The Spirit of the Matter:

            This chapter focuses on “The Parable of the Weeds” from Matthew 13: 24-43 and “The Parable of the Net” from Matthew 13: 47-52.

            The week passed quietly until the last workday, and everyone wondered, “Would Joshua’s followers go to the mountain or stay in the city?” Even the followers wondered what people would do. Nobody asked the obvious question out loud, but everyone wondered who would stay in the city from the fear of Stan.

            The first person to arrive at the bottom of the hill was Kylie. She awoke before the light, lit the lantern, and walked to the base of the mountain. She waited, wondering if she would be the only one waiting to ascend. As she sat on a rock, she noticed movement from the homes.

            She waited, hoping that Stan wouldn’t be awake now. One by one, each follower appeared before the sun rose. They whispered, afraid someone might hear them, not knowing that none of Stan’s followers were awake before the sun. So, Kylie led the group up the mountain, slowly following the path she had come to know so well. She started feeling as confident as a mountain goat. Holding the lantern high with one hand, she held Ruth’s hand behind her. Each person followed the same pattern, guided by the one in front and leading the person behind. They were sure they couldn’t carry all the tools, but they would find out what they were going to do today. Nobody asked the question they all had in the front of their minds. Who would suffer on the first workday, and what punishment would Stan have planned? Yet, the time with Joshua was worth the suffering.

            Kylie reached the top of the mountain, and Joshua reached his hand down, pulling her up to the familiar terrace. He kept reaching out to each follower and welcomed each one back to the mountaintop.

            “How did you know that we would be here?”

             “I knew each of you had a choice of spending the day working with me or spending the day with Stan. I felt very sure that each of you would be here, given the choice.” They all laughed.

            “I have prepared breakfast for each of you. Please have a seat and let me serve you.” Each follower sat in the circle and eagerly awaited today’s food, lessons, and comfort in being with the one person they most treasured. Joshua served each person, carefully preparing their food as they liked it most. Kylie asked, “Where do you find all these wonderful meals on the mountain?”

            Joshua smiled, “I have food that you don’t yet know, but you will learn more about that later. For now, enjoy.” He sat in the circle and led the blessings over the food as everyone joined in.

            Ruth’s injury was healing, but it was evident that an ugly scar would remain. Joshua directly asked Ruth, “Do you know why Stan chose you to attack?”

            Ruth stared at Joshua and wondered how he knew since he wasn’t in the gathering, and nobody had mentioned it. “I believe it was because I was on the mountain, which is against Stan’s new law.”

            Joshua explained that Stan attacked Ruth because it served many purposes, “Stan doesn’t know everything, and he can’t be everywhere at once, but he has many servants with many eyes watching all of you. He hates you because you love me- and his punishments are designed to serve many purposes. When he attacked Ruth, he inflicted a more painful injury on Boaz and planted seeds of hatred, anger, and vengeance in Boaz’s heart. If those seeds grew, he would win a victory against you and your souls.”

            “Does that mean we should let him get away with this evil action?” Boaz asked.

            “For anyone filled with hatred, as Stan is, there are strong weapons that don’t appear to be the invincible powerhouses; but they will weaken the foulest of enemies. The first weapon is praise. Anyone who goes through horrendously, difficult disasters and praises God weakens the enemy who can’t understand praise when he’s stealing everything that he believes you prize.”

            “The second weapon against the enemy is faith. You had a comforter during your trial because you still had your faith. Ruth, you had to work with an injured hand, and the work was difficult, yet Puah helped you this week. Now, give me your hands.” Ruth gave her hands to Joshua, who took his tallit and covered her hands, wrapping the fringe around her fingers. Joshua looked to heaven, said a prayer, and put his other hand on her head. Ruth felt a warmth and energy fill her from her head to her feet.

            When the energy slowly dissipated, Ruth looked into Joshua’s sky-blue eyes that were so loving and gentle. When Joshua removed the tallit, Ruth’s hands looked pampered, renewed, and supple. Boaz took Ruth’s hands in his and kissed her hands. “I can’t believe how much you’ve restored my love’s hands to the exquisiteness I felt the first time she touched me.”

            Caleb laughed, “Joshua, could I ask you to do that for my hands—my hands are a little rough!”

            Joshua had put torches on the edges of the terraces so nobody would trip. The glow of the light cast a magnificent glow like stars against a dark night’s sky. “While it’s dark, I’d like everyone to participate in a group activity. I have a collection of items which I would like you to sort.”

            Gideon asked, “But how can we sort things we can’t see?” 

            Joshua laughed, “There are 5 senses—only one is sight; you must not judge everything by what you see. In this activity, you will need to sort the items individually based on other characteristics. You may select items, put them back in the pile, and arrange them based on whatever characteristics seem familiar to you. We’ll look at everyone’s items when the light comes up.”

            The followers reached into the pile, laughing as people started grabbing the same items, deciding who would get the item, and putting their objects into one pile. The activity became like a giant brainteaser. The group laughed, fell over each other, and helped each other up. The followers had never had so much fun before, and their laughter brought Joshua joy.

            The followers looked at their objects as the sun started to break over the horizon. Joshua asked them why they collected the items in the category that they did.

            Caleb said he took items and then decided to reach for the objects that were smaller than the original ones. Gideon reached for the objects which were made of pottery or hornsthat89. Daniel reached for objects that felt like scrolls90. Jonathan felt for objects that appeared to be arrows91. Jabez felt for the things that seemed to expand or grow in length92.

            Joshua smiled, “Did I tell anyone what specifically to look for? Yet, each of you decided to search for things that were familiar to you. Nobody looked for the same objects, yet when you grabbed the same object, you worked out who got the object without any arguments.”

            Kylie spoke up with the question everyone had for Joshua. “But what was the object of this lesson?”

            Joshua said, “Everyone evaluates their life based on their own standards— like this group judged each object based on different standards without even seeing the objects. But there will come a time soon when a judgment will be made—but not based on human standards. Remember when we measured the terrace, and people came up with different numbers?” The followers nodded. “There will be a time when every action will be judged—not like these objects were judged blindly or based on your own standards but on one immutably perfect standard.”

            While the group sat on the terrace near the selected objects, Joshua started telling them a story. “Many of you know about fishing. This story uses a traditional form of fishing where people in boats, alone or in teams, throw a large, weighted net into the water. At the end of time, they would pull the net full of the fish and sit down to sort the fish into “good” and “bad”. The “bad” fish would be thrown into the fire, and the “good” fish would be gathered together.” 93

            “Isn’t that like the story of the wheat and tares, Joshua?” The wheat and weeds grew together in the same ground as the clean and unclean fish swimming in the same water. Is it also true that the weeds and the unclean fish will be thrown into the fire?”

            “That is true; however, unclean fish tend to be bottom-feeders, and they eat the droppings left in the water. This characteristic is like “bottom-feeders” always waiting for someone else’s sin or weakness. Remember sin is thought, word, and deed which is done or undone.”

            “Doesn’t that basically mean everything is sin?” Barak asked. Joshua explained that God looks at the inside of the heart and not at what everyone else sees and views the motivations of the people as truthfully and painfully as a mirror. He offers every person a choice every moment in their life to ask for His forgiveness and go from unclean to clean, but there will be a time when the last sinner will be forgiven. Each person can choose to repent from the sin until his or her death.

            “So, would it appear that the person’s decision to be a clean or unclean fish is the same at the end of their life?” Deborah asked.

            Joshua explained that God would not force His love on anyone, and if the person truly spends his life choosing to reject the treatment for sin, God won’t disregard that person’s freedom of choice.

            He further explained that there must be one key to entering Heaven. Joshua asked people to follow him to the third terrace. When Joshua and the followers went to the terrace, every follower stared at their Star. It was in the same space with the same spikes, but their Star was deflated.

            “What happened?” Eliphaz asked. Joshua looked at the followers and said, “Describe what you see in relation to what the pieces of the tent meant last week.”

            Caleb said, “The spikes represent a person’s soul, and they are in the same place—the ground is the same, so the spikes don’t appear to have moved.”

            Hannah touched the Star, “It doesn’t appear that the Star feels any different.” Joshua asked Hannah, “What does the Star represent?” Hannah responded, “The Star represented the body. The soul and body are the same, so the spirit is different.”

            Joshua asked the group, “What would sever the spirit?”

            “We’ve been talking about sin?” Rahab speculated.

            Joshua touched Rahab’s shoulder, “You are a wise young woman.” He continued the demonstration and asked the followers to explain how they could take a stake and push the pole of Earth to Heaven.

            Zechariah said, “People can’t reach from Earth to Heaven.” 

            Joshua asked, “How could the pole of the spirit be lifted if people can’t push the pole to Heaven?”

            Caleb went under the tent and tried to push the pole up, but the pole was thoroughly fused and wouldn’t dislodge. Gideon tried to help Caleb to free the telescoping pole, but nothing would open the pole to the height from last week.

            Kylie started to believe she had a key to the puzzle. She went under the tent and started singing praises to God. Her voice, usually timid, became assured and buoyant. She sang of God’s love for people; there is only one way to restore a relationship with Him. Then she said, “God has provided a Redeemer for His people; and if you believe in His one true way, the one true life, you will have life forever. That is the only way to provide a union between Heaven and Earth. Joshua will heal not just your physical heart but your soul and spirit. When you accept the truth, you are a child born from Heaven—born anew.”

            Joshua explained, “When you are born again, your tent fabric stays the same, your soul stays still firmly in the ground, but this spirit (touching the central pole) rises to God.”

            Jonathan walked into the tent and started reciting Psalm 16 from his friend David. He said from memory, “You, Lord, are all I want! You are my choice, and you keep me safe. You make my life pleasant, and my future is bright. I praise you, Lord, for being my guide. Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind. I will always look to you as you stand beside me and protect me from fear. With all my heart, I will celebrate, and I can safely rest. I am your chosen one. You won’t leave me in the grave or let my body decay. You have shown me the path to life, and you make me glad by being near to me. Sitting at your right side, I will always be joyful.”94

            As each person walked under the tent and offered a prayer of praise, the pole started to rise. When all of Joshua’s followers walked inside the tent and held hands, the pole rose to a point where the tent was stretched to its apex. While the followers praised God, the celebration echoed in the vaults of Heaven and resounded in Sanctuary beneath. Each person in the tent lowered their head and gave thanks to God for all the good he provided for them there in Sanctuary.

            As their song penetrated the boundaries of Stan’s Sanctuary, everyone awoke. Some thought they heard the crashing of thunder, and others heard noise and explosions95. Michal and Peninnah both heard the hymn of praise and were mystified. Stan awoke and swore as he heard the hymns and felt such rage—he started thinking of the humiliating punishments for these dissenters. Stan rang the bell to gather everyone, and when he saw that none of Joshua’s followers were in the group, Stan fumed. Not one follower acted traitorously, and that one characteristic made their betrayal against Stan even more embarrassing. “They will pay!”

            At the end of the hymn, each follower walked out of the tent and looked at Joshua. Then, Joshua and the followers looked up towards heaven and thanked God. Joshua smiled and said, “Each of you was born on different days in different lands; however, when you accepted that God would provide salvation for the problem of sin, you lifted your heart and sang to the One who can give life once through birth and life through His salvation. You praised and worshiped God through the difficult times; I am proud of each of you. Your faith and trust fill Our Father with joy. He sits enthroned on His people’s praises.96 The followers hugged each other in their joy.”

            Joshua said there would only be one way to secure the Spirit’s connection between God and people. A sacrifice of a perfect spirit will be freely offered to cover all sins. Joshua said, “One sacrifice of one perfect human spirit will be made freely to expunge all guilt and restore the relationship between Holy God and sinful mankind.”

            The day had started, so Joshua told the men that they had to finish three times the length of the terrace in one day. He also said he would like to have the plants in the ground soon to start their growth, so he asked the women to work together. The men started to gather the nets and tools; then they started to climb the netting, and the women started checking the plants and providing nourishment to the plants, staking up the seedlings, and watering the fields. As the men pounded the mountain, the rocks tumbled down the mountain.

            The sound of the pounding echoed throughout Sanctuary and fueled Stan’s frenzy. Stan and his group started to gather at the bottom of the mountain. They gathered the rocks, and Stan told them that anyone who hit a follower would be given one full week off. Throwing rocks up a mountain proved more dangerous to Stan’s group, who tried to throw rocks while dodging the multitude of rocks plummeting down from the peak. Dathan, Abiram, Korah, and Stan kept having rocks hit them on the head and chest.97 One enormous rock hit Stan on the head which quickly stopped that activity. So, they cursed at the followers, threatening to attack them on the first workday, and retreated.

            The men continued pounding on the mountain until a section was finally completed. Ruth kept making sure that the men were given enough water, and the men were inspired to finish much more than in any previous week. Before lunch, they already had a shelf as large as the second tier. While the men were on the net, they were laughing and confident. This activity was almost a habit from somewhere inside their past—each of the men felt almost as if they had done this for hundreds of years. So, they talked about what had happened in the morning fish lesson, sharing the tent’s worship and filling. Each person felt the power that had filled them in the tent, but nobody knew where the power came from.

            When the morning ended, Joshua climbed down the netting and walked towards the rock wall near the tent. From inside a small aperture, the followers heard the sounds of prepared food. Everyone continued working, knowing the food would be prepared with love and delicacy. When the sun reached its height, the men put down their tools and looked with admiration. They had finished more than the previous weeks, yet it felt like they hadn’t worked much. It was easier than any week. Eliphaz said, “I wonder if what we did related to the tent experience this morning?”

            Joshua called everyone to eat, so the followers came from every direction. They sat in a circle under the tent as Joshua served each follower. Again, each follower was amazed that Joshua kept their preferences separate and served everyone, humbly giving each devotion as if he or she were his sole love. They said the familiar blessing over the food and sang a song of praise to God for his faithfulness. “Eat, my friends; I prepared the food just as you like.”

            After a few minutes, Eliphaz asked Joshua, “Are you and Kylie going to enjoy this as your home when you are united?”

            Joshua laughed, putting his arm around Kylie, “This is not our future home. I’m preparing a much better place. Until I am freely able to give Kylie the new home, Sanctuary will have to suffice.”

            “Then why are we working on the terraces, Joshua?”

            “You will find that nothing in this world is wasted—God has a plan for everything, a better design than you can imagine,” Joshua responded.

            While eating, Joshua asked everyone if they remembered the discussion from last week about the tent. “Whenever you die, do you know what happens—as it relates to the tent?”

            Eliphaz joked, “The tent dies?” 

            Joshua asked them to remember what the three parts of the tent symbolize. The pole is the spirit which comes from God; the spikes create the soul which connects the body to the earth and to others, and the tent is like the body which is what everyone sees.”

            “What is the tent made from?” Joshua asked. The followers all looked at each other with confusion. 

            “Tents can be made from various things— depending on where they will be used.” Gideon reminded everyone, “Some may be made from wool, but many other things can be used.” 

            Joshua put his hand on Gideon and asked a simple question, “Where do those other things come from originally?”

            Hannah finally guessed, “They all come from earth.”

            “Exactly.” Joshua reminded them that the tent was all from Earth. “What is the soul made from?” Joshua asked. 

            The followers were now understanding the idea. Jabez responded, “The soul is made from interactions between the earthly tent and the other spikes.”

            Joshua smiled and asked Jabez, “Can a spike be moved?”

            “I guess the spike can be moved by other people, feelings, events, and personal choices.”

            Joshua explained that a person’s soul is created by God but is moved by a person’s choices, other people’s decisions, and events which then influence the  soul.

            Are there other things that have souls? Kylie asked, “Do animals have souls?” Joshua looked at Kylie and said, “Very wise, Kylie. Animals were created on the sixth day as living beings with souls, but those souls can be altered by people, other animals, feelings, events, characteristics from parents, and choices. Animal’s and people’s souls are created by God; however, souls can change a gentle creature into a monster.”

            “So, what makes a spirit?” Joshua asked. The followers were puzzled. Joshua took a long post and demonstrated a simple concept. He pushed the post into the ground, then took a cloak and put it over a staff. He then took a rope and tied the cloak to the post. “Is this functional as a tent?” The flat cloth attached to a single spoke in the ground couldn’t protect anyone against a breeze. So, the followers shook their heads no. “What will make this useful?

            Barak said, “It must be connected to the ground.”

            Joshua explained that the spirit without a body or a soul was as useless as a pole with a cloak. But the spirit can be broken like the posts. Joshua asked Caleb and Gideon to hold a pole securely about an arm’s length apart, and Joshua started putting weight on the edges. With too much weight, the pole broke. Joshua explained that people put too much weight on the spirit.

            Dinah asked, “But, Joshua, does that mean we aren’t supposed to feel pain or anger?”

            Joshua looked at Dinah with compassion. “Pain, suffering, anger, rage, fears, doubts, and agonies exist in this world. But notice that the post broke when we put too many weights on the pole. People aren’t designed to carry those weights.”

            Caleb asked, “If people aren’t designed to carry pain, suffering, anger, agonies, or rage, how do we get rid of the weights?”

            Joshua said, “People can’t carry those weights, but God can use those agonies to stretch the pole to reach further to Himself. But the person must be willing to turn them over to God. Some people use singing, praying, reading, drawing, or helping to turn the problems to God.

            Joshua challenged Barak, Jonathan, Gideon, and Caleb to try to break another pole. They tried breaking it in every conceivable way. Yet, nothing broke that pole. “Why won’t this pole break, Joshua?” 

            Joshua responded to the now weary men. “This pole is from a wood that has developed over years through tough times and has become secure through the challenges. It depended not on itself but on an outside source to provide for it.”98 Joshua invited the men to put the weights on the edges, and the pole held those weights that broke the original pole. “That pole took the weights that broke the first and held securely because it took its strength from another source. It developed through tests that broke other trees. It became more useful because the trials strengthened it and didn’t destroy it, though not every branch survived the same conditions.

            “So, your spirits must develop through the challenges and not let something as precious as a spirit from God be broken by the tests of life. But, if a person is letting the pole sink into an area of sin, the pole must be broken to connect to the Spirit of God. Remember to keep your spirit rising to God on a solid rock of faith.

            “I am so delighted with each of you, not just for the work you’ve done here on the mountain. You are much more precious than any of you realize. I want you to realize how much I love seeing each of you change the conditions in Sanctuary. I see each of your good works helping each other and supporting Sanctuary. Please try to be good to those who are led by Stan, even though you don’t like Stan. He won’t make things easy but will make you like the strong pole that nothing can break.

            Then he gave directions to those around him. “Men, would you mind spending the rest of the afternoon without any more lessons? We need to work as well as we did this morning to break as much ground as possible. And for the ladies, I need you to make unbreakable fences on the ledges of the terraces. Keep the posts planted firmly in the ground. This will be our last terrace; however, I need to make sure everything is secure.

            During the afternoon, everyone worked zealously and made monumental progress. Toward the end of the afternoon, the men created a terrace that was the most inspiring example of how much people achieve when they are enthusiastically working together. It was over three times the expanse of the original terrace, flat and productive.

            Towards the end of the day, Joshua said, “I prepared a small, energizing drink to show my gratitude for the gifts each of you demonstrates. You have separate talents, but when you work together in unity, you become more powerful because you demonstrate unselfish and sacrificial love. This makes you stronger as a united team. I love you and will be there with you always.99 I wanted to give you a small example of my appreciation for your effort.” To each follower, he gave a small box and a drink.

            Dinah laughed, “Stan’s followers don’t know what they’re missing.” 

            Hannah asked, “Can we open the gift, Joshua?” 

            He smiled, “Of course, I want to see how each of you responds.”

            As each person opened the box, he or she saw a beautiful gold, Herringbone necklace with an empty pendant.

            Jonathan asked, “What goes in the pendant?” Rizpah took out the stone in her pocket that fit perfectly inside the pendant. She looked at the back of the pendant and saw a latch that opened. After she put the rock in the pendant, she put the necklace on, and the pendant fell directly over her heart. Rizpah ran to Joshua and hugged him. The look on Joshua’s face was so blissful. “I simply want to be here with you. Your struggles are mine, and your joys are mine.”100

            Each moment, the followers had together buoyed their spirits, but the sun started to set, and each person knew they had to depart for Sanctuary. Therefore, they said a prayer and sang several songs praising God. Joshua thanked each person for coming to the mountaintop and working. “Remember all I taught you, and I will be forever with you.101 Nothing that happens will overcome you, and I am with you throughout your struggles.” With a genial kiss, Joshua let each follower depart down to Sanctuary.