I dreamed I worked at some place. It was nighttime. There were canals and bridges where you walked around the grounds.
I knew there were tons of alligators around. At night, you could shine a light and their eyes would glow.
Barbie’s book has two meanings that stood out:
“an enemy who is moving below or behind the scenes to ruin a person’s life”
” an enemy to speak words of accusation, Leviathan”
Yesterday, I was thinking about “accuser of the brethren”.
Revelation 12:10
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
Accuser is the name given by rabbis to denote “Devil”. Strongs: “satan”.
I was also contemplating the woman caught in adultery. John 8:1-11
A Woman Caught in Adultery
8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
The first thing we see is that there is more than just a spirit of accusation against the woman here. The religious spirit, one of great pride, was working to accuse God.
Secondly, I believe this story speaks of how the devil accuses us through people. It doesn’t matter whether the person is right or wrong – not to excuse sin. What matters here is that the accuser of the brethren accuses us day and night before God. Like Joshua, the high priest, who also was dirty, stood accused before God. I would say that dirty denotes sin.
Thirdly, we see how Jesus sees it. In between His “writing in the dust”, he lays the groundwork for being able to accuse someone else: you have to be sinless. It points out every one of us’ posture when we start to look at others. Be careful.
Cleansing for the High Priest
3 Then the angel showed me Jeshua[a] the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan,[b] was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.”
3 Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. 4 So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”
5 Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by.
6 Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, 7 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.
8 “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets.[c] I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.
10 “And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.”
In both cases, the people were guilty. But, God looks past this, cleanses us and restores us. Somehow, this is what is going on with me right now. I believe the entire body of Christ is going through this right now.
And, what I believe the LORD showed me about the woman… When Jesus bent down to write in the ground, it wasnt about words as much as about what He was doing. He was writing in the “Dust” because God was reminding him of the curse that was placed upon him in the garden of Eden, when he made man fall.
God does not condemn us. He redeems us. Sin has been judged already. If we remain in our sin, we die. That is why we need Jesus. God’s heart is always to redeem. Like the woman, Jesus didn’t condemn her. Like Joshua, God rebukes the accuser. Once the accusers were gone, He simply pointed out the right way after telling her. “Stop doing that.”
Genesis 3
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike[b] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
God was reminding the devil, the accuser, that he was still “groveling in the dust” all the days of his life, while man was continually being redeemed and restored. Jesus wasnt writing words as much as He was pointing out where the devil’s place was – as low as one could go.
I am working out the things that are filthy rags for me personally. Anger and drinking are the two areas – and wanting to give up. This is where I need to repent and get a new turban. Turban denotes that place that covers the area we think. I need to think differently cause it leads to wrong behaviors.
It is a battle with the devil for sure.
Psalm 23
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
God anoints our head. He gives us a new way to think – a new turban. Right thinking leads to right behavior.