Psalms 23: The Third Day Revolution - A Year of Divine Recovery and Lavish Supply
By Tom and Jane Hamon
(This year I, Jane, will be writing the Word for 2023 from both Apostle Tom and myself. In looking to the new year there are many things we heard together as we studied the Word and were preparing in the Spirit. We hope it will be a blessing to you.)
In my memory, Bishop Hamon was the first to give a prophetic message for a new year back in 1988. The word was Update, Relate and Activate in ‘88. Since that time prophets everywhere take time to listen to the Voice of God at the beginning of the Roman calendar year for a message from His heart that sets the Body of Christ in a position of expectancy and preparation for the coming season. These words, though given at the beginning of a calendar year, often transcend the timeline of a calendar year and represent a season we are in of undetermined timelines. For example, in January of 2020 the Lord showed me a vision in which He was handing out white stones to believers for the year ahead. I knew the reference to the white stone in Revelations 2:17, “to him who overcomes I will give to eat of hidden manna and I will give him a white stone with a name written on it that only He knows.” When I initially had this vision I believed God was commending us and rewarding us with favor for overcoming, however, as 2020 unfolded with a global pandemic and all its challenges I realized God was prophesying to us that we would face situations that we would need His grace to overcome. It wasn’t a commendation it was a prophetic word to keep us all on track through those challenging years.
This is the Hebraic year 5783 which began in September. It is the decade of the “peh” which means 80 in Hebrew and is a word which represents the voice, the mouth and sound. God is emphasizing the power of what comes out of our mouths in decrees and faith statements. The 3 is the number representing the Holy Spirit. It is considered to be the first of the “perfect” numbers, including 7, 10 and 12. There are three members of the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Ghost), three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), three divisions in the Temple (outer court, inner court and Holy of Holies), the angels cry Holy, Holy, Holy before the throne.
The three of this year is the Hebrew letter Gimmel, which represents divine recovery of all the enemy has stolen from us as well as the justice of the Lord being implemented. Gimmel is also a picture of a wealthy benefactor chasing down one less fortunate to bestow blessings and provision upon them. This will be important to understand as Apostle Tom and I unfold our prophetic words for this year.
Gimmel means either recompense or benefit, indicating that the nature of the giving can lead to either blessing or judgment for the one who gives it. This means we are entering a year of Retribution(pay back) and Recovery. The word Retribution means "to recompense, or reward, the dispensing or receiving of a reward or punishment." 5783 is going to be a year concerning God’s complete justice, a judgment occurring of both blessing and curse depending on which side of the retribution you are on. It interesting that the number 5783 in the Strongs in Hebrew means to expose or lay bare. Always remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord, however, this is a necessary part of God’s justice being realized in the earth.
God wants to bless His people and bring full recovery from everything the enemy has robbed from us as well as judgment on His enemies. Pursue - Overtake and Recover All will be our battle cry!
A Third Day Revolution is Coming! - A Time of Resurrection Life!
In this third year of the 2020’s I have been impressed of the Holy Spirit that it is important for us to press in to this third day anointing for breakthrough and resurrection life. I heard the Lord say, “Prepare yourselves for a third day revolution” so of course I jumped into the Word to find out what that is all about.
Throughout scripture we see a divine pattern in what happens on the “third day”. Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day….not on the second day, nor on the fourth day. He prophesied his death and resurrection several times and was always specific that he would be raised on the “third day.” (Mt. 12:40; Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34; John 2:19) On the third day many things occurred in biblical history that ushered in a time of change, victory and breakthrough. As you will see it was synonymous with a moment of divine intervention, God providentially coming down and impacting the course of human history. It was a time of revelation, great joy, salvation and healing. As we are pressing in to the beginning stages of the third reformation and great awakening, as well as being in the early years of the third millennium of redemption, we need to understand this third day anointing so we can partner with the Spirit of the Lord in ushering in this new era in the earth. If God emphasizes the third day in scriptural patterns I believe we need to look at the Word to see it’s significance for us today.
Let me give you some examples, some of which I will elaborate on later:
A). Creation: The third day of creation God separated the sea and a dry land and created all types of plants and trees that were seed bearing and reproduced after their kind. God is creating within us an ability to produce and reproduce that which He has formed in us.
B). A Time of Testing and Provision: Genesis 22:7 Abraham offered Isaac up on the altar on the third day of their journey to Mt. Moriah, and God provided a ram in the thicket to take his place. This is a prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus becoming a sacrifice for us and was a turning point for Abraham becoming the patriarch of Israel and the promise that his descendants would possess the gates of their enemies. New authority and an anointing for victory is being released as we pass our tests this year. More on this in a minute.
C). A Time of Presence- Meeting With God - Exodus 19:11 - The Theophany: God came down on Mt Sinai on the 3rd day of the 3rd month with thunder and lightening, the sound of the trumpet and the Voice of the Lord and gave Moses the 10 Commandments. The instructions were to “Prepare yourself for the third day. Sanctify yourselves.” On the third day God gave the Law of Moses and provided a plan for fallen man to live right before their God until the day of redemption when Jesus Christ would come and pay the price for our sin. God’s Voice released a divine plan on the third day. God will be releasing plans and strategies in this third day season to advance us in our relationship with God and His plan for His people in the coming days. The third day is a time of meeting with God and listening for His Voice. He will send revelation for your future in the third day and show His way of salvation.
D) A Time for Promises Fulfilled - In Joshua 1:11 Joshua crossed into promised land on the third day.“Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’” Again you can see the process of preparing for the third day. Yet on the third day dreams were realized and promises were fulfilled after 430 years of slavery and an additional 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Dreams do come true!
E). A Time for Possessing the Fruit of the Land - In Joshua 5:10-12 Manna ceased on the third day in the land and they ate of the fruit of the promised land. “Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.” This is a time to eat the fruit of your labors and to possess the spoil in a new way, They were no longer just battling to survive as they did under Pharaoh or even in the wilderness. Now there were giants to take down, however, they were no longer battling to survive they were battling to possess. This year we will battle, but it will be a battle to possess our prophetic promises.
F). A Time for Divine Recovery - In I Samuel 30 David and his men return to Ziklag on the third day after fighting the Philistines and find a devastating scene. The Amalekites had robbed them. They had taken their wives, children and all their possessions. It was a crisis and David’s men even wanted to stone him! But in the midst of the crisis David heard the Voice of God say, “Pursue, Overtake and Recover All!” This will be a year to gain new strategies to defeat the Spirit of Robbery. God is releasing His Warrior Anointing to Pursue, Overtake and Recover All the Enemy has stolen from us!
G). A Time for Victories at the Threshingfloor - Deserved Judgments Averted on the Third Day - When mankind sins we put ourselves in the position of deserving judgment from God. But this is why Christ came to earth, to pay the price for our sin so that “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). In I Chronicles chapter 21, David had sinned against the LORD by taking a census of the people and the LORD sent judgment by sending a pestilence amongst the people for three days and 70,000 people were killed. It tells us the angel of the LORD was positioned to destroy Jerusalem, however, the Lord in His mercy stopped the angel on the third day. He told the prophet Gad to command David to build an altar on the site of the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, to remove the curse. David built an altar and offered sacrifices to the Lord and God answered him with fire from heaven which came upon the altar. It was on the third day of judgment that David sacrificed to the Lord and that the Lord answered him with fire from heaven. Salvation and deliverance came to David and the people of Jerusalem on the third day. Interestingly, the threshingfloor of Ornan was later the site chosen to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Similarly, during the times of Ahab and Jezebel God sent a drought and a famine on the land for three years. In I Kings 18:1, God spoke to Elijah and told him to go show himself to Ahab and the drought would break. This was in the third year, not the third day, but the principle remains the same. Mercy will triumph over judgment!
H). A Time for A Finishing Anointing - In the time of Rebuilding the Temple - Ezra 6:15 - the house of the Lord finished on third day of Adar (called the happy month).
I). A Time of Favor - In Esther 5:1, in a time of national crisis Esther answered the call to go before the king and request a reversal of the decrees of death and destruction. She went before the king on the third day and received favor with him. The second the scepter was stretched out things began to shift though it took a process to see the full reversal. This is the picture of the modern day Ekklesia positioning and petitioning before our King for divine reversals to see Haman and his ten sons all hanged on the gallows they prepared to hang the righteous. In Esther 8:17 we see it was on the 23rd day of the month of Sivan that Esther and Mordecai wrote the new decree authorizing God’s people to fight back against their enemies. It activated an anointing for turnaround and even revival in the land. Receive God’s favor for reversals, opportunities and victory. God will give us the house of Haman!
J). A Time for Freedom - In Genesis 40:12-13 we see the butler and the baker of Egypt, for whom Joseph had interpreted dreams, released from prison on the third day just as had been foretold. One was released to life, the other to death. In Genesis 42:17-18 we see that Joseph’s brothers were released from their prison cells also on the third day. The third day can become a day of release and freedom. It is interesting that in addiction recovery programs they say the 3rd day, the 3rd week and the 3rd month are the most challenging. Those are the points people have to decide if they will press on to freedom or go back to bondage. This year the grace of God is here to set us free from all bondages, but we must fight to move forward.
K). A Time When Obedience Unlocks Awakening - Jesus foretold his coming death and resurrection would be just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days. We know the story that Jonah was a reluctant prophet called to declare judgment over Nineveh, the most wicked city in the earth at the time. He runs from the call of God and ends up in the belly of a fish (whale or sea monster) for three days, during which time he had a turning of heart to obey God. He was spit out on the land on the third day and went and delivered God’s message. The people of Nineveh repented and it became one of the first cities mentioned in scripture to experience a spiritual awakening which turned the heart of God from judgment. May we seek to obey Him this year, never knowing if our obedience may unlock the destiny of cities and nations!
L). A Time for Miracles - In 2 Kings 20 Isaiah went to pray for Hezekiah and gave him a word to get his house in order because he was going to die. Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. – 2 Kings 20:4-5. The decree came forth and at that moment healing was released from God to Hezekiah, however, the full manifestation of his miracle would not come until the third day. In keeping with the significance of the third day, we see in John 2 that Jesus’ first miracle he ever performed occurred on the third day of the wedding feast in Cana. He turned water into wine. In this third day miracles are going to flow like wine. God will take the ordinary and make it extraordinary! Miracles will increase this year. Raise your expectations to receive for God has saved the best wine for last!
Psalms 23 to Set Us Free in 2023
Last year Apostle Tom did an incredible series on Psalms 23. This year we will be basing our word out of Psalms 23 for 2023, which is often read as a pastoral type of psalm. However, we believe God is emphasizing more of an apostolic/prophetic thrust from this passage for the coming days. The 23rd Psalm comes after Psalm 22 about the pain of the cross “My God My God why have you forsaken me?” It also comes just before the Psalm of Authority in Psalms 24 - “The King of Glory…..the Lord Strong and Mighty, the Lord Mighty in Battle!” It’s a Psalm that aligns our heart with God’s heart for us so we can come out of pain into divine purpose and authority…. It’s a Psalm of empowerment and restoration. It’s time to tune our hearts to His and hear His Voice.
1) The Lord is My Shepherd - A Year of Intimat Hearing His Voice Above All Others
In John 10 Jesus tells us he is our shepherd and we are the sheep of His fold. This is one of the greatest pictures of covenant in the Word. He cares for us, watches over us and protects us….. It goes on to say that His sheep hear his voice. There is a love relationship between the Shepherd and His sheep - he lays down his life for the sheep. *****We must be discerning regarding the voices that are in the land. Many voices in the church and in the world that want to lead into compromise and confusion. As we know the heart of our Shepherd we can draw near to Him and hear His Voice in a new and powerful way this year.
A Vision of Heavenly Kisses
While in Korea the first week of the year, I saw God raining kisses down upon the land. Of course kisses represent God’s love and affection for His people, His sheep. But when I looked up the word kisses in Hebrew it means, “to fasten as with kisses”, but goes on to mean, “to equip with weapons of war, to empower to rule, to light a fire.” I saw that as God’s kisses fell on the land a holy fire burst forth. Believers were then able to go and pull a sword and a scepter out of the flames. He is equipping us this year, through His love, rooted and grounded in love, but also forming new weapons and new rods of authority to help us navigate His purposes for 2023.
2). I Shall Not Want - A Year of Lavish Supply
This powerful promise takes on new meaning this year as we hear God’s decree over His people, that we shall not want. When we understand the fulness of this Hebrew word we hear the decree: I shall not want; I shall not lack; I shall not have a need; I shall not be without; I shall not decrease; I shall not fail; I shall not be grieved. Wow! What a powerful declaration from Psalms 23 for 2023.
But it even gets better. Each year for the last several years Apostle Tom has felt the Lord lead him to look up the actual number of the year in the Strong’s Concordance and allow God to speak to him out of those Greek and Hebrew words. This year was no different. The Hebrew word for 2023 is the word, Hor, which means two mountains. This represented God’s continued promise for the Double Portion anointing being poured out on His people. But it got really exciting when he read the word in the Greek. It is the word epichoregeo which means to lavishly and abundantly furnish or supply. 2023 will be a Year of Lavish Supply! When one looks at the deeper understanding of this word it means, “on behalf of the choir” or something that is choreographed or orchestrated (choregeo). It comes from the understanding of a wealthy benefactor who makes a huge, super abundant contribution to a choir or group so that every need is supplied for their performance, project or assignment. It is purposeful and choreographed ahead of time. This is consistent with the meaning of Gimmel and the wealthy benefactor in that word picture. God is choreographing/orchestrating tremendous, lavish provision for the vision this year. Gimmel then also becomes the picture of a well equipped, lavishly supplied ekklesia who is out chasing down others who are in need, bringing healing, deliverance, freedom, hope and supply to others. This is our mission. This is our assignment!
3) He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. (He restores and revives my life TPT). A Year of Restoration and Recovery of All the Enemy Has Stolen
This verse evokes the picture of one who has been exhausted and worn out by the past season coming to a place of rest and resolve in the Lord. The green pastures and still waters are a picture of a place without controversy or battle, a place of refreshing and restoration and personal revival. This will be a time when the Lord fills us up with His presence and His power to make a people ready for all that is ahead. He is restoring our soul!
The word restore in Hebrew has a powerful meaning. Restore means, “refresh, rescue, repair, return, reverse, (it’s a turn around season) recompense (a time of pay back!), reward, REJOICE!” God’s abundant, lavish supply for us this year includes all we need to have our souls healed and set free! 2023 will be a Year to be FREE!
2023 will be a time when God will cause trials and tragedy to transition into triumph.
The last season has not been easy for some. But God is restoring and reviving our souls to make us ready for one of the greatest seasons for kingdom advancement and awakening that is ahead. Personal revival will lead the way to national revivals so we must press in to relationship with the shepherd of our souls for a freshness in His presence this year. He needs us healed and whole and battle ready.
Hosea 6:1-2 inspires us with this “third day” promise: “Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.” Verse 3 in the New Living Translation goes on to say, “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”
3). He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name sake. - A Year of Testing For Promotion
Apostle Tom preached a powerful New Years message on how testing will determine our promotion and it will determine our supply. God is looking for a people who will be sanctified, set apart, from the world’s way of thinking and doing things. He is seeking those who love Him more than pleasure, entertainment or convenience. He is also willing to test His people to make us ready for a new level. This will be a year of testing that can produce promotion in our lives. Just like the third day example of Abraham offering up Isaac was a test, Abraham was able to prove something to himself and to God that released him into even greater faith.
Let us be clear: this was God testing Abraham, not the devil. After he saw Abraham’s willingness to obey, God told him that He now knew that Abraham feared him and loved Him more even than the prophetic promise God had given him in Isaac. He then made the declaration, “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”Genesis 22:17-18 Abraham passed the test & became our patriarch of faith towards God and authority was released to us to possess the gates of our enemies.
God tested Abraham. The Word of the Lord tried Joseph. (Psalms 105:11). Jacob wrestled with God. Even Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
The word tempt means: To seduce, entice, allure or attract by holding out the probably of gratification or advantage often in the direction of that which is unwise, wrong or immoral. To put someone to the test in a venturesome way. Everyone will face temptation. It’s not a temptation unless it is something you may really want to do: to lie, to chest, to steal, to lust, to party, to quit, to be angry….. and the list goes on. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life will test our heart, our faith, our obedience & our attitude. I Corinthians 10:11-14 encourage us, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (flee youthful lusts).
When we walk on God’s paths of righteousness you actually find there is very little room for SELF - Self promotion, Self protection, selfish desires….God is dealing with Self - I am actually more afraid of myself than the devil!! My self gets me out of alignment with God.
Apostle Tom encouraged us that it doesn’t matter what the enemy is doing, it matters what we do. God is always looking for His Ekklesia to arise & shine out of darkness. (Is 60). God’s tests are not punishment for wrongdoing. God’s correction is not rejection. God’s tests are positive and always precede promotion. If you want to go higher in God, realize you may be tested in order to get there. Just as with Abraham and Isaac, God’s tests will prove what you are really made of, who you really are and what’s in your heart. The truth is you don’t truly know yourself or others until testing comes.
A great example of this is the process railroad ties go through before they are put on the track. They are put under great stress and pressure, great heat and great cold to see if they will twist, bend or break. If it passes this test it can be used on a rail that will carry precious cargo and even put lives at risk. Isn’t it better that these ties are tried before they carry that weight?
Similarly one who is an assayer of gold can determine whether something is true gold or fool’s gold. It is revealed in the fire. Even real gold must be purified in the heat of the fire, turned up over and over until all the impurities have risen to the surface and skimmed off. Gold and silver go through this process over and over until the master’s face can be reflected in its purity. So God will turn up the heat in our lives until we perfectly reflect who He is in the earth.
But remember, it was in the place of testing that Abraham gave us the name of God, Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.
Your testing will precede your promotion this year. It will determine your supply. This year God’s grace is abundantly and lavishly being poured out to us that we might pass every test and enter in to our rest!
4). Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. This will be a Year of Great Spiritual Victories in 2023 As God Fights for Me!
You see the rod and staff comfort us because these are the weapons of battle for our Shepherd. The rod is also called a shepherd’s club & becomes His rod of authority to fight and to rule. The staff brings support of every kind. God will give us all we need for victory this year, including courage to walk through shadowed valleys. God will mantle you with bravery to face every trial and every path set before you. Be prepared to receive a deeper revelation & discernment of the works of darkness.
5). You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
In the psalm the scene changes from a pastoral scene to a great feast with a table spread before our enemies. As we enter 2023 we are coming up on almost three years of doing communion each day on our Facebook page. Someone said this is the decade of a revival of the table of the Lord. Daily communion anchors us in our covenant with God and releases fresh oil to overcome our enemies.
Who are these enemies? The word in Hebrew means, “distress, oppression, affliction, to cramp, besiegement, trouble, to be vexed.” Whatever is vexing you or oppressing you can be overcome by the power of coming to the table of the Lord.
He longs to anoint our heads with oil, which was the custom for distinguished guests at a feast. The word anoint means, “to be fat, to be satisfied, to take away the ashes of grief, to be prosperous”. Oil was used not just for anointing but also to keep fires burning.
When it declares that his cup runs over or overflows this word means that the cup or container of our lives will overflow with “satisfaction, to become wealthy, to abundantly fill & slake one’s thirst”.
Therefore a decree for 2023 could be:
In the presence of every mocking, threatening, distressing enemy…. You honor me by anointing my head with prosperity and by putting richness & fruitfulness upon me. You take away the ashes of grief from the last season. The container of my life & soul is abundantly satisfied. My spiritual thirst is slaked & my purse is made wealthy. I am anointed with fresh oil so the fire of the Holy Spirit can burn passionately in my life. You do all this is the presence of my enemies!
We want to declare Psalms 92:10-15 over you!
“For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
6). Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me (in 2023) all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The final benediction for this psalm is a declaration of goodness and mercy following after us everywhere we go this year. When it says “Goodness shall follow me” it means, “that which is beautiful, happy, cheerful, prosperous, filled with favor, kindness, joyful, precious, sweet and wealthy.” When it says “Mercy shall follow me” it means, “loving kindness, favor, good deeds, mercy and grace from God. pardoning mercy, protecting mercy, sustaining mercy, supplying mercy.”
Decree with me that all these shall follow me in 2023!!