WHO ARE THE REMNANT? – Part 1
This morning I went up the mountain to spend some time with Abba YAHUAH and as I was talking to Him, He impressed upon my heart to read Joel 2. At first I did not understand why, because over the past few weeks Father has been taking us on a journey through the seven nations in Deuteronomy 7 and my thoughts were still there. We have been looking at the strongholds that still remain within us and allowing Father to deal with them, little by little, just as He promised in Deuteronomy 7:22.
While I was praying for our village and everyone living here and others all over the world, Father suddenly interrupted my prayer with words that immediately caught my attention.
“I’m not raising up a multitude, Mattaniah. I’m raising up a Remnant.“
Those words remained with me as I continued reading Joel 2. The more I read, the more I realized that Father was not drawing my attention to an army. He was showing me a people. A Remnant.
For many months Father has been taking us on an incredible journey. Looking back, I can clearly see that every step has been preparing us for this moment. He has been teaching us to hear His voice, to trust His provision, to lift up our eyes towards the inheritance and, during this fifth Biblical month, to shema—to hear and obey.
Yet as I slowly read through Joel 2, Father shifted my focus. He was no longer speaking to me about the inheritance, He was speaking to me about the people who will inherit it and that changed everything.
As I continued reading, I began to notice that Joel 2 is describing the character of this Remnant. It is almost as though Father is answering a question we should perhaps all be asking ourselves:
Who are the people He is preparing to inherit the Promised Land?
The first thing that stood out to me was that they move together in complete unity.
“They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of battle, everyone goes on his way, ant they do not break ranks.” (Joel 2:7)
“They do not break ranks.” What a remarkable statement. They are not identified by their gifts, their knowledge or even by their numbers. This is not a people where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. They are not pursuing their own agendas or following their own plans. They move together because they are all following the same Voice. As Father moves, they move. As Father leads, they follow.
Then another picture in Joel 2:3 caught my attention. Before them is a land like the Garden of Eden, yet behind them is a desolate wilderness. I found myself thinking about that beautiful picture for quite some time.
This people are not looking behind them. Their eyes are not fixed on the wilderness they have left behind. Their eyes remain fixed on where Father is leading them. They know there is an inheritance before them, and they continue moving forward because they trust the One who is leading them.
Then I came to Joel 2:11, and suddenly another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
“For mighty is He who does His Word.”
There it was. Father wasn’t only showing me a fearless army, He was showing me why they are fearless. They are identified by one simple characteristic—they are doers of His Word.
Immediately my thoughts went back to everything Father has been teaching us during this fifth Biblical month. Shema. To hear… and to obey and I realized that the distinguishing mark of this Remnant is not their numbers, it is not their gifts, it is not even their knowledge of Scripture. It is their obedience. They hear the voice of YAHUAH, and they do His Word.
Their strength is not found in themselves. Their strength is found in their obedience to YAHUAH.
That is why they move together, that is why they do not break ranks and that is why they walk in authority. That is why they walk in victory and that is why they are fearless.
Their confidence is not found in themselves. Their confidence is found in the One whose voice they have learned to hear and obey.
As I sat there on the mountain, I realized that Father wasn’t simply showing me the destination. He was showing me the kind of people He is preparing for the destination and perhaps that is what this second round of Deuteronomy 7 is really about.
The first round exposed the strongholds, the second round is allowing Father to deal with what still remains within us. Not simply so that we can overcome these strongholds, but so that we become a people who are set-apart, purified, sanctified and prepared to walk in the authority, victory and fearlessness that we see in Joel 2.
Perhaps before Father entrusts His people with the inheritance, He first prepares a people whose hearts are fully surrendered to Him, a people who hear His voice, do His Word and refuse to break ranks.
As I continued reading this chapter, one thought kept settling deeper and deeper in my heart. Father is not raising up a multitude. He is raising up a Remnant.
A Remnant who shema.
A Remnant who hear His voice and do His Word.
A Remnant who do not break ranks because they have learned to follow one Shepherd.
A Remnant whose eyes remain fixed on the inheritance before them instead of the wilderness behind them.
As I reflected on all of this, I found myself asking another question. Perhaps the greatest question is not, “Am I going to inherit the Promised Land?“ Perhaps the question Father is asking each one of us is, “Am I becoming the kind of person I am preparing to inherit it?”
As I sat quietly before Abba YAHUAH, I knew He had answered that question through Joel 2. Yet I had no idea that our conversation was not over because as I made my way down the mountain, Father continued speaking in a way I never expected, through something so small and so ordinary that most people would simply have walked past it without giving it a second thought. And once again, He is about to reveal another beautiful piece of His heavenly story.
Shema beloved,
