Principle Naphtali deals with becoming a friend of God. The definition of being a friend of God is:

Being a friend of God means having the same plans and purposes and ideas as God and fellowshipping with God until you no longer have any of your own agendas and plans remaining but God’s only.

Men like Moses and Daniel and Nehemiah and Ezra and many others were all friends with God because they were concerned only about the things that concerned God. They no longer pursued their own human agenda but came to a place where they had no plans of their own other than God's plans.

Genesis 49:21 (NIV)

²¹ "Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

Naphtali speaks of a deer set free who bears beautiful fawns which is a picture of a mature believer who is free to run and becomes a fruitful believer by walking in relationship and in fellowship with the Lord. Jesus was a perfect example of this because he was completely free but at the same time his will was in total submission to the heavenly Father.

John 5:19-20 (NASB)

¹⁹ Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

²⁰ "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.

Jesus did nothing of himself but only what his heavenly father was doing. He came to fulfill God's will on earth rather than his own will.

Luke 22:41-45 (NIV)

⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,

⁴² "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

Jesus was in anguish knowing what he was about to suffer in paying for the sin of all humanity. He even sweat blood over the agony of what he was about to face so God sent an angel to strengthen him. But nevertheless, Jesus said, "Not my will but your will be done!" Jesus totally submitted his will to the will of his heavenly father. He is an example of Principle Naphtali which speaks of the deer set free. A deer is a picture of freedom and so a believer who attains this level has done away with all heart-idols and self-serving and garnering of human praises and is at this point serving only God and doing nothing more or nothing less than what God instructs them to do.

Follow the Cloud

Numbers 9:15-23 (NIV)

¹⁵ On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.

¹⁶ That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.

¹⁷ Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.

¹⁸ At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.

¹⁹ When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out.

²⁰ Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.

²¹ Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.

²² Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.

²³ At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

Following the cloud is a type and shadow of lordship because the people would have to wait until God moves before they would move. If the pillar of cloud would remain for two days or a month or a year they would have to remain in the camp and not move until it lifted.

See the link "Sukkot and the Principle of Lordship" for more details.

If the cloud would move in the middle of the night then they would have to get up and pack and move out without hesitation. But typically, the hardest thing for humans to endure was to sit and wait when the cloud did not move for a prolonged period of time. The sin nature within humans does not want to sit still but they want to have non-stop activity and keep moving all of the time without sitting in one place and being faithful where God has planted them.

This is the reason so many people will invent nonsense ministries and lie and say that the Lord told them to do such and such a thing so that no one can resist them. There are numerous housewives who got bored managing the home so they went out to a church and invented some nonsense ministry to occupy their boredom. They will be the first to arrive and the last to leave the church and humans will often praise them for their faithfulness! But their homes are in disorder and their children and husbands are being neglected and they have in fact left God's ordained place and are going out to garner human praises.

The sin nature in humans is such that it craves human praise like a drug! This sin nature comes from Satan who was cast out of his abode in heaven because of his own self-exaltation and desiring to have the limelight. This pride and self-exaltation is seen in the prophetic word of Isaiah which describes the pride of Satan as the morning star or Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:12-14 (NIV)

¹² How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

¹³ You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

The law of double-reference means that some scriptures can apply to earthly human kings and at the same time speak of the spiritual demonic principalities that are the motivating influence behind these potentates on earth. This is true of the scriptures above where the prophet Isaiah describes Satan as the morning star or son of the dawn. A morning star is the last star to fade away after sunrise because it is brighter than all other stars. In the same way Satan was compared to a "morning-star" because he was exalted to a high position in heaven with greater glory than most of the angelic beings created by God. Raising his throne above the stars speaks of Satan when he was yet called Lucifer "the morning-star" and he sought to exalt himself above all other angelic beings in heaven by raising his throne above the stars of God! He sought to exalt himself in the sacred mountain of God to the utmost and highest level! Lucifer wanted to become like the Most High God himself!

Ezekiel 28:14-16 (NIV)

¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

¹⁶ Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

The prophet Ezekiel also speaks of the pride of Lucifer who was expelled from heaven for his great pride. He once walked in heavenly places among the fiery stones but later he had the wickedness of pride develop and so he was expelled from heaven by God.

Ezekiel 28:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

It was because of the great splendor of Lucifer that he became corrupted with pride and so was cast out of heaven as profane.

Ezekiel 28:13 (KJV)

¹³ Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

The KJV speaks of tabrets and pipes being created in Lucifer so this refers to this angelic being having charge of praise and worship in heaven and being made in glorious manner.

Revelation 12:3-4 (NIV)

³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.

⁴ His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

After Lucifer was expelled from heaven, he became Satan and is also called the dragon. He has power over the world's system to influence kings and rulers and wicked men to fulfill his satanic agenda on earth. Satan was depicted as a dragon whose tail swept a third of the stars from the sky. This graphically describes the fact that he once was in charge of one-third of the population of angels in heaven. When he was cast out of heaven then all of this one-third population of angelic beings were cast out together with him. These fallen angels have become demons and they are under the command of Satan who operates and influences the world's system using wicked men and kings as his satanic pawns to fulfill his purposes on earth.

Matthew 2:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

This is one example of how Satan inspired a king to fulfill his satanic agenda when he caused the jealous King Herod to send soldiers to kill every male child in Bethlehem as Satan sought to destroy the infant Messiah as soon as he was born.

Satan works to influence ungodly and wicked men and this is why such kings often take upon themselves the same arrogant character as Satan who inspires them. All of the words spoken about Satan in prophecy can also be applied to the natural kings which Satan inspires and who act and behave the same as their lord Satan!

Eve Tempted to Follow Satan's Sin

Genesis 3:1-5 (NIV)

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

² The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,

³ but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

⁴ "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.

⁵ "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

In the temptation of Eve, Satan exploited the woman's natural sense of equality for all and basically told her that it was not right that God was on a higher level than she was and if she would only eat the forbidden fruit then she could become like God or "equal" to God! This resulted in Eve eating the forbidden fruit and dying spiritually before she gave the fruit to her husband Adam. Adam then chose to commit spiritual suicide so he would not be separated from his wife who had already eaten and died spiritually.

1 Timothy 2:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

Adam ate willfully of the forbidden fruit only out of his love for his wife Eve and not wanting to be separated from her by spiritual death. Satan accomplished his goals by deceiving the weakest link (the woman) first and this caused the man to willfully sin and he then threw the dominion to Satan thus making Satan the god of this world's system.

Satan was depicted as a serpent which is without arms and legs and has no other weapon but the venom of lies that proceeds out of his mouth. But Satan has used the weapon of deceit to great effect throughout the centuries and has been able to start wars and wreck havoc and cause millions to perish simply by deceiving wicked men in positions of authority to fulfill his evil agenda.

It should be understood that even believers can be influenced by the dark lord Satan if they are not aware of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV)

¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Just as Satan worked to deceive Eve in the garden so he also works to deceive those believers who have not trained themselves to identify his satanic inspiration. If they follow anything of demonic inspiration it will bring ruination to themselves and their marriages and their families.

John 10:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The thief is Satan and he wants to steal happiness and unity and peace in the home and cause divorce and ruin lives and everything that is destructive comes when humans follow his satanic thoughts inserted into their minds.

In order to resist the enemy, the believer is to use the sword of God's word and speak the scriptures of truth to contradict the deceit of the devil by saying "It is written!"

Luke 4:2-4 (NIV)

² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

⁴ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"

Jesus would rebuke the devil's lies by speaking the truth of God's word using it like a sword saying, "It is written" and then quoting what God's word has said. The believer must use their sword of the spirit (which is the word of God) and contradict the devil's lies with truth.

Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This scripture speaks of the word of God being the Sword of the Spirit.

See the link "Spiritual Armour" for more details.

Principle Naphtali and Mature Believers

Principle Naphtali comes into play for those believers who are mature and have learned to use their spiritual armor and have learned to distinguish the voice of their own sin nature from the voice of God's Spirit. It is the sin nature within carnal Christians that constantly seeks to invent their own self-made nonsense ministries for no other reason that they are bored where God has placed them and are looking for a means of escape!

Complete Obedience to God's Directions

In order to operate in the level of Principle Naphtali the believer must have complete obedience to God and do nothing more and nothing less than exactly what God tells them to do. This cannot involve any self-deception and them lying and saying that God told them to do this or that thing when in fact it was only the voice of their sin nature telling them to do such things.

Saul's Incomplete Obedience

1 Samuel 15:1-3 (NIV)

¹ Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.

² This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.

³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"

Saul was commanded by God to destroy the Amalekites and utterly destroy everything that they had including their livestock. But Saul was not willing to obey God fully but obeyed only those parts which he wanted to obey and disregarded the rest of God's instructions.

1 Samuel 15:7-11 (NASB)

⁷ So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

⁸ He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

¹⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

¹¹ "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.

Saul did not destroy everything (except those things that were of no value and worthless anyway). Saul kept the best of the livestock for himself and did not obey God's command completely. It was for this reason that God told the prophet Samuel that he regretted that he made Saul king.

In order to attain to the level of Naphtali a believer must have already purged themselves of all self-deception.

1 Samuel 15:13 (NASB)

¹³ Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD."

The first thing that Saul said when he saw the prophet Samuel was that he declared that he had carried out the command of the Lord! This is called "self-deception" because Saul only partially obeyed God in the parts he wanted to obey and then did whatever he wanted and ignored the rest of God's instructions that said he was to destroy the livestock as well. This is "impartial-obedience" and no one can attain to the level of Principle Naphtali when they are harboring imperfect obedience (disobedience) in their lives!

1 Samuel 15:20-23 (NASB)

²⁰ Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

²¹ "But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

²² Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

²³ "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king."

Saul was rejected by God as king because of his disobedience. Disobedience is as the sin of divination and witchcraft and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.

1 Samuel 15:24 (NASB)

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

Saul said that he feared the people and submitted to their wishes to keep the livestock as plunder for themselves. This speaks of the fact that those who want to operate in the level of Principle Naphtali cannot have in their hearts the idolatry of trying to please humans and gain human acceptance and praise. Those who attain the highest level with God will have to please only God and not humans. They cannot please humans and please God at the same time!

Matthew 4:12-17 (NIV)

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--

¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--

¹⁶ the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Jesus moved to Capernaum and lived there on the shore of the lake in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. Principle Zebulun and Naphtali go together because first the people get saved and then they are filled with the word of God like a cargo ship is loaded with precious cargo. They become vessels of the Holy Spirit and carry the glory of God in their earthen vessels of their human bodies on earth. All is good as long as they continue to grow in the Lord and attain new levels of knowledge in the level of Principle Zebulun.

See the link "Principle Zebulun" for more details.

But a time will come when the believers are fully mature and God will deal with them as sons and bring them under his discipline. God will require them to put way idols of the heart and self-deception and begin to deal only in truth.

See the link "Idols of the Heart" for more details.

Saul was not honest when he said he had obeyed God because in fact he had ignored much of what God had instructed him to do and he was rejected from being king for this reason. Those believers who do not reject self-deception and dishonesty will be rejected from walking in the level of Principle Naphtali. They must have complete obedience at this level and put away self-deception that declares they obeyed God when in fact they are liars and hold large parts of disobedience in their lives. Those who live as independent goats and are doing their own thing have not submitted to the lordship of Christ. Principle Naphtali deals with lordship and being honest enough to admit when they are not speaking the truth saying God told them to do this or that then when in fact it is an idol and a product of their sin nature and God never told them to do that! There must be complete obedience in every detail or they will be rejected like King Saul and disqualified from walking in the level of Principle Naphtali as a deer set free!

Moses Incomplete Obedience

Exodus 4:24-26 (NKJV)

²⁴ And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.

²⁵ Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!"

²⁶ So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!"--because of the circumcision.

It may seem strange that God sent Moses to go to Egypt to set the people free but then on the way to Egypt when Moses camped for the night then God met Moses and sought to kill him! But the reason for this was the incomplete obedience of Moses. Apparently, Moses had circumcised his firstborn son and his pagan Midian wife Zipporah witnessed the circumcision and declared that she would never permit that again! So, when they had a second son, this same Zipporah resisted her husband and refused to allow him to circumcise the boy according to Jewish law. She probably pulled all of the feminine tricks of throwing a fit and banging pots and pans and removing peace from the home until her husband Moses just gave into her demands in order to keep peace by comprise. It is evident that Zipporah knew why she was about to become a widow (as her husband Moses was laying there dying). So, she circumcised the second boy herself and threw the foreskin at the feet of Moses with disdain and said, "You are a husband of blood to me!" because of the circumcision. It was after the boy was circumcised that God let Moses go and Moses did not die.

This story emphasizes that fact that God demands complete obedience and Moses was showing that he feared his pagan wife more than God when he disobeyed God in order to please this heathen woman he had married.

Exodus 18:2 (NIV)

² After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her

Moses learned a valuable lesson from all of this and he discovered that he could not disobey God to please humans (even a wife who was manipulating him by throwing a fit). It is evident that Moses then sent this pagan woman back to her father and he left and continued to go to Egypt by himself. He did not need this godless woman resisting him anymore because any more disobedience could cost him his life.

It was at this point that Moses became highly technical about obeying God in great detail knowing that any sort of omission is disobedience and this could cost him his life. Moses attained to the level of Principle Naphtali and walked with God from this point forward and was faithful and diligent to obey God in everything he was commanded to do.

Hebrews 3:1-2 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

² He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house.

Moses was faithful in all of God's house meaning that his obedience was in great detail and he placed obeying God over pleasing humans. In the same way Jesus was also faithful to his heavenly Father in great detail and never allowed any type or trace of disobedience in his own life.

This is the level of Principle Naphtali because at this level the believer has banished all self-deception and heart idols and has attained to the level of perfect and honest obedience to God in great detail. They do nothing more and nothing less than exactly what God has directed them to do.

Obedience to God in Detail

Exodus 16:19-20 (NASB)

¹⁹ Moses said to them, "Let no man leave any of it until morning."

²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.

Moses communicated God's instructions to the people not to leave any of the manna until morning but they did not listen or obey God's instructions and so Moses was angry with them. Moses learned firsthand that incomplete obedience (disobedience) can get a man killed so he did not tolerate such behavior of the people being passive with God's instructions. It is part of the Principle Naphtali to obey in great detail.

Leviticus 10:16-18 (NIV)

¹⁶ When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked,

¹⁷ "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the LORD.

¹⁸ Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded."

Moses was angry when the priests did not follow the instructions given in great detail as Moses had received these instructions from the Lord. This was a lifestyle of obedience for Moses and he never disobeyed God again in matters pertaining to God's commands (other than the issue of striking the rock twice and he was severely punished for that action).

It should be noted that on level Principle Naphtali that the mature believer has fully put away all self-deception and is engaged in complete obedience doing nothing more and nothing less than exactly what God has commanded them to do.

Matthew 4:13 (NIV)

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--

Jesus came and lived in Capernaum under the direction of his heavenly Father and began to teach the people of Zebulun and Naphtali in this region. This scripture has application for believers to remain in God's ordained place for their lives. There are many believers who "jump-ship" and leave their ordained place for no other reason than boredom.

This however is like following the cloud and if the believer follows their sin nature (which cannot sit still and be faithful) they will want to go off and leave their ordained place. If the believer leaves on their own then they will end up like a sheep gone astray and if they stay behind and do not move when God moves, they will also be left behind. In both cases they will be like a sheep gone astray who is separated from the good shepherd (as they continue do their own thing).

Many preachers have left their ordained place and lied and told the people that God was calling them to go elsewhere. This is in fact using the Name of the Lord in vain to say God has said to do something when in fact it was the voice of their own sin nature speaking which got bored in God's ordained place and wanted to look for something else to do.

Believers will not attain to the level of Principle Naphtali (as a deer set free) as long as they engage in self-deception and say God has spoken or that they are obeying God when they in fact are not!

2 Samuel 5:17-19 (NIV)

¹⁷ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold.

¹⁸ Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;

¹⁹ so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."

David was a man after God's own heart and he continually inquired of God for direction even asking God if he should attack the Philistines who gathered against him.

1 Chronicles 14:13-17 (NIV)

¹³ Once more the Philistines raided the valley;

¹⁴ so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, "Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

¹⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army."

¹⁶ So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁷ So David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him.

David also learned not to be presumptuous and just assume to do the same thing he did the last time he had a battle. He always inquired of God for directions first and this time God told him something different to wait until he heard the sound of marching angelic beings in the treetops as they marched forth to strike down the enemy before David. As long as David did only what God commanded him then he would always experience success. This is part of Principle Naphtali to do nothing more and nothing less than what God instructs in perfect obedience just as both Moses and Jesus also had done.

Not Inquiring of God for Direction

1 Chronicles 13:7-10 (NIV)

⁷ They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it.

⁸ David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled.

¹⁰ The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

Most of the reign of King David was marked by perfect obedience to God's commands. However, in the matter of moving the ark of God on an ox-cart David for some reason failed to inquire of God for the prescribed method in moving the ark. He tried to follow the ways of the world and use an ox-cart just like the Philistines did when they sent the ark back to Israel.

1 Samuel 6:7-13 (NIV)

⁷ "Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.

⁸ Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way,

⁹ but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance."

¹⁰ So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves.

¹¹ They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors.

¹² Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight.

The Philistines were godless idol-worshipers and they tested to see if their plagues came from the God of Israel by placing the ark upon an ox-cart and hitching two milk cows to the cart which had just calved. The calves were shut up and this would require these mother cows to go against their nature to leave their calves behind. But as it turned out this test confirmed God was plaguing their nation when the cows went straight toward the land of Israel on the road that led to Beth Shemesh.

But it should be noted that just because the godless heathens used an ox-cart to move the ark that should not be understood as being a new precedent in moving the ark. God had a higher standard for his own people (who should have known better). When David followed the example of the Philistines in moving the ark then death resulted.

1 Chronicles 15:12-13 (NIV)

¹² He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.

¹³ It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way."

After the death of Uzziah (who touched the ark) David learned his lesson and he inquired about the prescribed way of moving the ark of God. The ark was supposed to be carried on poles on the shoulders of the Levites consecrated for this purpose (not on an ox-cart) as the heathens did. The ways of the world are not to be incorporated by the people of God but they are to inquire of God for directions instead of following the example of those who do not know God or his ways.

This is all part of the Principle Naphtali when a mature believer puts away all self-deception and is honest about seeking God's direction and does nothing more and nothing less than complete obedience. A Principle Naphtali believer does not add to the word of God nor do they take away from God's instructions.

Obedience in Detail

Revelation 22:18-19 (NIV)

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The principle to be seen here is that nothing is to be added to God's instructions and nothing is to be taken away from God's instructions. Those believers who attain to the level of Principle Naphtali are those who are like Jesus and Moses who were faithful in all of God's house and did nothing more or nothing less than exactly what God has said. They did not add anything of their own invention to God's words and they also did not omit any detail God spoke to them to do.

Deuteronomy 4:2 (NIV)

² Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

God's people were not to add to God's instructions for them and they were not to subtract from it by omitting anything that the Lord had commanded them.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (NIV)

³² See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

In the level of Principle Naphtali, the mature believer has gotten rid of all self-will and idols of the heart and they are no longer playing games pretending God has spoken to them when he has not. At this point they do nothing more and nothing less than what God instructs them to do and they add nothing to God's instructions and take nothing away from it by omission.

Whole Stones Verse Cut Stones

Deuteronomy 27:5-6 (NKJV)

⁵ And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them.

⁶ You shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God.

It was not permitted that God's people build an altar out of cut stones. This has spiritual application in that God's people are not to cut God's word to fit. The whole natural stones represent something created by God and which are unadulterated by having humans cut them to fit a preconceived human plan. This has application to handling the word of God deceitfully. By selecting key scriptures from different places in the bible a deceived believer can assemble a doctrine that supports just about anything that they might want to invent.

Example of Assembling a Doctrine

Believers following the impulses of their sin nature can easily pull scriptures out of context and assemble these together to create just about any type of doctrine that they might want to imagine!

Matthew 27:5 (NIV)

⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Luke 10:37 (NIV)

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

If someone took one part of each of the above scriptures, they could assemble these parts together. They could take the parts "He went away and hanged himself" and "Go and do likewise" and thus they could cut this to fit and create a suicide doctrine from these assembled fragments of scripture! While this may seem like an outlandish example, nevertheless it illustrates the fact that people who are not honest with themselves can assemble scriptures to support just about anything that they want to do (even if it is something that is derived from their sin nature).

This is how people can cut stones to fit their own preconceived ideas rather than accepting God's word at face value without playing games or manipulating it to say whatever they want it to say. Using whole stones to build an altar to the Lord speaks of using the word of God as it is without cutting it to fit.

Ephesians 5:22-24 (NIV)

²² Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

I have visited many churches and taught God's word and when I read the above scripture which commands wives to submit to their husband in "everything" then I would typically get a response from the pastor's wives who would say, "Not in everything!" This is shocking because the pastor's wife should have been the most spiritually mature woman in the church but without exception every time I read this scripture in the church it was the pastor's wives who said that they do not have to submit to their husbands in "everything" as the word of God has commanded. This is yet another example of how people do not want to obey some portion of God's word so they discard it or even ignore it!

Matthew 5:31-32 (NIV)

³¹ "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'

³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

In the United States some portions of scripture are ignored entirely and never mentioned. For example, if there is a 50% divorce rate then this means that half the congregation could be divorced. If someone should read the above scripture and quote the words of Jesus and honestly say, "Anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery!" then they would cause an upheaval in the American churches! American pastors typically prefer to leave this subject alone because they could get into a lot of trouble and lose half their congregation (just for repeating these words of Jesus)!

This is an example of omitting the word of God and leaving that part out because the implications of quoting the words of Jesus could cause upheaval in the church! They would prefer to ignore that portion of scripture or skip over entirely for that reason!

However, God unites the man and woman in marriage and they become one-flesh or one-complete person together. God sees the marriage union as lasting for the entire lifetime of the married couple. This means if they choose to divorce (and separate what God joined together) then God still sees them as "married." If they should have another spouse after severing their first marriage then God says they are committing adultery as long as their first spouse is still living!

But again, this type of thing is not taught in most churches in America so they leave out what Jesus has said concerning divorce!

2 Corinthians 4:2 (NKJV)

² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

The scripture above says that the word of God is not to be handled in deceitful manner. It is deceitful to hide things that Jesus has said or to ignore them. Also, a church that only focuses on love and forgiveness but never mentions God's judgment for unrepentant sin is handling the word of God deceitfully. They are not providing the people with the honest full-counsel of God's word! Focusing only on things that will please people results in a weak and pathetic church where people are not rebuked for sin nor called to repent. It will not go well for those who lead such fake churches nor the congregation who supports and attends false churches. Both the false leader and his congregation will end up in hell so the purpose of their religious social club is rendered meaningless if people do not make it to heaven!

People are not to add to God's word not take away from it by omitting anything that God has said only because of fear of what the people might say if they speak the truth!

In the level Principle Naphtali, the mature believer has put away playing games with God's word and they live by God's word in honest manner. They do not leave things out nor do they handle the word of God deceitfully by assembling scriptures to support their own preconceived ideas. They accept the word of God as whole natural stones without cutting it to fit their own human agenda!

Doing God's Will is Your Food

John 4:28-35 (NIV)

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,

²⁹ "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"

³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."

³² But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."

³³ Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"

³⁴ "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

³⁵ Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well and she went to bring the townspeople who then also became believers. Jesus said that his food was to do the will of God who sent him to finish his work.

On the level of Principle Naphtali, the mature believer no longer lives for themselves but instead they live only to fulfill the will of God who directs them in their day to day affairs of life. They do nothing more and nothing less than exactly what God tells them to do. They do not add to it or take away from it by omitting anything they are directed to do. They also do not leave their ordained place but remain faithful where God planted them even if that means to just manage the home and take care of their children and husband.

John 8:34-36 (NIV)

³⁴ Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

In the level of Principle Naphtali, the believer has reached the place of being a son and they have put away all sin and are no longer slaves to sin. It may seem ironic that when a son submits to lordship then they become free. This is similar to a wife who may fear to submit to her own husband thinking she will lose her freedom. But in fact, when she obeys God to submit to her husband then she becomes free indeed. The same is also true of submitting to the Lord on the level of Principle Naphtali when the believer becomes free as they learn to submit to lordship and live only for the Lord.

Genesis 49:21 (NIV)

²¹ "Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

In Principle Naphtali the believer is set free while at the same time discovering lordship is to do nothing less or more than what the Lord commands them to do. Bearing beautiful fawns speaks of being fruitful and this is the secret to becoming a "fruitful" believer to enter into lordship and this is similar to a branch being attached to the vine!

John 15:4-8 (NIV)

⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

⁸ This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Submitting to lordship is like a branch remaining attached to the vine. If the branch is severed from the vine then it will dry up and wither away. Only remaining attached to the vine allows the branch to bear much fruit. In the same way, remaining in the Lord (under lordship) allows the believer to bear much fruit. Without remaining in the Lord, they can do nothing of themselves. Walking with God in the level of Principle Naphtali sets them free like a deer and they become fruitful! So, when they bear much fruit, they show that they disciples of the Lord and are submitted to his lordship.

Lordship is equal to freedom even though it might appear to sound like slavery. The only way believers will experience freedom is through their submission to the lordship of the Messiah.

Daniel 10:16-19 (NIV)

¹⁶ Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless.

¹⁷ How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe."

¹⁸ Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.

¹⁹ "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."

Daniel was highly esteemed because he cared about the things that pertain to the kingdom of God and so he cared about what God also cares about. Daniel cared about the things of God such as having love for the holy city and the people of Jerusalem (just as God himself also cared about).

In the level of Principle Naphtali, the believer begins to care about the things that God cares about. This is how they become highly esteemed of the Lord just as Daniel was.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NASB)

20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Fully mature believers (on the Naphtali level) are those who use their human freewill to purify themselves and put away sin and evil motives will become a vessel of honor which can be used for God's glory. Principle Naphtali is the final stage of maturity when the believers are like a deer set free who walks with God and who has no more personal agendas nor any self-serving motives left within them. This is the highest level to attain after Principle Zebulun (which is when they are earthen vessels being loaded with a precious cargo of God's word to carry to the ends of the earth)!

Joshua 10:12-14 (NIV)

¹² On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."

¹³ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

In the level of Principle Naphtali, a man can speak and God will listen because such a man is fulfilling the plan of God on earth. Joshua did this and commanded the sun to stand still and it did not go down for a full-day until he could take vengeance upon the enemy. God will listen to a man on this level of Principle Naphtali because such a man is fulfilling the plan and will of God (rather than his own plan).

Exodus 33:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

God spoke to Moses and said that he would do everything Moses asked because God was pleased with Moses and knew him by name. This is the level of Principle Naphtali when the believer walks with God and becomes pleasing to God because they have no more personal agenda but fulfill only the plan of God in earth.

Exodus 33:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

¹⁹ And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

²⁰ But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

Moses met with lordship at the rest stop then he entered into relationship of lordship with God from that time forward. Moses was faithful in all of God's house doing God's will with nothing more or less than exact obedience. Moses attained the level of Principle Naphtali with God and even dared to ask God to show him his glory and God complied.

Those who attain the level of Principle Naphtali can write their own ticket with God meaning that they can ask whatever they want and it will be done for them.

John 15:7 (NIV)

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

This is when the believer can ask whatever they want of the Lord and it will be given to them. They are no longer asking for themselves but they are asking for things related to pleasing the Lord and fulfilling God's plan upon the earth. God even stopped the sun from going down for a full day when Joshua asked for it. This is the type of freedom experienced by those who attain the level of Principle Naphtali who become like a deer set free who bears beautiful fawns and is fruitful!

Deuteronomy 34:10-12 (NIV)

¹⁰ Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

¹¹ who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land.

¹² For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Moses attained to the level of Principle Naphtali when he was faithful in all God's house and won God's favor (who knew him by name). No prophet arose like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face. This is the highest level of spiritual maturity when a believer can walk with God and be pleasing in his sight and fulfill the plans and purposes of God on earth rather than his own.