THE BIBLE MADE SIMPLE
Volume 2
William T. Barrett
© 2007
Lesson 7
1. Opening Prayer
2. The Acted Parable of 1 Samuel 14:4,5
Jonathan and the two rocks
3. How to study the Bible to receive the greatest benefit.
4. Closing Prayer
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THE ACTED PARABLE OF :
JONATHAN AND THE TWO ROCKS
1 Samuel 14
4 4 “And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side : and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah”. |
Questions
What do the names of the two rocks mean ?
What do the names of the two cities mean ?
Who does Jonathan represent ?
Where is Jonathan ?
What is the spiritual meaning of this Acted Parable ?
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In order to determine the Spiritual meaning of this Acted Parable, we will :
1. Locate the Real Objects and Key words,
2. Determine their Spiritual and Literal meanings,
3. Substitute those meanings back into the Acted Parable and Paraphrase it.
1 Samuel 14
4 Using the Strongs Concordance and its Hebrew Dictionary :
Sharp # 8127 cliff
Name # 8034 character
Bozez # 949 shining # 948 to bleach, to be white, fine linen Seneh # 5573 thorn # 5572 to prick, a bramble Michmash # 4363 Hidden (NORTH) (under a bushel) Matt 5:15 Gibeah # 1390 Little Hill (SOUTH) (city set on a hill) Matt 5:14 “And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side : and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah”. |
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The *names of the two rocks :
*names # 8034 – CHARACTER
Rock
(# 949) BOZEZ – SHINING, WHITE, FINE LINEN
rock
(# 5573) SENEH – TO PRICK, A BRAMBLE, THORN
The Bible mentions two rocks :
Deuteronomy 32:
31 “For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges”.
37 “And he shall say, where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted”.
1 Corinthians 10:
4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink ; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them ; and that Rock was Christ”.
Thus, the two rocks represent “two gods”.
One Rock represents the LORD (CHRIST).
One rock represents SATAN.
Therefore :
The “Rock” BOZEZ represents the True God (CHRIST)
(shining, white, fine linen)
The “rock” SENEH represents the False God (SATAN)
(thorn, to prick, bramble)
The two cities, as far apart as the compass directions of North and South, represent the “actions” of the two persons,
[ NORTH ] MICHMASH # 4363 HIDDEN
(hidden under a bushel)
[ SOUTH ] GIBEAH # 1390 LITTLE HILL
(city set on a hill)
GODS “ACTIONS” are always in plain view while Satans “actions” are secretive.
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The two directions, NORTH and SOUTH represent the “positions” of the two persons.
NORTH – The “rightful” position of God as our ruler, which has been usurped by Satan (Isaiah 14 : 13).
The enemies of Gods people always came from the North. (Jeremiah 1 : 14, Jeremiah 4 : 6, Jeremiah 6 : 1)
North
mount Zion, on the sides of the n Ps 48 : 2
in the sides of the n Is 14 : 13
shall come from the n Is 14 : 31
I have raised up one from the n Is 41 : 25
I will say to the n, Give up Is 43 : 6
and, lo, these from the n, and from Is 49 : 12
the face thereof is toward the n Jer 1 : 13
Out of the n an evil shall break Jer 1 : 14
families of the kingdoms of the n Jer 1 : 15
proclaim these words toward the n Jer 3 : 12
n to the land that I have given Jer 3 : 18
for I will bring evil from the n Jer 4 : 6
for evil appeareth out of the n Jer 6 : 1
people cometh from the n Jer 6 : 22
commotion out of the n country Jer 10 : 22
behold them that come from the n Jer 13 : 20
The “Valley” (passage between two cliffs) represents a decision.
Joel 3 : 14 “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision”.
SUMMARY
(SPIRITUAL MEANING of the “ACTED PARABLE”
In the story or “acted parable”, Jonathan is on a journey to fight with his enemy.
As he travels, he must pass through a valley where the two rocks are.
Jonathan represents a person on the “journey of life”.
Each person must enter the “valley of decision” and they must choose between the “two rocks”.
They will either choose : the “rock BOZEZ” which represents the pure life (shining, white, fine linen) of CHRIST, the true Rock, or they will choose the ” rock SENEH” which represents the wicked life (prick, thorn, bramble) of SATAN.
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HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
“When a real love for the Bible is awakened, and the student begins to realize how vast is the field and how precious the treasure, he will seize upon every opportunity for acquainting himself with God’s Word.
We should not take the testimony of any man as to what the Scriptures teach, but should study the Word of God for ourselves. If we allow others to do our thinking for us, we shall have crippled energies and contracted abilities. The noble powers of the mind may be so dwarfed by lack of exercise in themes worthy of their concentration as to lose their ability to grasp the deep meaning of the Word of God. The mind will enlarge if it is employed in tracing out the relation of the subjects of the Bible, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and Spiritual things with Spiritual.
There is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through, and yet fail to see its beauty or comprehend its deep and hidden meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view, and no positive instruction gained”.
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William T. Barrett
Bible Made Simple Ministry
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