God created the World in six days and rested on the seventh.
Why do you suppose that he created it in six days and not in, say, five days? Could God not have gotten the work done in five? Why not in eight days and he could have rested on the ninth day. All of this was done the way God did it, not because of what He could or could not do (for there is nothing in the building of a world that would be beyond his capacity). In Gods own wisdom he decided that it would be accomplished in six days.
One thing to be noticed I believe is that, Six is the number of Man. Also, if you think about it; Man has been working ever since he left the Garden of Eden. I believe the six days of work which God did, is a look forward to man working continually; trying to attain unto Righteousness. As long as man WORKS to attain Righteousness; he is continually living in the realm of man. Thus, he will not be able to attain Righteousness. For Righteousness is of God, and we can only obtain Righteousness through him (Psalms 4:1 explains that my Righteousness is of God). Rom. 9:30-32 & 10:3-4 explains pretty clearly that our Righteousness is of God through Jesus Christ.
TO ENTER IN
Hebrews 4:10-11 says, For he who is entered into His Rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour therefore to enter into that Rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
(Hebrews 3:9-12) If the Children of Israel had believed God and entered into Canaan’s Land after being delivered out of Egypt, they would have entered into Gods rest. Instead, they tempted God and wandered the wilderness for forty years till they were all dead, who believed an evil report, and who provoked God; not their children, or Joshua and Caleb). Verse 12 says, “Take heed, Brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the Living God.”
If the enemies of the Land of Canaan had been small men instead of large, would the Children of Israel then have decided to take the Land? They may well have; but very likely, without Gods blessing, because they obviously would have been thinking they could do it in their own strength. They needed to cease from their own works and be obedient unto God; and then they would have taken the Land and entered into Gods rest.
BELIEVING?
The Children of Israel who were involved in the Provocation, were not believing God, but they were believing something. What? What were they believing? An evil report. They believed the evil report. Did this mean they did not want to process the Land of Canaan? Not really. They just didn’t want to take possession of it in the prescribed way which God had given to them. In other words, they didn’t want to fight giants.
God had just delivered them from Egypt and divided the Red Sea so they could pass through on dry land, bringing them to freedom on the other side. Perhaps, these same Children of Israel were thinking, why cannot God just make these people go away (certainly God had the ability to have done just that).
I believe God wanted them to have faith in him, to do what he said he would do: for My Angel shall go before you, and bring you in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off (Exodus 23:23).
TODAY
People are still trying to serve God the same way today! In other words, people today also want to add to what God says, or change what he says. Or, just as bad, people want to say what God will do, and then simply assume he will do it their way; because they say, “I am having faith in God that he will do what I asked.”
The truth is they are having presumption that God will do whatever they say. Unfortunately, people who believe in trying to manipulate God in this way, will have a future similar to that of the Children of Israel who refused to take Canaans Land; in Gods way.
2 Peter 1:4 says we are given exceeding great and precious promises that we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
I have heard people get all excited about the first part of this verse, believing that these promises give them license to believe God for almost anything. However, the second part of this verse should make it clear to anyone who sincerely desires to be of service to Our Lord, that these exceeding great and precious promises are not given us in order that we may fulfill our own desires and lusts (rather, these promises are given that we may partake of the divine nature [walk as Jesus walked]). James 4:2-3, says, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
I do not see anywhere in the Epistles, where Paul, Peter, John, James or Jude ever asked or directed anyone else to ask for anything which would fulfill someone’s lusts. Neither do I see anywhere in the Gospels where Jesus instructed or insinuated in any way that we were to trust God for anything in order to fulfill any kind of lust (other than the true Believers lust of desiring to serve the Lord). Actually, I do not believe you will find any where in the entirety of the Bible any instructions from God, to trust him in fulfilling our own selfish lusts.
We should realize one more important thing. Faith is of God. We would not even have Faith if it were not for God. Hence, the folks asking for things in order that they fulfill their own lust, will simply not have Faith to receive those things. Regardless of what they may say or what they may think; God will not give them Faith to satisfy their own lust (By Grace are ye saved through FAITH, and that not of yourselves, it is the GIFT OF GOD.
Also, Gal. 5:6 tells us that Faith works by Love. If one takes a look at 1 Cor. 13:4-5 (Love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil), it is impossible for someone walking in Love to at the same time be trying to fulfill their own selfish lust. And without Love, Faith does not work.
1 TIMOTHY 6:7-10
FOR WE BROIUGHT NOTHING INTO THIS WORLD, AND IT IS CERTAIN WE CAN CARRY NOTHING OUT. AND HAVING FOOD AND RAIMENT LET US BE THEREWITH CONTENT. BUT THEY WHO WILL BE RICH FALL INTO TEMPTATION AND A SNARE, AND INTO MANY FOOLISH AND HURTFUL LUSTS, WHICH DROWN MEN IN DESTRUCTION AND PERDITION.
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