Ordered Steps

Before Jesus was baptized onto the scene, John the Baptist was preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Jesus took up this same mantle in Matthew 4:17 as he began speaking to the masses and then extended it to His disciples’ charge in Matthew 10:7, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’.” But what did this all mean? Was the Messiah ready to demonstrate his physical authority, or was there some other, more profound meaning of the kingdom of heaven? To answer this question, we need to look at His entire public ministry, particularly his response to the Jewish accusations against Him when brought to Pilate.

The Pharisees ask Jesus about the kingdom of God in Luke 17:20-21, and His response is enlightening. He tells them that the kingdom cannot be recognized by physical signs that are observable, but that the kingdom is “in your midst.” The Greek word entos literally means inside, and the kingdom of God is a reality that exists inside each one who recognizes the king (Jesus) and is, therefore, of the truth. The Pharisees were never able to grasp this principle. Therefore, Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice" (John 18:37). Walking with the King in His kingdom is walking in full agreement with His authority and His care. Amos 3:3 says, Can two walk together unless they are agreed?

Welfare & not Calamity

“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans [mahsabah – intentions] that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope [tiqwah – expectation].’”         Jeremiah 29:10-11

Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the Jews exiled in Babylon, not to lose heart, since God had already promised that they would be able to come home after seventy years. The Lord had good intentions for them, plans for welfare and not for calamity. Those plans would give them hope for their future. They give all believers confidence that God never gives up on His people.

Integrity

Vindicate [sapat – judge] me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence, and I will go about Your altar, O Lord, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders.                          Psalm 26:1-7

Walking in the kingdom is all about trusting in God's plans for each believer to find the fullness of life that God has ordained. In Psalm 26, David petitioned the Lord to test his heart to make sure he was trusting in the Lord without wavering, that he would continue to walk in his integrity. David understood that the company that he kept could negatively affect his relationship with God, so he determined not to allow these influences in his life. The psalmist then declares that he may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving. David concludes the psalm by saying, But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me. My foot stands on a level place [miysor – signifies a righteous lifestyle]; in the congregations I shall bless the Lord (Psalm 26:11-12). David understood that he needed the Lord’s oversight in his life to keep him on the level place.

Enlarge My Steps

The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.                  Proverbs 16:9

You enlarge my steps [saad – strides] under me, and my feet have not slipped.       Psalm 18:36

For now, You number my steps [strides], You do not observe my sin.                Job 14:16

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.             Romans 8:14

A man’s way is the accumulation of footsteps, strides, pace, and a series of events that define his life in this fallen world. The believer in Christ has determined that Jesus is God and has been fully reconciled at the cross. This follower of Christ decides that his identity is as a Christian and begins the journey of integrating his faith into his lifestyle. The Scriptures and his understanding of the truth give him his direction, but the daily decisions he must make provide real challenges. The number of steps, the length of the stride, and the pace at which he makes those footsteps are all elements of the way he follows the Lord. The Holy Spirit wants to lead the believer into his sonship.

Consider taking a road trip to another part of the country. You plan the trip using maps and determine what things you will need to complete the entire trip, including funds, reservations, etc., to make it something enjoyable. What you can't plan for are the daily events that occur and require ongoing decisions to manage, including weather challenges and health concerns. The plans you make at the beginning cover the overall plan and direction, but the daily events of the trip itself cannot be completely anticipated. The believer's salvation provides the plan, while his daily walk, his footsteps, need the Lord's intervention to make the trip complete. He promises in His Word to number the believer’s steps by making them count, and by enlarging those steps, to walk without hindrances or obstructions.

Apple of His Eye

            Establish my footsteps in Your word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.    

                Psalm 119:133

Hear, my son, and accept my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps [saad – strides] will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble. Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.                 Proverbs 4:10-13

My steps [ossur – walk] have held fast to Your paths. My feet [paam – soles of the feet] have not slipped. I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand from those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple [pupil] of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.                           Psalm 17:5-8

I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps [strides].                       Jeremiah 10:23

Psalm 119 has 176 verses, and they all focus on the role and importance of the Word of God in the believer's life. In verse 33, the psalmist promotes the role that the truth of God’s Word has in establishing the believer’s steps so that iniquity has no dominion in his life. In Proverbs 4, the wisdom of the Word of God (as administered by the Holy Spirit) provides clear direction and many years of life. Accepting God's instructions as a guide and a lifeline keeps the believer's steps in line with the Lord's will. David understood that His Savior could keep him as the apple of His eye and in the shadow of His wings, both referring to the Lord’s personal care and protection. A man’s way is not in himself. 

Godly Ones Preserved Forever

The steps [misad – footsteps] of a man [geber – spiritually strong] are established [kun – made firm] by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends, and his descendants are a blessing. Depart from evil and do good so you will abide forever. For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake [azab – abandon] His godly ones; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law [torah - instructions] of his God is in his heart; His steps [ossur – walk] do not slip [maad – slide].                            Psalm 37:23-31

In contrast to the retribution for the wicked, David delineates the Lord's blessings for the righteous. Yahweh establishes, makes firm, and protects the ways of the righteous; He provides food for them, and He loves and protects the just, giving them security in the land. The righteous person speaks wisdom because the law of his God is in his heart; therefore, he will not slip or slide. Even when he falls (and he will fall), the Lord holds his hand. Since He loves justice, the Lord never abandons His godly ones; they are preserved forever.

The Millennial Temple

Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its side pillars and its porches according to those same measurements. The gate and its porches had windows all around like those other windows; the length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. There were seven steps going up to it, and its porches were in front of them; and it had palm tree ornaments on its side pillars, one on each side. The inner court had a gate toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits. Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to those same measurements. Its guardrooms also, its side pillars and its porches were according to those same measurements. And the gate and its porches had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. There were porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. Its porches were toward the outer court; and palm tree ornaments were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.          Ezekiel 40:24-31

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in 593 BC and was kept in custody on the banks of the River Chebar, about 55 miles southeast of Babylon, where he spent his entire time in captivity. At the beginning of that time, God started giving him visions as a thirty-year-old, the minimum age required to be a priest. In 573 BC, the Lord gave Ezekiel, in chapters 40-48, a guided tour by an angel of the temple in the Millennial Kingdom with very specific measurements of the temple structure and its various sections.

In the above passage, the construction and measurements of the outer and inner courts of the south gate are disclosed. The stairway of the outer court had seven steps while the same stairway in the inner court had eight steps. The difference in the number of the steps was doubtless of symbolic significance, and pointed not only to the higher sanctity in general which attached to the inner court, but to the truth that, as one approached the dwelling-place of Yahweh, he was viewing the eternal God. The outer court has seven steps, speaking of the finished work of Christ, while the inner court has eight, referring to the eternal state.

The seven steps of the outer door added to the eight steps equal fifteen steps, which corresponds to the number of the pilgrim psalms, the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), which are supposed to have been sung, one upon each step, by the choir of Levites as they ascended first into the outer and then into the inner court. The Millennial Temple is the transitional period from the new covenant period, where the Messiah reigns, to the eternal state. In Revelation 22:3-4, there will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

The Mind of God

Since the church had grown its roots in the Gentile world, the Jewish concepts and mindset that were a central theme of the New Testament writers did not deal with Hellenistic concepts of John’s day, including the principle of Logos. It means word or reason in Greek, and the typical Greek saw life through the lens of the world as a place of order and reason. This order was created and managed by Logos, which was understood to be the mind of God. This same mind of God dwelling inside man allows him to think rationally. John took this mindset and addressed it by defining that mind as Jesus Christ (see John 1:1 and John 1:14), and by saying that this mind has become a man. Also, the Greek mind (as defined by Plato) conceived of two worlds: the material world in which we live and the immaterial and unseen world. It was the unseen world that was the real world, while the material realm was made up of shadows and copies and was not real. When viewing things from eternity, the believer sees reality, apart from shadows and copies. Jesus is the incarnation of not only the mind of God but also reality! The life of Jesus is a window into the mind of God, His priorities, and His realities. Consulting the mind of God as a child is the ordained pathway into His fullness.

Children of Light

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.                           Ephesians 5:6-11

We live in a world filled with many different voices and opposing influences. As a Christian, the believer needs to be aware of the spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12) that permeates the fallen environment in which he operates. Many of those voices and influences are empty words and are intended to distract the believer from hearing the voice of God and walking with Him. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, addresses believers in Christ as Light in the Lord. He is strongly encouraging them to walk as children of Light. He sees the world as two kingdoms, one represented by light and the other by darkness (Colossians 1:13), suggesting that the actions of man are motivated by one of those two kingdoms.  Jesus said in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

To walk as children of Light, one must be Light in the Lord. The believer in Christ reflects His light when he operates in the Lord, in an abiding relationship with Him. Just as the Holy Spirit alone produces “spirituals” (fruit), so only the Light of the Lord energizes those who walk as children of Light. It is the kingdom of darkness that produces unfruitful deeds of darkness. The truth of the Scriptures governs the framework and structure of the life of the child of Light. He needs the Holy Spirit to direct him in his daily details and find the will of God as he surrenders. Otherwise, he is subject to all kinds of empty words.