The Voices of the Tribulation

The Tribulation will occur for seven years after the Rapture of the Church. The just will go to heaven and the unjust will be left on the earth for these seven years. During this time, evangelism will explode and millions will be swept into the Kingdom of God. Those who will get saved will remain on the earth and move right into the Millennium along with all the saints who returned with Jesus from heaven.

The Tribulation is God’s final attempt with mankind to show him the folly of rejecting God. It is satan’s last effort to try to win the world over and to usher in his own kingdom. It is man’s last effort to try to save himself through uniting together in one world government, promising peace forever.

Yes, there will be many terrible things that happen, but there will be many miracles and many souls saved. The world will go from zero saved to total evangelization in seven years. Everyone will hear the gospel and will make the decision for or against Jesus. And we will be watching from heaven, like the witnesses in Hebrews 12: 1.

Psalm 2

Psalm 2 can be described as the “Voices of the Tribulation.” It can be divided up this way: verses 1-3 is the voice of the unbeliever; verses 4-6 is the voice of God the Father; verses 7-9 is the voice of Jesus, and verses 10-12 is the voice of the Holy Spirit.

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.’

‘I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’

Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2: 1-12

The Voice of the Unbeliever

In verse one, we see that the heathen nations will be in a rage, an actual outrage against the Lord. Sinners believe there is a God. Most of them believe that He is just and right and that He will win out in the end. But strangely enough, many of them will fight Him to the very end. They have a rebellious attitude. But God is absolute and righteous, and one day the final line will be drawn. Then it will be too late to soften those hardened attitudes. God is going to win and those who fought all the way, fighting as if their efforts would stop God, will suddenly discover it is too late to admit their wrong attitude and change their heart.

This verse also tells us that the people will plot a vain thing. The word plot means to meditate. Meditating means to use your imagination to picture yourself in a particular situation, either good or bad. Believers discover a promise in the Word and imagine themselves in that promise - healed, prospering, guided in daily affairs. Unbelievers also use the principle, but so often they paint a picture for themselves of poverty, lack, sickness, and despair.

So what are the heathen nations meditating on in this first verse? They are trying to devise a way to rule the world without God; they want to establish one world government, solving man’s problems with man’s efforts. But God calls this vain. They are meditating on a “vain thing.”

In verse two, we see this attempt made by individuals (“kings of the earth”) and as a group (“rulers take counsel together”). Can you picture a group of intelligent men coming together to draw up a plan to overthrow God? Talk about meditating on an empty thing!

Verse three is also the voice of the unbelievers, the voice of the heathen leaders. They are saying that salvation by faith isn’t necessary; they have their own religion. Everything the Bible teaches will be cast away at it says in the second half of that verse. They will have total disregard for all that Christianity represents.

The Voice of God

What does God think about all this? His voice is heard in verses four through six. Notice in verse four that God laughs about this foolishness. As the leaders of the world are gathering to overthrow God and nullify salvation by faith, God just begins to laugh. He is literally mocking or making fun of them.

The next verse tells us what God does when He is finished laughing. His wrath rises up against the heathen nations. During the Tribulation not only does Satan display his wrath, but God pours out His wrath also. It will be one of the most intense times the earth has ever encountered. During the Church Age, God is holding back His wrath. He is operating in grace. God never pours out His wrath on His children. He disciplines them in love, not in wrath. But when we are all taken to heaven and only the heathen are left on the earth, God’s wrath will be displayed.

Have you thought you can run your own life? That makes God laugh. Will you have to face His wrath? Not if you have accepted Jesus Christ. There was a day that God poured out His wrath on His son Jesus. So when we accept Jesus as Our Savior and Lord, we can enter into God’s favor and we can be assured we will never have to face His wrath.

Even during the Tribulation, a time of God’s wrath, we can still see His patience and love demonstrated. Verse six tells us this. In verse six, God the Father refers to His Son as the means of salvation. Jesus is the king set on the holy mountain, elevated for all men to see.

The Voice of Jesus

Now in verse seven Jesus begins to speak. He quotes His Father first of all. Why is Jesus qualified to be the king on that holy mountain? He came through the virgin birth; He was born without blemish that all mankind has. He was born without the nature of the flesh. Therefore He was qualified to be the redeemer of the world, Jesus as a man is superior to all men. God the Father had begotten Jesus so He could redeem us.

In verse eight, we find another qualification of Jesus: He was obedient to the death on the cross to purchase our redemption. There Jesus reconciled man to God and all the heathen became His inheritance.

Jesus tells us in verse seven what God the Father told Him in the cradle, and in verse eight, what God the Father told Him at the cross. God told Jesus to ask Him for the heathen as an inheritance. And Jesus received that inheritance as the Son of God.

The last verse of the voice of Jesus is verse nine. It refers to a future event when Jesus will prove Himself to be the only one qualified to stand on the hill of Zion because He is going to come and judge the unrighteous. Those kings and rulers in the first three verses will look like fragile pottery next to Jesus, whose truth is as strong as iron in comparison. They will just crumble; all their boasting and mighty efforts will be as dust.

The Voice of the Holy Spirit

In the final three verses of Psalm 2 we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. These words are not only directed toward the heathen leaders during the time of the Tribulation, but they are also directed toward us today. Today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait until the Tribulation to heed the words of the Holy Spirit. Why wait until the Tribulation to heed the words of the Holy Spirit? Why wait when peace and eternal life can be yours right now? So in verse ten, we are admonished to be wise and be instructed.

Notice what comes next. In verse 11 the voice of the Holy Spirit admonishes us to “serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” You can’t serve (verse 11) until you are instructed (verse 10). Find out what God wants you to do, then serve Him respectfully and diligently.

A better translation of “trembling” is the word anticipation. The second half of verse eleven tells us to rejoice with anticipation. Why? Because redemption is drawing near. What are we anticipating? The Rapture of the Church. The fact that Jesus is coming back for His own. During the Tribulation, those who get saved will be anticipating the Millennium, when Jesus returns to rule the earth with peace for a thousand years. That is when all the unrighteous will be shattered like pottery; they will be sorted out and thrown away like bad fish from the net.

How can you serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with anticipation? The final verse of Psalm 2, verse twelve, tells us how: “Kiss the Son.” What does a kiss represent? It represents trust in that person. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will never let you down. A kiss, also, represents surrender. Jesus is going to have the victory quit fighting and join the winning side; join Jesus. Finally, a kiss means desire. Jesus desires you greatly and He longs for you to desire Him. Surrender to Him and discover His desire for you.

Salvation has been the same, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament. It is by making peace with Jesus, or “kissing the Son.” Jesus is the object of salvation.

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Prosperity in Everything You Do

Have you ever wondered why God made Heaven’s streets out of gold or built the foundations of the heavenly city out of diamonds, rubies and other precious gems?  The answer is so obvious that it is easily missed – in Heaven there is no place to cash in the gold or gems or to spend money, so why not use them for building materials!

However, on earth we can spend gold and it is God’s will that we have it to spend.  He wants us to be financially prosperous so that we can use our wealth to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ!

It is God’s ultimate will that our soul prospers and then, as God can trust us with His riches, our outward man will also prosper and walk in divine health (3 John 2).

God’s plan is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but that it is a growing process.  In this process we move from the good to the acceptable, and finally, to the perfect will of God by the renewing of our minds.  This growth is similar to the seeds which are sown into the ground and produce some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred-fold return (see Romans 12:2).

In Psalm 1, David tells us that, if we take delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, whatsoever we do shall prosper.  Psalm 112:1, echoes this, “…blessed is the man that fears the Lord, that who delights greatly in his commandments.”  In verses 2-10, we find a commentary on this which elaborates the blessings that will come to this man who renews his mind with the Word.

The Blessings

The first blessing is found in verse two, “His descendants shall be mighty upon the earth …” The point of this blessing is that financial prosperity is meaningless if your children are an ungodly generation who will squander your wealth.  Satan preys upon young people so that godly parents will have no one godly to inherit their wealth and blessings.  By patiently waiting to destroy the next generation, Satan can steal all that God has given us.  This is why it is imperative that we instruct our children in the Word of God!

The second blessing is found in verse three, “wealth and riches shall be in his house; and his righteousness endures forever.”  Notice that righteousness endures forever.  It is passed from generation to generation so that those who have the riches will also have the strength and abilities necessary to handle and keep them.

Verse four tells us of another part of prosperity. “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.”  This “light in the darkness” is the guidance God gives us in Satan’s dark world.  This includes, what to do with our families, what to do in the affairs of life, as well as what to do with our finances. The reason this man in verse four is prosperous is because he is a giver at heart.  The ultimate goal of prosperity is not self-gain, but to be able to be a giver to those in need.

This idea is carried into verse five. “A good man deals graciously and lends, he will guide his affairs with discretion.”  As God has graced you, you should grace others.  As God’s nature, which is of love and mercy, comes inside you, it should become your nature to reach out as He does and bless others no matter what they look like, live like, or act like.  You love them simply because it is your nature to love.

The word discretion means “judgment.”  Good judgment is another facet of prosperity.  This enables you to assess, evaluate, and judge the affairs of life so that you can maintain all the blessings God has given you.

Furthermore, when a believer remains in the Word and reaps God’s blessings, he becomes stable, and as verse six tells us, “Surely he will never be shaken…”  In the time of testing he will not be moved away from God’s Word.  Thus, he will be victorious.

This verse also says, “… the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.”  Prosperity encompasses the righteous man’s being remembered after he dies.  Because of his righteousness people will desire to understand what he had in life.  Because of this, he will leave an everlasting remembrance on this earth.

Whereas verse six was speaking of standing fast in times of testing, verse seven is telling of how to deal with evil tidings, “He will not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”  When calamity strikes, outward prosperity is of little consequence and often is impotent.  However, the key to overcoming calamity is to keep your heart fixed and steady on the Word of God.

Verse eight tells us about another benefit of prosperity – patience – when it says, “his heart is established, he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.”  When you see your enemies prospering even though they are evil, you don’t go running after their way because your heart is established and fixed.  Then, when they fall, as they eventually will, you will still be moving on one step at a time because of the patience in your heart.

Verse nine reveals another secret of this man’s (and our) success, “He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor….”  It’s told to us again;  he is a giver!  This reiteration is used to emphasize the fact that we prosper when we are givers.

This verse goes on to say, “… his righteousness endures forever; his horn shall be exalted with honor.”  When a horn is exalted, it is turned so that it can catch the blessings that are poured from heaven.

The reaction of the unbeliever to this believer’s receiving all these blessings is graphically described in verse ten. “The wicked will see it, and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth, and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish.” It is God’s will that this prosperity grieve the wicked. The ultimate purpose of a believer’s prosperity is to provoke the sinner to jealousy so that when his man-made schemes have failed, he sees God’s prosperity and wants it enough to turn from his own ways to God’s way!

Prosperity Involves More Than Money

Now I realize that we all know sinners who are financially prosperous, but remember, prosperity involves more than money. These same rich people may have poor health, marriages that have fallen apart, or any of a number of problems in their lives.  No amount of money can buy freedom from these problems.  Freedom can come only from God’s Word.

There are many supposedly  “scriptural” arguments against prosperity.  I say, “supposedly” because the Word does not contradict itself and we need to rightly discern the Word of God.

One scripture often quoted as “proof” that God is against every believer’s becoming prosperous is 1 Samuel 2:7, “The Lord makes poor, and makes rich:  He brings low, and lifts up.” Opponents of the prosperity message interpret this as meaning that prosperity lies totally in the realm of God’s sovereignty.  In other words, He makes rich only those He chooses.

Hannah

The Bible does say this. Taken as is, it sounds very convincing, but before we jump to conclusions, let’s look at this verse in context.  Hanna, the mother of Samuel, began to prophesy and sing to the Lord when she found out that she was pregnant.  In fact, in verse one she says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord'; my horn is exalted in the Lord …”  Remember what we said, an exalted horn catches the blessings of God.  Hannah may not  have had much money, but she was prosperous because she found the key to receiving blessings from the Lord—rejoicing before the Lord.  Hannah’s prosperity, like ours, began in her inner man.  Then her outer man could turn up her horn to receive God’s blessings.

Hannah goes on to say, “…I smile at my enemies; because I rejoice in Your salvation.”  Hannah’s barrenness had been ridiculed by other women, but Hannah was undaunted by the ridicule and was patient, keeping her heart right before the Lord. Because of this, God saw to it that her praises were enlarged over all her enemies and then she became pregnant.

We find out in verse two that by establishing her heart on the Word, Hannah found a place of security in her life. “No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” Many of the women who were laughing at Hannah were sinners.  They looked down their noses at her because she had no children.  In the fullness of her joy at being pregnant, she says, “talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth: for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed. (1 Samuel 2:3) She warned against talking proudly because, “… God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

Hannah goes on to say in verse four,  “The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.”  The phrase, “mighty men” refers to those who think they are self-sufficient and do not need God.  We still have men who boast that they are self-made, but that boast is erroneous.  We all need others to teach us and train us.  We don’t automatically know everything.  These “self-made” people merely took advantage of the opportunities that were given to them. What they don’t realize is that God made those opportunities come to pass for sinners as well as for Christians.  Furthermore, these sinners will eventually fail if they are leaning on their own strength. If they come against the righteous, God will see to it that they fail.

When these “mighty men” load their bows against the righteous, God will snap the bows like toothpicks.  Literally the bows are weapons of warfare.  Metaphorically they are people’s mouths.  A mouth can be just as deadly a weapon when it is loaded with words against you.  In order to preserve the righteous God will destroy a mouth as readily as he will break a bow.

In verse five Hannah tells how things can be turned around by God. “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger." The basic idea behind this verse is that overnight success brings overnight failure.

Verses six and seven seem to be full of paradoxes, but in light of the entire text the meaning is clear. “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.” Whom does the Lord kill?  The wicked, the proud, the arrogant.  Whom does He make alive?  The humble, the righteous, those whose horns are exalted and whose hearts are right before Him.  Whom does He bring down to the grave?  The wicked.  Whom does He lift up?  The righteous. We can surmise who is made poor and brought low – the wicked, the arrogant, the proud, the self-righteous.  On the other hand, the believer is made rich and exalted before God.

The reason for my covering these scriptures is to show you that while Hannah did say, “The Lord makes poor and makes rich,” she did not mean that God arbitrarily exalts one person above another.  What she was saying is that God deals with sinners one way (makes poor) and believers another (makes rich).

Can you see the danger of taking a verse out of context?  A scripture out of context may sound entirely different than God intended.

Verse eight and nine tell us how the Lord treats believers. “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.”

Then verse ten reiterates the fact that God deals with His adversaries and His anointed in different ways. “The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

The Word of God declares over and over that if you increase in the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, it is His desire that you also prosper and be in health.

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Life Beyond Miracles

Which Door Would You Choose?

If two doors were placed in front of you, one marked “Miracles” and the other marked “Blessings,” which one would you choose? If you are like most Christians, you would choose the “Miracles” door, but that would be the wrong choice.

We have assumed for many years that miracles are the goal and pinnacle for the Christian life. We hear stories of supernatural protection against death, money provided through supernatural means, or cars running for days without gas.

We long for those things to happen again in our lives as they did when we first met the Lord. We feel as if we are no longer “spiritual,” but because miraculous things occur to us now only on rare occasions.

Those types of miracles may have happened quite often in your early Christian walk, but would you want to return to those days? If you are like me, your answer is no.

God has something planned for our lives which is better than miracles; it is a life filled with His blessings.

The Longest-Running Miracle in the Bible

God gave a miracle to the children of Israel which lasted the entire 40 years they were in the desert. Each morning, manna fell supernaturally from heaven, and each evening quail filled the camp for meat. All the people had to was walk outside the door of their tent to find food catered by God. What room service!!

God gave man food from heaven for 40 years! But was this God’s best? Had the children of Israel arrived at the peak of their spiritual walk with the Lord? The answer is no.

God had originally intended that Israel stay in the wilderness for no more than one year. At the end of the first year, the entire congregation came to the border of the Promised Land but retreated in fear and unbelief when they heard the report of the 10 spies.

For 39 more years, they wandered in the wilderness until their generation died and their children could go into the land given by God. Yet the miracles of the quail and the manna continued each day, even when they were in unbelief and rebellion to the will of God!

God’s best was for the congregation to eat the crops which grew in Canaan. His desire was to bless them with bigger and better crops than they had ever had before.

The blessings of Canaan did not stop after a period of time, as the manna had; they were to continue and increase. Manna was God’s will for only a short period of time.

God’s best was for Israel to live on His blessings, not His miracles.

The Difference Between Miracles and Blessings

~Miracles are God’s “jump start” into a life of blessings. It is wonderful when they happen but we do not want to live on jump starts.

~Miracles come in a crisis, but blessings keep the crisis from coming.

~Miracles come in small amounts, but blessings come in great abundance.

~Miracles are only enough for you and your family, but blessings are enough for you and others, too.

~Miracles can come even when you are in unbelief, but blessings demand responsibility and obedience.

~In a miracle, God works for you; in blessings, God works with you.

~By definition, a miracle is a divine intervention into the laws of nature. In miracles, God works against nature; but in blessings, God works with natural laws.

~Miracles are temporary, but blessings are eternal.

God only parted the Red Sea one time. The children of Israel only crossed over Jordan miraculously one time. Fire was called down from heaven in Elijah’s ministry one time. Jesus turned water into wine only one time and performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes only twice.

People did not receive loaves and fishes multiplied every day, but ate of the fruits of their labor. As we grow and mature, God wants to bless the works of our hands.

A Life of Blessings

When we are in need of a miracle, our mind is continually occupied with the need. The crisis consumes our time and thoughts. Thank God, He has not lost the recipe for manna. He can still come through with a miracle for us! But this is not God’s best.

God’s desire is for us to be consumed with Him, not our needs. If we are constantly thinking about our needs and how we are going to eat and pay our bills, how are we any better than sinners? Jesus told His followers:

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.” (Matthew 6:31-34)

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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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