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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-skates/threshingfloors-of-scripture/
Genesis chapter 49, right at the end of the chapter, and when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people.
So Jacob died. Chapter 50, verse 2. And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him, for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed.
And the Egyptians mourn for him three score and ten days. Seventy days. Now Jacob had given instructions about his burial in the cave of Machpelah down to verse 9. And there went up with him, that's Joseph, both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great company.
And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan. And there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation. And he made a mourning for his father seven days. Now that will suffice there.
Let's go to 1 Chronicles chapter 13, please. I should point out that the link between these scriptures is references to threshing floors. 1 Chronicles 13, David has a desire to bring the ark of God up from Kirjath-Jerom to a tent he has prepared in Jerusalem, verse 9.
And when they came onto the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark.
And there he died before God. And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah, wherefore that place is called Peres, Uzzah, to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?
So David brought not the ark home to himself, to the city of David, but carried it aside to the house of Ubad-Edom the Gittite. Now chapter 15, after searchings of heart and the reading of the scriptures, David now is instructing the Levites that they should carry the ark.
Verse 13, for because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, that we sought him not after the due order. Now chapter 21, 1 Chronicles 21, and verse 1, and Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel.
Now come further down, we find that there's a plague that breaks out and kills a number of men. Verse 18, then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad, the prophet, to say to David that David should go up and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
And verse 25, so David gave to Ornan for the place, it's the threshing floor, 600 shekels of gold by weight, and David built there an altar unto the Lord and the burnt offerings and peace offerings and called upon the Lord and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering and so on.
Now let's come over to the little book of Ruth, please, chapter 3. Ruth chapter 3, Ruth 3 verse 1, then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, my daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor. Verse 7, and when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn.
And she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid her down. Came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid and turned himself, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid.
Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning inasmuch as thou followest not young men, whether rich or poor.
And now, my daughter, fear not. I will do to thee all that thou requirest, for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. Now let's take one more from the book of Daniel, please.
Daniel chapter 2. Daniel 2, this is the chapter where Nebuchadnezzar has the dream. He claims he doesn't remember the dream, and Daniel not only gives him the details of the great statue that he saw in the dream, but also gives the interpretation.
And the interpretation is there are four kingdoms. Now verse 35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors.
And the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. That's our reading. We trust with the Lord's blessing upon it.
I'm sure you all have noticed that it is fall outside, and it is harvest time, and the grain carts and the combines are in the fields. The combine literally combines several processes in order to get to the grain and to put it in the hopper.
The header will cut the stocks and gather them together, and then it will go to a threshing unit, and then it will be cleaned, and the grain will be separated out, and the chaff blown out the back of the combine.
Now before the invention of combines, of course, there were older methods for separating the grain. There were threshing floors, certainly in biblical times. And so we're taking a look this morning at the threshing floors of scripture, and we want to glean teaching from these threshing floors.
Threshing floors, of course, would be places of toil, places of work. And we could expect then that there would be lessons for us in our service. That's the first thing. Lessons in our service. Then again, threshing floors are places where there is obviously a separation of materials.
The good and the valuable is brought together, and then the worthless straw and the chaff is separated out. So we're drawing the line there. There would be a need in our service for discernment of things that differ.
So there's another line of avenue of truth that we can be looking for in these threshing floors. The first one we read was from the book of Genesis chapter 50. And there's a mourning going on for Jacob.
Jacob has died. He made an end of commanding his sons. He gathered up his feet into the bed. Jacob died. I turn the page in my Bible and I come to chapter 50 and I learn this, that Joseph saw to it that they embalmed Israel.
Did you notice that in the reading? They embalmed Israel. Jacob, on the one hand, means literally the heel catcher, the supplanter, and that's what he was in his life, a and self-reliant and so on. Jacob.
But Israel, the change of name you remember, was given when Jacob wrestled with God at Penuel and he was renamed Israel, a prince with God. And the Lord said, for as a prince thou has power with God and with men and has prevailed.
So Jacob, the chaff. Israel, the grain. The change of name for Jacob to Israel. You know, every believer here this morning has had a change of name. I don't know if you've thought much about it or not in this way, but once we were called an old man.
But now we have become a new man in Christ. So there's a change, there's a difference, isn't there? Paul writes the Ephesians chapter 4 and he says that he put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
So we're noting things that differ. The old man and his ways and the new man and his ways, that now I am in Christ. I have been created in righteousness and true holiness. That's our standing before God.
God has made us that in Christ. But you see now there needs to be a putting off and there needs to be a putting on, putting off the old, putting on the new practically. Is my life of service conducted in righteousness?
Is my life of service conducted in true holiness? We do mourn our failure and fallen nature, don't we? How often we are marked by failure in our service. But what we are in Christ and what God has made us in Christ encourages us in spite of practical failure from time to time to keep on moving for God in this world, to keep on marching forward, if you will, with courage, to keep looking up with hope, to keep standing firm with conviction and to pray fervently with dependence upon God, moving on in our service for Christ.
We have been made new in him. Now before I leave this one, I want you to notice regarding this threshing floor. They come to a threshing floor of Attad in the land of promise and they're going to mourn there for Jacob, the father of Joseph.
In the land of Egypt, did you notice, the Egyptians, they mourned for Joseph's father for 70 days. There was 40 days preparation for embalming and so on and then they mourned for him for 70 days. But when they got to the land of promise, they came to the threshing floor of Attad and Joseph mourned for his father for seven days.
Seven days. Ten times less than the Egyptians. Isn't it so, brethren and sisters, that as believers here in this life, we do have trials, difficulties, heartbreaks, and ultimately, the loss of loved ones were caused to mourn.
But we can be comforted. We sorrow, yes, but not as others which have no hope. The Lord's coming. He's coming soon. Loved ones will be reunited. We'll see the Savior in all his beauty. And while we sorrow here in this life, yet it's better on before we sorrow not as others which have no hope.
So let's come then to the second scripture we read from 1 Chronicles 13. David has a desire to bring the ark of God up to Jerusalem. They come to a threshing floor but really in the story, God is threshing David.
He has been successful. He wants to do something for God and he has a bright idea. Let's bring the ark of God up from Kirjath, Jerom. Let's bring it up to the city of David and let's put it upon a new cart.
A new cart. Well, they got the new cart made and they got the ark of God on the new cart and they're going along the road until they come to the threshing floor of Nachan. There was likely many carts that had come through there before carrying many materials.
Likely ruts in the road and the oxen stumbled and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the ark of God right there at the threshing floor and the Lord struck him down, but he died. The fact that many carts had been there before didn't make it right for this cart carrying the ark of God.
And so we're learning in our in our service, brethren and sisters, that because others do things doesn't mean to say that it's right for us to do them. We need discernment. David puts his finger upon the problem in chapter 15.
He has been spending three months likely rethinking and going over the ground and coming to the scriptures to find out what was the problem. And he says to the Levites, because ye did it not at the first carry the ark, the Lord our God made a breach upon us for that ye sought him not after the due order.
The due order. I think that's an echo of what you have there in the book of Exodus chapter 25 onwards. Where God is giving Moses instructions about the tabernacle, see said he that you make it according to the pattern that was showed thee on the mount.
And that together with this scripture would indicate to us there's a lesson for us to learn that you and I are duty bound in obedience to carry out the pattern, positive pattern that God has given to us for a New Testament assembly in our day and age.
Where do you find that pattern? It's found in the pattern of sound words that the apostles have given. And so there's a lesson for our service. God doesn't need our bright ideas for carrying on his testimony.
We must always consult the Lord. We must always obey the clear teaching from his word. And if it is not clear in a certain area, then it's good to wait upon him to seek his face. Lest we should grieve him or come under discipline even as David on this occasion.
So there's lessons there too I think we can pick up on. Another one here in David's experience, 1 Chronicles 21. We read that God allowed Satan to tempt David and David ordered Joab to carry out a census to number the people.
Again that was in contradistinction because to the book of Exodus chapter 30 because David did not insist upon taking a tax off the people. He numbers the people but there's no mention made of a tax. Exodus 30 verse 12 demanded that a ransom be paid by the people when a census would be taken.
David didn't obey that. David was looking at things and quantitatively counting the people and admiring the success if you will of his kingdom. So he was lifted up in pride and there were consequences for his disobedience in pride and 70 people of the men, 70 ,000 rather of the men of Israel died as a result.
The prophet Gad comes to David and David has chosen to fall into the hands of the Lord and now he's told to go up and rear an altar onto the Lord in the threshing floor of Ornon, the Jebusite. David bought that threshing floor for 600 shekels of gold and he built there that altar and he offered the sacrifices on it and the plague was stayed, was stopped.
David is disciplined again. He's humbled before God and the lesson for us in our service is this that there's a danger too that we might be lifted up in pride and we might try as David did to assess quantitatively the success of our service for God and maybe even we can assess others too and we can draw our conclusions as to who is walking with the Lord and who isn't.
Usually it's the ones that are in our camp that are going on for the Lord, right? And what's that? That's our hearts being lifted up in pride as though we were the judge. We're not the judge. God is the judge.
The Lord is the judge. So we need to be careful and remember that God alone is the judge and we are to leave the counting to him moving on humbly with our God and with worshipful gratitude to God for all that he has brought us into.
Now I really want to come to Ruth because here's an event that takes place in this lovely little book in chapter 3. The chapter opens with Naomi's longing for Ruth's blessing and she says to Ruth, my daughter shall I not seek rest for thee that it may be well with thee.
She's anxious that Ruth will find rest, find security, find a husband and a home and so she consults with Ruth now and she says here in verse number two, is not Boaz of our kindred? Behold he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor.
So Naomi is intimate enough to know where Boaz is going to be and what he's going to be doing. I would love to know our heavenly Boaz like that, to know his ways, to know his will, to know his workings so that they're clear to me and even be able to share those things with others also.
Naomi's giving instruction. Now Ruth was a stranger to Israelite customs and she has to be told seemingly in detail what would be required. In verse three she says, wash thyself therefore and anoint thee and put thy raiment upon thee and get thee down to the floor.
Wash thyself therefore. If you're going to meet with Boaz, you need to be clean. If we're going to enjoy fellowship with our heavenly Boaz, we need to be clean. We need to be clean and anoint thee. Lovely to have the fragrance of Christ upon us in all our doings.
Put thy raiment upon thee. Now some translations insert thy best raiment. I like this. In many ways the older woman is instructing the younger woman about her deportment but she is to leave off the old garments of the past and put on the best garment now.
Hope for the future. And so Ruth, she departs to the threshing floor. Down to verse seven, and when Boaz had eaten and drunk, so he had been threshing the wheat, he'd been threshing the grain rather and now he has eaten, he is drunk and his heart is merry and we read that he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn.
He has finished his work. He can see now the travail of his hands and he's resting from his labor at the end of a heap of corn. I like that. I like that. I think of our Lord Jesus. I think of the fruit of his work and his toil, the fruit of Calvary.
Think of it. What a heap of corn when it's all gathered into the garner in that coming day. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. The corn that went into the ground, that kernel, it has brought forth much fruit.
A heap of corn. I'm glad, brethren and sisters, I'm just a little kernel in that heap there somewhere. A heap of corn, the travail of his soul. So she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid her down.
There she is laying at his feet under the corner of his blanket. That was really the place of a slave in the east where they would be laying at the master's feet just ready for instruction or to meet a need.
That was the portion of Mary too when you come to the New Testament, wasn't it? She was at his feet listening to his word. And so there it is. She's laying at his feet suggesting to us submission to him, to his word, being near the master and ultimately she's going to be supplied from his resources.
And so what a lovely scene that is. Comes about midnight and Boaz stirs and he awakens evidently alarmed and he looks and there's a woman laying at his feet. And he says, who are you? Ruth says, I am Ruth thy handmaid.
Word for slave. Spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman. Interestingly that word skirt is literally the word wing in the singular. So Ruth is recalling likely what he said to her in chapter 2 in the previous chapter.
Remember verse 12, that well-known verse. A full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust. And now she's under his wing if you will, the corner of his skirt, the blanket there.
So she stayed there till just before dawn and then we find that Boaz lavishly filled her shawl with all of this barley, six measures of barley. I understand that's about two five-gallon pails, that's a lot of barley.
Two five-gallon pails full, about 60 pounds weight I understand of dry barley. So it was quite a load for her to carry but it was proof of his deep love for her. You know you and I as strangers to grace and to God, unworthy sinners, yet the Lord has spread the covering, if you will, of his redeeming love over us.
He has taken us to himself. He has loaded us with gifts of redemption, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, you can go on and on. He has filled us and blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
What tremendous blessings have been lavished upon us and so he encourages us too with the thought of bringing us to himself. We'll be touching upon that in the Bible reading tomorrow morning. But Boaz here assures Ruth that he's going to follow through and he's going to see to it that her need is met.
He's the near kinsman. He's going to bring her to himself. You and I are in that same place just now. We're waiting for his coming. We're waiting for that one who has promised if I go I will come again and receive you unto myself.
We're waiting for that. Just like the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, who turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven, even Jesus, our deliverer, away from the wrath to come.
That's where we are just now. We're waiting for his coming. Now to conclude, let me come to Daniel chapter 2. Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He saw that statue, the head of fine gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and the thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and finally iron and clay there in the feet.
Daniel gives the interpretation for kingdoms represented there in that image with the four different kinds of materials. So you had the Babylonians, thou art that head of gold, you had the Medes and Persians, then you had the Greek empire, and then the fourth one, not named in Daniel, but evidently Rome.
That was the one that followed the Greeks. Now what that is representing for us is world dominion under the Gentiles. The Bible calls it the times of the Gentiles. It began with Nebuchadnezzar and we are still in it to this moment.
Our brother has been mentioning in prayer the close down of the government, mismanagement in Washington, mismanagement of planet earth under Gentile rule. But brethren and sisters, that's coming to an end.
We are looking for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. And in this chapter 2 of Daniel, the stone cut out without hands smashes the image in its feet.
That's the final expression of Gentile world dominion under the beast, the ten toes and so on. And the whole colossus comes crashing down. And we read that they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them.
Brethren and sisters, soon this passing world will be done. Our time here is limited. Our time here is temporary. The Lord is coming. His kingdom is coming. He's about to appear at the end of that tribulation period as the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
And you and I will receive then the fullness of reward in his kingdom. Determined how we live by how we live now, how faithful we are in our service to him now, will be reflected then permanently and for all eternity.
That makes living here solemn, doesn't that? That makes our service a solemn issue. The book of Hebrews, with this I'll close, the writer to the Hebrews, remember in chapter 12 at the end of that chapter he says this, wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken.
He says let us, it cannot be moved or shaken. Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. That's our business here in this life. That's our business until he comes and receives us unto himself.
Some lessons from the threshing floors of scripture. Trust the Lord will bless his word.