What is a Blood Covenant?

In parts of the world, and in most all times, a blood covenant was the strongest type of covenant two people could enter into. It has been used in civilized as well as primitive nations to unite two people together in marriage, business or friendship.

The covenant was made when the blood of two individuals was mingled. It could be done by cutting the palms of the individuals and then the shaking of hands combined the blood. It could also be that a few drops of blood from each person could be mingled in a glass of wine and then drunk by both, although the Bible forbid the drinking of blood. In either case, the blood was mixed, thus indicating that two lives were mixed. Or finally, an animal’s blood could be shed as representative of both individuals mingling their lives together. After all, “the life is in the blood.” The cutting of the skin and mingling of blood left a permanent scar as a reminder of the covenant from that time on.

God’s Covenant with Man is Symbolized by Blood Covenant

In Genesis fifteen, when God entered into covenant with Abraham, substitutes were used. After all, how could God bleed except through a substitute. God introduced the covenant by saying He now would be Abraham’s “shield and exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). God would be Abraham’s protector and provider from that time on. Since God and Abraham were in covenant with each other, they shared each other’s assets and liabilities. Abraham had nothing but liabilities and God had nothing but assets. Abraham certainly got the better end of the covenant with God. The blood of a heifer, goat, ram, turtle dove and pigeon were mingled to represent the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. Through this act, God and Abraham began a covenant which is still in effect today, faith in Jesus’ sacrifice for us. The innocent shed His blood for the guilty and has given God’s life to mankind ever since. We have been saved today "through the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 13:20).

The Covenant Between David and Jonathan

“The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made (cut) a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.  And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt” (I Samuel 18:1-4).

The Hebrew word for “made” a covenant means to cut.  David and Jonathan cut a blood covenant with each other because God brought them together, they recognized it, and mingled their blood, thus joining their lives to each other. Like Abraham with God, David had more to gain from this covenant than Jonathan. But, they were not in this covenant to take, but to give. David was a shepherd, Jonathan was the son of the king. David had few possessions to give. Jonathan had the riches of the kingdom at his fingertips. David had a slingshot for his protection and Jonathan had the military of Israel. They exchanged their robes, armor, sword and belts. This meant that now, by the robe, the power and authority of the kingdom was as much David’s as it was Jonathan’s. So it was with the armor, Jonathan would be David’s protection. By the sword and bow, Jonathan would be David’s defender. And, by the belt, all children to come in their loins, would be included in the covenant. David and Jonathan were more than friends, they were covenant friends. Jonathan and David loved each other as much as they loved themselves (1 Samuel 20:4, 41, 42).

 Mephibosheth

After David took the throne, he began to look for an heir of Saul and Jonathan to bless. The blood of his covenant with Jonathan was demanding that he find if anyone was still alive he could share Jonathan’s generosity with.   

“David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, so I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"   And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba.  So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" He said, "At your service!"  Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "there is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet."  So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar."  Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.  Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the grandson of Saul, came to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Here is your servant!"  So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem for he ate continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet." (2 Samuel 9:1-7,13)

Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan. He was included in the blood covenant with his father and David, but he never knew it. He grew up hating David. He believed all the reports put out by his grandfather Saul, that David stole the kingdom from the king he served and from Jonathan, David’s best friend.

When Saul and Jonathan died, Mephibosheth’s guardian grabbed him and ran for their lives. While she was running she dropped Mephibosheth and he was crippled in his feet from that time on. He was raised in poverty among Arabs and grew up all his life knowing he was the one surviving heir to the throne but thinking David had stolen it from Saul, Jonathan and him. He had spoken badly about David for years and secretly feared the day David would find out about him, discover his location and have him killed. Then one day his worst fears came to pass. He was taken by David’s servants and brought face to face with David.

Seen Through the Eyes of the Covenant

But David saw Mephibosheth through the eyes of the covenant he had made with Jonathan before he was killed. David looked on Mephibosheth and saw Jonathan. What Jonathan had poured out in love to David, David got to pour out in love on Jonathan’s son. When Mephibosheth saw the benevolence of David poured out on him, he was shocked. He then called himself a “dog” (vs. 8).

I’m going to take a small amount of liberty with the story at this point. Putting a few things together from what is written, I want to address what must have been going through Mephibosheth’s mind. It must have first struck him that he had David figured out all wrong. He had believed a lie about David.  David was a man of love and not of vengeance.  David was thinking of Mephibosheth above himself.  Why would David do this to a poor son of Jonathan? Why would David treat a lame man with such honor and give him back so much of what his father and grandfather used to own? Why would David make Mephibosheth like one of his own sons?

As Mephibosheth laid in the floor, David reached down to lift him up. Mephibosheth saw in David’s hand a scar. That was the same scar he remembered in the hand of his father, Jonathan. And suddenly he understood it. David and his father were in blood covenant together. He was receiving a blessing into his life today that began before he was ever born.

“But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, because of the Lord’s covenant between David and Jonathan the son of Saul” (2 Samuel 21:7).

He was not blessed by anything he had done or could do. He was wealthy and powerful since birth and did not know it. He lived poor because of ignorance, not because of David’s hatred.

 Our Blood Covenant

So it is with our covenant. We received God’s righteousness, not because of our own worth, but because of a covenant made long before we were ever born. We are crippled in our feet because of a fall also, the fall of Adam. God overlooked it when we came and bowed before Him in total submission to Jesus Christ. God called us by name as David did with Mephibosheth. God has given us an inheritance and called us to eat at His table every day. Even though our feet are still crippled, we can eat at a table which covers our feet. All we do is continue to feast at Jesus’ table and our crippled feet will never be seen. Oh, the power of daily fellowship with God.

This covenant can never be broken. It was really not drawn up between Abraham and God, but between God and Jesus Christ. Neither one can break the covenant.

God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath “that by two immutable (unchangeable) things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:7,8).

Our covenant can never be broken because it was drawn up by two sides which will never change or break the covenant, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We joined an unchangeable covenant. We are one with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t tell where the Father stops, and Jesus begins or where Jesus stops and we begin. We are truly united as one. And besides, how do you unmingle blood?

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The Tree of Destruction and The Tree of Redemption

After the great revival at Samaria, Philip was sent by an angel to the desert to minister to an Ethiopian eunuch.  He came at just the right time to find the eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah.  Philip began to read at the same verse "... and preached to him Jesus" (Acts 8:35).  As the eunuch saw how Jesus Christ fulfilled the scriptures in Isaiah, he believed and was saved.

Jesus is often spoken of in the Old Testament.  He Himself confirmed this in John 5:39, "You search the scriptures... these are they which testify of Me."

Jesus Came to Fulfill All That Was Written

When Jesus Christ came into the world, He spoke to God the Father concerning the Old Testament scriptures:  "Then I said, 'Behold I have come - in the volume of the book it is written of Me, to do Your will, O God.'"

Not only is Jesus spoken of in the Old Testament, He came to fulfill all that was written.

Did you know that Jesus can be found in every book of the Old Testament?  In some cases, it is as straightforward as the prophecy from Isaiah that Philip and the eunuch read.  Other times, Jesus is found as a shadow or type - a sort of "visual aid" God gives His children to reveal His great redemption plan.  Studying these Old Testament scriptures can give us powerful insights into what God has provided for His Church.

Two Trees in the Garden

Jesus appears many times in the book of Genesis.  One example can be found in Genesis 2:9, "And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

What a lavish God we serve!  He did not make just a few trees for Adam and Eve - He made millions!  And they were not all for food; many were just beautiful to see.  Since we are both practical and emotional creatures, God mad some trees for food and for beauty.

Two trees stood alone in the Garden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  God told Adam he could freely eat of every tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The Tree of Destruction

Why did God place a tree in the Garden which could doom His plans and curse His creation?  He had to.  What good is a creature with a free will if there is no test for that will?  God does test His creatures, but always for our good.  God also slants His tests toward what He desires.  He gives us the right answers before we choose.  When He places before us life and death, cursing and blessing, He tells us to choose life and blessing (Deuteronomy 30:19).

In the Garden, there were millions of "yes" trees and one "no" tree.  By their sheer number, God was telling man to choose life and blessing, not death and cursing.  God also told Adam the benefits of eating the acceptable trees and the curse of eating the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Yet, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the tree God forbid. Why?

How was Satan able to tempt two people who were perfect and had everything they needed?  They could not sin in the same manner as we can today.  They could not covet or steal - because everything belonged to them.  They could not commit adultery - because there were no other men or women on earth.

Satan had to convince them that there was something God was keeping from them; that although it seemed like perfection, God had left something out.  Satan convinced Adam and Eve that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was keeping them from being like God or from being gods themselves.

The Tree of Redemption

Isn't it interesting that the cross is also called a tree?  This tree is not a tree of destruction, but a tree of redemption.

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree." (Acts 5:30)

"...Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree..." (1 Peter 2:24)

The two trees could not be any more different.  God had a plan through the cross to bring us back to Himself.  This second tree was able to reverse all the damage inflicted by the first tree.

The Difference Between the Tree in the Garden and the Tree of Calvary

1. The first tree was planted by God, the second by man.

With the first tree, man rejected the plan of God and substituted his own plan.  With the cross of Jesus, God rejected man's plan and introduced His own answer: full forgiveness of sins.

2. The first tree was inviting, the second was not.

The tree in the Garden was pleasant to the eyes, but in the cross we have nothing of beauty.  The cross was the place of Jesus' death, a place of pain, covered with blood.  "He has no beauty that we should desire Him.  He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.  And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him" (Isaiah 53:2,3).

3. God forbid man to eat of the first tree, but He invites us to the second.

God told Adam "of the tree... you shall not eat."  But of the cross He tells us, "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).  Man is so much better off when he listens to God and obeys His voice.  His word is as true and vital for our daily life after the new birth as it is for salvation.  In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

4. Satan tried to get man to eat from the first tree, but tries to keep him from the second.

Satan told Adam and Eve, "You shall not surely die."  He called God a liar and they believed him.  With the same amount of effort Satan tried to get man to eat of the first tree, he now works to keep man from the cross.  The Bible tells us, "Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, ..., should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

We must put all our effort into rejecting the words of Satan and obeying the words of God!

5. Eating the first tree brought death, while the second tree brings life.

God warned Adam, "In the day you eat of it you shall surely die."  But today God encourages us to put our trust in Jesus and be born again: "Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  In spreading the gospel, we stand on God's side, as His representatives, calling people to lose their sins and gain eternal life

6. The first tree removed man from Paradise, the second tree brings us back.

When Adam sinned, "the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden" (Genesis 3:23).  Man could no longer live in God's presence and had to be banished.  But when the thief accepted salvation on the cross, Jesus said to him, " today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).  We have been brought back into the Garden and are accepted in God's presence again.

7. The first tree took us away from the Tree of Life, the second brings us back.

Adam and Eve had to be banished from the Garden to prevent them from eating of the tree of Life and living forever in a fallen condition.  Angels guarded the Tree of Life, keeping men out (Genesis 3:24).  But at the point of the new birth, we again have access to the Tree of Life.

Although the Tree of Life will be found in heaven (Revelation 2:7), we also have access to it in our daily, earthly walk with the Lord.  Proverbs 3:13-18 says, "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold.  She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with here.  Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand is riches and honor.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who take hold of here, and happy are all who retain here."

The Tree of Life is the Word of God.  After the Fall, Adam and Eve could not eat of it.  To come back to the Tree of Life, man must receive eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Word of God is said to be "foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).  They cannot understand God's Word because it is spiritually understood.

However, as believers, we can understand the Word and God freely invites us to eat of it.  As we do, He promises it will bring us happiness, wisdom, understanding, riches, long life, and peace.

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Get Your Eyes Off Yourself

Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. – Proverbs 4:7 NKJV

I have seen this happen so often. A person comes to church and gets built up in the word, and then begins to stand on the word of God. After a while, there’s almost an arrogance that can come into some people’s hearts and their attitude becomes that it’s their faith, and their great wisdom that’s getting them healed. Folks, God healed you. In fact, the closer you draw to Him and the more of the word you have, you should end up walking in more humility toward yourself and greater praise toward God.

The Bible tells us that Abraham became strong in faith. It didn’t say Abraham became strong in faith by taking all the glory for himself. It says Abraham became strong in faith giving glory to God (Romans 4:20). The stronger he became in faith, the less he thought of himself, and the more he thought of God.

I don’t believe people that come to me and say, “Hey, I’ve grown in faith.” And all you hear is about them. “I did the four points. I did the seven things here. I fasted. I prayed.” It’s all I…I…I…. I think the more you grow in faith the more you should talk about the goodness and mercy of God…the grace of God. Because really when it comes down to it, I don’t care how strong in faith you are it’s still not your faith that makes you whole. It’s God working through your faith and His power that makes you whole. Of course, the two work together, and you are to walk in faith, but in the end strong faith always glorifies God because He is the one who heals us. He’s the one who brings deliverance.

The more I know of the word, the more I should fall in love with Jesus. Fall in love with His grace, and thank Him for His stripes, and thank Him for the shed blood, and thank Him for the things He did for me so that I can walk in the abundant life that He has for me.

The Leading of the Holy Spirit

“Show me your ways (notice they’re plural), Lord, teach me your paths (notice they’re plural). Lead me in your truth. Teach me, for you are the God of my salvation (or my deliverance); (notice this) on you do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:4-5, paraphrased).

Notice, here’s a guy that has all the verses and has all the ways shown before him, but he needs to wait on the Lord all day long to finally get the peace of the Holy Spirit as to what to do. God doesn’t want us to choose what we’re going to do with our life. He wants to guide us into all these things He shows us from the Word. The same thing is true with methods of healing. We are to wait on the Lord throughout the day, and let Him guide us into the right way we are to go.

Once we have the word, we should meditate on it. Why? Verse 15 says, “I will meditate in thy precepts (that’s the word), and have respect unto your ways” (Psalm 119:15 paraphrased).

The precepts are the word, and the ways are the direction of the Holy Spirit. We need to wait for both and not just have the word, but also wait on the Holy Spirit. The word brings healing, but also the anointing of God brings healing. The two work together to cause that powerful effect in our lives.

If you discover you have sickness in your body, find scriptures on that and meditate on them. But then wait on the Holy Spirit for His direction, and He will show you how that is to be accomplished in your life.

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The Mercy of God

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

Lamentations 3:22: KJV

Have you ever looked back on your past and wondered why you are still alive? Many situations in my life should have brought me to the grave. My life was kept from death in a car accident. A tumor suddenly appeared in my body and I was spared. I have traveled to countries where my life was in danger and God surrounded me with His protection. I am sure that you have faced similar situations and rejoice over the fact that God has kept you alive!

We have probably been spared from many calamities that were due to our own stupidity. We have no one to blame but ourselves and yet God has preserved us. Our ignorance and disobedience did not nullify God's mercy. It is because of God's mercy that you and I are alive today!

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations 3:22 while he and his people were in captivity. Torture and death surrounded the captive Israelites each day. Jeremiah reminded them of the grace and mercy of God that had kept them alive. The Israelites and their nation should have been destroyed. They were in captivity because of their own disobedience. Yet, their disobedience did not overthrow the mercy of God. Jeremiah reminded the Israelites that God's mercy would not fail and that it would continue into the future.

What did this mean to Jeremiah and his generation, and what does it mean to us today? It means that as surely as God has taken care of us in the past, He will not fail us tomorrow. Israel was not finished as a nation. God had promised them an inheritance, land, a kingdom and an eternal King. God's promise was given by His grace. The Israelites did not deserve to be blessed or given a future, yet God blessed them and gave them a future. This is the wonder of God's mercy!

As surely as Israel has a future, so we also have a future. The same standard which God has used in the past, His mercy, is the same standard by which we will survive calamities in the days to come. Our destiny as believers is not only on earth, but also in heaven with the Lord Jesus. The God who watched over the Israelites in slavery and persecution is the same God who watches over us.

Begin to recall your past deliverance. Rejoice in the testimonies that God has given to you and your family. Count your blessings and remember that God is not through! Your list of blessings has more pages yet to be written. It will not be complete until you die or until Jesus comes back for you. There may be more afflictions you will face in your life, but there are also more deliverance's. We can rejoice over the future by reflecting on God's past mercy in our lives.

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Who is God? Is it really possible for mortal man to communicate with his Creator even though God is a Spirit? If man was truly made in God’s image and likeness, how are we like God? Do we share similar attributes and characteristics and if we do, what are they? Knowing God: A 13 lesson teaching by Bob Yandian guaranteed to increase your knowledge of the God of the universe! The Bible says if you do not love, you do not know God because God is love. This must mean the more we know God, the greater our capacity to love! Would you like to increase your ability to love God, yourself, and those around you? As you listen to this dynamic teaching, you will be changed and become a greater expression of God in the world.

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The Independence of God
The Will of God
God’s Infinite Knowledge
The Foreknowledge of God
The Greatness of God
Our Unchanging God
The Holiness of God
God’s Omnipotence
God’s Faithfulness
The Goodness of God
The Patience of God
The Mercy of God
The Wrath of God

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Who is God? Is it really possible for mortal man to communicate with his Creator even though God is a Spirit? If man was truly made in God’s image and likeness, how are we like God? Do we share similar attributes and characteristics and if we do, what are they? Knowing God: A 13 lesson teaching by Bob Yandian guaranteed to increase your knowledge of the God of the universe! The Bible says if you do not love, you do not know God because God is love. This must mean the more we know God, the greater our capacity to love! Would you like to increase your ability to love God, yourself, and those around you? As you listen to this dynamic teaching, you will be changed and become a greater expression of God in the world.

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The Independence of God
The Will of God
God’s Infinite Knowledge
The Foreknowledge of God
The Greatness of God
Our Unchanging God
The Holiness of God
God’s Omnipotence
God’s Faithfulness
The Goodness of God
The Patience of God
The Mercy of God
The Wrath of God

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The Power of the Mustard Seed

A Little is a Lot

How much faith is necessary to meet your need?  If you are like most Christians, you would say, "A Lot."  Yet this is simply not true.  Jesus said that in matters of faith, a little is a lot!

Think about it.  The biggest miracle you ever received was the new birth.  The tiny amount of faith you used when you received Jesus as Your Lord moved you from Satan's kingdom into God's, from spiritual death into eternal life, and from satanic darkness into the kingdom of light.  Nothing will ever compare with the power demonstrated by God when He removed you from Satan's family and made you His own child.  Any other need you may have in your life is eclipsed by your deliverance at salvation.  Any other miracle is a lesser miracle.

More Faith is Not the Answer

We have all been guilty of telling someone who did not receive healing, "You needed more faith."  We have also condemned ourselves when we failed to receive an answer to prayer, saying, "I guess I didn't have enough faith."  We spend time trying to build up our faith, when this isn't the answer at all.  We are not in need of more faith, but of liberating and setting free the faith we have.

In foreign countries, we see people receiving Jesus as Lord and then immediately being healed of incurable diseases, receiving their eyesight or hearing, or having missing limbs restored.  What's even more mysterious is that many are healed of incurable diseases and then become saved.  These people have not had time to build up a great amount of faith - but what little faith they have is unhindered.

The Day the Disciples Failed

In Matthew 17, Jesus was called on to cast the devil out of a young boy.  His disciples had been unsuccessful, and the father now looked to Jesus for the answer.  

"And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”  Matthew 17:18, 19

The disciples were bewildered when Jesus was successful after they were not.  They were confused because they had been successful many times before.  When Jesus first gave them power over unclean spirits and every type of sickness (Matthew 10:1), they went out, two-by-two, using their new-found authority over Satan.  They came back rejoicing that demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17).  This instance in Matthew 17 was not the first time they had come up against demons - it was one of many times.  So why were they not successful?

The story is told again in Mark 9:14-27.  Mark fills us in on many details Matthew did not give.  Mark tells us the disciples were surrounded by a large multitude of people who were watching them.  There was also a group of scribes who were questioning the disciples and antagonizing them.  It didn't help matters when the young boy who needed deliverance fell to the ground wallowing and foaming from his mouth.

The disciples were really put on the spot.  Before, when they had gone out two-by-two, a multitude did not follow them.  They were able to cast out devils without so many distractions, often in the privacy of a home.  Now all eyes were on them.  They felt the pressure of the worried father, the on-looking crowd, and the critical attitude of the religious leaders.  Under this great pressure, they failed for the first time.

What Was Jesus' Answer?

When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the devil, He did not tell them they did not have faith.

"So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

Before speaking with Jesus, the disciples had apparently tried to analyze their failure among themselves and had come to the conclusion they didn't have enough faith.  This explains why Jesus mentioned the small amount of faith needed to remove problems in the Christian life.  Between the last successful case of casting out a devil and this occasion of failure, something unnoticed had crept into the faith life of the disciples.

The problem with the disciples was not more faith, but less unbelief.  In fact, Jesus said a very small amount of faith, the size of a mustard seed, would not only move a mountain, it would also guarantee no impossibilities from that time on.  But to work, the mustard seed has to be unhindered.  A little bit of unbelief will nullify the power of faith.

Faith was never designed to be a tug of war.  When unbelief is absent, a mustard-seed amount of faith will carry a mountain into the sea.  Unbelief acts as an opponent to faith and pulls on the mountain from the other side.  Faith is nullified and the mountain remains.  Jesus told the disciples that unbelief was why they were unable to cast out the devil.

Although Jesus was in the same situation as the disciples, He was not moved by the attention of the crowd or the critical attitude of the scribes.  He was not intimidated by the young boy who fell on the ground wallowing and foaming.  He cast out the devil and set the young boy free.  Jesus was a man of faith.  He had no unbelief, so His faith was free and unhindered. 

The Power of the Mustard Seed

Do you remember the song a number of years ago about the and who wanted to move a rubber tree plant? With high hopes, he did.  Have you ever been on a picnic and watched a piece of popcorn or cake crumb go walking off?  When you lifted the popcorn, you found an ant underneath.  The ant can move objects much larger and heavier than itself.  But faith is even more powerful.

Imagine a mountain moving along without anything visible pushing it.  If you could lift up the mountain, you would find a measure of faith the size of a mustard seed carrying the mountain toward the sea.  And after the mountain is gone, this tiny speck of faith just keeps on working, guaranteeing absolute success in every situation from then on.  This speck only asks one thing: "Keep me unhindered and free from unbelief."

When Jesus met resistance to His healing and miracle power, He did not blame it on a lack of faith, but a presence of unbelief.  The Scriptures tell us as much about ridding ourselves of unbelief as they do of increasing our faith.  Let's look at a few of the verses:

 "Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."  Matthew 13:58

"Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief."  Mark 6:5, 6

"Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen."  Mark 16:14

In Hebrews, we find instructions for us as New Testament, Church-age believers:

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."  Hebrews 3:19

"...Those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of unbelief,"  Hebrews 4:6

"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of unbelief."  Hebrews 4:22

So, How Do I Get Rid of Unbelief

Jesus said, "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”  

Jesus was not referring to the demon in the young boy.  There is no demon which is not subject to the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17-19, Ephesians 1:21, 22).  Jesus was talking here about unbelief:  "this kind (of unbelief) does not out except by prayer and fasting."

There are two types of unbelief:  rebellious unbelief and passive unbelief.  Rebellious unbelief comes from sin.  It openly defies the Word and power of God.  The exodus generation was guilty of this type of unbelief.  When confronted with the promises of God, they hardened their heart and spoke out against God and Moses.

This was not the kind of unbelief the disciples had when they tried to cast the demon out of the young boy.  They were not hardening their hearts against God's plan.  No, they faced the second type of unbelief - passive unbelief.

The disciples were truly believing God, but their faith was nullified.  As soon as they could, they took Jesus aside and asked in all honesty why they could not cast out the devil this time as they had before.

The Lord's answer cut right to the heart of the problem:  "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  Passive unbelief comes from over-occupation with legitimate things of life.  In Mark 4:7, Jesus warns of the thorns which choke the Word and make it unfruitful.  In verses 18 and 19, He describes the thorns of unbelief as "...the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things..."  The cares of this world are not bad, wealth is not wrong, and things are a legitimate part of life.  But if we spend too much time concerned with them, our fruitfulness is choked out.

God wants our time to be taken up with prayer and the Word of God.  He knows that His Word is our source of life.  Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)  Passive unbelief takes us away from the Word as we fill our life to overflowing with other activities.

2 Corinthians 10:5 gives us an insight into passive unbelief:  "...casting down arguments (reasonings), and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..."  Unbelief comes with reasonings which set themselves up against the Word of God.

Jesus gave His disciples the remedy for curing this type of unbelief:  it has to be starved to death!

Relief from Unbelief

Do you remember a time in your Christian life when you rarely listened to the radio or watched television?  Do you remember when the Word was the most important thing to you? You filled each spare moment with the Word.

In those days, your faith worked every time.  You were growing daily toward maturity, and each mountain you faced seemed to head toward the sea.  Your faith may have been small, but it was completely free from unbelief.

But now, do you come home after work and sit in front of the television for hours at a time? Do you listen to the radio or other things while in your car?  Is your home filled with movies instead of Bible teaching?  Do you surf the internet all evening and into the morning hours?  

Is it any wonder that the demons who used to flee and the mountains which used to head for the sea, now won't budge?  The faith which used to be unhindered is now stifled by human reasonings.  The thorns of unbelief have rendered your faith unfruitful.  Relief from this type of unbelief demands prayer and fasting.

You must starve unbelief.  Unbelief feeds off input from the world.  I recommend "fasting" from such input for a beginning period of one to two weeks.  Spend more time listening to the teaching of God's Word, don't turn on the television, read a teaching book.  this will begin to starve your unbelief to death.  Your faith will find a freedom it has not experienced for years.

After only one day you will notice a great difference.  You will find yourself meditating on the teaching you have heard and read.  Instead of songs and news which only produce human reasonings, doubt, and unbelief, human reasonings will be starved to death and will no longer exalt themselves against the knowledge of God

You will have liberated your faith.  And once again, it will be unhindered, free from unbelief, and ready to carry mountains off into the sea!

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The Pearl of Great Price

Parables of the Times

In the seven parables of Mathew 13, Jesus gave His disciples a picture of what the earth would be like after His departure.  There would be two periods of time:  first, the church age, in which we are now living, and then the Great Tribulation, which is yet to come.

Three of the Lord's parables describe life in the church age.  The parable of the sower, the mustard seed, and the yeast.  All tell how faith comes and how it grows.  The theme of all three parables is that the kingdom of God will start with a small beginning, but it will grow and produce great results.

These parables are followed by two others that describe how, at the end of the age, the angels will separate the righteous from the wicked, throwing the wicked into the "fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  (Mathew 13:50)

Connecting the parables of the church age and those of the Great Tribulation, we find two parables of great sacrificial love.  I believe these two short parables, one of finding treasure in a field, the other of finding the pearl of great price, are especially timely and significant for us, providing insights into God's design for these last days.

The Treasure in a Field

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (Mathew 13:44)

The man in this parable found the treasure, hid it again, sold everything he owned, and then purchased the field.  I believe this man was the Lord Jesus, and the treasure He found was the nation of Israel.  The field He purchased was the entire world.  Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world so that anyone who believed in Him would have eternal life, but He came first of all for His own people, Israel.

Israel is described here as a treasure which was hidden in a field.  A treasure is made up of many types of precious gems, such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.  In Scripture, God used twelve such gems to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.  In Exodus 28, God commanded Moses to place twelve gemstones on the breastplate of the high priest, one for each of the twelve tribes.  He goes into great detail, naming each of the stones by name and telling how to place them row by row.  Then He told Moses:  "And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes."  (Exodus 28:21)

Hidden Twice

When the man in the parable discovered the treasure, it was hidden.  When he went to purchase the field, he hid the treasure again.  As a nation, Israel was started in obscurity and has been returned again to that hidden place.

When the Lord began the nation of Israel, He found one man, Abram, and called him out from among the heathen.  From this one man began a natural and spiritual race which numbers, today, as the stars of heaven (Genesis 15:5).

As Abraham and Sarah learned to trust the Lord, their promised son, Isaac, was born.  The treasure was forming.  From Isaac came Jacob and from Jacob the twelve sons.  The nation grew in captivity in Egypt and left for Canaan with over two million.  The treasure reached its peak when Jesus was born.

But when Jesus came to Israel, they did not receive Him.  They rejected Him and finally nailed Him to the Cross.  Jesus had already warned the Jewish religious leaders of His day that He would turn to the Gentiles if they rejected Him as their Messiah (Mathew 21:43).  On the day of Pentecost, God turned to the Gentile nations and Israel was hidden again.

The good news is that Israel will not be hidden forever.  Their time will come again.  When the Church is caught up to heaven in the Rapture, God will dig Israel out of obscurity and use them again.  The time of their unveiling will be the seven years of tribulation.

Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would be "trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).  The Treasure will again be revealed to the world one day.  It will be revealed by the One who purchased the entire field, the One Who paid for the sins of the world.

In the meantime, God is sculpting another work of beauty.  He is building the pearl of great price until it is time to again unearth the treasure from the field.

The Pearl of Great Price

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."  (Mathew 13:45, 46)

When I was growing up, our ministers would tell us the pearl of great price was the Lord Jesus.  We even had a hymn which told of Jesus, our pearl of great price.

But, as I found out later, this was not true.  The parable of the pearl is not about Jesus.  It's about the Church.  You see, Jesus was never purchased - but the Church was.  The pearl is the Church, of which you and I are a part.  This pearl was so beautiful, the merchant man was willing to sell everything He had to buy it.

The merchant man is the Lord Jesus.  After discovering us, He sold all by going to the Cross and dying for our sins.  He did not do this for Himself, but for you and me.  What a wonderful love Jesus has for us!

He died to redeem us, to purchase us for Himself.  Once we accept Jesus, we belong to Him.  The Church is our Lord's most valuable possession, His pearl of great price.

Pearls

Of all the precious gems of earth, pearls are the most unique.  Nothing else is like them.  In the same way, the Church is unique - nothing like it has ever existed before.  Peter calls the Church "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar (unique) people..." (1 Peter 2:9)

I have found several remarkable parallels between the uniqueness of the pearl and the Church:

1.  Pearls are taken from the sea.  All other gem stones come from the land.

The sea is a type of the many nations of the world (Daniel 7:2,3; Revelation 17:1, 2, 15)

Israel was established from one land and one nation, but the Church of the New Testament has been taken from every kindred, tribe, tongue, and nation.  All races, colors, and nationalities are included.

2.  A Pearl is one complete, indivisible unit.

No matter how large or small a pearl is, it is one complete unity.  All other gems have to be cut, ground, and polished.

When a pearl is discovered, it is already complete.  Colossians 2:10 tells us that we are (present tense) "complete in Him."

3.  Pearls begin with one irritating stone.

At the center of a pearl is a single grain of sand.  When that tiny stone becomes lodged in its shell, the oyster releases a film to coat the sand and relieve the irritation.

Jesus is our single stone, the very beginning of the Church.  His our chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).  There is no other foundation that can be laid.  The pearl - The Church - exists because of the stone - Jesus.

Jesus irritates Satan's kingdom and all those who live in darkness.  1 Peter 2:7,8 says that this stone, Jesus, is precious to those who believe, but to the disobedient, He is a "stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence."

4.  Pearls are "built" one layer at a time.

This makes the pearl unique among gem stones, as all other stones are not built in layers, but are formed.

Jesus said, "...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mathew 16:18).  We are all "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5), "layered" onto Jesus.  One day, the final layer will be added to the original stone, and the Church will be completed.

5.  Pearls can only be displayed when lifted out of their place.

One day. Jesus will come back and lift up His Church.  He will lift us out of the earth and take us to heaven with Him.

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."  (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)

It is impossible for us to know how close we are to the day when the pearl of great price gets that one last layer, to the time when those who love Jesus "will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43).

These are the last days.  And the Lord wants us to know that we, His Church, are His pleasure and pride.  We are His pearl of great price and He loves us above all else.  He will come one day and take us home with Him,  where He will display us forever before all the hosts of heaven!

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