Ships of Tarshish

4/20/23

At the beginning of 2023 and during the time when the Lord sent us rain, I dreamed.  I will break the dreams into two posts even though they are related and both prophetic, distance will help me explain them better.  Both dreams happened on the same night, the second is a continuance of the first.

The dream opened with me standing (facing east) on a large blacktop similar to an airport tarmac.  It was dark outside.  I looked south and saw water on the runway like waves growing, expanding.  The water was coming from the south and spreading north on the blacktop.

Then, I looked north and saw more water with waves spreading south as if to meet the north bound waves.  There was some dry tarmac between the two growing bodies of water.  But I sensed the waters would meet at some point.

I looked again and saw two silver boats; one on the north waters and one on the south waters.  Both facing each other sailing in the choppy waters.  The large silver boats looked like fishing boats filled with people on the waters on top of the blacktop.  There was Someone commanding the boats, He was in the north boat standing at the helm.

The dream changed scenes and I will continue it in my next post.  Sufficient to say, I sensed what I was symbolically seeing were coastlands.  Oceans separated by land as represented by the dry tarmac or blacktop.  Just as land separates waters from each other, coast to coast.  Yet, the coastlands were coming together.

Upon praying, I heard “Ships of Tarshish” and received an address of Isaiah 60:9 Surely the coastlands shall wait for ME and the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from a far, their silver and their gold with them to the name of the LORD your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified you.

Let’s look at the symbols and discern what God is saying.  I know this is a prophetic dream as I am a ‘watcher’ in the dream, not a participant.  In the second part of the dream, I am a participant. 

With that said, facing east means to face God’s glory.  East is symbolic for the glory of God.  Then, to dream of a black top means travel or traveling of peoples…if an airport tarmac.  So, we know travel is involved, but not for me.  Again, I am a watcher in the dream aka a seer.

Coastlands reminds me of the saying “From sea to shining sea”; and I believe it is from all over the world as the Isaiah 60:9 verse alludes to.  Boats are for traveling over the waters of the world and silver is the color of redemption.  Oceans or seas represent humanity.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 60:9 states: “Many shall be brought into the church, even from far countries. Christ is always ready to receive all who come to Him; and the gate of mercy is always open, night and day. The peculiar advantages of every nation, and of every description of men, shall join to beautify the church of Christ.”  The biblical phrase "ships of Tarshish" refers not to ships from a particular location, but to a class of ships: large vessels for long-distance trade…especially silver. 

This dream is similar to another I had a few years earlier called Border Crossing Dream.  In fact, God gave me the same scripture for that dream, too…Isaiah 60:9.  Both saw people from all over the world coming to our borders.  Now, I believe the Lord revealed a deeper meaning to what I was seeing.

Isn’t it true that millions of people have come to our shores and crossed our ‘open’ borders in recent years?  Regardless of the societal repercussions, He opened my eyes to see this phenomenon from a heavenly perspective.  Could it be that God is calling them to our country?  Sure, they come for better economic lives and other reasons too, but what if it’s more?

In the post Master’s Class, I review the second part of this dream which is a call to be prepared and renewed for the Way of the Lord!