~·rfQCit"~rut!ZEBULUN AND THE SIGN OF VIRGO

"Stars of Israel Series" - Part 4~~

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Continuing with the subject of the Tribesof Israel and the Zodiacal signs, we come now to theTribe ofZebulun which tribe camped on the east of the Tabernacle a-long with the Tribes of Judah and Issachar. "Then thetribe of ZEBULUN: and ELIAB the son of HELON shall be cap-tain of the children of Zebu lun ;" Nurn , 2:7. In this par-ticular chapter is given the locations of the tribes aboutthe Tabernacle---three on each of the four sides. Those onthe east are all considered in the "Camp of Judah", andthus there is a close affinity between Judah and Zebulunand Issachar.

The establishment of the Zodiacal sign thatgoes with Zebulun is next in order, and that sign is theSIGN OF VIRGO which dates from ~yg •. 24 t~ Sept. 23. Thisdoes not mean that everyone born under that sigri-r8 of Zeb-ulun, by any means, but certain characteristics of thattime period are evidenced in both Zebulunites and thoseborn under that sign. Being of a certain t~ibe but bornnaturally under another sign brirtgs into play two differ-ent sets of characteristics with each working and balanc-ing the other one unto perfection. To understand how Vir-go is the sign or ensign of Zebulun, let us quote Gen. 49:13, "ZEBULUN shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and heshall be for an HAVEN OF SHIPS ••••" The Hebrew root mean-ing of HAVEN is to COVER, whereas the root meaning of SHIPSis in th~ feminine gend;r and comes from CONTRACTION INANGUISH. This immediately brings to mind that Zebulun isa covering or haven for those in contractions of anguish,which is descriptive of travail and childbirth. Every Zeb-ulunite is characterized by his concern for the storm tos-sed ones, but more than that, and so in its root meaning,he is a covering and protection for those in the throes oftravail and birth. So much so is his concern that theTribe of Zebulun could be considered a gentle and comfort-ing tribe, a tribe always ready to give succor and help tothe suffering ones. And, by the way, Virgos whether of theTribe of Zebulun or not bear the same characteristic orits potentiality if not yet developed.

VIRGO means the VIRGIN, or the untouchedone, the one of undefiled soul. Zebulunites desire true

spiritual virginity and undefiledness above everything, nomatter what. They do not want to be contaminated with Ba-bylonianism, psuedo-spirituality, or man's infringement onthe things of God. They want purity of inner being aboveevery other thing. The organizations and programs of manhold no meaning for Zebulun, but rather Zebulun is satis-fied to remain at the haven of the sea and succor the an-guished ones.

Perhaps the best known star in the constel-lation of Virgo is AL-ZIMACH which means THE BRANCH. Ofcourse, to Bible students this speaks of Christ who is re-ferred to as THE BRANCH, but it also refers to that '~Ulnchof His planting", or the elect of God. Was it not out ofthe VIRGIN (Virgo) that the BRANCH came forth? But is itnot also true that out of VIRGO, or ZEBULUN, there shallcome a springing forth or a bringing forth of the thingsofGod? We answer emphatically, "YES! !!" The word BRANCHmeans to GROW, BUD, SPRING FORTH, and this is directly con-nected with Moses' prophecy of Zebulun in Deut.33:l8, "Andof ZEBULUN he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy GOING OUT."The words GOING OUT come from the same Hebrew meaning asBRING FORTH and SPRING FORTH, and it is the bringing forthand springing forth of the purposes of God that cause theZebulunites to rejoice. They delight in the birthing orthe bringing to plain view of the plan of God.

There are three associate constellationsthat stand in close proximity to the Constellation of Vir-go, and their meanings but enlarge upon the truths alreadymentioned. The first one is COMA which means DESIRED SONwhich augments what has already been said. The second oneis CENTAURUS which means DESPISED. And, the third one isBOOTES meaning HE COMES. <'All three of these speak plainlyof the Lord Jesus, for He 'was and is THE DESIRED SON, butHe was also THE DESPISED ONE insomuch that He was cruci-fied by ignorant men. But the glorious part still remain~HE COMES, that.DESIRED SON who was also the DESPISED ONEis COMING AGAIN} Now, these three associate constella-tions with their intrinsic meanings enlarge upon the char-acteristics of Zebulun. Every spiritual Zebulunite knowsthe inner agony of soul and being to bring forth the DE-SIRED SON within his own self, but he is never satisfiedwith that until the DESIRED SON, or the.company of the scnsof God for which all creation is groaning, is brought forthinto maturity. Zebulun realizes there is a time of beingDESPISED also in the process of this bringing forth,but heis not deterred by the opinions of others knowing that in

due time there shall be a manifestation of that for whichhe has groaned and travailed.

And, while Zebulun is groaning and travail-ing, he also is a HAVEN FOR SHIPS, or a covering and co-vert for other anguished and travailing ones. True Virgosand true Zebulunites always make room and give comfort toother suffering ones in spite of their own innner groan-ings and pains.

As we have mentioned before in the preced-ing articles, God at the present moment is preparing "thefirst of the firstfruits", and this is signalized in theperson of the captain of the Zebulunites. In Num. 2:7 weare told that the captain was ELIAB, the son of HELON. E-LIAB means GOD IS FATHER, and HELON means STRONG,STRENGTH.Among the undefiled Zebulunites who are travailing m birthfor the bringing forth of God's sons, there is a handfulwho fit into the picture_of Zebulun's captain. As we havestudied Zebulun and the Sign of Virgo thus far, we haveseen there is a gentleness of an undefiled virgin and awillingness to travail even though desp Ised that charac-terizes Zebulunites, but as we come to the captain and itsunfolding meaning, it can be seen there is the strength ofmasculinity, too, involved in the firstfruits of ilietribe.

ELIAB meaning God is Father immediately in-dicates the thought of FATHERHOOD, not just the femininityof the Virgin. It must always be borne in mind that SON-SHIP is not the ultimate but a step onward in the purposeof God, who is leading us into full SONSHIP, that is true,but who is likewise leading us through sonship and intoFATHERHOOD. A newly born male child is a SOIl, though imma-ture, but he is also a potential father, but that potent-iality does not become reality until he grows and comes tomaturity. When the son comes to full maturity, then is hecapable of being a father also. Thus it is that God whois our Father is producing sons who will eventually reachfull maturity and become fathers also. "Though ye haveten thousand instructors in Christ (the anointing), yetnotmany FATHERS," said Paul. What about Elisha when he criedout at the translation of Elijah, "My FATHER, my FATHER,the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" In oth-er words, Elijah had reached fatherhood, not just sonship.Twice John in his First Epistle refers to little children,young men, and FATHERS showing the progression of growthand maturity in God. Thus it is that the spiritual Zebu-lunites who are pressed through by God into becoming partof the "first of the firstfruits" never stop short with

sonship alone but have the V1S10n of fatherhood also wherethe sons can spiritually reproduce in His likeness, or be-gin a creative work in the fashion of God.

Now, this ELIAB was born of HELON meaningSTRONG or STRENGTH. Strength for what? Strength for tra-vail, of course, for that is evidenced all through, the sw-dy of Zebulun, and it is this strength for travail thatbrings forth the fatherhood for which the inner being tru-ly longs. Therefore it can be readily seen that Zebulun,though having the gentleness of a virgin or the femininityof the undefiled, also is balanced by tremendous strengththat will be satisfied with nothing less than coming intosonship, through sonship, and into fatherhood. No wond~rthat Moses said, "REJOICE, Zebulun, in thy GOING OUT, orliterally, thy BRINGING FORTH or SPRINGING FORTH,"for Zeb-ulun sees beyond the present travail to the day of mani-festation and reality. Blessed are the Zebulunites of Godwho stand on the east of the Tabernacle watching for thebreaking of the new day! N.e.N.

Redemption WritingsP.O. Box 184Provo, Utah 84601

Zebulun sees of the breaking day,Zebulun groans for the truth and way,

Zebulun stands 'neath the Virgo Sign,Gentleness holding the perfect line.

Yet with the gentleness strength is great,Strength for the time that will not be late.

Zebulun births of a purpose true,Zebulun, hail, to your Tribe and You!