An important principle

There is an absolute principle that was established in the early days of God’s dealings with Abraham’s descendants that will govern all His future dealings with those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Genesis 31: 43-55, “And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.  And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.”

The context of this passage can be found as we examine Jacob’s life. Jacob was born the younger of twins with Esau, his older brother, having access to both his father’s blessing and the birthright. Jacob desired these more than anything else. He managed to obtain both of these by schemes and tricks. However, he was forced to flee to his mother’s home in Haran to escape Esau’s anger. While Jacob was in Haran, his father in law, Laban, cheated him many times. Jacob cheated his brother but Laban cheated him far more. This reminds us of a quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear, “I am a man more sinned against than sinning.”

Jacob had to sneak away from Haran with his family because Laban began a whispering campaign against him and he was afraid for his life. When Laban discovered that Jacob had gone away he chased after Jacob intending to do him harm but the Lord told Laban not to say anything bad or good to Jacob. After the vision from the Lord, Laban made the treaty with Jacob. They established a boundary and, after that, each party would not cross over to the other side.

There is some debate as to the actual site of this treaty but most people place it in Gilead, that is, in the modern day Golan Heights.

We know from earlier in the chapter that Laban was a Syrian (or Aramean) We also know that Jacob was known as a Syrian when we read Deut 26: 5 (“And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:”).

After this the Lord met Jacob in a dream and changed his name from Jacob to Israel. This is the first time that we find the descendants of Abraham, and the Lord’s promised blessing, using the name Israel. After this they were no longer Syrians but Israelis. As history progressed there was warfare between the Syrians and the Israelis but only because one side, or the other, crossed the boundary that the Lord had set.

When the Lord established the new nation, as distinct from the promise to form the new nation, He set new nation apart for His service. One of the major problems faced by Israel was their desire to be like the nations around about them. (See for example, 1 Sam 8: 5, “Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.”)

They were meant to remain separate but they wanted to be the same as everyone else (see Lev 20:24, “But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.”)

The principle of separation is strong and consistent throughout the Lord’s dealings with mankind over the ages.

The Lord Himself dwells in place, variously know as, “the hill of the Lord” (see Psalm 24: 3 and compare Psalm 15: 1, “the holy hill”), “the third heaven” (2 Cor 12: 2) and “paradise” (Luke 23: 43 and 2 Cor 12: 4). One of the most important things about this place is that it is separate from sin in every way. (See Hab 1:13, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?”) If the Lord resides in the third heaven then it must be completely pure of all sin. The second heaven, or the spiritual realm, is accessible to Satan, the evil one, although, one day, he will be cast out of the second heaven and forced to live on the earth (Rev 12:7–9, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”)

We also know that the earth is going to be destroyed by fire (2 Pet 3:7, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”) If man was made out of the dust of the earth, and he was (Gen 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”) Then mankind’s destiny is to be destroyed by fire along with the whole of creation, which he has polluted and damaged.

On the other hand, the Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven to earth (John 6:38, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”) When He was here on this earth, He told His disciples, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3) The Lord Jesus Christ has already made it possible for people who belong to the earth, and whose destiny should be same as the earth, to escape their natural destiny and go to the place that will not be destroyed by the fire.

There is still one issue that could easily come up. When the Lord God placed Adam and Eve on this earth, they were naked and not ashamed (Gen 2: 25). This was because they were entirely without sin until the day that they took the fruit from the tree. After that they were ashamed. The first fruit of sin is having a sense of shame.

The question that we have to face is, “What guarantees are there that when this earth is destroyed by fire and sinners, who have been saved by grace, go to the new heaven and the new earth that the Lord will create we will not exercise our choice and pollute this new world with sin?

The first and most significant part of the solution is found in Eph 2:8–10 , (“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”) Every person, man, woman and child, who gets into the new heaven and the new earth gets there on exactly the same ground; that of grace by faith. No one will have any ground for boasting because the Lord Jesus Christ completed the entire work Himself (Heb 10:12, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”) If any person had any ground for boasting about the works they produced to enter heaven they would be tainted by any sin that may be associated with their lives.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ said, “It is finished:” (John 19:30) there is nothing left for any person to do.

When John went to heaven, in his vision, he saw the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in a different context to the elder who spoke to him, “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.” (Rev 5:6) Everyone who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, as Saviour will always see the Lord of heaven in that context.

However, the Lord Jesus Christ will apply that same principle that He applied when Jacob escaped from Laban. He will establish a barrier through which sin can never pass between the old heavens and earth and the new heaven and earth. This barrier has not be established yet because the new heaven and the new earth have not yet been created.

This task is vitally important so that the new heaven and the new earth will retain their pristine, sinless state for eternity. The new heaven and earth will never groan and travail as the current creation does because of man’s sin.