January 28, Exodus 19:1 - 24:18

Exodus 19:16-25

Amplified Bible (AMP)

^"16 The third morning there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people from the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸ Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, for the Lord descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like that of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

¹⁹ As the trumpet blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice.

²⁰ The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze and many of them perish.

²² And also let the priests, who come near to the Lord, sanctify (set apart) themselves [for God], lest the Lord break forth against them.

²³ And Moses said to the Lord, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You Yourself charged us, saying, Set bounds about the mountain and sanctify it [set it apart for God].

²⁴ Then the Lord said to him, Go, get down and you shall come up, you and Aaron with you; but let not the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break forth against them.

²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them."

This scripture reminds me of last night. And right now. There has been thunder and lightning going on all night. Very cool. No trumpet blasts yet...
We slept through most of it, but Roxie was definitely trembling all night.

Exodus 20:1-17

Amplified Bible (AMP)

"20 Then God spoke all these words:

² I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

³ You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.

⁴ You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

⁵ You shall not bow down yourself to them or 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 generation of those who hate Me,

⁶ But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷ You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

⁸ [Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God).

⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁰ But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the sojourner within your gates.

¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes].

¹² Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.

¹³ You shall not commit murder.

¹⁴ You shall not commit ^[a]adultery.

¹⁵ You shall not steal.

¹⁶ You shall not witness falsely against your neighbor.

¹⁷ You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s."

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 20:14 Observe here the expansion of the meaning of the seventh commandment to include whoredom in all its forms, as well as unchastity [premarital relations, sexual impurity, and lustful desire under whatever name] (J.P. Lange, A Commentary). Not only is adultery forbidden here, but also fornication and all kinds of mental and sensual uncleanness. All impure books, songs, pictures, etc., which tend to inflame and debauch the mind are against this law (Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with A Commentary).

My son in law Nathan Thompson did a study on the god of Ashtaroth. His findings were revelatory. Nathan found that sexual addictions are simply modern day idolatry. 

Christian men and women who struggle with sexual addictions (pornography, lust, adultery) feel intense shame because this subject is taboo in most religious circles. They feel isolated with their shame. They do not understand they are dealing with an evil spirit that has been around since satan and his evil angels were cast out of heaven. 

They do not understand EVERYONE has come in contact with this evil spirit at one time or another. 

Here's what I found. This information came from NetBible.

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Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech.

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Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in scripture, in 1 Kings 11:5 & 33, 2 Kings 23:13. When Ashtoreth is mentioned in scripture, she is linked to Molech, (also called Milcom in the Bible).

Ashtaroth is mentioned 12 times in the Old Testament. The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua 9:10, 12:4, 13:12, 13:31 and 1 Chronicles 6:71. That towns were named after the fertility goddess indicates that her worship was already widespread when the children of Israel entered the land of Palestine.

In Judges 2:13 & 10:6, 1 Samuel 7:3 & 4, 12:10 & 31:10, Ashtaroth refers to the ancient Canaanite fertility goddess, with a slightly different spelling than Ashtoreth.

Ashtoreth was the goddess of war and fertility, called Ishtar by Assyrians and Babylonians, called Astarte by Greeks and Romans and called Tanith by North Africans.

The religious Canaanites of Palestine worshiped a fertility goddess named Ashtoreth.

In Ashtoreth’s worship services, male worshipers had anal sex with priests and priestesses of the goddess. This was viewed as an offering to the fertility goddess.

The priests and male prostitutes, who were consecrated to her cult were called qadesh, qedishim or sodomites, Deuteronomy 23:18; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46.

Watson’s Biblical and Archaeological Dictionary, 1833:  ASHTAROTH, or ASTARTE, a goddess of the Zidonians. The word Ashtaroth properly signifies flocks of sheep, or goats; and sometimes the grove, or woods, because she was goddess of woods, and groves were her temples. In groves consecrated to her, such lasciviousness was committed as rendered her worship infamous. She was also called the queen of heaven; and sometimes her worship is said to be that of ”the host of heaven.” She was certainly represented in the same manner as Isis, with cow’s horns on her head, to denote the increase and decrease of the moon. Cicero calls her the fourth Venus of the Syrians. She is almost always joined with Baal, and is called a god, the scriptures having no particular word to express a goddess. It is believed that the moon was adored in this idol. Her temples generally accompanied those of the sun; and while bloody sacrifices or human victims were offered to Baal, bread, liquors, and perfumes were presented to Astarte. For her, tables were prepared upon the flat terrace-roofs of houses, near gates, in porches, and at crossways, on the first day of every month; and this was called by the Greeks, Hecate’s supper. Solomon, seduced by his foreign wives, introduced the worship of Ashtaroth into Israel; but Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyre, and wife to Ahab, principally established her worship. She caused altars to be erected to this idol in every part of Israel; and at one time four hundred priests attended the worship of Ashtaroth, I Kings xviii. 7. endrtimes.blogspot.com

So what people are dealing with here is an evil spirit of sexual idolatry that must be cast out! How? Consume the Word of God! Devour the Word of God! Study like never before! Systematically attack satan's lies with the Word of God. 

Nathan is taking his men's group through a great book. At The Altar of Sexual Idolatry by Steve Gallagher. If you or someone you know is struggling in this area, get this book. It has a study guide as well. There is hope! There is deliverance and healing! 

Ephesians 6:10-18

Amplified Bible (AMP)

^"10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].

¹¹ Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

¹² For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

¹³ Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].

¹⁴ Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

¹⁵ And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the ^[a]firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness ^[b]produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.

¹⁶ Lift up over all the [covering] shield of ^[c]saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit ^[d]wields, which is the Word of God.

¹⁸ Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people)."

"Dear God, please cleanse your people from sexual impurity! Please transform our minds, Oh God. Everywhere we turn, this evil spirit is coming at us. Help us to carefully and systematically guard our hearts and minds. Help us to remember to put on the WHOLE armor of God every day, multiple times a day! I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over our families, our children, our fathers, and our mothers! You are the Victor! Through You we are victorious! In Jesus name we pray, AMEN!"