1 Samuel 13    Saul was instructed to wait for Samuel to offer the sacrifices. Saul grew impatient and thought Samuel wasn't coming since he wasn't there when he thought he'd be. So Saul offered the sacrifice himself when he wasn't a priest or prophet and wasn't allowed to do so. Samuel told Saul that his kingdom would not continue and that the Lord was now looking for a man after his own heart.  Saul not only broke a commandment but he didn't have faith in the Lord that they would be fine from the Philistines until Samuel came to offer the sacrifices. Saul should have prayed and had more faith in the Lord.

Joshua 10 The men of Gibeon who were now Israel's slaves for the sneaky thing they had done to not be killed by the Israelites were under attack. They cried out to Israel to save them. Israel came to their aid and the Lord gave the ones attacking Gibeon into the Israelites hands and those attacking were defeated. The Lord even listened to Joshua when he commanded that the sun stand still over Gibeon and it was so. This is an insight into being grafted in to God's nation. You may only be a slave when you get grafted in but be glad about it. God still cares for you. He allowed the Gibeonites to live. When Jesus came he came for the ones in need of a doctor not the ones who were healthy. Jesus will graft you in as long as you remain in him and he in you. Jesus opened the door to salvation for all people. So love God wholeheartedly and love others for the whole law lies on these two commandments. 

What can we get from this chapter of the bible symbolically?    Edom: Kingdom of Esau (carnal mind/flesh) Jacob: Tribe of Judah (spiritual mindset)   Well we can see throughout scripture that the Edomites were disregarding the spiritual things and had a carnal mind. They took things by force and lacked patience for cultivation and growth. They were prideful and they held grudges and were hateful.  God pronounced judgement on them for their pride and for them not letting Israel pass through safely. He said because they say who can bring me down that He would bring them down and have them despised.    Edom stood by when strangers took captivity of Jacob's army. Edom was a brother to Jacob who is in the Tribe of Judah. Yet Edom acted like the strangers which took Jacob's army into captivity. Do not gloat, rejoice, speak arrogantly, or stand at a crossroads to slaughter the escapees when the Tribe of Judah is attacked because the day of the Lord against all the nations is near. The way you treat others will come back on your own head. There will be no survivors of the house of Esau and the house of Jacob will become a fire to set the stubble ablaze and consume Edom. The kingship will be the Lord's. The ones who care about their spiritual health and have a relationship with the Lord will be safe but those who continue in the flesh will be wiped away. There is more to life than fleshly desires and carnal things.    Those who are in Zion and left over in Jerusalem will be called holy. The survivors whom the Lord calls. Zion can refer to the 'pure in heart'. Jerusalem means city of peace and holy. Jerusalem is also used as a symbol for the redeemed state of humanity and also signifies a place of deep religious connections, divine presence, and the pursuit of peace.    Get in Jesus while you can and remember to be loving towards everyone. Don't be fleshly carrying out the desires of the flesh. Have a spiritual appetite for the spiritual things. And remember don't gloat or rejoice in someone's downfall. Love your enemies it's commanded and judge not. Be encouraging with one another lifting each other back up. If you love Jesus you will observe his commands and he will love you back. Faith without works is dead. Come on!! It's time to wake up from our slumber and cultivate a relationship with Jesus. He's coming back and coming soon. Will you be fo und ready? 

Gabriel is Jesus. This is why and how. Gabriel was the first one ever created. He was the visible image of God. He was the messenger of God. The Word of God. What God told him he spoke. He was God's body. When he became flesh, he became Jesus. The first new creation. Jesus was Gabriel's new vessel. There is no longer a Gabriel in heaven, Gabriel is Jesus Christ. However the angels know he was Gabriel before he became Jesus. He said he was making all things new and he started with himself since he was always the first one.     

The Flood It looked like the devil was right. God finally regretted making humans because of all the wickedness upon the earth in Noah's days. He decided he was going to end the world. The devil seemed to be right, humans were bad. However someone caught his attention. Noah. The only one righteous on the earth in the face of all the wickedness. The only one left calling on God and teaching his family to do the same. God couldn't destroy him. So he would save him and his family and some animals and restart. Hopefully the faith of Noah and his family in God could be taught to the generations that would come after him and through him. God hurting for what creation had become flooded the earth. Saving Noah and his family in the Ark. God told Noah he would never destroy the world with a flood again. It was a tough decision for God but he did what was right. Enough was enough.