By John Thiel

In the study of the one hundred and forty four thousand we are learning that they are people who may have come from a worst case scenario as the polygamous circumstances of Jacobs’s household. 

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

God finds us like that.

Ezekiel 16:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land of Canaan; thy father [was] an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. 4 And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.  5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. 6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live.  7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: [thy] breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou [wast] naked and bare. 14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.

That is the reality of our study tribe by tribe.

Revelation 7:14. And he saith to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 6. Of the tribe of Asher were sealed twelve thousand.

Asher was born from another unsavoury beginning.

Genesis 30:9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. 12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

His birth created happiness to Leah and Jacob pronounced:

Genesis 49:20. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

What does this mean? Born from a sinful background with such a hallmark of a unconverted personality. What is the natural consequence?

Psalms 55:21. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn with swords.

Asher was a highly flattered child with an unconverted nature.

Do not receive flattery, even in your religious life. Flattery is an art by which Satan lieth in wait to deceive and to puff up the human agent with high thoughts of himself. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Flattery has been the food upon which many of our youth have been nourished; and those who have praised and flattered have supposed that they were doing right; but they have been doing wrong. Praise, flattery, and indulgence have done more toward leading precious souls into false paths, than any other art that Satan has devised. Flattery is a part of the world’s policy, but it is no part of Christ’s policy. Through flattery poor human beings, full of frailty and infirmities, come to think that they are efficient and worthy, and become puffed up in their fleshly mind. They become intoxicated with the idea that they possess ability beyond what they do have, and their religious experience becomes unbalanced. Unless in the providence of God they shall be turned from these deceptions, and become converted, and learn the A B C of religion in the school of Christ, they will lose their souls. FE 304:1

Consequently Gad and Asher were both mischievous lads.

Genesis 37:2. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, and his fathers wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Many a youth has been flattered that he has ability as a natural gift; when the ability he thinks he has, can be attained only through diligent training and culture, learning the meekness and lowliness of Christ. Believing he is naturally gifted, he thinks there is no necessity of putting his mind to the task of mastering his lessons; and before he is aware, he is fast in the snare of Satan. FE 304. 

The active mind if left unoccupied with better things, will give heed to that which Satan may suggest. CG page 33.

With such a smooth tongue he and all such as he finally shoot and cut.

 What harm is wrought in the family circle by the utterance of impatient words; for the impatient utterance of one leads another to retort in the same spirit and manner. Then come words of retaliation, words of self-justification, and it is by such words that a heavy, galling yoke is manufactured for your neck; for all these bitter words will come back in a baleful harvest to your soul. MYP page 327.

Relevant to this unconverted trait – what could God do for such?

Deuteronomy 33:24. And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

Ask God to give you much oil of His grace. Carefully consider every word, whether it is written or spoken. The Lord is coming, and we now need the oil of grace in our vessels with our lamps. TM page 140.

How God brings us to that.

God permits him to be attacked by the enemy, in order that he may understand his own weakness. He is permitted to make some decided blunder, and is plunged into painful humiliation. But when he is writhing under a sense of his own weakness, he is not to be judged harshly. FE page 304.

Examine the secret of victory for the people of such a personality.

2 Chronicles 30:10 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. 30:11 Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.

After being flattered, only correction includes humbling.

James 4:10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up.

For such as Asher to be numbered among the one hundred and forty four thousand, the following needs to be heeded. The remnant is being called while the winds are being held back.

Jeremiah 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; [and] I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the LORD, [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever. 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

Here is a promise for Asher to secure;

Deuteronomy 33:25. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

If humbled, these people will overcome safely and will come to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 30:11. Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.

Even out of such a condition, Asher like people can be saved. Observe how even of this tribe a remnant can recognise the Lord while others more favoured fail to understand.

The invitation to the Passover at Jerusalem was heralded far and wide, “from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun,” and the royal couriers found some who were ready to respond. The bearers of the gracious invitation were usually repulsed. The impenitent “laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun,” eager to seek God for a clearer knowledge of his will, “humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 30:10, 11. {RH, April 29, 1915 par. 2}

Luke 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she [was] a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served [God] with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Amen.