The train tracks in the image above can be used to represent a particular path or course which people have chosen to follow in life. This pathway of life is made of choices so the railroad ties (which the rails are attached to) could represent all of the many choices that a person will make while alive on earth. It is these choices which will define the route they will take and, in the end, it will also define their eternal destiny.

The steel rails are fixed and pinned to the timber of the railroad-ties supporting them. This means that once a person has fixed their course in life it is not an easy thing to change. There are some decisions that can never be reversed and these decisions will place them upon a specific "track" leading in a specific direction. Once these types of "irreversible" decisions have been made then the only thing that can be done is to make the best out of what remains of their life because they cannot go back and redo their past or start over again on another path or route of life.

Principle Reuben deals with making decisions that will affect a person’s future while living on earth as well as their future for all eternity in the life to come.

Great Destiny Lost

Genesis 49:3-4 (NIV)

³ "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

⁴ Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob and as the firstborn Reuben was entitled to a special share of inheritance. Often kings would grant their firstborn sons the rights to inherit the throne after them so being a firstborn son can speak of great rights and privileges. But Reuben was as turbulent as waters and he was impulsive and followed his base desires and instincts as would any beast. Instead of thinking of his future he casually threw away everything as the firstborn son when he committed sexual immorality with his father's concubine. He went up to his father's bed and defiled it and as a result of this passivity with sin it resulted in him losing his rights as a firstborn son!

1 Chronicles 5:1 (NASB)

¹ Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright.

Reuben lost his rights as the firstborn son because of his transgression involving incest with his father's concubine who was the mother of both of his half-brothers (Dan and Naphtali). (See Genesis 30:3-8).

Deuteronomy 21:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.

The firstborn son was entitled to receive a double-share of the estate but Reuben forfeited this right when he slept with his father's concubine in careless manner.

Deuteronomy 27:20 (NASB)

²⁰ 'Cursed is he who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's skirt.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

God's word says that having sexual relations with a father's wife is something that is cursed by God as a sin. The sin of Reuben therefore had far reaching consequences for both his natural life on earth as well as for eternity to come.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

The sin of sexual immorality is a sin that is against one's own body and should have no place for a believer whose body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Engaging in sexual immorality defiles the body of a believer (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit). The believer is called to honor God with their body by fleeing from all forms of sexual immorality.

Genesis 39:6-10 (NIV)

⁶ So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

⁷ and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

⁸ But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.

⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"

¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

It is interesting that the birthright of the firstborn was lost by Reuben for committing sexual immorality but it was given to Joseph (who did not commit sexual immorality) even when he was tested in this area.

Joseph refused to have sexual relations with the lustful wife of Potiphar saying that he could not do this wicked thing and sin against God! Joseph understood that the sin of sexual immorality was a sin against God that would have far-reaching effects upon his life on earth and also in the life to come for all eternity. Therefore, Joseph considered his future and made a willful choice to flee from the sin of sexual immorality.

Genesis 39:11-13 (NIV)

¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.

¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

When Joseph was grabbed by this lustful woman, he wisely ran out of the house in order not to give into temptation. Those who are wise will not play with temptation but will recognize the danger and flee from it not giving any open door for them to fall into a sin that can ruin their lives forever.

Proverbs 6:32-33 (NIV)

³² But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.

³³ Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away;

The world often makes light of the sin of sexual immorality and makes it sound as if it is only a trivial thing or something fun to engage in. But this type of worldly-thinking totally ignores the enduring consequences of this sin. Those who commit sexual immorality lack judgment and have no consideration for their future nor the future consequences of this sin. Those who engage in sexual immorality destroy themselves and their disgrace and shame can never be wiped away. It is something that will follow them to the grave and will produce consequences that will affect their eternity destiny as well.

Principle Judah involves making choices that will affect all eternity and these choices determine the outcome of the believer's natural lives upon the earth as well as their eternity in the life thereafter.

Again, Principle Reuben deals with the factor of using human freewill to choose that which pleases God. This can be compared to a railroad-track because a train cannot easily turn around but must ride on the rails where it is found. Once the switch has been made and the train has been directed down a chosen railroad-track then this is not a decision that can be easily reversed. In the same way there are decisions that believers can make on earth that can have lasting effects upon their lives and such decisions cannot be reversed.

This type of thing can be seen in the behavior of Esau who for a single meal traded his own birthright.

Hebrews 12:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

Esau traded his inheritance for a single meal just like Reuben forfeited his birthright for a single act of sexual immorality.

Genesis 25:29-34 (NIV)

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.

³⁰ He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

³¹ Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

³² "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

³³ But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Esau sold out his birthright (which was something of eternal value) only to satisfy a temporal craving like hunger. This can be used as a depiction of someone selling out their birthright with God only to gratify some craving of their sin nature (like sexual immorality). It is selling out something priceless for something that is not even worth a bowl full of beans!

Hebrews 12:16-17 (NIV)

¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

¹⁷ Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

Esau was godless in his behavior and sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son for a single meal. He could not change the outcome after this decision was made even though he sought for it carefully with tears.

Principle Reuben speaks of making decisions while on earth and each and every decision will determine the future of the person making those decisions.

The Freewill of Mankind

God has given humans a freewill and God will not supersede that human freewill and will not force anyone to go to heaven. He instead sets before them choices and asked them to choose the way of life instead of the way of death.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹ This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

²⁰ and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

If the people chose to obey God (and live by his laws and commandments) then they have made the right decision to choose life. But if they chose to break all of God's laws and live their own lives and do their own thing then they would choose death. Every decision a person can make which can affect their future is a decision for either life or death.

It is the knowledge of God's word that causes humans to become wise and make the right decisions which will make them prosper on earth and also allow them to obtain eternal life in the eternity to come.

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 (NIV)

⁵ See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.

⁶ Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."

It was God's decrees and laws that made the children of Israel prosper and these decrees also gave them wisdom to live successful and prosperous lives on earth. God's laws cover everything including both natural and spiritual principles. Humans are both natural and spiritual beings and so God provides principles that help them both naturally and spiritually. The natural principles give the wisdom to make right choices for natural living and spiritual principles give them wisdom to make right choices for entering into eternity.

Ordained Relationships

The word of God can be used to illustrate numerous spiritual truths but I would like to use the scriptures below in application to ordained relationships. In the case of young Saul God directed his steps to the hometown of the prophet Samuel where he was anointed as the first king of Israel. Then when he left Samuel the young Saul met three different groups of men at specific locations just as predicted by the prophet Samuel (in advance of these meetings taking place). The advance predictions of all of these meetings confirms that it was God ordering the steps of Saul and so these meetings can also be used as an illustration of what "ordained-relationships" mean.

An ordained-relationship is a relationship God has arranged. It is not a product of human planning or intrigue. God places certain people together and when they are in close association the result is that they will have fruitful lives and they fulfilling the plan and purposes of God upon the earth. God brought Saul to see Samuel who was ordered to anoint him as the first king of Israel. They entered into a prophet/king type of association from that point until such time that Saul disobeyed God and was rejected as King. But in the beginning, it was clearly something God had arranged therefore this can be called an "ordained-relationship" between the prophet Samuel and the young Saul.

1 Samuel 9:15-17 (NIV)

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel:

¹⁶ "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me."

¹⁷ When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people."

God told the prophet Samuel that he would send a young man from the land of Benjamin whom Samuel was supposed to anoint as the first King of Israel. God was at work arranging this meeting between Samuel and Saul and this is an example of an ordained relationship ordered by God.

1 Samuel 9:3 (NIV)

³ Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys."

The young Saul was sent out by his father Kish to look for some lost donkeys that had strayed away. It was due to this circumstance of searching for the lost donkeys which resulted in Saul’s meeting with the prophet Samuel.

1 Samuel 9:5-10 (NIV)

⁵ When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."

⁶ But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."

⁷ Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?"

⁸ The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take."

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)

¹⁰ "Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So they set out for the town where the man of God was.

So, the search for the lost donkeys brought Saul to the hometown of the prophet Samuel.

1 Samuel 9:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"

¹⁹ "I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

²⁰ As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

Samuel informed Saul that the lost donkeys were already found and in fact the search for the donkeys was the circumstance God used to bring the young Saul to the town of Samuel the prophet where he was anointed king of Israel. This was a divine appointment and a ordained-relationship ordered by God.

This story of Saul can be used to illustrate "ordained relationships" which means that God ordained his meeting with the prophet Samuel and directed his steps using the search for the lost donkeys to bring Saul to the hometown of Samuel.

Ordained Meeting with Three Different Groups

When Saul left Samuel, he met three different groups of men just as predicted by the prophet. This again could be used to illustrate "ordained-relationships" because these meetings were predicted in advance by the prophet Samuel.

1 Samuel 10:2-6 (NIV)

² When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"'

³ "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine.

⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

⁵ "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying.

⁶ The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

The meeting with the first two men then the next three men and then an entire company of men were all predicted in advance by the prophet Samuel. This gives confirmation that God has "ordained-relationships" and God can order the steps of people to cross paths just as Saul met Samuel and then met the three different groups of men in the specific locations just as predicted by the prophet.

Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)

²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.

This illustration of young Saul can be used to show that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and that God delights in his way! God was leading the young Saul who arrived at the home town of Samuel at the specific time revealed to the prophet and who also met three groups of men at specific locations after he left Samuel. Saul was having his steps order by God even when he was unaware of it. He left home thinking to look for some lost livestock that strayed away but instead he ended up meeting specific men which were ordained by God for him to meet at specific times and specific locations.

The bible can be used to illustrate many different things but these scriptures also illustrate that God has ordained relationships and God can direct the steps of his people to meet these "ordained" people in a specific time and location.

Relationships Not Ordained Lead to Death

Just as there are "ordained-relationships" so there are also relationships that are not ordained by God and occur due to human manipulation.

1 Kings 13:1-9 (NIV)

¹ By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering.

² He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.'"

³ That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.

⁵ Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷ The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."

⁸ But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here.

⁹ For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.'"

There was a young prophet that came from Judah and delivered God's rebuke to the wicked King Jeroboam who created a false religion of idol-worship in both Dan and Bethel. The reason that I call this prophet a "young" prophet was that he displayed by his own words that he was not yet fully mature. This young prophet spoke out the personal words the Lord had given to him in public and thus his lack of discretion served to informed others of what God said. Such directions were of a personal nature and should not have been shared with anyone else who could then use them against him.

1 Kings 13:11-14 (NIV)

¹¹ Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king.

¹² Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken.

¹³ So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it

¹⁴ and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "I am," he replied.

The young prophet foolishly uttered God's private directions to him in public and among those which heard these words was the sons of an old degenerate prophet who was living in this place of spiritual apostasy. Apparently, this old prophet found a means of making money from this false religious system in Bethel so he sold out his gift for money and was living there in this place of false religion.

This old prophet was told by his sons what the young prophet had said so the old prophet asked which way he went and chased after him.

1 Kings 13:13-19 (NIV)

¹³ So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it

¹⁴ and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "I am," he replied.

¹⁵ So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat."

¹⁶ The man of God said, "I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place.

¹⁷ I have been told by the word of the LORD: 'You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.'"

¹⁸ The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (But he was lying to him.)

¹⁹ So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

It seems that the old prophet was a real prophet who had fallen from God and joined false religion because this old prophet possessed knowledge of the things of God. Apparently, he was jealous and wanted to remove the competition of having this young prophet around. So, using his owns words against him the old prophet lied and said that I am also a prophet and an angel told me to bring you back to my house and to eat and drink there. This old prophet intentionally deceived this young prophet being fully aware that if the young prophet disobeyed God then it would result in his death. The old prophet basically talked this young prophet into committing suicide by coming back to eat and drink in that place of apostasy. Drinking and eating is considered part of fellowship and becoming "one" with those with whom a meal is shared.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 (NIV)

⁹ I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--

¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

¹¹ But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

The Apostle Paul instructed that a fallen believer should not be associated with and no other believer should even eat with such a person. Sharing a meal with them was equal to condoning their sin as if they are still good friends regardless of their wicked behavior in the sight of God.

The old prophet was sold out to false religion and was living in a town of spiritual apostasy and did not separate himself from this wicked place. The young prophet was warned by God not to eat in such a place or fellowship with these evil people who were sold out to commit wickedness in God's sight and who were engaged in false religion and idolatry. To eat with them was to fellowship with them and become like them as if condoning their evil behavior!

1 Kings 13:20-26 (NIV)

²⁰ While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back.

²¹ He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.

²² You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.'"

²³ When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.

²⁴ As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.

²⁵ Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

²⁶ When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him."

The old apostate prophet tricked the young prophet to come back to eat in that place of apostasy thus the young prophet broke the commands God had given to him. As a result of this disobedience a lion met the young prophet on the road and killed him.

The first mistake of the young prophet was uttering the private things of God in public. These words were used against him when the old apostate prophet heard that the young prophet was instructed by God not to share a meal with anyone in that place. By tricking him to return to have a meal the old prophet was able to get the young prophet to commit the equivalent of suicide. It is suicide to disobey God and this disobedience brought the judgment of a lion attacking and killing the disobedient young prophet! This was in fact "murder" instigated by the old apostate prophet who knew full-well that if he could get the young prophet to disobey God then he would be killed for it. Thus, the old prophet eliminated a prophet who was dedicated to God and who challenged his position of "compromised-living" among those who were engaging in false religion and idol-worship.

1 Kings 13:27-32 (NIV)

²⁷ The prophet said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they did so.

²⁸ Then he went out and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey.

²⁹ So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him.

³⁰ Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, "Oh, my brother!"

³¹ After burying him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

³² For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true."

Once the young prophet was killed off the apostate prophet came to get his corpse and brought it back to the apostate city again and instructed that when he died that he be buried beside this fallen young prophet.

This story can be used to illustrate relationships that were "not-ordained" by God but only came about by human manipulations. The old prophet first heard the words of the young prophet repeated by his sons. Once this apostate old prophet knew God's directions to the young prophet then all he had to do is deceive him to break God's commands and then the young prophet would be killed by judgment. The young prophet was to deliver God's rebuke and then leave and not share a meal with anyone living in that town of apostasy.

It is ironic however that after this young prophet was deceived to disobey God and when he was killed, then he was carried back again to the town of apostasy. His corpse was then buried beside the body of the old apostate prophet for generations to come. What he failed to do in keeping separation from the evil of apostasy resulted in him being carried back and buried forever together with those who were apostate.

There is a spiritual principle here that if someone is passive about being hooked into relationships that are "not-ordained" by God then they may end up in that relationship with the "damned" forever. The young prophet went to an apostate grave and was even buried in the apostate city next to an apostate old prophet forever!

The young prophet entered into a bad relationship "not-ordained" by God because he passively followed someone else who was a liar! Disobeying God separated the young prophet from God and placed him in the grave of apostasy in a town with apostate people forever!

There is a lesson to be learned here that God's people cannot just passively follow everyone or anyone who suggests this or that thing. They are to keep their separation to God and not compromise. They have to be in control of their own steps and follow only God's leading. If they passively follow humans, they will end up being stuck with the damned and buried together with the damned only because they did not say NO to those who tried to determine their steps and directions for them. Many people have gone into the ditch by just passively following the human advice or direction of others (instead of following God's plan for their lives)!

Drifting into Relationships Not-Ordained

Usually parents would not want their children to run with vile or immoral kids who could corrupt their good children with defilement and vices and evil behavior. But humans are "social-creatures" and often they will do just about anything to gain acceptance from some group of people that they want to belong to.

I know of a woman who belonged to a dead religious system and most of her relatives all belonged to the same religious system of bondage. After she was saved however, she continued to attend this dead religion. Many other believers warned her to get out of it now that she was saved but she continued to go there for many years and even justified her actions saying that God told her to remain in that dead religion. She was constantly trying to gain acceptance from the people within this dead religion. She even used her own children as a means of trying to buy favor with those of this dead religion. She would have her kids bused for many miles to their religious education programs trying to show that she was still devoted to this dead religion. She would constantly try to arrange car-pooling or rides or invite the children of others to work with her children or do activities together. But the children she invited to be with her own were vile and reprobate and were those who attended this dead religion but had no spiritual regeneration and therefore were a bad influence and grief to her own children who were already born-again and were being persecuted by these vile religious kids.

The situation arose where her children who were born-again and loved righteousness were constantly being forced to endure being associated with vile unregenerate kids from this dead religion who only persecuted them for being born-again. This is a case of relationships "not-ordained" by God because all of the interaction of being bused for long-trips to a religious education program forced her kids into association with those who were vile and religious and unregenerate! This woman was constantly arranging to have car-pools to send their kids together with the kids of the religious families only in an effort to flatter them and gain approval from these religious people she longed to gain acceptance from!

Ephesians 6:1-3 (NIV)

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

² "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise--

³ "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

These scriptures say that children should obey their parents and this is generally a right thing to do.

Colossians 3:20 (NIV)

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Again, the scripture say that children should obey their parents in everything and this in fact is a good general principle to follow because young children need parents to make decisions for them when they are too young to make decisions for themselves.

There are two scriptures telling children to obey their parents because this is generally the right thing to do in most cases. But there is a time however when a parent could be serving idols of their heart as in the case of this woman who was saved but refused to leave a dead religion only because all of her relatives were raised in bondage to this dead religion and she desired to gain their acceptance.

However, it had bad effects on her own children because she was using her children to buy favor with those of this dead religion. She was forcing her own kids into association with profane religious kids. She would also drag her kids to family reunions and expose them once more to the vile religious kids who persecuted her own. She sent them on bus trips with the vile religious kids to religious education programs of this dead religious system. She invited these religious kids over to do fieldwork with her own children. All of this was flatter to buy favor and approval with those who were damned!

If ever a child would be justified in disobeying his parents it would be fully justified in this case! The children of this vain woman should have rebelled against her and refused to attend these religious education programs that forced them into fellowship with vile religious kids. They should have refused to work with the kids from the family of this dead religion who only persecuted them and behaved in vile manner! They should have refused to share a ride or car pool with such vain people and keep their separation to the Lord.

In general principle children should always obey their parents especially when they are young and need an adult to make decisions for them. But when they mature and can tell the difference between right and wrong, then they would be fully justified in rebelling against their parent if they are being forced into relationship with vile and religious people who only persecute them. They should put their foot down and say, "I will obey my parents in everything they say (except this one thing)! I refuse to be forced into fellowship with vain religious and vile religious people who persecute me for being righteous and being a born-again believer!

This illustration brings up the subject of people drifting passively into relationships "not-ordained" by God. Such relationships can put them in the grave to be buried forever with those who are apostate (as what happened to the young prophet who spoke to much and his own words were used against him). He was not aggressive to say NO to relationships "not-ordained" and he ended up being buried in apostasy and being buried next to an old apostate prophet forever!

If people do not resist relationships "not-ordained" they will in fact be led by the nose into slavery and misery and apostasy! It is far better to be master of their own lives so they can be free to follow God's direction rather than being led around by humans who assume to decide their fate for them! In our example above it was the vain pride and ego and heart-idols of this mother who decided the fate of her children for them by forcing them into association with the wicked!

Oftentimes people will speak trivial nonsense things and say, "You ought to get together with so and so and do such and such!" But seldom are such suggestions ever from God and most often they will only lead to trouble. There are many passive teenagers in prison only because they drifted aimlessly into relationships "not-ordained" and their wicked peers pushed them to do evil or deliver drugs and then they got caught and sent to prison for it. They were being used to assume all of the risk because others were able to dominate them to do their bidding! Then they ended up languishing for years in prison only because of bad relationships of wicked people which forced them to do evil and commit criminal acts on their behalf.

2 Chronicles 33:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

¹¹ So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

The oppressors who attacked Israel (when they sinned) would often put a fishhook in their nose and drag them barefoot and naked through the desert-heat into exile. These were death marches where their bare feet would swell up and burst on the hot sand and most of them would perish and die a miserable death before they made it to their final place of captivity.

The image of being dragged away by the nose can be also be used to illustrate someone who is being led by their nose to go places they did not wish to do.

Principle Ruben speaks of how Ruben followed his nose like a dog sniffing for scents and wandering around aimlessly and mating with any dog it happens to meet. Following their nose is like the behavior of a dog looking for a female dog in heat by roaming around in random or aimless manner!

So being led by the nose can be used to illustrate when someone is forced into relationships "not-ordained" and these people spell nothing but trouble for those they are in association with.

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)

³³ Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

Bad company corrupts good morals and this can be applied to a teenager with the wrong crowd who push him into vices and drugs and immoral behavior. Gangs will even force new "dupes" into running drugs for them so that the dupe will have to take all of the heat when they are captured by police.

But the same type of thing occurs when born-again children are forced to endure association with vile and religious kids who persecute them for being believers. This is not a situation where these pure young people are being edified or caused to grow in the Lord because they are being harassed by wicked kids of their own age! In order to stand persecution a believer should be mature and have fully developed logic and seasoned emotions and be strong enough to handle such persecution. When they are young and tender, they should be shielded from such exposure to evil for as long as possible. Then when they are mature and strong spiritually, they can better stand persecution like this.

Determining Your own Destiny

Life is made of a series of choices and if people are forced into association with the wicked this is an example of a forced relationship that is "not-ordained" and it will only result in their own detriment!

There is a saying that says, "Choose your friends wisely" and this has application to believers not passively entering into associations with the wicked who are nothing but a bad influence.

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

It is complete nonsense for someone to say that children of believers should associate with the wicked in order to be a light and witness to them. Young children are in no position to stand persecution. Even the young prophet did not have enough sense not to share the private things which God told him in public. It was to his own downfall when his own words were used against him and this resulted in his death!

I often use the illustration of a container of pure distilled water and a container of sewage. If one drop of sewage is added to the container of pure water then the entire container of pure water is then contaminated and unfit to drink. But if the entire container of pure water is dumped into the sewage then it does not make the sewage pure.

In the same way it is the evil influence of unbelievers that will always contaminate that which is good not the other way around. Often passive parents will send their trouble-maker sons to a Christian school hoping it will have a good effect on them. But the exact opposite always occurs and the vile and degenerate child will only bring defilement and persecution and trouble to the believers in that school. These schools were not created to be "reform-schools" for delinquent criminal children but rather a place of refuge where born-again children can grow and mature in the Lord without the daily drama of a vile bully persecuting them for being a believer!

It is only after children have matured that they have a better chance of standing persecution. Therefore, they should not be forced into association with vile kids just because their parents have no common sense!

Again if there was ever a time when it would be acceptable for a child to disobey a parent then it would be when a foolish mother seeks to force their association with religious and vile kids only to serve her own purposes of using her kids to buy favor with the religious group she is catering to find acceptance.

What is the value of a child? If I was a parent, I would prefer to home school or even relocate to a different region entirely in order to find godly education for my children rather than force them into association with the vile and religious who persecute them and make their lives miserable! What good is it if a woman gains acceptance with a group of religious people at the expense of her own children? Their lives could be destroyed by having bad associations with evil kids from unregenerate religious families.

Choosing your Relationships

This same principle has application to adult believers as well because they are to shun association with those who are from relationships "not-ordained" and seek to have only relationships ordained by God.

Relationships ordained by God will be beneficial to both parties and each will strengthen one another such as the godly faith-based relationship between Jonathan and David.

1 Samuel 18:1 (NIV)

¹ After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

After David killed the giant by faith then Jonathan listened to the faith-language of David and saw that he had the same convictions as David. Jonathan was also a man of faith himself and this was something that he had in common with David who was also a man of faith!

1 Samuel 14:6 (NIV)

⁶ Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."

Jonathan displayed his faith when he confronted an entire military garrison of the enemy with no one else except his own armor bearer. Jonathan declared that God can deliver by many or by few because he had faith in God and as a result God granted a great victory through him.

Jonathan and David had this "like-faith" in common together and this is and example of an ordained relationship that made both parties stronger in God!

1 Samuel 23:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.

When David was being hunted by the jealous King Saul it was his friend Jonathan who came and helped him find strength in God! They had a common faith between them and this is what made David love Jonathan more than his own self!

This is an example of an "ordained-relationship" which causes both parties to draw closer to God and love God even more! But a relationship "not-ordained" will do the exact opposite and end up with the one who does not resist the bad association being buried together with those who are apostate!

While it may be difficult for a child to resist his parent pushing him into association with the vile, an adult has no such excuse. An adult can make their own decisions about whom they will have association with. If no one worthy can be found it is better to remain alone in fellowship with God than to be in association with the vile or wicked or those who belong to apostate dead religion.

Choosing a Worthy Church

The people that a person associates with can have a big effect upon them and their own family. There are dead religious groups who say that everything in the bible has passed away including healing. If someone in their family happens to gets sick then it is the worst possible place to be in a church that teaches that healing is passed away. They do not need to associate with people who will remove faith out of their hearts when they need faith to stay alive.

If healing is being taught in a church then a manifestation of healing will be present in that church and many people will be healed. But if false doctrines are being taught that healing has been passed away then there will be almost no healing among them. Such false teaching will remove faith from the hearts and is a satanic doctrine to get people to accept sickness as if it was from God. Thus, Satan can deceive humans to accept his baggage of goods (like sickness and disease) by deceiving them that healing has passed away.

I would never attend such a church that removes faith from the hearth by their constant teaching of doubt and unbelief! The believer is to break all associations with those who are godless and vile and faithless and this includes many denominations who teach against God's word and have for leaders (dead-theologians) who have no spiritual life within their hearts! God's people are to flee dead religion in all of its forms and pursue walking with God in truth!

Association with the Right People

When I was young in the Lord (not yet fully mature) I had a well-meaning (traveling-preacher) try to "help-me-out" by giving me some of his contacts in the U.S. to visit. What I soon discovered was that this guy gave me all of his "garbage" contacts and it was of no help to me whatsoever. These men were all hireling-pastors and fake laymen ministry intruders who were not called by God into the Fivefold Ministry! It was a great disaster for me to ever have visited such people and their fake churches because it was not "anointed" at all and these were not relationships ordained by God!

I had the same thing occur when traveling in the Philippines when an interpreter I hired thought he could set up some schedules with a group of dead denominational pastors. Again, these were relationships "not-ordained" by God and they actually killed the anointing by their unbelief! When I ministered in places that were ordained by God then there was an "anointing" present and God's Spirit moved among them! But the same sermon delivered in a dead church run by a hireling laymen ministry intruder had no anointing whatsoever! It was a case where someone else was setting up my visitation schedules and he was not following the voice of God at all!

It was after these negative experiences I learned my lesson and I determined never to allow others to force me into association with those who are "not-ordained" ever again. Those who hate the truth do not want to be taught and only those with "ears-to-hear" are worthy of receiving biblical teaching. I never again want to visit or associate with those who are relationships "not-ordained" by God and I made a commitment only to go where God specifically leads me to go. I no longer allow others to make my schedules for me in passive manner but now I only allow God to direct by steps by the inward witness!

See the link "Led by the Spirit" for more details.

Principle Reuben deals with a believer "taking-charge" of their own lives and not being led around by impulses of the sin nature or by vain people or others trying to use them for their own purposes. The believer is to only be led by the Spirit of God just as a sheep follows the good shepherd.

Life is made up of a series of choices and they cannot afford to have others make those decisions for them.

Below is a list of scriptures that deal with the fact that God has a plan and purpose for every believer and they are not to be led around by their sin nature or by vain people or allow themselves to be used by others who seek to make decisions for them.

Isaiah 58:11 (NIV2011)

¹¹ The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your desires in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

It should be emphasized that the Lord will guide the believer always as long as they are seeking God and desire to receive his direction for their lives.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NASB)

¹¹ 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

¹² 'Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

¹³ 'You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

God has a plan for every believer's life and these are good plans for their own welfare and not for calamity but plans which give them a future and a hope! If the believer will call upon the Lord and pray to God then he will listen to them and give them direction on what they are to do and where they are to go. If they will seek the Lord with all of their hearts, they will find him! The believer can walk with God who is their good shepherd and not be led around by foolish people making decisions for them.

Psalm 32:8 (NIV2011)

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

God promises to instruct the believer and teach the believer and show them the way they are to go. This is a scripture that promises divine guidance. God will counsel them and watch over them with his loving eye upon them! God has a good plan for their lives and the believer can hear God's voice and be led by God to fulfill the plan God has for them!

Proverbs 20:24 (NIV2011)

²⁴ A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?

Proverbs 20:24 (NLT2)

²⁴ The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

The believer can expect that their steps are being directed by the Lord just as Saul was being directed to come to the hometown of the prophet Samuel when it was time to anoint him as king of Israel! The believer cannot understand his own way because God has a bigger plan than they can imagine and God will be the one to direct them. They should not follow common sense or logic but follow God's leading into the ordained place he has for them. They should only work with ordained people within ordained relationships rather than being led by the nose by foolish people making their decisions for them!

Psalm 73:24 (NIV2011)

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

God promises to guide the believer with his counsel during their lifetime on earth and afterward they will be received into glory in heaven!

Psalm 31:15 (NIV2011)

¹⁵ My times are in your hands…

The believer can rest in the fact that their times are in God's hands and he can direct them into the plan he has for them into the right place with the right people.

Jeremiah 10:23 (NLT)-M

²³ O Lord, I know that our lives are not our own and it is not in us to direct our own steps or to plan our own course (during our time on earth).

It is not within the believer to guide his own steps or decide his own fate other than to determine to follow the Lord. The Lord himself holds the fate of the believer and they can follow God's voice and fulfill the plan God has for their lives.

These scriptures all emphasize that God has a plan for each and every believer and an ordained place for them to live and a ministry for those in the Fivefold Ministry and a job for those who are laymen and a specific wife for them and they are not mess up God’s plan by living as a sheep gone astray by doing their own thing!

This also relates to lordship to remain with the good shepherd and not be like a independent goat-type that does their own thing.

Principle Reuben deals with lordship and not doing anything on their own by living in perfect submission to God. God has a path for the believer (it is an ordained set of train-tracks) and if they will seek God and want to be led by God then they will find their ordained place. But if they are passive and drift around like a dog following his nose, they will end up like Reuben losing his destiny and inheritance and birthright. They will be buried together with the aimless like the young prophet buried in an apostate city beside an apostate old prophet.

Principle Reuben is a warning for all believers to take control over their own lives and make their own decisions. If they are passive then other vain or vile people will assume to make their life decisions for them and it will result in their own disqualification with God and lead to their own ruination!

Principle Reuben deals with the believer taking their own God-given destiny into their own hands by refusing any human contacts or relationship that are "not-ordained" and rejecting all attempts of vain people to assume to make their life decisions for them. The believer is to stick to their own God-given course in life without distraction. Only God has the right to ordain the relationships of the believer and anything outside of God's ordained relationships should be strictly forbidden to the believer.

The believer is to trust in the Lord fully and God will open the door for them to find their purpose and destiny in life. They are to remain where God has planted them and not be distracted by anything else. They are not to move from their ordained place unless God is clearly guiding them. Believers are to be faithful where God has planted them and not move from their ordained place.

If God is not speaking anything then it means they are in the right place and should not move from their ordained place.

Both Reuben and Esau were examples of men who were drifting aimlessly like a dog using his own basic instincts to follow his nose. The believer however it to live on a higher level than a dog and be led by the Spirit of God and follow the Good Shepherd as an obedient sheep!

Believers must have a determined plan to make it to heaven and they have to make a decision not to fall into vile human associations in passive manner. They have to purposely determine who they will fellowship with and separate themselves willfully from all those who are not "ordained-relationships!"

Never should a believer allow themselves to passively "drift" into associations or go anywhere based upon the instigation of humans. They are to remain where they are planted and never leave unless God actually sends them out.

This is all related to Principle Reuben because every decision a believer can make has both natural and eternal consequences. Believers can expect God’s provision when they remain in God’s ordained place.

God has an ordained place for each believer and God has an ordained spouse and ordained relationships. They cannot just assume to go where they want or marry whoever they want or do whatever they want. Such aimless behavior is that of a goat-type of unbeliever who lives independent of God's will for their lives. Such independent behavior has no place in the lives of the believers who are required to follow the Good Shepherd!

Reuben should have got his own wife and not have taken the wife of his father. Obviously, this is an example of a guy who was not following the ordained relationships of God. He was no better than an animal following his basic instincts like a dog following his nose!

Genesis 24:9-20 (NIV)

⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

¹¹ He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

¹² Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

¹⁴ May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'--let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.

¹⁶ The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

¹⁸ "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking."

²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.

God had an ordained wife prepared for Isaac and the servant of Abraham prayed that God would guide him to meet the right girl for his master's son. God answered his prayers and Rebecca came exactly when he finished praying to God for help! This shows that God was guiding Abraham's servant to the right "ordained" wife for Isaac.

God has a plan for the believer and it includes a specific ministry for those who are Levites and a specific job or occupation for those who are laymen and a specific location for them to live and a specific spouse and every detail of their lives has been planned by God.

But humans have a freewill and they can freely go off on their own and do their own thing and miss all of the good plans God has ordained for their lives. They can even leave God's ordained place or divorce from God's ordained spouse and use their human freewill to produce their own ruination by their own independent living.

Romans 12:2 (NASB)

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

If they are led by humans and not God they will typically come into ruination because only God holds the good and acceptable and perfect plan for their lives.

Principle Reuben is an illustration that bad decisions make for a bad life in the future while good decisions will make for a good life. A person's entire life on earth is determined by the decisions that they make. If they are passive and allow others to lead them around by the nose and make their life-decisions for them then they will come to complete ruination.

The believer is required to hear God's voice and walk with God and not be passive about who they associate with or what they do. They are to find their own "ordained-place" and then be faithful in that place and not leave the place where God has planted them.

The theme of Principle Reuben is that life is made of choices and the choices people make on earth will have both natural and spiritual consequences. Meeting the wrong people and having the wrong associations will bring ruination to the lives of believers. But being in God's ordained place and having only ordained relationships will bring blessing to the lives of the believers.

Definition of a False Cult

The definition of a false cult is when adherents of that false cult surrender their minds and will to that of the cult leader and allow someone else to do their thinking for them. This is in great contrast to godly leaders who educate the people in the principles of God's word so that they can make informed decisions of their own.

This should be a warning to every believer that they are never to allow anyone to make decisions for them. They are only to seek God and get God's direction for themselves and be obedient to that direction only. Only God has the right to ordain their relationships and they are to do nothing more or less than what God calls them to do!