place where the High Priest and his fellow priests went and spoke
to Huldah. She was a prophetess and she was living among priests of the
“Mishnah”.
2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high
priest, and the priests of the second order, [Mishnah] and the keepers
of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that
were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he
burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of
them unto Bethel. KJV
This seems strange as there is a high priest and a priesthood
in Jerusalem where the temple is and Josiah wants to clean up the town, but the
high priest and his priesthood have to talk to a prophetess and priests of the
Mishnah. This clearly tells us of two orders of priesthoods. And here, the
priests from the Mishnah help clean up the temple. Just as David merged the
Zadok priests into tabernacle service, there is obviously a group that stayed
“separate”. We saw that Jacob noted Joseph as a Nazarite, or separate. Then we
saw how prophets and prophet schools did not occupy the temple, but instead the
areas surrounding the Dead Sea and Carmel. Now we see that at this time of
terrible defilement in the temple there are prophets and priests that continue
to hear from God; they were on the outskirts of town. Undoubtedly, even though
the temple was not in use there were still Levitical priests, and there were
some Zadok/Zedek priests in the outer parts of the city.
Yahweh is recounting the sins of Judah, mentioning the
abominations in the temple and reminds them that He brought them out of Egypt.
He says he even took some of the children for prophets and Nazarites.
Amos 2:11-12 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets
and some of your young men for dedicated ones [Nazirites]. Is this not true, O
you children of Israel? says the Lord. [Num 6:1-8.] 12 But you gave the
dedicated ones [the Nazirites] wine to drink and commanded the prophets,
saying, Prophesy not. AMP
It seems interesting that there was already a prophetic
order and a Nazarite order in Jerusalem/Jebus, and Yahweh says he raised up
some of the children of the Exodus into prophets and Nazarites. But the people
enticed them with wine and told them not to prophesy. We have previously
studied how the Israelites came to the place where they didn’t want to hear any
bad prophecies, even if they were true; and false prophets were able to rise up
and lead everyone astray. But some moved away from the cities and lived away
from the temple. As we have studied, there were very few Passovers actually
observed. The people who stayed pure to the ways of Adoni-Zedek were the ones
who maintained a pure adherence to Theos/Elohim. Shem instituted a school that
lasted through the first century. The school grew and moved to various
locations, as far north as Damascus and as far south as Egypt, including Carmel
and the areas around the Dead Sea. There may have been some as far east as
India. Ezekiel prophesied of the future of the Zadok priests.
Ezek 48:10-12 And for these, even for the priests, shall be
this holy offering of land: toward the north 25,000 [measures] in length, and
toward the west 10,000 in breadth, and toward the east 10,000 in breadth, and
toward the south 25,000 in length, and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in
the midst of it. 11 The set-apart and sacred portion shall be for the
consecrated priests of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge and who did
not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the other Levites
did. 12 And this land offering shall be for the priests as a thing most holy
beside the border of the [other] Levites. AMP
The Zadok priests will receive the set-apart and sacred
portion of the sanctuary. The Zedek priests are the priests of the future
temple. While the priesthood of the Levites is acceptable, it is not pure nor
exclusive to the temple. We know in the future that there will be a temple for
perpetual sacrifices before the son of perdition is exposed, this has to be
done by Levites as the Zedek priests will not be on earth at that time. Samuel’s
group was the “Called Out Prophets”, the ekklesia.
This understanding has tremendous implications for the
Christian Church and the Body of Christ. The Christians have been told that
their faith started at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, when Jesus died,
resurrected, and ascended. We are told the birth of the church was on the day
of Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit infilled disciples to now reside within
the believer. What we more clearly see is the roots of the beliefs of Enoch,
Shem, Eber, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha and
the like, were rooted in the knowledge of Enoch and Shem’s way of living in
purity. From that incomplete list, Enoch and Elijah were pure enough to be
taken before their physical death and will return to witness during the first
half of the tribulation before they are physically killed. The Zedek priests
and prophets are very powerful miracle workers. Furthermore, we know that the
Levites did not have the power the Zedek’s did. The Holy Spirit resided on a
large number of men and women who were separated in the order of Melchi-zedek. The
power of the Zedek’s is not lost, it is available today. The Zedek’s did not
worship in the temple exclusively, they mostly worshipped in homes and lived
communally, traveling and building wherever they were. They were not bound to
the laws and ritual services that the Levites and Israelites were. We also know
that the called out, the ekklesia, are called up and are found singing about
being redeemed before the first seal is opened. The separate ones are the
redeemed, but not all redeemed are priests in the order of Zedek. To have the
power of the Zedek priests one has to be schooled, pure, and have the Holy
Spirit’s indwelling. How does one become pure is a question we will explore
next week. If we remember from last week, God wants to walk with humans, it is
up to us to decide if we want to. We will examine this further and determine
the roots of our faith.
