There Is A Path Which No Fowl Knoweth
Clo DiPilato
There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. Job 28: 7,8
Dearest Friends in Jesus,
In recent weeks, I have found myself much pondering these word from the book of Job:
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the
vulture's eye hath not seen:
8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. Job
28: 7,8
As I'm sure may be the case with many readers of the Word, whenever pondering anything from the book of Job, we go back to see who was the "inspired" vessel speaking forth the text under consideration. Was it Job? Was it one of his "comforters"? It's too soon in the course of this unfolding for the appearance of another voice, the voice of Elihu, who comes later into this scenario with a different spirit and tone from that of the comforters. (This reminds me of how Jesus amazed the people of His day because He spoke not as the scribes and Pharisees, but as one having authority.)
Something within my heart leaped within me, as I realized Job uttered these words to three men who were trying to help him make sense out of his life by expecting that they could talk him into an understanding of all that had befallen him through protracted diatribes relating to their own personal knowledge of God and His workings.
There is probably not much at all wrong with what the "comforters" had to say, and in some cases, I think they've gotten a 'bad rap.' They were given Job "logos" when he really was much in need of "rhema". They had an "overall" knowledge of God, and some definite wisdom, but Job needed "thus saith the Lord" to get him through. When there is no true "rhema word" coming forth, I guess the logos is better than nothing because maybe we can pray some life into it, and see it converted to a rhema word of the Lord. We have to work with what's on hand. But Lord Jesus, help us NOT to settle. Help us to press into that place where the word coming forth from our lips is truly LIFE to the hearers, and health to all those who find it!! (Ref. Prov. 4:22)
I know there are times when in the spirit of human sympathy and from the wells of the milk of human kindness, I've searched within my own soul to find something profound to say to an individual who is enduring some affliction, something that will lift up their spirits, something that will cause a light to go on that will be as an inspiration from the Almighty that will help them to get their bearings in God, and go on another day, and even more than just one day. As one who is used of the Lord prophetically, I know when I'm speaking from that lower level of struggling to find a little bit of comfort to give a hurting soul, and when there is something coming forth with unction and with power out of the place of having gone personally into the depths of God to mine something as precious as pure gold, a true rhema word of the Lord, tried in a fire heated 7 times, and truly HIS word, a PURE word!!
And may I also say here, I ask the Lord for forgiveness when I've presented something as if it's coming from Him when it's just coming from my own tender feelings for a person. Things like that have absolutely no power, and no creativity, and actually probably do more harm than good, even when just trying to be comforting and helpful.
All this leads me to wonder what impacted Job to speak of a :
a path which no fowl knoweth
a path which the vulture's eye hath not seen
a path the lion's whelps have not trodden
a path the fierce lion hath not passed by
And friends, the more I meditate on the subject, the more convinced I am that one of the very reasons the Lord allowed Job to suffer the affliction he did was because he wanted Job to seek out this pathway, this particular place of living "far above principalities, powers, might, dominion, rulers of darkness, demons, devils, serpents, scorpions, all familiar, foreign and fallen spirits and all wickedness and every name that is named". He wanted Job to have a little foretaste and a true "revelation knowledge" of what it means to be seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus."
I often wonder if Job was ever permitted to see in the spirit the thing that actually transpired in the courts of heaven to expedite all that had come against him. The scripture is very clear that God was the one who pointed Job out to satan, and not the other way around. Once satan was made aware of this sterling saint, he went at him with all the artillery he had in his possession. Had not God brought Job's name up, though, satan may have never noticed. My friend, if the devil is opposing you, it's because God is proud enough of you to brag about you!! "Hast thou considered my servant Job?" Job 1:8.
But what was God's purpose in causing the devil to consider Job? Some have suggested it's because even though Job was righteous, he was also very proud, and needed to be taken down a peg or two. Others have suggested it was because God wanted to bless him even better than what he was blessed. From a mother's point of view, I am crazy in love with my children!!! NO new set of children, no matter how talented, beautiful, gifted, spiritual, etc........could ever replace the ones the Lord has already given to me!! Perhaps that worked to be a consolation for Job, but I firmly will tell the Lord "No thank you!"
This is a book full of mystery, and it's far too deep to grant any sweeping conclusion to cover it all, but after reading the scripture which is the basis for this article, I feel I want to throw in my little piece of the puzzle to help understand the book called the "book of Job".
Beloved, I truly believe that God wanted Job to come up to a higher place in Him where the enemy had no access. He wanted His people to know, via the sufferings and afflictions of Job that there is an escape UPWARD into God away from all trouble and sorrow and affliction and adversity!! The Psalmist called it "The Secret Place of the Most High God". The prophet Isaiah referred to it as the "holy mountain". In that place nothing can hurt nor destroy.
You see, there are realms in the heavenlies where satan still has access, but he does NOT have access to all of heaven's territory!! He got exiled forever from that highest heaven called *the most holy place, and he is no longer even so much as a memory there! To have to be reminded of the devil would make heaven less than a perfect place. No, I'm convinced in the most holy realms of heaven there is not even so much as an "amoeba's on fleas" worth of remembrance of that usurper!!
(*Remember Moses had to go up into the mount to see the TRUE tabernacle which God built and NOT man ....so that he could build according to pattern.)
When the devil got banished out from the most holy place of our Heavenly Father which is the home and abode of true worship, in so far as THAT realm is concerned, he is and forever will always be a goner. He still can parade and huff and puff as the accuser of the brethren in some levels of the throne, but there is a place where he simply has NO access. When we can ascend into the holy hill of the Lord with clean hands and pure hearts, we are swaddled in that place of protection where we are so filled up with Jesus, and our thoughts of Him, and our affections toward Him, and our intentions toward Him---pure worship coming from our hearts---whether a lofty and holy thought that pleases the heart of the Father because it exalts the Lord Jesus Christ (one of God's very favorite things), or a love song sung to Him out of the deepest adoration within our souls, or a glad and joyous refrain of praise and thanksgiving----beloved, in THAT place, who is giving a second thought to the devil??
He is very much OUT of sight, and out of mind!! When my meditation of Jesus is SWEET and coming up as a sweet-savour unto the throne , my meditation of the devil is actually simply GONE!!
No, the fowl does NOT know that path!! Imagine that! One would think a flying bird would have a great advantage to be able to "know" just about anything going on as long as he can "fly around" and "pick up information" about the object of his interest. That devil that wants to discover what the word of the Lord is to your life so that he can snatch it from your heart and your mind like a filthy and vile bird lurking around your brain doesn't begin to understand the true "way in the Spirit", the true and holiest pathways close into the heart of God. When you get inside that pathway, and inside that place, he doesn't begin to know what you are doing and what you are all about.
The devil does not possess the attributes of God. He is a lesser being, and even though he was created in beauty and brightness according to the book of Ezekiel ( Ref Ezek. 28), God took His servant Job through an awfully hard dealing and trial to let him know that there is yet intelligence beyond what the enemy of our soul knows, and how to get onto that path that the fowl does NOT know. Why?? Because he doesn't begin to know how to have "clean hands and a pure heart". Ref. Psalm 15, Psalm 24.
The vulture's eye hath not see the path!! What a powerful statement! An eagle is a vulture. Consider the "eye of the eagle". A dove has a "single eye", and is portrayed in Solomon's Song to convey the heart of singular and purposed affection toward only one.
But when one consider's the phrase, "the eagle's eye" it intimates the idea of very keen and all-encompassing eye sight. No other creature under God's heaven has been given greater vision ability than that of the eagle. And yet, there is a path that the "vultures eye" hasn't seen!
The Creator always reserves something yet for Himself, and there's a place where no diabolical onslaught of satan that wants to circle around about you to expose you to other vultures who want to feed on DEATH can ever discern. Beloved, do you know those who have a spirit of enjoying "feeding on death"??
The sadder the news, the better they like it. They run outside the house everytime they hear the fire engine. They stop at every automobile accident, and it's NOT to "render assistance". All bad news, any bad news is "music to their ears". It's the spirit of the vulture that likes to feed on death and negative things. When they get around you, it's not too long until you're feeling poor, sick, destitute and helpless and like the sorriest soul on the face of the earth because sickness, death, disease, famine and poverty just seems to multiply in their presence. That is a spirit, and they need deliverance. It's the spirit of the vulture. Always searching out what's wrong, what genders unto death, and never unto life.
Well, there is a path that the vulture's eye has NOT seen, and where you are protected from that onslaught of the enemy to increase DEATH and to curb LIFE. It's the pathway into His presence, into the Secret Place of the Most High, into the Holy Mountain of God.
The lion's whelps have not trodden that path!! That word "whelp" is very telling. It means the young of a carnivorous animal. It's the off-spring of the beast that feeds on flesh and more flesh. All creatures bring forth after their own kind. Where as the vulture feeds on death, the young whelps are being taught and it's in their nature to tread the pathways of the wilderness seeking out a prey that they can sink their fangs deeply into the flesh and then tear it from limb to limb in order to facilitate an appetite that slightly satiates their own hunger until the next "hunt" while rendering the victim maimed and usually dead.
In the wilderness experience of your soul, you've always got to be careful to be aware of the beasts of prey. They seek to devour you from within and without. They could be hiding behind any bush or tree, or around any bend in the road.
But I believe these "lion's whelps" are like the "little foxes" that spoil the vine. They eat away at your devotional time, fill up on your faith, and devour your testimony if you'll let them. If a fox is as a carnivorous animal, then how would it "spoil the vine" which is NOT "flesh" but rather the food of the "herbivore". It's by "treading down the path". But there is a path as you get closer into the heart of God that the lion's whelp have NOT trodden!! Your devotional time is IN ABUNDANCE, your faith-level is on FULL, and your testimony is a WITNESS, and not a WASH-OUT!!
When poor Job was suffering such affliction, what a struggle it must have been to find time in prayer and in the word. He probably felt far too sick to even hold his Bible. And what a struggle he must have been having with his faith, even though he purposed NOT to sin with his mouth, nor charge God foolishly. And then, what a beating his testimony was taking. It truly looked like his God was failing Him. Until Job ascended UP into the heart of God where GOD vindicated him so beautifully, and let everyone know just what a powerful testimony he had with the Father!! God declared that it was JOB who was speaking things that were right!! (Job 42:7) But, oh what the man of God had to go through in order to get this understanding to pass onto the people of God!! There IS a path where the lion's whelp have not trodden!!
The fierce lion hath not passed by that path!! Beloved, we know that the Bible calls the devil a "roaring lion" seeking whom he may devour.
He's the father of those diabolical, demonic whelps mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. He's a liar, and the father of lies, and he comes with the purpose to rob, to kill and to destroy. That is his sole purpose and agenda: to rob, to kill and to destroy. As he traverses the earth knowing that his time is short, he's seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8 ¶Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Notice that the devil is "walking" which intimates there is an act of patience on his part. He is taking his time, and waiting to strike. As long as you are on any territory that he can possibly access, he just might get to you and eat you alive!! We need to be always aware, and always alert of his devices. We need to be serious and sober and always considering that we could possibly be a target for his ravenous appetite.
And yet, Job found out that there is a path where the FIERCE LION has NOT "passed by". He has not discovered it!! It's hidden from him! It's the Secret Place of the Most High, the pathway into His Presence, the Holy Mountain of God!! When you get into that place, on THAT path you're SAFE from the devil simply because he does NOT know where you are!!
There was a man of God, Job, who suffered loss of loved ones , loss of property, loss of physical health, loss of situation in life all because God wanted to teach him that there is a HIGHER order of life, living in a place where the enemy of our souls simply has NO access!!
Dearest friend, when I read the words " 7 There is a
path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it,
it exploded into my spirit with all life and power because I knew I was reading
the word of the Lord from a man of God who had paid a price to get something
from God so that this little nugget of truth could be poured into my being!!
When Job said these words, it wasn't just some ethereal and dreamy declaration about "I've got a home in gloryland, somewhere way out there beyond the blue!" Job had to find that place in God for his very inner survival, and he found it!!
Nothing in the flesh may have changed at all, but I believe the spirit of life in Christ Jesus took over to help him to make it through. That's how he survived his trial! Also, pressing into that higher and holier realm, I believe he increased in his capacity to understand spiritual things in a way that would never been realized prior to his affliction. What a defying of the devil and all he had purposed in his heart against Job when Job simply uttered those powerful words,
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my reins be consumed within me. Job 19:25-27.
What a death blow to satan's kingdom that when Job might have been cursing God instead he was prophesying about a glorious day in the end times when Jesus will again stand upon this earth, and that Job himself will be in the company of saints who return to help him set up his kingdom and it will be IN HIS FLESH that he would see and behold it!!
I think it was around the time of that declaration that Job must have really been getting something AWESOME from God that was more powerful than anything the enemy was doing against him!!! He was learning to live life in the Spirit in the place of the "secret place of the most high God."
Beloved, when we think of a "path" we think of something like a lovely little wooded trail that is inclined to take us to a destination by a beautiful route. It's not the superhighway between two points. It's the route where we want to "stop and smell the flowers" along the way. You may want to get "over the river and through the woods" to grandma's house as quickly as you can on your snowmobile rather than on the "horse driven sleigh". The point I want to make to you:
the pathway is a lifestyle that we are to enjoy of being in His Presence in increasing measures of proximity to our Lord Jesus Christ, and with every turn that's "winding always upward" we know we are ever drawing closer to Him, and yet at the same time there are lessons learned to extend our hands to those who are coming up the trail behind us.
Job found that pathway. Trouble and affliction pressed him toward it. I believe that pathway has not to do so much with perfection on the natural plain, as it has to do with learning to live our lives IN THE SPIRIT far more so as UNTO HIM than unto the futility of the lower level of always trying to fix and perfect things on the earth realm, and according to the dictates of what will make flesh comfortable.
There is only ONE place in all of the created universe where the enemy does not have access, and it's right up close to the throne room, to the heart of God, the secret place of the most high God, the holy mountain of God, the holiest place of all. In that place He is all, and He truly become our all and all, and IS all and IN all!!
And as an Old Testament saint whose life is to be a prophetic testimony unto us of how to make it in the time of trial, I believe the word of the Lord to us through Job is that it's not having people talk us through our problems, pray us through our problems, or even prophesy us through our problems (even though ALL of that can be a GREAT comfort) that may always be the answer !!
Rather, as experienced by Job, I'm convinced God's purpose in trial and affliction is that we might find that same pathway, that secret place, that holy mountain and work our lives out on that level of spiritual existence. I believe Job had the honor of being "seated together in heavenly places" with Christ Jesus.
Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord!!
Always in the Love of Jesus,
Clo DiPilato