THE SEVEN VOICES
OF THE SON OF GOD
Publication #94.75
(Part 4)
THE VOICE OF BREAKING
"The Voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon" (Psa. 29:5).
How wonderful it was when we initially heard the Son of God speak. The sound was like rolling Thunder over the dark plains of our souls. This voice was truly a harbinger of light as it lifted the shroud of death that wrapped us about. This voice started all who heard its pealing call on a journey to heights unknown and into the deep mysteries of Christ. It first brought us to the awareness of God, while laying the foundation of life, a life never dreamed possible.
Afterwards came the Voice of Power. It had a different sound. This second voice was no greater than the first, nor was it any less, only different. All the voices of the Lord are distinct from one another, even as snowflakes appear the same, yet they all differ.
Each voice has its own sound and unique character. The Voice of Power baptizes its hearer in the Holy Spirit. It administers the anointing of power, imparting the ability to conquer those things that human efforts are powerless to achieve.
We then heard the Voice of Majesty, the Voice of Sonship. It rang with regal wonder. Many who first hear it are so awe-stricken at such a high calling that they are humbled greatly, while others often walk in a false perceived pride of authority. The latter gives rise to an attitude of elitism, but very often this is due to hearing the "doctrine" of Sonship rather than the "Voice" of Sonship. If, however, they truly heard the Spirit of that majestic Word, and there happens to be any self-exaltation or carnal wit they choose to carry with them on this journey, the Lord will remove it with another voice. Once this voice is heard, and its work accomplished, it will reduce to splinters every proud thought, look, word or action. It is the Voice that breaks the Cedars of Lebanon.
The majestic call to Sonship initiated us into a place of the Father that we had never known. The thought of leaving the guiding hand of our mother and the impersonal tutors and governors excited us (Gal. 4:1-7) — but nothing could have prepared us for what lay ahead. Where we were expecting the glory of rule and dominion we found terrible pain and breakings. This was under the stern hand of our loving Father. Our Mother, the Church (not the system), the New Jerusalem, those who nurtured us with the sincere milk of the Word, told us many things about our heavenly Father — but what we imagined from those teachings was nothing like the experience.
It was a monumental day when we were "adopted" — placed as sons under the ruling hand of our Father. Being in our Father, however, as the twelve year-old Jesus said He had to be (Lk. 2:49, Grk), is sometimes less than pleasant when the time of cedar-breaking comes.
The writer of Hebrews reflected these hard lessons when he wrote: "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? ...That we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:5-11).
We can understand how the stern, austere voice of our Father can teach us, correct us, and even break us, but what do the Cedars of Lebanon have to do with all this? The fact is, each of us was born as a cedar of Lebanon, spiritually speaking, and when we notice the meaning of the two words it becomes a little more clear.
Cedar is translated from the Hebrew word, 'erez, which carries the thought of being tenacious, and the root word for Lebanon is lebab, and means the heart. The Cedar of Lebanon is the Tenacious Heart — a heart that is unmovable, unbending, unyielding, relentlessly determined to have its own way, no matter what. It is this cedar that will be broken when the fourth Voice is heard. And incidentally, one phase of this breaking voice is the hard circumstances of life that are set before us. They are unpleasant situations that we have no control over, and we would certainly not choose if things were left to us.
Nevertheless, throughout the Bible the Cedars of Lebanon are used in context as being special plantings of the Lord. It appears that this Cedar is the most prized tree to God of all the wood. And rightly so, when we see of whom it speaks. It is Adam, the one created in His own likeness.
Let us take a moment to notice some words the prophet Ezekiel penned concerning this point of the Cedar Tree being Adam. The prophecy was to Pharaoh, of course, and also referred to Assyria, but it parallels Adam so much that we cannot ignore it. The similarity is especially striking when we consider the commission Adam was given — to have dominion over the whole earth:
"Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a Cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the Deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. The cedars in THE GARDEN OF GOD could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in THE GARDEN OF GOD was like unto him in his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of EDEN, that were in THE GARDEN OF GOD, envied him. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness" (Ezk. 31:2-11).
It does sound as if the word Ezekiel penned may have been reaching farther than Pharaoh and the king of Assyria, doesn't it? Adam certainly fits the scenario very well. Also, Adam, which means, to show redness in the face, is reflected in the cedar's red wood. And do we need to be reminded that the heart of Adam, like the cedar, is very tenacious — that it is unyielding, unbending, and determined to stand in its own might, regardless of the storms that blow its way? Sounds a lot like man, doesn't it?
Indeed, the Cedar of Lebanon is the very nature of the heart of Adam. He was made and created in the image and likeness of God, the greatest work to ever be hewn from the earth. One of the traits he acquired from his Creator is the self-determined will — a tenacious heart! Such a will can be either good or evil, depending on its source and motive. When it comes to God's divine purpose in any matter, He is very determined to have His own way. Paul said that He works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). In another place it says of God, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I WILL do all My pleasure" (Isa. 46:10).
Thus, God has a determined passion to do His own will; likewise does man who was created in God's image and after His likeness. Man also possesses this tenacious determination in his will. When he fell from the glory of Eden he retained this unyielding character, but unlike God's will, it is earthy and far from being righteous.
This hard will, of course, was in his heart of red clay, which was no doubt a contributing factor to his fall. Remember? In Adam's heart (lebab) he said — "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isa. 14:13-14).
The words of Isaiah continue with what the fruit of Adam's tenacious rebellion would be:
"Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this THE MAN that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?" (Isa. 14:16).
Allegorically, this speaks so clearly of Adam, and not satan, as supposed by some. This great Cedar of Lebanon had to be driven out of Paradise, Eden, the Garden of God. It is this heart that every man is born with — the heart of the cedar, the heart of tenacity, the heart of I WILL. It is this heart, as strong and hard as it may be, that will be broken. When we are placed as sons in the care of our Father, we will hear His Voice that will render us void of our own might.
The Lord gains victory over Adam's strong, self-willed heart from within, and He breaks it wide open. In the Hebrew, the word "breaks" is more accurately translated "bursts," and when He speaks, Adam is powerless to withstand His Word. Once the Voice of the Lord that bursts the Cedars of Lebanon is heard, we come to know that our "free-will" is not so free as we had once thought. After a time, this voice becomes very convincing, even to the most tenacious heart. Mechanical devises such as laws, doctrines, dogmas, and religious ordinances are ineffectual in converting the heart of man. They may be good for instruction and guidance to a degree, but they cannot break a self-willed heart.
This voice, along with all the others, is part of the processings that usher us into the Great Mystery of Godliness. Job must have understood this when he said, "...What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10).
It is impossible for outward observers to understand the mystery of this voice, especially when they see the lives of godly people being broken. They cannot conceive of a good God chastising "good" people for no apparent reason. When they can see no outward sin in their lives, very often they assume the worst. Armed with the ignorance of God's dealings with sons, it is believed that they are harboring secret sins, and that God is surely making a public example of them. They do not understand, however, that the heart of every man will someday be broken and remolded for good use, even their own; but each one in their own order (1 Cor. 15:20-28).
By inspiration Jeremiah said this about the heart in every man:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). And we can be assured, it will remain in this unstately condition until the Lord begins to sound His Voice, that resounding voice that bursts it to pieces. We did not realize that the house we opened for Him to live in, our old carnal self, would be blown up. He knew, however, that it would never suffice, that He had to prepare an entirely new mansion (dwelling place) wherein to live.
When He begins to demolish these hearts of unpliable cedar, reducing us to nothing but Him and His purpose, we ourselves may wonder if there might be something that we have done to merit such severe treatment. If we have acted in rebellion against our Father, then He will surely deal with us accordingly; for He will severely scourge His sons when they merit it. However whether this is the case or not — the heart will still be broken. You see, in its unregenerate carnal state it is not a worthy habitation for the Spirit to dwell in forever. Therefore, one reason for His dwelling in us is to prepare a proper place to live. (ref. Jn. 14:1-26).
This work is often so painful, and we wonder if it will ever come to an end, but it will. It is after his bursting Voice levels our once cherished homes we called, "MY WILL BE DONE," and He replaces it with the one bearing His own name, "FATHER, NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE."
This work will then raise the walls of salvation in our hearts, causing us to sing joyous songs unto our Lord: "In that day shall this song be sung in the land ...We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks" (Isa. 26:1). Violence shall no more be heard in our land, wasting nor destruction within our borders; but we shalt call our walls Salvation, and our gates Praise (Isa. 60:18).
What joy arises — like wells of salvation, springing up unto everlasting life (Isa. 12:3, Jn. 4:14). There is a place in the Psalms that also dances with great exhilaration when the breaking is over. It is the verse following our topic scripture:
"He maketh them (the hearts) also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn ." (Psa. 29:6). There is more to this verse than what appears on the surface. With only a small amount of enlightenment we can see wondrous things pouring from its midst, and please be reminded, this is after the Voice that breaks the tenacious hearts of our Adamic nature (the Cedars of Lebanon).
We will notice the Hebrew meanings of some of the words in this verse that gave rise to our paraphrasing: skip (spring about wildly or for joy), Lebanon (the heart), Sirion (sheeted with snowy whiteness...it is the tallest peak in Lebanon. In Deuteronomy 3:9 Sirion is another name for Hermon, i.e., lofty). And also Young (a son, the builder of a family name), and unicorn (to rise).
Let us now read it again, but this time paraphrased and in the light of the Hebrew and the Spirit of the text:
"He maketh the hearts also to skip, and spring about for joy — jumping and leaping and praising God! The finished work of His Breaking Voice causes them to dance like a male calf, not a suckling, but a calf that is nearly grown, a steer, a bullock. This is Lebanon, the new heart, even Sirion (Mount Hermon), the throne of God. His Voice maketh them to rise victoriously and dance like the son of the rising King" (Psa. 29:6).
The Voice of the Lord breaks our tenacious hearts; and "...Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psa. 30:5). Our heart, the throne of our Lord, then skips with joy. This lofty place of dominion, from which Adam had formerly reigned, is now occupied by another Adam — the last Adam, Jesus Christ. It is from the top of this mountain, Sirion (Hermon), that all rule and authority comes. From the height of this Kingdom the blessing is commanded, even Life for evermore (Psa. 133:3).
From the day of Adam's fall, till the coming of our Lord, the Kingdom was under the dominion of Adam's foreboding rule, and from the heart of this mountain the river of death flowed to all creation. (Symbolically speaking, we see the Jordan River). After the heart-rending voice is heard, however, Jesus sits upon the Mountain, upon the throne of the Kingdom. The water He sends are not the bitter waters with which the first Adam blanketed the earth. The waters of our Lord is the pure River of Life, sweet and pure. They, the Spirit and the Word, will heal and make alive everything the first Adam wounded and killed.
The young unicorns, or the sons of the rising King, shall dance in the streets of the City of Peace as one did before them: "And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart." (1 Chron. 15:29). The daughters of Saul, those born of the church system and void of revelation, may despise the rejoicing of the new hearts, but the Sons of the anointed Kingdom of our Lord will continue skipping, and leaping, and praising God! For you see, their hearts are after the rich things of God; and we can be sure, it doesn't get any richer than the ark of the covenant. As these broken ones see it being carried into their most Holy place, they know that He will soon be filling His temple with the Glory of Himself. They rejoice and dance, for their union with Him of whom their soul loveth is now within reach.
When we first hear the Voice of the Lord that breaks the cedars of Lebanon, oh, what a terrible sound it makes. Our heavens quake at its fierce shakings. The young sons of majesty tremble, and some try to go back to their mother, but the Father has His firm hand upon them. They cannot return. It often takes a little time for them to adjust to this new order of things, but once the breaking is over, they are a little more mature. Like young steers, they are ready to continue on in the processings of the Lord, rising ever upward into Him from where all rule and authority in their lives comes — and they wait to hear the Voice that follows....
Elwin R. Roach
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