26 November 2021 – 12 Springs and 70 palm trees

In the Old testament the Israelites crossed the red sea, they wandered 3 days in the desert without water until they came to the oasis at Marah, but the water was bitter. Moses asks God for help and God told him to throw the wood in the water and it will make it sweet and they may drink. They leave Marah to find 12 springs and 70 palms. Exodus 15:27 After leaving Marah, the Israelites travelled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.

In the past 2 months the event at Marah keeps on coming up in different messages. What do we know about Marah? Yeshua is the wood, the cross that was thrown into our bitterness. When we accept Yeshua (salvation), we are baptised in the living water (sweet) and we are a new creation. We are healed from our bitterness (sin, sickness, disease, anger, doubt, fear, envy, jealousy, competitiveness, pride…). It is interesting Exodus 15: 22- Israelites had been wandering in the desert for three days without water which is similar to the crucifixion and resurrection of Yeshua. The old testament- With Moses is the law, the old covenant for the Jews. The new testament is the transformation, Yeshua is the salvation, it is the new covenant for the Gentiles, for all.

What is the significance of the 12 springs and 70 palm trees?

12 springs - (In John 4:14 Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “Whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of living water.” Springs are symbolic with inheritance and eternal life through Yeshua)

· Old covenant/testament the 12 tribes of Israel

· New covenant/testament the 12 disciples from the Jews

Luke 9:1-2 Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples - One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

All are from the Jewish nation. Yeshua is the living water and bread of life from the lineage of David - Jewish nation.

70 palm trees (Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem with the waving of palm branches is found in John 12: 12-15. Palm leaves are symbolic of victory, triumph, peace – Revelation 7:9)

· Old covenant/testament the 70 elders of Israel

Numbers 11:16-17 Moses Chooses Seventy Leaders

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. 17 I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.

· New covenant/testament the 70 elders chosen from all

Luke 10 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest (KJV).

In the Old testament the Lord asked Moses to choose 70 elders to help Moses lead the Israelites and in the New testament God (Yeshua) appoints 70 (some bible versions say 72, King James version says 70) elders for evangelism.

What was the work of the 70?

It is important to note that God send them in pairs of 2.

Luke 10 Yeshua’s instructions to the elders:

· Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. He asked them to be cautious.

· Carry neither purse, nor scrip (traveller’s bag), nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. – No provision required, nothing of the flesh required to do the work of God. He warned them not to stop to greet anyone on the road. Why? Yeshua sent them on a mission. God did not want his elders to be delayed or side-tracked to complete these missions. Sometimes in life we are sidetracked and distracted by the enemy. It loses its timing, deliverance and perfect will. The enemy sees the Lord’s favour on you and will come to kill, steal and destroy. The devil will throw friends/people without good intentions, obstacles to derail the process. These are the common tactics of Satan to delay or stall the mission. Do not waste time when God places a mission in your heart. What God has told you to do does not need to be shared with those if the message is not for them. Be careful who you talk to! Do not deviate!

The prophet Elisha and his servant Gehazi. 2 Kings 4:29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child’s face.

At the Lord’s command a man of God from Judah went to Bethel to deliver God’s message. 1 Kings 13 -The Lord told him ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’ However, an old prophet living in Bethel lied to the man of God that an angel had told him to come home with him to have something to eat and drink. The man of God trusted the old prophet and went to his home. On his way back a lion killed the man of God.

· And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. – Shalom is packed with the full blessing of God.

· And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. – The blessing will stand if they accept the Lord, if not they will reject the word and the blessings will return to you.

· And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. – Be content with the generosity offered.

· And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: -do not offend those who welcome you, do not be fussy over what is offered to you as a meal.

· And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. - God has given you the authority to heal the sick, to cast out demons in His name. We are also to inform the people that God is here!

· But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, 11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Those who reject the good news, publicly wipe the dust of that town from their feet, proclaim the kingdom one more time, and warn them of coming judgment

We are to spread the good news. So, let us take heed of God’s instructions to his disciples and the elders.