Various scriptures about “inasmuch”

I ran across a verse that had “inasmuch” in it, and it seemed to me that it expressed proportionality—the bigger one thing is, the bigger another thing is.  So I decided to search for scriptures to see how often I could find this and what I could learn from it.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matt. 25:40)

To the extent we are charitable to the least of humanity, we are charitable to Christ.

…inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. (Phillippians 1:7)

This one is a little tricky to follow, but I think it is staying Paul seems to have noticed that to the extent he was confined but continued to defend and confirm the gospel, he was given grace from God to strengthen others.  That gives some encouragement about our effectiveness for when we feel like we’re hampered by persecution, doesn’t it?

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:13)

So to the extent that we suffer as Christ did, we will be joyful when His glory is revealed. That gives a good reason to be valiant, doesn’t it?

And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. (1 Nephi 2:20)

So to the extent we keep the commandments, we will prosper. This theme is repeated throughout the Book of Mormon. (1 Nephi 4:14; 2 Ne. 1:9; 2 Ne. 1:20; 2 Ne. 4:4; Jarom 1:9; Alma 9:13; Alma 36:1; Alma 38: 1; Alma 50:20)

And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren. (1 Nephi 2:22)

This was definitely true of Nephi, and it may very well be true in general—to the extent one keeps the commandments, one is made a ruler and a teacher.

And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led. (1 Ne. 17:13)

Maybe we are not seeking out a promised land like Nephi, but it is still true that to the extent that we keep the Lord’s commandments we will be led and we will know we are led by God.

And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. (1 Nephi 2: 21)

To the extent that we rebel, we are cut off from the Lord’s presence.  Pretty simple.

And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction. (2 Ne 5:25)

So to the extent that we don’t remember God, we will be scourged to destruction. The use of “scourge” here is interesting. A scourge is a whip. It’s not meant to be an execution device, but if it keeps hitting and doesn’t stop, then it becomes one. This scourge is stopped by remembering God and listening to His words. (Oh, look!  Remembering God is part of what we promise to do in the sacrament!)

And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper. (Helaman 4:15, see also Ether 11:8)

So to the extent that we repent, we prosper.

I’m going to end this post with a triple-packed scripture of inasmuches. 

25 And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known;

26 And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed;

27 And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent; (D&C 1:25-28)

This tells me I should expect exposure and chastening to the same extent that I err and sin.  There’s fairness in that.  The Lord doesn’t work like the world and overdo it on the chastening. And I love that the Lord tells us that we can be instructed to the extent we seek wisdom.  Doesn’t that just make you want to learn all you can and pray hard for wisdom?

The Lord promises to establish David’s house and kingdom forever

In 2 Samuel 7, David finally gets to the point where he is at rest in his own house as king over Israel and all his enemies have been subdued. And he decideds he wants to build a permanent temple for the Lord. He doesn’t think it is right that David should have a nice house while the Lord lives in a tent, a temporary structure, nice as it is. So he tells Nathan the prophet this, and at first Nathan is all for the idea. But during the night, the Lord makes His will known and it is strangely opposite.

4 ¶And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?

8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,

11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

12 ¶And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. (2 Samuel 7:4-17)

Up to this point, David has tried to pay his debts to those who supported him during his wanderings. He sent presents of spoil and gifts to those people to show his gratitude. It is possible David felt he had to try to repay his debt to the Lord in a similar way. But of course, no one can really do that because  for any good we do, He immediately blesses us, and then He has paid us and we are still indebted to Him.

So I get the sense from the Lord’s message that He would not be in debt to David, and to prove it, the Lord promised to bless David’s descendants after him forever, which is certainly something David can’t repay.

I think this chapter teaches us about the mercy and incredibly generosity of the Lord, that all we can do is serve Him and acknowledge His mercy forever.

The Lord's Preface to Alma’s Deliverance

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

(Mosiah 24:13-14)

This was given to the people of Alma when they were in bondage to the Amulonites and Lamanites.

Usually when the Lord gives a promise, it is conditioned upon the people acting a certain way.  Commonly there are if-then statements.  “If you do this, then I will do this.” 

This is a rare stance where the conditions are practically reversed.  Instead of promising a blessing after the people do something, the Lord promises a blessing and then requires something afterward.  He promises to deliver Alma and his people, and afterward they are to stand as witnesses (fulfilling their baptismal covenant) that the Lord visits His people and helps them in their afflictions.

I suppose that the people were so faithful already that the Lord knew He could trust them to do as He asked. 

I think this is also what the Lord requires of us in our afflictions. When we are faithful, He will help us through it and He wants us to then testify of His help so that others know they can depend on the Lord too.  Also, hearing testimonies of how the Lord has helped others gives us an idea of what kind of help we can look for.  Sometimes help is dramatic and other times it is subtle, but it is up to us to recognize it.

This last week I was got some help from the Lord. I was studying up on how to convert a book I’ve written into ebooks easily, and everything I was reading was making it a big overwhelming task.  It was tempting to get discouraged and give up. But I had faith Heavenly Father would help me somehow if I just kept searching and learning, and I ran into a place where I could get simpler instructions.  I anticipate more work ahead, but I am already thankful.

King Laman as an analog of Satan

I ran across these verses as part of Zeniff’s record in the Book of Mosiah where Zeniff summarizes the trouble with living by the Lamanites:

17 And thus they [the Lamanites] have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi.

18 For this very cause has king Laman, by his cunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me, that I have brought this my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and we have suffered these many years in the land. (Mosiah 10:17-18)

If you substitute “Satan” in place of “King Laman,” you can see how appropriate this is as a lesson about what Satan tries to do.  He will use cunning, lying craftiness, and fair promises to deceive us, to bring us into a dangerous place so he can destroy us, or else cause as much suffering as possible.  He will also teach his children to hate, murder, plunder, and do all kinds of destruction to the children of light.

The trouble is, Zeniff, who is in this predicament, was the other part of the equation.  He contributed to his own beguilement because he wanted to live in the land near the Lamanites. He saw something he thought was good among them, and he thought that would preclude the Lamanites from trying to destroy him and his people.  But it didn’t.

So, this tells us that we, like Zeniff, also contribute to our own beguiling. We see something we think is good in Babylon, and we think that will preclude Satan from hating us and trying to destroy us. But it doesn’t. In Satan’s case, the good is a deception, a counterfeit. Any good he offers is only a fair promise given with lying craftiness to draw us in.

Today let’s pray for discernment to see Satan’s fair promises as the lies they are, and pray for the power to resist.

Jonathan as a type of Christ in 1 Samuel 14

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I’ve written before about Jonathan’s bravery in 1 Samuel 14 in my post “The Intrepid Jonathan” back in 2009, however there is a strange story that happens after his exploits result in a victory for Israel.  In this strange story, Saul, Jonathan, and the Israelite army find themselves in an impossible and surreal situation and the best way we can find meaning in it is to see it as a type and shadow of Christ.  It’s not a perfect type, but it is good enough for us to recognize it once we come to the surreal part.

At the same time that Jonathan is doing his thing and wreaking mayhem among the Philistines, King Saul had sworn an oath that everyone should fast. 

And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. (1 Samuel 14:24)

Saul just says “Cursed be the man,” but you have to understand this means he will execute whoever breaks the oath. 

Jonathan’s success against the Philistines drew everyone into the battle and they had to try to mop things up while suffering from hunger.  Jonathan didn’t know everyone was fasting.  He probably wondered why everyone was so non-energetic.

25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.

26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.

27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.

28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. (1 Sam 14:25-28)

The thing about oaths is that you can be sure you will find yourself in situations where they will be tested.  And in this story things are no different.  The very battlefield tests the people whether they will keep their oath.  Honey is dropping from the trees and they are all so tired and hungry.

Jonathan, not having heard the oath, naturally eats some honey.  And it is just enough that he has a sugar rush and gets some vigor back.  Then the people tell him about the oath his father made.  (I have to wonder why they didn’t tell him about it before he ate it..)

How does Jonathan react to hearing about the oath his father made and is holding his people to?

29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? (1 Sam 14:29-30)

Jonathan is pretty out-spoken and rather than supporting his father, he comes right out and says the oath was hurting Israel more than helping them and points out how much better the battle could have gone if Israel was in its full strength.

Well, we don’t know what the people thought about this, but the battle continues..

31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint.

32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.  (1 Sam 14:31-32)

The next capture the people made, they go crazy taking spoil and killing the animals for food.  (Were they persuaded by Jonathan’s little speech previous?  Hard to know, but it could be..) However, they are so hungry they don’t take the time to properly bleed the animals they kill for food like they are supposed to do according to the Law of Moses.  So King Saul chastises them for it.

33 ¶Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.

34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the Lord in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. (1 Samuel 14:33-34)

Whatever happened to concern for the oath about fasting?  That’s long gone.  Now King Saul is concerned they are eating the animal blood along with the animals.  He tries to slow it down by making a centralized place in their camp for the animals to be bled so that he can be sure they are not breaking the Law of Moses.

Now I want you to ask yourself a question about what you've read so far—who is more guilty, Jonathan or the people?  Keep this question in mind.

35 And Saul built an altar unto the Lord: the same was the first altar that he built unto the Lord.

36 ¶And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.

37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.

38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. (1 Samuel 14:35-38)

Saul wants to start another expedition against the Philistines on a night attack, and the people were for it, but the priest was determined to ask God.  It’s a good idea to ask God before starting a project, right?

But what do you do when you don’t get an answer?

Saul didn’t get an answer, and thereby he concluded that there had been some kind of sin in the camp of Israel that prevented revelation from coming.

What do you think all the people are thinking at this point?  Maybe something like, “Yeah, I sinned…”

Listen to what Saul says next.. 

39 For, as the Lord liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.

King Saul makes another oath that the person in the army who sinned is going to die, even if it was Jonathan his own son.

What do you think all the people are thinking at this point?  Maybe something like, “Oh shoot, we all did something wrong…the king would kill me if he knew I was part of it..”

But no one says anything because they know everyone is guilty. By Saul’s oath everyone would die.  No one wants to be the first one to step forward and admit guilt.

Saul has to use a method of drawing lots to determine where the guilt lies. 

40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.

The people just seem shell-shocked.  They don’t try to stand in the way, but they aren’t going to step forward and hurry their doom along.  They are suddenly passive.  They seem to accept death is inevitable.

41 Therefore Saul said unto the Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.

Now, remember, the people were guilty.  But somehow the lot didn’t fall on them.  They escaped.  This must have caused them to wonder, “What is going on here?”

King Saul keeps going.

42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.

43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.

44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. (1 Samuel 14:42-44)

The lot falls on Jonathan.  And Jonathan admits that he tasted some honey and he seems to accept that he is going to have to die.  Saul agrees.  When Saul says, “God do so and more also” it is yet another oath meaning, “God do to me what should happen to you and worse if I don’t kill you.”  (Saul seems to really like making oaths, huh?)

Isn’t this a surreal situation?  It’s totally messed up, and it happened because Saul’s tendency to make oaths got him deeper and deeper into it until he is faced with the prospect of executing his son in order to maintain his credibility as a king.

Now think about the levels of guilt in this story.  Jonathan acknowledged that he ate some honey when he wasn’t supposed to.  But he didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to until afterward, so technically he wasn’t guilty at all.  But the rest of the army was more guilty because they not only broke King Saul’s command about fasting, but they also ate animal blood and thereby broke the Law of Moses.  They were all worthy of death.

So here’s where we can start to see a type of Christ.  Jonathan’s guilt was far less then the people’s, and yet he was chosen (by God) as the scapegoat for the whole army.  Christ was sinless and all the rest of us are guilty and worthy of death, yet Christ allowed himself to be punished in order that we might escape.

“But,” you might say, “the people probably wouldn’t have eaten at all if it hadn’t been for Jonathan’s little harangue about the way Saul was troubling the land.”  Yes, this is not a perfect type of Christ because Christ did not cause everyone (or anyone) to sin or teach them that Heavenly Father’s commands are troublesome in any way.

However, Jonathan wasn’t responsible for the people’s decision to eat blood, and he was made a scapegoat for those sins to show how Christ would take on Himself the sins of all the world.  

Jonathan is in an weird place—he’s saved the people in battle and is going to be killed so they can escape their disobedience.  And he seems willing to do it.  Seeing it as a type of Christ helps us find higher meaning in this story. 

So how is the dilemma solved?  The people step in and save Jonathan.

45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. (1 Samuel 14:45)

Phew! 

Obviously that rescue was not part of the type of Christ, but it got both Saul and Jonathan out of their sticky situation.  It is as if the people say, "Enough with these stupid oaths already!"

On a side note, I think King Saul learned from this experience not to make so many strong oaths with the death penalty attached. (He still makes a few and breaks them, but there's not so many after this point.) Unfortunately, it may have also made him afraid of going against the voice of the people, which got him in further trouble later when he was charged with destroying the Amalekites and the people wanted to save the best of the animals to sacrifice. This incident may have led to him caving to their demands then too.

I used to think this story was really weird, but I appreciate it more now because of being able to see how Jonathan prefigured Christ.  It helps remind me that I am one of that army of Israel who has been disobedient and yet I can escape the penalty for my sins because of Christ's suffering in my place.  

I’m loving reading the Old Testament this year.  I’m finding types of Christ where I never saw them before.  How about you?

More on Jepthah

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As I’ve studied Jepthah’s life in Judges 11, I’ve started to see that his character is really amazingly good, considering he is the son of a harlot.  He exhibits excellent qualities that, if he had any other parentage, would make us think he had really good parents who taught him well.

--Even though his half brothers kick him out and won’t allow him to inherit, he doesn’t seek revenge.  He goes elsewhere to live.

--When the elders of Gilead appeal to him for help, rather than refuse, he forgives them and helps them.

--He agrees to rule over the people who previously cast him out, and he protects them.

--He parleys with the enemy king about why the king is invading and uses not just good judgment, but good religious reasoning. 

--He is anxious enough about securing victory for his people that he makes a vow—the one we generally refer to as “rash”— which actually gives the Lord the freedom to determine the cost of the victory.  This shows a ton of faith. 

--When the cost proves to be sacrificing his only daughter, he says he can’t break his vow.  His integrity is amazing.

--He is also sensitive to his daughter’s request for some extra time.

--He has evidently raised his daughter to be obedient and to keep promises too because she is united with him in the determination that he can’t break his vow.

The little bit about Jepthah’s daughter’s request for two months to bewail her virginity may not make much sense unless we consider that Jepthah, as an illegitimate child, had to be aware of the Law of Moses rule that “A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation..” (Deut. 23:2).  With such good character, Jepthah would have brought up his daughter to this knowledge that it was absolutely imperative that she stay chaste until marriage so that future generations of their family would be able to enter the congregation of the Lord.  This would have been reinforced over and over, so her sacrifice meant that she had to give up that prospect of being married and having future posterity who could enjoy the full blessings of the house of Israel (which may have been church membership or may have been temple worship).  

Thus, the tradition to mourn the daughter of Jepthah yearly was actually an attempt to reward Jepthah’s daughter posthumously for giving up the chance for posterity who would continue her name; remembering her yearly and in the scriptures ensures she isn’t forgotten for her noble unselfishness.

Jepthah’s story is very similar to Abraham’s test to sacrifice Isaac, but the text makes us think that Jepthah seems to have had to go through with it.  

 If it makes anyone feel any better at all, supposing that he did offer her as a burnt offering, I doubt that he burned her alive.  Probably he did what would be done to any sacrificial animal—cut a vein and let the blood out, and once she was dead, then burn the body.   I’m not saying that would be any easier on Jepthah, I just suspect that it wasn’t the cruel burning her alive that everyone envisions..

On the other hand, the Law of Moses was pretty clear that there was to be no human sacrifice, and Jepthah could have dedicated his daughter to lifelong service at the Tabernacle, which would have fulfilled the vow, much like Samson and Samuel were dedicated to the Lord.

As I wrote in a comment on my previous post, it is fascinating that the text doesn't say exactly what Jepthah did to keep his vow; it just says that he kept it, and now everyone is left to wonder how he kept his vow.   I had a bit of a brainwave about it--maybe that was meant intentionally by the writer to cause people to think that he DID sacrifice her, in order to make it more like a type of Christ.

 

Jepthah and Jepthah’s daughter as a types of Christ

Jepthah is the guy who made the rash vow that if the Lord would deliver the Ammonites into his hands then he would offer as a burnt offering the first thing that came out to meet him from the doors of his house when he got home.  (It makes you wonder if he had some animal that always came out to meet him..)

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 ¶So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 ¶And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.  (Judges 11:30-40)

As we see, it was his daughter who was first to meet him when he came home, and then he realized what a rash vow he made.

Commentators are pretty anxious to show that he never actually kept the vow, but Judges 11:39 says that he did to her according to the vow.

The amazing thing was that she was willing to allow herself to be offered as a sacrifice.  That should tip us off that this story makes her into a type of Christ.  Her sacrifice was directly tied to the victory of Israel over the enemy, just as Christ’s sacrifice was directly tied to the victory over death and sin.  She was the only child of her father, just as Jesus was the Only Begotten of His Father.  Again, she was a willing sacrifice, just as Christ was a willing sacrifice.

In Jepthah, of course, we see a type of the pain our Heavenly Father felt in sacrificing His son Jesus.  You have to give him credit as he says, “I have opened my mouth to the Lord and I cannot go back” (v35).  The idea of breaking his vow was unthinkable to him, even though it put him in an extremely painful position.  That shows us just a glimpse of how seriously Heavenly Father takes His covenants.

Jepthah himself also has aspects to his life that make him a type of Christ. 

He was born of a harlot in such a way that there was doubt about who his father was, though he was widely considered a son of Gilead.  Christ was born of a virgin, but those who disbelieved that would be much more likely to believe that Mary played the harlot.  Jesus was considered the son of Joseph and also the son of God.

Jepthah was rejected by his brothers who were determined he would not inherit.  He was cast out.  Similarly, Jesus was rejected by much of Israel, His countrymen.

There are other events of Jepthah’s life that typify events to come that Jesus will be a part of, such as the way Jepthah’s people turned to him in their national distress, when hounded by their enemies.  Similarly, the Jews will turn to Jesus Christ in their national distress and look for the Messiah to save them, promising to make Him their head and be ruled by Him if He will save them, as the elders of Gilead promised Jepthah.

Not only this, but the solemn oath made to Jepthah by the elders of Gilead to make him their ruler if he would save them is a type of how we promise to make Christ our ruler (and obey his commandments) if He will save us from sin and death.

The Candlestick in the Holy Place

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Manora-HANUKKHA-_108964946.html

Here are the directions the Lord gave Moses about making the candlestick for the tabernacle:

31 ¶And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.

32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.

34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.

35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.

36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.

37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. (Exodus 25:31-37)

It has been noted by others that the candlestick was meant to represent the tree of life, and from reading the description in these verses, we can see why.  It was to have six branches coming out of it, three on each side.  The bowls from which the flame was to be were shaped like almonds.  The branches were also to have flowers in them.  There are enough tree-like features to identify it as a tree. 

It may seem to be a strange form for a tree, but it is a pretty good representation if you consider that an espaliered tree would look just like that.  Espalier is when someone trains a tree to grow against a wall, by cutting all branches on the front and back of the main trunk and training the side-by-side branches to grow against a garden wall.  It maximizes warmth and extends the tree’s growing season.  We are meant to associate this tree with the Lord’s garden, the Garden of Eden.  This is a guided, cultivated tree, just like eternal life is to be carefully guided and cultivated.

http://ewainthegarden.blogspot.com/2012/02/12-most-inspiring-fruit-trees-espaliers.html

Why might the Lord have chosen an almond tree to be represented with this candlestick?  It so happens that the almond tree was a symbol of watchfulness and promise because of its early flowering in January and February.  It was much appreciated for this characteristic. 

It also happens that the place where Jacob had his dream of a ladder reaching to heaven was first called “Luz,” which means “almond tree” before it became known as “Bethel” or “house of God.”  Perhaps the Lord wanted to add this layer of meaning, associating almonds trees with idea of the climbing to God, together with this espaliered garden tree of life.

Also, consider the flame on this candlestick was fueled by olive oil, which is a symbol of the Holy Ghost.  It may be that it represented the idea that the inner fire of the Holy Ghost was an early promise of a future eternal life.