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The use of the word `tread' has a bearing also on this matter of conquest and
possession. Caleb, said Moses, shall be given the land that he hath trodden upon
(Deut. 1: 36), and in fact there are five references wherein the word specially signifies the
`overcomer'. Two passages speaking of Israel, and three of the Lord. These references
associate `high places' with the verb `to tread'.
"Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the
shield of thy help, and Who is the sword of thy exellency! and thine enemies shall be
found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places" (Deut. 33: 29).
"God . . . . . which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves
(heights marg.) of the sea" (Job 9: 8).
"For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto
man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high
places of the earth, The Lord, The God of Hosts, is His name" (Amos 4: 13).
"For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread
upon the high places of the earth" (Micah 1: 3).
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom . . . . . Yet will I rejoice in the Lord . . . . . The
Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hind's feet, and he will make me
to walk upon mine high places" (Hab. 3: 17-19).
We hope, by the grace of God, to be enabled to bring to light lessons from the history
of Israel that will not fail to be a blessing, a warning and an encouragement to those of us
whose blessings are not to be enjoyed on earth, but in heavenly places, where Christ now
sits at the right hand of God.
Do we, as believers, `possess our possessions'? Do we enter into the blessings that are
ours in Christ? This series is intended to be a challenge to us all, so that we may be
exercised in this matter and under the benign influence of the Word of Truth `be filled
unto all the fullness of God'.
Let us consider the matter of our calling. By this we might mean our peculiar calling
as members of the Body of Christ, and that is a phase of the truth which we hope to deal
with later. At the moment we ignore the dispensational distinctions that exist between
one `calling' and another, and look at the subject in its primary significance, namely the
fact of the choice, election or calling of God without which dispensational distinctions
can have no value, for they could never be enjoyed. Like `predestination', `election' has
gathered to itself, though erroneously, the ideas of fatalism and pre-determinedism.
`Election' ekloge; `elect' eklektos; `to elect' eklegomai simply refer to the fact that a
choice has been made, a selection made. The word lego primarily means `to lay' and its
first use is to describe someone asleep in bed. It then, like the Latin lego takes on the
meaning `to lay in order' and so by a natural transition `to gather for oneself, to pick out,
to choose'. However, we are not at the moment so concerned with the actual etymology
of the term `election' as we are with the question `how far have we realized this fact in
our lives and experience?' Writing to the Church of the Thessalonians, the Apostle said:
"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God" (I Thess. 1: 4).