BE STILL
“4) Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah. 8) I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:4; 8
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10
The phrase “Be still, and know that I am God” refers to:
1) God speaking to the enemies of His people – “Cease and desist! You had better know Who I Am! I cannot be conquered or defeated, but I can conquer and defeat and annihilate you! So I’m giving you a chance to turn around, walk out, and leave My Covenant people alone….don’t try to “push” the envelope!”
2) God speaking to His people – “Stop violating Divine justice; Cease from murmuring against My Wisdom and Foresight; Cease from your “work” that I didn’t call or instruct you to do. Stop and deeply reflect on My severity and My goodness. Cease from sin and rebellion against Me, Almighty God; let it disgrace you no more, that you may no more be brought into pain, suffering, and desolation. Understand that I Am the Fountain of Power, Wisdom, Justice, Goodness, and Truth.”
The purpose of being still is: to remove lawlessness from our heart, and to cause us to walk in a greater measure of His Love.
THERE’S NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5) you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I,
the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those
who hate Me, 6) but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:3-6
Throughout the Old Testament God was always confronting Israel about going after “strange” gods and serving them. The children of Israel historically had a problem trusting in other gods, particularly Baal and Ashstareth (the dominant demons of the time), instead of the true and living God. Demons and Devils have not disappeared with the passage of time, they only take on new shapes, forms, and tactics to implement the same agendas….to kill, steal, and destroy.
The history of this Baal / Ashtoreth worship stems from Ham’s oldest son, Cush.
“The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put,[c] and Canaan. 7) The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah;
and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8) Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9) He was a mighty
hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10) And the beginning of his kingdom
was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” Genesis 10:6-10
The ancients knew him as Bel, the confounder. He was known as the god of confusion because he founded Babylon. Bel was also spelled Baal.
Cush’s son Nimrod was the first to be a mighty man, one who started war on the earth. It is stated that he ensnared men with his words and incited them to rebel against God. His first conquest was the ancient city of Babel.
History says that Nimrod married his mother, Semiramis, and they became known in Egypt as Isis and Osiris. The pagans worshipped both the mother and the son as gods – which introduced the worship of Baal (god of war) and his female counterpart, Ashtoreth (goddess of love). This Baal / Ashtoreth worship is the religion of self-worship.
This why we must allow the Spirit of God to develop and reproduce the heart of Christ Jesus in us – to know that we belong to Him, and to serve only Him and His purposes.
When we don’t surrender our will to the Lord Jesus Christ, we begin to practice Baal worship, whether we know it or not. Ashtoreth worship is described as: lewd, indulgent, reckless behavior, acted out in sodomy, sex orgies, and perversions. Any deviation from God’s original will and intent for us is considered a perversion!
This is the further establishment of self-will. When we don’t seek after the will and purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ, we seek our own will, calling it His will in the face of the unsuspecting and those ignorant of this perversion.
Whenever the temples for Baal and Ashtoreth were built, they were built together. They were worshipped among the “groves,” which were cultivated in their temple. An Asherah was a sacred pole (an image of the goddess) that was placed in the grove next to the altar of Baal.
Their purpose was:
- To denounce Jesus Christ (the Root of Jesse)
- To interfere with the flow of The Holy Spirit
God was always confronting Israel, His chosen people, about going after these “strange” gods and serving them, even bringing the unclean into His Temple.
TODAY: We are God’s temple (See I Corinthians 6:19-20 and 3:12-17).
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not
your own? 20) For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12) Now if anyone builds on this foundation
with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13) each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it
will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14) If anyone’s work which he has built on it
endures, he will receive a reward. 15) If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through
fire. 16) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17) If anyone defiles the temple
of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
The same spirit that lured Israel into “trusting” in other gods is still at work today. This spirit is like a chameleon – it changes to fit whatever you desire the most that’s contrary to the will of Almighty God.
In Joshua 5:9 the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” The reproach is the influence of the god of this world and its systems that causes us to rebel against the will of God and to do our own pleasure our own way. Christ Jesus, through the shedding of His own Blood, has removed the bondage and reproach of Sin and the devil from our lives. To walk in this newness of life requires us to surrender our lives and our will to Him.
Our obedience must be absolute! We cannot give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27) – No real estate or territory in our life. We have not been trained in “Absolute” obedience, only in “Democratic Procedures,” where we pick and choose what we deem to be suitable for God. Which is no more than “Dressed-Up” rebellion!
So, when the Lord says, “Be Still”, He wants to:
- Do maintenance on our trust in Him.
- Show us the door(s) we have opened to Baal.
- Bring His Divine Order to our temple – the totality of our life. (Ezekiel 44:6-9) [God always gave exact measurements for His Temple]
- Restore intimate fellowship with the Lord. [This releases and imparts to us – life, healing, forgiveness, and cleansing]
- Remove what hinders the flow of the Holy Spirit, so that we can make a difference (See Ezekiel 47)
Spend quality intimate time daily with the Lord Jesus, so that you can learn to “Be Still” in His Presence…..you will fall in love with Him all over again!
Grace and Peace.
Apostle C.S. Banks D.D.
