THE BROOK KIDRON – OUR DELIVERANCE

By Author Unknown

UK

In the Scriptures there are many types and figures, and the Brook Kidron is a case in point. In this example we can evidence something of the work of Redemption accomplished by our Redeemer Yeshua.’

In the Scriptures there are but twelve direct mentions of this particular geographical feature/location. Apart from the Brook, there were also fields which pertained to this area. The Brook was in near proximity to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). The references are to be found in 2 Samuel 15:23; 1 Kings 2:37; 15:13;2 Kings 23:4; 23:62); 23:12; 2 Chronicles 15:16; 29:16; 30:14; Jeremiah 31:40; John 18:1.

The references have negative connotations, except the texts in Jeremiah, and John. In John, it is merely a reference to the Saviour and His (eleven) disciples crossing the Brook to enter the Garden of Gethsemane; however, even this may be considered in the light of the only positive exception. Otherwise, the Brook Kidron is marked as a place of shame, judgement and of bringing all that is unclean, filthy, idolatrous, and unrighteous to be destroyed.

We might properly regard Kidron as a ‘dumping ground’ for all that is worthless, and contaminated. Therefore, we would rightly designate the Brook to be an unclean place.

It is worth noting the Brook Kidron was also called The Valley of Jehoshaphat [Joel 3:2, 12] Scripture clearly details this as a place of judgement. This is most apposite for under the Spiritual type being considered, the Brook Kidron is the place of judgement for all – be it unto destruction, or deliverance! All must descend into the Valley of Jehoshaphat and enter into the Brook Kidron. It is here that sin shall be judged – and there are no two ways about it. Either,

1. We will continue in our sin and be swept away* to utter destruction or
2. We will be led through the Brook by our Shepherd as the uncleanness of our sin is washed away [Ultimately, the Brook Kidron empties itself into the Dead Sea, therefore, if Yeshua does not cause us to ford the Brook, utter judgement, and ‘the second death’ is the only prospect.]

The Greek, ‘Cedron’ comes directly from the Hebrew: Kidron [Strong’s 693912] This word means ‘dusky place i.e., ‘to be ashy, dark­ coloured, black’ and, by implication, ‘to mourn’.

Having settled these points before us, we may proceed to a consideration of the Brook Kidron and our Deliverance.

Our Redeemer proclaimed:

“Come unto Me all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “[Matthew 11:28]

It was only ever the accoutrements of filth, iniquity and idolatry which were brought to the Brook Kidron, to be judged and destroyed; never was there anything of worth, value or decency ever cast into the Brook Kidron. This is the way of our Deliverance. We laboured under the burden of our sin and were heavy-laden with our iniquities. We never brought even the smidgen of profitability in the matter of our redemption. When YAHUAH redeems us, it is entirely of His Mercy & Favour. The part we play in our deliverance from sin is merely the casting of all our sin, iniquities, and idolatries upon our Perfect Redeemer, Whose Name is YAHUAH, and which means “YAHUAH is Salvation”!

Under the type & figure, Yeshua is our ‘Brook Kidron’ when we take the accoutrements, and paraphernalia of our sinful estate and cast it into Him, and He bears (washes) our sin away – we put our sin upon Him. If we might respectfully keep the type – He is the ‘dumping ground’ for all repentant sinners. If we might make a play on words, it is the time when our sin is brought to the place of judgement, and our defilements are cast onto/into our ‘Kidron-Redeemer’ [Kinsman-Redeemer] Appropriately, of the sin-offering we read,

“And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before YAHUAH… “[Leviticus 4:15]

The individual aspect is related to us in Leviticus 1:2-4.

The significance of laying the hand on the bullock was to acknowledge the bullock – the blood of which was to be shed for sin – was innocent, but the sin of the individual was being legally transferred to the beast before being slaughtered in expiation of the sin.

In similar fashion/allegory, when we heap the contamination of our sin into our ‘Kidron-Redeemer ‘, though He becomes legally guilty for our sin, yet He remains

“…pure, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners…” [Hebrews 7:26]

This is in clear contrast to our own condition of total depravity. This doctrine does not deny the possibility of our committing any acts of kindness, or favour, et cetera, BUT… there is no area, or aspect of our beings which are not contaminated with our sin condition – our sin is inextricably woven into and bound up with the ‘warp & woof’ of our ‘good deeds’, and righteousness. In this regard, the Scriptures rightly identify our condition as stated in Isaiah 64:6 –

“But we are all as the unclean (through-and-through), and all our righteousnesses as filthy rags…”

Let us be never so righteous, the testimony is always the same: “…all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags… “In this matter, the Scriptures are not sensitive because those filthy rags’ in the Hebrew signify woman’s menstrual cloth! From this, we can understand just how filthy and unclean our best righteousnesses are!!! If that i the purest condition of our righteousnesses, what must be the state of our unrighteousnesses which are both far more numerous, and extreme than our supposed righteousnesses?

WHAT A CLEANSING WE NEED!

Do we now begin to understand just how needful it for us to come to our ‘Brook Kidron’ – Yeshua – to lay our burden upon Him? To cast our sin ‘into’ Him? Do we sense how utterly contaminated we are – through­,and-through (thoroughly), and there is nothing we can do to apprehend, or appropriate our deliverance in any way? Thus, it should be apparent just how completely we rely upon our Redeemer Yeshua to take our sin, unrighteousnesses, filth, and idolatries… and bear them away as our ‘Brook Kidron’.

However, if we remain in our sin we shall be swept away with our sin into the ‘Dead Sea of eternal loss’. We should recall what is implied in the meaning of the name Kidron’ – ‘to mourn’. Therefore, if we have died to our sin, on the other hand, we will find our ‘Brook Kidron’ to be our deliverance into the eternal reward, and inheritance.[Romans 6]

Further testimony is given us of our condition in Ecclesiastes 7:20,

“For (there is) not a just (i.e., righteous) man upon earth, that doeth good (i.e., keepeth the Law), and sinneth not.”

Think for a moment what this really means: Even when we are just and righteous, and we do the right and keep the Law (Torah), even then, ‘sin is not absent’! [Romans 7:21-The entire passage is worthy of our reading.]

Well, these Scriptures are a real blow to our egos – HalleluYAH! We rejoice so because it serves as an encouragement to direct us to humility; therein we might meet with Elohim, for He reveals Himself to such humble and contrite ones. [Isaiah 57:15]

Spiritually, this gulf, and depth between our righteousnesses/unrighteousnesses is highlighted in the warning which our Saviour gave in Matthew 6:23. [See also Luke 11:35]

Let us get back to our considerations. It was altogether necessary the abject nature of our sinfulness should be realised enabling us to realise our complete dependency on the need for the Messiah Yeshua to be our figurative Brook Kidron; even as the geographic brook had all the waste, filth and  idolatrous accoutrements cast into it, similarly for our spirits there is a need for the filth, idolatries (and unrighteousnesses) of our sin(s) to be poured, nay, cast into our ‘Kidron­ Redeemer’, that He might carry away all our sin, and make us clean.

From this, we understand how imperative it was for our Redeemer to be absolutely pure, so that He could purge us thoroughly – to the nth degree. [Isaiah 53:9; 1 Peter 2:22]

It is certain that neither we ourselves nor any anyone else could pay the price for our ransom for the simple fact the total depravity of our being means there is absolutely nothing which is pure in and of ourselves, therefore, neither we nor anyone else can pay the propitiatory price – that can only be paid by One Who is ‘pure, undefiled (untainted), separate from sinners’. This inability of any to pay the ransom from among men is made patently clear in that great passage of Psalm 49:1-14.

However, in the very next lines of the Psalm [v15] the Psalmist is able to confidently assert this Truth:

“Elohim will redeem my being from the power of the grave: For He shall receive-me. Selah.”

The Only One Who can ransom and redeem us is Elohim our Almighty Redeemer Himself- and this is the propitiatory offering which our Redeemer Yeshua accomplished for us in the offering of Himself for our sin. Actually, this feeds into our meditations on this matter. Remember: We are viewing Yeshua as our Redeeming Brook Kidron. When we read that Elohim will redeem us, we know this is accomplished through the bearing of His Right Arm [Isaiah 33:2; 40:10, 11; 51:5, 9; 52:7-10; 53:1 (this entire passage is a revelation of ‘YAHUAH’s Arm’, i.e., our Redeemer Yeshua. See John 12:38); 59:16 (context of vv 12-17 is apposite to our considerations); 63:51. Subsequently, when we come to our symbolic Brook Kidron – our Redeemer Yeshua – and have Him cleanse our sin burden, then, ELOHIM RECEIVES US!

Yeshua became sin for us, i.e., the sin-bearer -just like the bullock in Leviticus 1 & 4 – and the general purpose for which the Brook Kidron was employed.

This is declared to us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Galatians 3:13. It is this: Yeshua has legally, Spiritually, and eternally cleansed us from our sin, and borne away our iniquity. He has utterly removed the filthy accoutrements of our sin in the ‘once-for-all flow of His Redeeming Blood’; but He Himself is not contaminated, nor unperfected by our sin etcetera.

Briefly, the text in Galatians is revealing not that Yeshua was ‘cursed’ in any way, but rather that He took away the curse of our need to keep the Law for our Salvation since it is clearly obvious that we never could do so; therefore, seeking salvation through the keeping of the Law being impossible to us, it was a curse to us, hence, the Redeemer Yeshua Who was perfect, and kept the applicable Law without error, He has become a curse for us, i.e. He has borne the burden, carried, and taken away the curse of keeping the Law for salvation, because He has fulfilled the applicable Law perfectly! Now, by His Mercy, we are redeemed through believing in Him, and trusting to His finished work. Thus, our filthy, idolatrous sin has been cast on Him, He has borne it away, He has purified us by his Blood, yet has not Himself been contaminated.

The text in 2 Corinthians more directly indicates the bullock of Leviticus, as well as the ‘scapegoat’- neither was guilty, neither became contaminated, but both bare away the sin of the one making the offering and was counted as efficacious in the eyes of YAHUAH.

It is to be hoped the type of our Redeemer as revealed in the Brook Kidron has been clearly seen. However, let us draw to a close by considering those two positive texts.

John l8:1

Whilst it was our Saviour Who was passing over the Brook Kidron to enter Gethsemane (in one respect, the beginning of His sufferings for our redemption), the example is set that if we would be delivered/saved from our sin, there is only one way – we must cross over our ‘Brook Kidron’ – Yeshua. As Moses at the Red·[Exodus 14:13-16, 21, 22], and as Joshua (and ministers) at the River Jordan [Joshua 3:11-17], the type holds true since our Redeemer Yeshua must pass over before us, and lead us through the Brook Kidron. [Psalm 23:4; Isaiah 43:2; see also Hebrews 6:20] Only by going ‘through’ Him can we have our sin washed away.

[John 14:6] Furthermore, we must leave ‘old Jerusalem’ behind. [Hebrews 13:12-14]

Jeremiah 31:40

How wonderful a vision – and proclaimed state of the. eternal condition. We have seen how the Brook Kidron symbolises our Redeemer, but in this declaration, we are assured of the permanently, perfectly cleansed state of the Brook Kidron. The geographical situation certainly does not reflect that condition, but in spiritual typography it shall.

This is what is declared: It shall be ‘set apart unto YAHUAH and shall be established for ever’. This should cause us to remember what we are vouchsafed in Revelation 21:27:

“There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither worketh abomination, or a lie: Only they which are written in the Lamb’s Scroll of Eternity.”

HALLELUYAH! This is the wonderful conclusion from our meditations of the Brook Kidron being a type of our Redeemer.

However, in that Eternal City it shall certainly not be a polluted ‘Brook Kidron’ – it shall be purified. Instead, this is what the redeemed shall behold:

“He showed me a pure river of eternal water, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the Throne of Elohim and of the Lamb… “[Revelation 22:1]

This was the assurance which our Redeemer declared to the Samaritan woman at the Sychar well – the everlasting flow of the River of the Water of Eternity in our ‘Delivering Kidron Redeemer

It is the fulfilment of Psalm 46:4, 5 given of Elohim to all those who put their trust in Him.

APPENDICES

1. ‘A more exact pronunciation of our Saviour’s actual Name in the original Aramaic is ‘Yahushua’ containing as it does the Name of the YAHUAH-YAHU Generally, however, most are familiar with the rendering ‘Yeshua – this we use throughout our text
2. Those of the Covenant Nations spoke Aramaic (the Hebrew tongue), as opposed to Greek, attested to in Acts 21:37, 40 which makes clear Greek was largely unspoken, and unknown to the Israelites in that era – This is further supported when the apostle recounts his calling in Acts 26:14 with the Master calling Paul in the Hebrew tongue (Aramaic)
3. This is the pronunciation of the Hebrew tetragrammaton for the Almighty – YHWH (yod, hey, waw, hey). In the Paleo Hebrew (ancient/pictorial) script translating to ‘Behold the hand, behold the stake’. Some prefer the pronunciation ‘YAHWEH’.
4. Hebrew: ‘Qodesh’, meaning to be cleansed, purified, dedicated, and set apart (in context) to that which is perfect. The word ‘holy’ is derived from paganism and should not be found upon the lips of believers in any way when referring to the Almighty.