Make War!

Self help is a massive business these days. You can find it everywhere from TV to books. Everyone has advice on how to self evaluate and techniques to "heal" yourself or find a better you. I've come across so many Christians (including myself) flocking to Bible studies, seminars, churches and spending money on self help books, CDs, DVDs, conventions. We figure because the one whose teaching on it is a "Pastor" or "Teacher" then it must be good. I've heard a lot of testimonies from others about how this person helped them understand their life and put things into perspective. How so and so gave them understanding about what happened to them. How this or that person helped them look inward and find strength, wisdom, courageand understanding.

Sounds really good on the surface. Who doesn't want to understand themselves better and overcome hurdles from pain or abandonment, abuse, drug addiction etc.? Coming from a rough background myself, I too started getting into it.

I began reading books written by Christians that claimed to help get me out of the rut. My mind was still stuck in everything I'd been through. I constantly asked God "why"? Why had I gone through all of that? In addition to the books, I began going to Bible studies that were centered around healing from the past. No matter what I did, what I learned, how I applied it nothing really worked. I became really good at self evaluating, coming up with reasons why I did things I did and acted the way I acted and behaved the way I behaved. Of course it all went back to everything I'd been through.

I especially blamed my parents. It was their fault. They and God did this to me. Why would He allow this to happen? Why did He let me be born into a family that was going to disappear so fast only to damage me? The more I questioned and blamed, the more a certain scripture kept popping up...


'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?" - Ezekiel 18:2

I had no idea what that meant, but I kept seeing it. I decided to look into it. That proverb refers to the Jews who were blaming their fathers for their captivity in Babylon. In essence, it was those before them that sinned and brought God's harsh discipline. It wasn't their fault and they were blame shifting. That's exactly what I was doing. In reality, when we are raised with a lot of turmoil and sadness then what comes later is just a natural consequence to sin. God doesn't actively bring about damage in us. It's a part of nature. God isn't punishing us because of those before us. We're just seeing the law of sowing and reaping. They will give an account for what they did and we will too.

I began to learn more and question the whole "self help" thing. All the inward searching I was doing and ending up complaining and crying to God about almost daily was doing even more damage. He certainly cares about and loves us. He's concerned when we've been hurt, but I began to see that the last thing He wanted was for us to dwell on it. What He wants is for us to throw it off and keep going...

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead," Philippians 3:13

We have to forget about the past. All the past injustices, all the defeats, all the failures and even all the gains and keep running the race marked out for us by God. We can't run that race if we're still standing over our pasts, crying over them, digging through the wreckage and trying to make sense. Who runs a race constantly looking behind them?

"If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have past away and behold, all things have become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17

If we're new creatures in Christ then why are we still looking back to the old man?

"and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ephesians 4:24

When we're sifting through the rubble of our past how are we putting on the new self? We're not, we're still trying to make the old man fit

"Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" Romans 6:4

If we've been buried why are we continuing to dig up the old self? That's just morbid and completely self centered. The world tells us to look in, but God tells us to look up. All "self help" is doing is keeping us centered on ourselves and stuck. If therapy is so productive why do people spend years in it and spend thousands on it?

"Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past" Isaiah 43:18

But this is exactly what we're doing by flocking to seminars, conventions, churches, books, CDs, DVDs, teachers and preachers that advocate some form of self help. You may say, "but I need to understand where I came from to know where I'm going?"

My answer to that is: we came from sin. While we were in it we were heading for destruction. We're no longer in it therefore, we know where we're going. If it's patterns of behavior, lifestyle and thinking that concerns you that is a direct result of how you grew up then the first thing we should all be doing is transforming our minds with the Bible and prayer.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

You may say "I'm not happy". How is going back to your old life gonna make that better? If we were so happy in sin then there's no way we'd recognize how sinful we were to begin with and in need of reconciliation with God. Our joy is not dependent on the world, circumstances or our pasts. It's in God and God alone. That's what makes Christians so peculiar to everyone. We keep our eyes on something greater and not on what's around us. Joy comes from nothing other than God...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-25

You may say "I'm so weak from everything! How can I do anything for God like this?"

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." - 1 Corinthians 1:26-27

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

"'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'" Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

In that scripture Paul had the "thorn in the flesh" and begged God 3 times for Him to remove it and God told Him "no" that His grace was sufficient for him and while Paul was weak with that thorn God was able to show His strength through him. It's interesting to note what the "thorn" was. It was slander. Paul was being slandered by false teachers. They were trashing him left and right to not only the churches the Paul himself planted, but anyone that would listen.

Have you been slandered? As painful and damaging as it is, Satan is preempting...he's using a shock an awe tactic. He's trying to destroy you before you do damage to him. So when dealing with a slanderer or any bad situation and pride rears itself, when we become angry, bitter, vengeful, shamed, humiliated etc...this is what we need to make war against. Not the persecutor. It's the sin in us that wants to lash out at them or turn in on ourselves.

"so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:5

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

In a nut shell...it glorifies God to take someone who is weak, beaten down, tired, uneducated, dark or sordid past and lift them up by His power, by His might and make a spectacle out of them in a powerful way. When God uses those who the world deems useless it is a testament to His greatness. I made it through everything, but I didn't do it on my own. He upheld me the entire time as He did for you. A Pastor told me a few months ago..."it is truly a testament to God that you went through that and it hasn't crushed you".  Like Paul, we need to glory in our weaknesses because when we are weak we aren't dependent on ourselves,we throw ourselves on Him and He works through us. It makes God conspicuous to the world.

I know how oppressive these things can be in our lives. I've lived it. I know what it is to be attacked, drug through the mud, humiliated, beaten down and it coming from those closest to me.  And it won't get better at all. We are the enemy to the world and they will treat us as such. Attacks will come from behind, in front and will blind side us.

But it's not up to us to break the hold of the oppressing things. That's God's job and any help we try to give Him will make a mess of things. He is the Redeemer and that means He redeems us from all things including our pasts. Only He can break the hold of the enemy and since we know Satan is the father of those who disobey God then we know all the pain, all the struggles, all the abuse we've gone through at the hands of others ultimately came from him.

God is faithful and will make a way out for us and will break the hold of what binds us. It's important to note that Satan doesn't send anyone to hell. He's not that powerful. He is the tempter, he knows our weaknesses, he knows exactly where to hit us to bring us down, he'll ruthlessly and savagely attack us, but in the end we make the choice to give in or not therefore, we end up holding the bag for that choice and responsibility not Satan.

If we continue to hang onto the past no matter what our excuse it for doing it then we are not fit for serving God...

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

We do get instructions on what we should be doing...

"let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" -Hebrews 12: 1

Ever notice when someone runs a marathon they wear special clothing? It doesn't bind up, doesn't catch wind to slow them down, it doesn't weight them down. Many even shave their bodies! They remove everything that will hinder them. We are to do the same!

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

If we're so fixated on our pasts then our eyes on not fixated on Jesus who is the author and perfector of our faith. Self help isn't the author and perfecter of our faith nor is any teacher, preacher, author etc. Only God is and He will perfect it without us "helping ourselves" We can't do it anyway.

"No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:27

Make war! Not on other people or the world but on ourselves. We are our greatest enemies. It doesn't matter if your behavior now is a result of your past. It's still sin and must be beaten into submission. That means declaring all out war on any sin, tendencies, sinful behavior, patterns and habits no matter how we came to have them. No amount of crying, murmuring or whining over the past is going to change anything. No amount of looking back and mourning will change anything unless we want to stay in the rut. It'll just keep you and me unproductive, forfeiting the race and totally defeated. But if we make war on these things and force them to submit to God and to truth we are snatching the foothold back from Satan and running that race allowing nothing to hold us back...no past failures, successes, pain, abuse, addictions, hurts, defeats, humiliations...nothing.

Does the Bible ever give an example of someone self examining their pasts before moving on? No. God has no intentions of allowing us to stay in the mire defeated. It's what he pulled us from in the first place. Can you imagine Mary Magdalene after being caught in adultery sitting down for 10 years to figure our what made her choose adultery? Adultery was her mire and she almost received the full penalty of it, but she was snatched from it. Why would God now want her to hang around for several years trying to figure it out. Jesus never told anyone "examine your past, come up with a reason and solution then follow Me". He came in, snatched from the fire and ordered "Pick up your cross and Follow Me".

He doesn't want to hear whining from the back..."Lord I've had a hard life! I don't want to carry anymore!" Or "I'm already so tired! Can't someone else carry this thing for a while?"

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Mathew 11:28-29

We were already tired, burdened and loaded down with sin when we went to Him. He removed it. Why do we insist on picking it up again and trying to carry it? His yoke is easy and light. He doesn't see our past anymore yet we insist on dragging it to Him ourselves and putting it on display. A holy God who hates sin and we want to keep showing it to Him. We're making Satan's job so obsolete. We're beating him to the throne with all our filth that God already forgave us for. We need to concentrate on what's happening now. Now is when we want to beat him to throne. He's already accusing us for what we did in the past. Satan doesn't need our help. What God wants is....

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18

Be strong in who? Beth Moore? Rick Warren? Benny Hinn? In ourselves? No the LORD. The above is someone getting ready for war, to do battle yet we want to throw ourselves back into the mire to make sense out of it. God doesn't want us caught up in the past. It doesn't matter anyway. We're dead to it. It's over and long gone. None of that is going to change anything about us. Only God will and He's the one we should be looking too. No digging through the ruins of our past is going to help in our future. The past and its sin did nothing to help us anyway except speed up our descent into eternal destruction. Why do we think it'll help us as a new creature with a new future? I don't know about you, but I'm sick of falling back into the rut. I'm throwing off all that hinders, declaring all out war on all that is sin, putting on the armor against the enemy who will use my sin and others against me, and running the race. I'll trust God to take care of the rest. Make war!


Plowmen have plowed my back and long were the wounds they made - Psalm 129:3

Yes they have and we may be badly scarred,  but we're not dead and it should be driving us to deeper holiness by making war on ourselves.

My new place and I have a squatter

I spent my first night in my new place last night. The cable guy was late yesterday, but at least I have cable now. So I was excited and nervous all at once I could hardly sleep, but around 3 am I was tired enough to try. I laid down in my bed and turned on "Coraline" and I eventually fell asleep. Then I woke up to Squiggy my cat standing on my chest. He's a big boy and weighs almost 20 pounds. He was staring at something and crouched down on me. I looked back toward the wall and there was a huge centipede on my headboard.

I freaked! I jumped up so fast Squiggy fell on the floor. I turned on the light and stared at it like it was gonna do a trick or something. Half asleep, not really knowing what to do, I grabbed my flip flop and hit it. It was huge though and didn't squash like a little bug. I heard it! I was so grossed out at this point, my skin was crawling, Squiggy ran under the bed to check out the remains that fell, I ran into the living room brushing myself off like a crazy person making a weird "disgusted" sound and stood there not knowing what to do.

I had no Raid or anything so I grabbed my hair spray from the bathroom, ran back in my room, got down on my hands and knees and scooted it out into the open with my flip flop. It was still twitching and Squiggy was still stalking it. I screamed and sprayed it with hairspray. I swear I must've used half a can. I stopped, stared at it all curled up. It twitched again, I screamed again and hit it again with my flip flop. It was finally dead. I was too weirded out to pick it up even with tissue and there was no way I was sleeping in my bed. For all I know that thing made several treks across my face before ending up on the headboard. I grabbed my blanket and went into the living room where I shook out the blanket so much that I even thought it was excessive. I laid down on the sofa and turned on the small TV. "Drag Me to Hell" was on and I started watching it.

After the centipede and that crazy old battle axe in the movie I couldn't go back to sleep. Around 7:30 am I got dressed and drove to Walmart where I bought a gallon spray jug of Raid. I set it on the counter and the lady goes "Man that's a big jug." And I need every bit of it. I went home, sprayed the crap out of my room. I have a perimeter marked off all the way around my bed. No insect is now gonna get within 6 feet of my bed. I even sprayed the legs, the headboard and the walls. Nothing's crossing that line! I figure if I keep it sprayed at least once every 4-5 days I should be good

So my first night in my new place and things didn't go so well, but I did get rid of one boarder who I'm sure had no plans to contribute to the household expenses. If the next one has a job we'll talk...

Tamar : Judah's Thorn, God's Grace

Tamar was a Canaanite woman in Genesis 38 and daughter-in-law to Judah. She's not to be confused with David's daughter. Tamar married Judah's oldest son Er and never conceived a baby by him. The first problem here is Tamar was Canaanite. She wasn't a Hebrew raised under the Abrahamic covenant. Judah also married a Canaanite woman and she bore him Er and Onan (Genesis 38:2-4). Judah knew by the example and order of his father Jacob, (son of Isaac, son of Abraham) he was to marry a Hebrew woman. He chose not to and found a wife for Er as well from among the Canaanites. Right away there's disobedience here. What Judah and Er didn't know (and how could they) was the Messiah would come through Judah so God was keeping a special eye on Judah's blood line.

Now the Bible says Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord (Genesis 38:7) and God slew him. When you consider the coming Messiah centuries later this is understandable. No man is perfect, but obviously Er repulsed God by his life and He wasn't going to use him to carry a bag of dirty socks let alone the blood line of Messiah. Not having had a son to carry on Er's lineage and according to the customs of that time, Er's brother was to carry on his line for him by impregnating his widowed wife until she bore a son. This job fell on Onan, Judah's second son.

Onan wasn't a pinnacle of honor himself either. Knowing that the first son his brother's wife may have wouldn't be considered his heir "he wasted his seed on the ground, in order not to give offspring to his brother." Genesis 38:9

This truly is a strange custom, but necessary at the time. The first son born to Tamar by her husband's brother would be considered her husband's and raised as such. The offspring would eventually be able to care for the mother, more people would populate the area and those kids born would raise their children under the name and family of the dead husband. Onan was fully aware of the custom and instead of honoring his brother and being obedient to his father, he chose to be selfish and not perform his duty at all.

This brought a heavy price for Onan. "What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so He put him to death also." Genesis 38:10. It was wicked because even though Onan had no idea about the Messiah to come, his selfishness was a wicked affront to God and His plans to provide mankind with a Savior. At that time Judah was wondering what in the world was wrong with Tamar. Two sons lost to one woman! The next in line for Tamar would be Judah's son Shelah. He was too young at the time to take on this duty for his dead brother. Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up.' For he thought, 'He may die too, just like his brothers.' So Tamar went to live in her father's house." Genesis 38:11

Judah pawned her off. She should have remained in Judah's household and family, but instead he cast her aside afraid Shelah would die too. He sent her to live with her father and was hoping over time she may forget about Shelah and find another husband. Obviously Judah had no intentions of fulfilling the duty for Er either. Tamar became an outcast, tossed out from her husband's family.

This was a huge blemish on her to be returned to her father widowed and with no children like a broken toy returned to the manufacturer stamped DEFECTIVE. Society looked down on childless women and who would care for her when her father was gone? Who would marry her after having two dead husbands? She had become an outcast through no fault of her own. This had to be devastating to Tamar. Tamar may not have said much or if she did it wasn't recorded, but judging by the customs of the time she probably kept things to herself and was obedient to those in authority over her.

After a long while Judah's wife died also. When Judah recovered from grieving he went to Timnah to see the men who were shearing his sheep for him. Tamar had continued living with her father waiting patiently for Shelah who was now old enough. She heard Judah was going to Timnah. At this point she realized Judah wasn't going to honor Er or his duty and give her to Shelah as his wife. She decided if Judah wasn't going to send Shelah then she'd go to Judah. So she put a veil over her head to disguise herself, changed her clothes and went to sit on the road leading to Timnah to put herself right in Judah's path (Gensis38:14)

"When Judah saw her he mistook her for a prostitute because her face was covered. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, 'Come now, let me sleep with you.'

'And what will you give me to sleep with you?' she asked.

'I'll send you a young goat from my flock,' he said.

'Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?' she asked.

'What pledge should I give you?'

'Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,' she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him." Genesis 38:16-18

Once she left Judah she changed her clothes and went back to her father's house. After awhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend Hirah and Hirah was to get his seal, cord and staff back from the prostitute. Only problem was Hirah couldn't find her. He asked around town for the prostitute and everyone told him there was no prostitute around. So Hirah reported back to Judah that he couldn't find her. Judah didn't want to be a laughingstock by having went to a prostitute so he told Hirah it was ok. She could keep what he'd given her and he did try to send her the young goat (Genesis 38:23) thus honoring his word. How embarrassing for Hirah. I'm sure he was trying to be secretive about this goat he had to deliver to a prostitute. The people he's asking, Hirah's assuming would be familiar with the prostitute, but they weren't. They were probably looking at him like "prostitute huh? There is no prostitute probably because we wouldn't be using her if there was one you perv." And Hirah was doing it for his friend. Try telling those people that. "I didn't see the prostitute...my friend did" ya right!

3 months later Judah hears that Tamar is pregnant and guilty of prostitution. After all, she's widowed, but is suddenly pregnant. Instantly he wants her burned for it. In the eyes of the law she was Shelah's wife and this was bringing shame on his family. Of course Judah didn't stop to think that he didn't want Shelah with Tamar and was trying to avoid it. He went instantly selfish and hypocritical and only worried that it was making him and his family look bad. She was drug from her father's house on Judah's orders to be burned on the forehead or cheek as a lable to everyone she was a harlot. She then has a desperate message sent to Judah saying "'I am pregnant by the man who owns these,' And she added, 'See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.'" Genesis 38:25


Judah was the adulterer not Tamar. She acted in accordance with the law by going to Judah when he failed to send Shelah as he should have. He was the criminal not her. How embarrassing for Judah! Everyone now knows she wasn't a prostitute. Judah was the harlot. After all he'd done so he and his family wouldn't look bad, he and his family now looked really bad because of him.

She shouldn't have deceived him and that was her sin, but Judah should have done what was right by her. Judah was shocked, but he did confess his sin "'She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah.'" Genesis 38:2. He owned his sin rather than dodge it. He couldn't deny it to protect himself. He openly looked silly.

Months later Tamar gave birth to twin boys. "As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, 'This one came out first.' But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, 'So this is how you have broken out!' And he was named Perez. Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah." Genesis 38:28-30

The babies seemed to be already struggling for the birthrate before they were born and Perez won the struggle. Through the line of Perez came the Messiah. Judah sure wasn't cast into a good light in this story and Tamar, a gentile, did act more righteous than Judah the Hebrew, she still obtained her rights deceitfully. God still showed grace however, in that through them the Messiah came. There are no great men and women of God. Only a great God. Despite man's sinfulness God still shows grace and mercy. He still brings about His will and purposes in spite of us for us.

Absalom's Tragic Life

Absalom (Avshalom in Hebrew) was the 3rd son born to King David in Hebron during the early years of David's reign. Judging by Absalom's character later in life, he was a typical spoiled prince. He seemed to be a favorite of David's and didn't get much discipline growing up.

2 Samuel 14 describes Absalom as being a  beautiful man. From the top of his head to the soles of his feet there, wasn't a single fault with him and not a single person in Israel who could compare. Tall, strong, beautiful, with a head of long hair that would make most girls today despise him. He cut it yearly and the cuttings weighed about 5 pounds. 2 Samuel 14:26. He was extremely proud of it too. As per custom of the day...he probably used scented oils on it and laced jewels and gold dust in it.


 It wasn't until Absalom's young sister Tamar Tamar's Rape was raped by their half brother Amnon, who was heir to the throne, do we see Absalom's true character emerging. He took Tamar into his own home following the rape and cared for her as per custom of that day, but he never stopped stewing over what Amnon had done. It's quite possible David heard of the rape through Absalom himself, who was the first to find out about it from Tamar. If that's the case, Absalom may have demanded justice. After 2 years went by and David failed to take action, Absalom began to plot his own revenge with an eye on the throne as well.

David should have acted, but he didn't. Amnon was his 1st born, the heir to the throne. David's motives for not acting were entirely selfish. He was really protecting himself and not Amnon or Tamar. His own son had done a wicked thing and would be a huge blemish on the country and his family. It would look to everyone as if David failed as a father by not disciplining his sons. If he couldn't govern his own house how could the people expect him to govern their nation? The scandal would have rocked the entire middle east if it got out.

There's a lot of speculation people can make concerning the family dynamics in David's house. He had many wives and concubines which went against God's warning. It looks as if this created a lot of rivalry among siblings, jealousy, resentment, anger especially when a throne is tossed into the mix. After Tamar was raped, Absalom seemed to go off the deep end. When nothing was done about his sister this may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

David was well aware of Absalom's animosity toward Amnon even though Absalom never said anything to Amnon about what happen good or bad. In 2 Samuel 13:24 Absalom invited David, all of his officials and all of his brothers to a banquet. King David declined in 13:25 by telling him it would be a huge burden to Absalom (probably financially, security wise, room for them, etc.) if he came bringing all of his officials with him. Absalom pressed his father to come anyway and still David declined, but gave his blessing. In v. 26. Absalom then tells David he wants Amnon to come.

David immediately asks "why". He was instantly suspicious of Absalom's motives. Absalom pressed him though so David gave in and sent Amnon and the rest of his sons.

Absalom then instructed his servants that when Amnon was good and drunk they were to kill him. They carried it out just as he said. His brothers then jumped up and ran for their lives thinking Absalom was picking them off for the throne. A report got to David before his sons did that Absalom had murdered all of his sons.

Grief stricken David tore his clothes and fell face down until his brother Shimeah told him "only Amnon is dead! This has been Absalom's intention ever since Amnon raped his sister!" 2 Samuel 13:32.

Absalom ran too. He not only had the future king and his brother murdered, but it was premeditated murder and the penalty was death. So he fled to his grandfather, Talmai the King of Geshur, where he took refuge for the next 3 years leaving David to mourn for Amnon day after day. Eventually time healed his wounds and he began to "long to see Absalom" 13:39

Joab knew David missed Absalom so he cooked up a scheme to get Absalom to come back to Israel. It eventually worked and after 3 years Absalom returned. But David told Joab "he must go to his own house and not see my face" 14:24. David worried if he allowed Absalom to see him he would think David condoned his sin and hoped it would draw his son into deeper repentance and humble him. Absalom didn't see David for 2 years after returning to Israel.

Eventually Absalom became impatient and sent for Joab repeatedly, but Joab ignored him. IN frustration, Absalom had his servants set fire to Joab's ripe wheat fields to force Joab to see him. That got Joab's attention. When Joab went to Absalom in a rage Absalom told him "Look, I sent word to you and said, 'Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!"' Now then, I want to see the king's face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death." 14:32

Hardly a humble, repentant man at all. Joab went to the king and was able to get David to see Absalom. When Absalom got there he bowed down before David and David showed his forgiveness of his son by kissing him. Over time, Absalom settled back into life in Israel, but began gathering men, chariots and horses. He also began inserting himself at the gate to hear complaints from the people meant for the king. Absalom would listen and settle their matters for them all the while gaining favor from the people. Whenever the people would come and bow down, he would offer his hand, pull them up and kiss them charming the pants off even the poorest.

He then would tell them "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice." 2 Samuel 15:4. Not only was he gorgeous (a characteristic important to people in a leader), but he was kind to them, treating them with the highest respect, kissing them even and promising them swift justice if only he had some power. I wonder if he promised a chicken in every pot too?

"And so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel." 15:6. Four years later after systematically gaining widespread favor throughout the kingdom and suckering them thoroughly, he lied to David and said he needed to go to Hebron to fulfill a vow to the Lord. David let him go not knowing Absalom took 200 men with him, who had no idea what he was up to, then sent secret messengers throughout Israel instructing them that when they heard the trumpets to loudly proclaim Absalom was king. At this point, David was old and they were probably assuming David would make Absalom King instead of Solomon since Absalom now wielded so much authority as a sort of "judge" in Israel. Let's not forget, at this point, the people loved Absalom.

While in Hebron, Absalom sent for one of David's closest counselors, Ahithophel who was now conspiring with Absalom and whose following kept growing. A messenger told David the people were following Absalom now. David packed up, gathered his officials and they ran for the hills. A revolt was coming and he was the target. With his entire household following him, David fled Israel but left 10 concubines behind to take care of the palace. Absalom returned to Jerusalem with Ahtithophel and Absalom asked his advice on what to do next. Ahtithophel said "lie with your father's concubines whom he left to take care of the palace" 16:21

Per custom, whoever had the King's harem had the throne. Absalom wasn't just happy sleeping with the women. He made a public spectacle of it by erecting a tent on the palace roof and laying with the women in full view of the people in Jerusalem. 16:22 Atithophel then instructed Absalom to send 12,000 men to go after David and kill only him. Why in the world would this man who was a trusted counselor to David for decades turn on him so viciously? Ahtithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba 2 Samuel 11:3, 23:34 and his son Eliam (Bathsheba's father) was a close friend with Uriah her husband 1 Chronicles 3:5. Ahtithophel had a bone to pick with David and he meant to do it.

Instead, Absalom follows the advice of Hushai, another of David's trusted counselors, and decides to go with an vast army to slaughter David and his men. But Hushai secretly sent David a message telling him what Ahtithophel had advised, his own advice and what Absalom was planning to do. David and his men crossed the Jordan after getting the message to avoid Absalom. When Antithophel heard his advice had not been followed he went home, put his house in order then hung himself 17:23. He knew Absalom would fail and David would return. Though old, David was still a fierce warrior, military genius and his loyal men, though outnumbered, were just as vicious and fierce as the King. Absalom stood no chance and Antithophel knew his own life would be taken for treason.

Absalom had his father on the run and he chased with Israel to kill his father, but David was escaping because of Hushai. Then David sent out the thousands of men who went with him and Joab was leading them. But David gave an express command to Joab before he left "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders." 18:5

Even after all of this David was still seeing Absalom as a young rebellious man who could be forgiven. Absalom was his son and David did love him, but still David was not handling business as he should be. David's men eventually defeated Israel's army and killed 20,000 men. Absalom ran into David's men. Riding a mule, he tried to get under thick branches of an oak tree to get away, but his long hair got caught in the branches and he was pulled from his mule.

"He was left hanging in midair while the mule he was riding on kept going. When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, 'I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!' Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels of silver and a warrior's belt.' But the man replied, 'Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, 'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son--and the king would certainly find out who did it--you yourself would be the first to abandon me!'" 18:9-13

So Joab took his javelin, went to Absalom and plunged it into his heart while he hung in the tree. Then 10 of Joab's armor bearers surrounded him and struck him to make sure he was dead. Now that Absalom was dead Joab sounded the trumpet so the men would stop pursuing Israel. They then took Absalom's body and threw it into a pit where they piled stones on top of him.

"During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day." 18:18

Absalom's did in fact have 3 sons, but they died and this monument in the photo is the actual monument. Now David had to be told the news that his son was dead and his orders had not been obeyed. When the messengers reached David he asked instantly "Is the young man Absalom safe?"18:29


Absalom was dead. "The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: 'O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you--O Absalom, my son, my son!'" 18:33. Even when Joab arrived and told David he needed to go speak to his men and commend them on such a great victory David "covered his face and cried aloud, 'O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!'" 19:4.

Joab was not happy with this reaction and told David "'Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the LORD that if you don't go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come upon you from your youth till now.' So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were told, 'The king is sitting in the gateway,' they all came before him. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes." 19:5-8

 Those men just saved his neck, throne and family and he was worried about his son who revolted and managed to turn most of his country against him. David returned to the palace and took the throne once more. Eventually Solomon was named successor. Despite Absalom's responsibility in the whole matter, the sin ultimately returned in David's lap. By not acting on Amnon's or Absalom's gross wickedness, by not reigning in his kids and disciplining them, David enabled their behavior and helped create monsters. By not doing what was right and handing out justice, David also condoned their wickedness. He tried to protect them and himself from the consequences, but "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap." Galatians 6:7-9

David was the first authority figure in his kids lives. If they couldn't respect his authority as a father and a ruler they would never respect anyone else, especially God's. By Absalom's rebellion, he was actually rebelling against God, thus the fight was with Him. The sin of such blatant disobedience to parents, authority figures and to God is never taken lightly and the end is always far from what we hope for...it ends in our own destruction.

Tamar's Rape

2 Samuel 13

Tamar was the daughter of King David and Absalom's full sister born to Maacah who was the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur (2 Samuel 3:3, 13:1). Absalom was the third eldest son of David. Amnon was the oldest whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel (1 Chronicles 3:1, 2 Samuel 3:2). Daniel was second born to Abigail.

We don't know Tamar's age, but considering she was still living in David's house and was a virgin locked away from any men other than family we can safely assume she was a young teenager. Amnon, the oldest of David's sons and Tamar's half brother, became infatuated with Tamar. Over time he began making himself  physically sick and lost a lot of weight. The problem for Amnon was Tamar wasn't only his half sister (and according to the Law he could never have her), but she was also a virgin. So even if he did try with Tamar he was well aware that both their lives would be ruined. She could never marry and would be considered unclean even if she never gave her consent and Amnon would be considered scum by all Israel and would be stoned to death.

When he became so obsessed with Tamar that he became sick, his cousin Jonadab noticed and inquired of his illness. Amnon confided in Jonadab about Tamar. Instead of rebuking his cousin, who was also the successor to the throne of Israel, Jonadab makes a suggestion to get Tamar. It's apparent Jonadab was being selfish as well. Considering Amnon was to be the next King, Jonadab was only looking out for his own best interests in the future.

"Jonadab said to him, 'Lie down on your bed, and pretend to be ill; and when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.'" (2 Samuel 13:5)

This was a believable lie since Amnon looked physically ill. So Amnon did as Jonadab said and when David came to see his son on hearing he was sick, Amnon said  "Let my sister Tamar come and make me cakes in my sight that I may eat from her hand." (2Samuel 13:6)

Not thinking anything was wrong with that, when David got home he told Tamar to go to her brother's house and cook for him to help him feel better. As a King, David was certainly concerned about his heir to the throne. As a dad, he worried over his son's health. Being obedient, Tamar went to Amnon's house and did as she was told. When she finished, she took the tray to her brother, who was in bed, and offered it to him. He refused the tray and instead ordered his servants to leave the room. Once alone with Tamar he called her closer to feed him.

There's not much detail about the relationship between Amnon and Tamar, but it appears at this point Tamar was becoming alarmed. Amnon ordered everyone out of his room to leave them alone...red flag #1. The next red flag had to be the impropriety of a young virgin princess being alone with a man even a brother. Red flag #3...he wanted her to feed him. She didn't have time to respond or even twitch when Amnon grabbed her arm and said "Come, lie with me, my sister". (2 Samuel 13:11)

It seems Tamar had at least a suspicion by her quick response to him...

"'Don't, my brother!' she said to him. 'Don't force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.'" (2 Samuel 13:12-13)

It's interesting to look at her argument. She was horrified, but it also shows her purity and wisdom. First she tries to reason with him theologically and immediately follows it with an argument of  morals he was violating communally in the worst way. Next she adds an argument for guilt. Guilt for her and her lost future and his...the implications socially for his evil. Next is the vengence he would face from a King and father. As if by mentioning "king" it would snap Amnon out of it. Lastly, she simply was desperate and trying to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. There's no way David would have given permission for Amnon to marry his sister. She knew this and was making a last ditch effort to get free.

Amnon didn't want to hear any of it and at that point he didn't care. He over powered Tamar and raped her. What happened next is disgustingly shocking to say the least.


"Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, 'Get up and get out!'" (2 Samuel 13:15)

Once the act was done a few things happened to Amnon. He had finally satisfied his pent up lust for his sister. The drive and obsession that had made him literally sick was no longer there. Then came revulsion. He suddenly realized what he'd done and the atrocity of it. Overwhelmed with guilt, fear of being punished and shame, he threw Tamar out as if she was nothing than a prostitute. The sight of her only increased the horror for him.

Poor Tamar at this point was so horrified that she began begging Amnon...

"No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other which you did to me."

Throwing her out was even crueler than raping her. It was now exposing her to public shame, testing God and bringing shame and dishonor on the royal family. Amnon could possibly go on with his life with no one knowing, but she couldn't. Now she could never marry or have children. Not only would the King find out she was no longer pure, but so would all of Israel. Suddenly a tragedy in private was being forced on the public. The level of Amnon's selfishness and self centeredness is shocking. Amnon wouldn't listen to her and had his servant throw her out of his house with the order "bolt the door after her".

Sobbing hysterically, her life ruined, Tamar ripped the colorful coat the King's virgin daughters wore as an expression of her violation, put ashes on her head (a symbol of deep mourning), put her hand on her head as a sign of death and wailed loudly as she left. Absalom found her coming from Amnon's and by looking at her, seeing the gestures of her mourning and hearing her wailing, he figured it our pretty fast and asked if Amnon raped her. His question was soon answered.

Calmly, and rather indifferently, he told Tamar to calm down and not take it personally. This seems odd at first, but maybe Absalom knew what his half brother was like. Did he already know Amnon was often given over to the lewdest behavior? As the heir, who would refuse him? Amnon may have done something of this order before. In any case, there was no way Tamar could be calm. There was no way she couldn't take it to heart and I think Absalom's immediate behavior was a cruel injury to her as well. He then took her to his own home where she lived out the rest of her life unmarried, childless and in her brother's care.

The next injury came to Tamar from her father, King David. 2 Samuel 13:21 says David was absolutely furious when he found out and rightly so. But ultimately David did nothing to right the severe wrong done to his daughter. As King, he should have been the first to kick in the Law and as a father he should have demanded justice for his daughter even if his son was the perpetrator, but he did neither. Because he did nothing it started the brewing of Absalom who hated Amnon for what he'd done and spent two years stewing over it until it culminated in Absolom tricking Amnon to a banquet where Absalom's servants killed him.

It was also the beginning of Absalom's rebellion against David. Having so many sons from so many different women caused nothing but strife, jealousy, favoritism and feelings of injustice. 2 Samuel 14:27 tells us that Absalom had three sons and a daughter and the daughter he named Tamar. I have no doubt Absalom loved Tamar and was protective of her. He cared for her for the rest of his life. He gave it two years before taking vengeance on Amnon himself. I'm sure he was already cooking up a scheme to kill his brother, but David had two years to seek justice for his daughter and nothing was done. This was further victimizing Tamar and pinning one son against another.

This type of situation would be extremely difficult. It was David's successor to the throne. His first born son. His beautiful little girl. How do you seek justice against your child for another child and not be affected by it? But the right thing is usually the hardest thing to do and David failed. Had he taken action, as God commanded and as morality demanded, he may not have had to deal with Absalom trying to usurp him later. He may not have been running for his life later from Absalom and Absalom may not have been killed. Not to mention the awful emotional and mental damage this heaped onto an already withering Tamar.

The greatest injustices and severest injuries come from those closest to us. Those we trusted and loved. Those who, by nature and instinct, are supposed to love and protect us. When even that is missing how does someone recover? How can we ever trust anyone when we can't even trust our own family? Tamar was not only used up and thrown out like trash by her brother, whom she obviously loved and trusted, but was further victimized by those she should have been able to run to and get immediate protection and comfort from. The worst part is not that she was ruined for any future marriage by a selfish, lascivious brother...it was the betrayal, lack of concern and lack of justice by the rest that probably caused the most emotional and mental damage. How utterly and deeply tragic.

Had David acted as King and did what was right it would have softened the blow not only for his daughter, but also for himself and his sons later. The sin found him out and his lack of concern for justice that one time brought shattering consequences for the House of David.

Satan - Authority Given By God

Authority is a very important issue for God. His is the ultimate authority, but He also puts others in authority over us in the forms of all areas of government, our parents, teachers, husbands etc. And all "authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." Romans 13:1-2 And we're told in Daniel that it's God alone who "sets up kings and deposes them." Daniel 2:21.

Even after God took the Kingdom from Saul and his line and gave it to David and even though Saul repeatedly tried to kill him, David refused to take any action against Saul or even to say anything evil against him. Saul was still on the throne and was put there by God. David understood since God put Saul on the throne it was up to God alone to remove Saul. Until then, David could only wait to be crowned. Even after Saul was dead, any disrespect against the former king, which was ultimately disrespectful to God's authority, was punished severely ( 2 Samuel 1:4-10).

Authority and authority figures are not something to take lightly. The only time we are to disobey those who have authority over us are when their laws go against God's. Otherwise, we must be respectful to all in authority, honor their position and be obedient. Doing so is highly honoring to God. If we're wronged, we're to take it to God only, trusting Him and waiting for Him to act.

Without naming names, it's common to see and hear mainstream Christianity railing against Satan and his demons. Everything from "we bind you devil!" and "I'm stomping on you Satan!" to outright slander. It's so common that it's accepted as the norm. But is this condoned in the Bible?

First, we need to understand a few things about Satan. He was and still is an angel. Ezekiel 28 explains the origins of Satan and his fall. From it we learn Lucifer was the most beautiful and wisest of created beings. He was perfect in every way (Ezekiel 28:15) He was the most powerful of God's created beings and he had to be because he dwelt in the presence of God constantly. Lucifer was the worship leader in Heaven (Ezekiel 28:16). The chapter then goes on to describe Lucifer's fall and what caused it. Verse 15 says "iniquity" was found in him. Iniquity in the Hebrew is evel and it means perversion and wickedness. Verse 17 goes on to say "Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth".

Isaiah also described the scene of Lucifer's fall and being thrown out of Heaven, "How you have fallen from heaven,O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth," Isaiah 14:12. Isaiah then tells us exactly what kind of perversion was found in Lucifer's heart, Isaiah 14: 13-14 "You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' "

He wanted to be God and he thought he was qualified. He wanted to be worshiped and he still does. He prefers direct worship, but will take proxy worship as well.

Genesis 3:4 Satan deceived Eve by taking what God said...the truth and twisting it. He first questioned her about what God said. Then he made it seem she hadn't really heard Adam right and got it wrong. Then he said God didn't really mean what He said. He distorted the truth, lied to her and manipulated her until she believed him. Once she disobeyed God he had Adam too.

Notice that he went after Eve and not Adam. Adam was the head, the leader, so he went after weaker Eve knowing she would be easier to deceive and he'd get Adam through her. Ultimately, Adam was held responsible as the authority figure. Instead of obeying God he rebelled.

Didn't Satan realize he was a creature and not the Creator? Didn't he realize that God is Almighty and he could never win against Him? Who knows? But Satan's character is an example of what excessive pride does to a person. He thought he was smarter, stronger, better looking and more capable than God and in Ezekiel 28:17 it says his heart became proud. He became the very first Narcissist.

According to Revelation 12:4, Lucifer was not the only one thrown out of Heaven. A third of the angels were thrown out too. Lucifer was causing a rebellion in Heaven. Following their mutiny they were all tossed out. That's a lot of angels! There are billions of angelic hosts so we can gather hundreds of millions were kicked out. This isn't describing being escorted out of heaven, it's more along the lines of being picked up an literally thrown out and this great eviction took place not long after the earth was created.

Lucifer lost his place and position in Heaven. He lost his authority as the guardian cherub and worship leader and was stripped of his glory, but he's not gone yet. His day hasn't come for destruction.

God could have wiped out Adam and Eve, destroyed Satan and started over, but He chose not to. This could be for a number of reasons. Instead He allowed Satan and man to continue in this state until His own appointed time. In John 14:30 Satan is referred to by Jesus as the Prince of this world. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 he's also called the god of this age. Prince and god, even with a lower case 'g' are titles of authority and are used by Christ Himself and backed up by Scripture.

"'The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.'" Luke 4:5-6 

Satan made a stunning declaration here to Christ and Christ did not dispute his claim. Not only does Satan have power and authority over the entire world, but it's also been given to him by God. His rule is limited and has an expiration date, but nevertheless, he is the ruler of this world and all things in the world are under his dominion and jurisdiction. From mankind to the world's philosophy. When the time comes to remove him, God alone will do it.

Lucifer is far more powerful than man could ever be, but he's not all powerful. He's far more intelligent than man could ever be, but he's not all knowing. He's faster then man will ever be, but he can't be everywhere at once. Lucifer is still only a created angel with delusions of grandeur. Once again, his position in the earth is at God's good pleasure. So how are we supposed to deal with Satan? We're not. 1 John 4:4 makes the distinction that it is the Holy Spirit in us that is greater than he that's in the world. We are not to engage him in any way. "For the battle is not yours, but God's." 2 Chronicles 20:15 


Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong not in ourselves, but in God alone and His power and strength when we're attacked by him because only God can handle Satan. We are simply to resist him by standing firm in the faith Ephesian 6:13-14 and putting on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) not to fight, but to "take your stand against the devil’s schemes". No where in Scripture are we ever told to do "battle" with Satan. Studying what the armor itself means and is used for is valuable. We are to resist him (James 4:7) by standing firm whenever and where ever he assembles an attack against us. His attacks are for the purpose to bring us down so we are ineffective for God. When he attacks we're not to slander him, stomp around yelling at him. Stand firm and keep our eyes focused on God who does the fighting for us.

As I stated earlier, engaging Satan and slandering him has become common especially among false teachers and false prophets who are notorious for it and encourage their followers to do the same. 2 Peter chapter 2 is dedicated to these corrupt teachers...

2 Peter 2:10-12
"He (God) is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings."

Peter says they despise authority then he follows it with scoffing at angels without fear. Satan has lost his position in Heaven and his authority there, but he is still an authority figure in the earth and is being allowed  to keep it until God's appointed time. Who are they scoffing at? Supernatural beings. Who are the Supernatural beings? Satan and his angels. Peter draws the distinction between the two by stating that God's angels don't dare to do such a thing.

Jude 1:8-9
"In the same way, these people--who claim authority from their dreams--live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

Now Jude uses the term defy authority and scoff at supernatural beings. Then he tells us even Michael would never do such a thing. In the moment Michael found himself arguing with Satan over Moses' body, he invoked the Lord's name to rebuke Satan. In Revelation 12 it was Michael and and his warring angels that threw Satan and his bunch out of Heaven. It's also Michael who will be the one to chain Satan up for a thousand years. Yet, Michael never disrespected Satan. Michael not only recognized the limited time of Satan's authority given by God, but he also still recognized Satan's previous authority when he was second in command. If Michael and the angels show restraint how much more should we? We are to recognize all authority whether it's demonic or human and never lash out against it. Instead we're to trust God.

2 Kings 24-25 records the account of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar who conquered Judah, Jerusalem it's capital, destroyed Solomon's Temple, and took the people of Judah to Babylon in 586 B.C. Jeremiah the Prophet was raised up by God long before this was to happen. In a state of constant disobedience to God's Law, God warned Judah he would exact the consequences of the Law against them for disobedience and He'd do it using the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and take them into exile. He begged the people to repent and turn from their sin through Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied for 40 years regarding God's punishment if the people didn't turn back and they wouldn't listen.

For 40 years Judah accused Jeremiah of being a false prophet. For 40 years they refused to listen to him truly believing God would never use the Babylonians, a people more wicked then they were, a pagan people to punish them for their sins. The Babylonians were God's enemies. They couldn't comprehend such a thing. Suddenly the time comes and God raises up Babylon and uses them to punish Judah. It's too late for repentance. Most absolutely refused anyway.

There's no denying Jeremiah was a real prophet now. The Babylonians have arrived! Then King Zedekiah musters all fighting people and tells them they can withstand the attack from their enemies. That's not what God had in mind. Jeremiah 38 tells us Jeremiah comes on the scene and tells them they were not to fight. Instead they must give in to the Babylonians. God tells the people if they will submit to the Babylonians they would be taken in exile to Babylon for 70 years and all would be well with them. After 70 years they would be allowed to return to the land.

They think Jeremiah has completely lost his mind. Still Jeremiah kept warning them that whoever fights against the Babylonians God will fight against them and destroy them. Whoever submits will live. Was God now considering the Babylonians friends when he ordered this? Of course not. The Babylonians were still God's enemies, but submission to the Babylonians meant submission to God and His discipline against Judah for its sin. Babylon was simply the agent God used to discipline Judah.

Likewise, Satan can only do what God allows him to do (Job 1).  God is always in control. In 1 Peter 1:6-9 Peter is telling Christians who were suffering persecution to submit to God even in the harsh trials and set their hope on Him. They were not to fight back against their persecutors, but to bless them and pray for them Romans 12:14 and Matthew 5:44 and submit to God, His plans, His wisdom, His will and His Sovereignty. Their persecutors were being allowed to carry out their plans by God against the Christians for purposes of discipline, training in righteousness, teaching, purification and to bring each person closer to God in relationship. Just as with the Babylonians, God will sometimes allow Satan to succeed for a time,  using him as an agent and to fight back is fighting God. Though Satan intends evil, God will use it for our good in the long run.

Daniel 10 describes an incident where Gabriel was sent to give Daniel a message, but was opposed in Persia by a fallen angel only called the Prince of Persia. This wasn't Satan himself, but one of his co-mutiny angels. This angel was one of many "Generals" that acts as a sort of Governor for Satan over different nations. This angel opposed Gabriel for 21 days and wouldn't let him pass to deliver his message. Finally, Michael was sent to restrain the Prince of Persia so Gabriel could carry out his mission. Again, we get an example of authority figures even in the demonic.

We're not to submit to Satan and his angels. That's rebellion against God. We are to submit to God and rely on Him in faith to fight for us. We're not to fight back whether against demons or humans. If angels, by example, and Scripture tell us to show restraint with Satan and demons then we should listen. Anything other than that is disdainful, disrespectful and sinful to God and will only bring about judgment on ourselves. He has allowed these positions of authority whether good or bad, human or not. It's not esteeming Satan, it's esteeming God when we place our trust in His prerogatives and His Sovereign rule.

David

In Samuel 13:14 God referred to David as a man after His own heart. What made David special to God? Was he without sin? Nope. David made some huge blunders as King. To name just a few, there's the murder of Bathsheba's husband Uriah for example. Not to mention committing adultery with Bathsheba (Solomon's mother). He not only got Uriah's wife pregnant, but he tried to trick Uriah by getting him drunk so he'd go home to his wife and they could pass off the baby as Uriah's. When that didn't work David sent Uriah back to the front lines and told Joab through a note that when the battle picked up to have the men back away from Uriah so he'd be killed. As if that's not bad enough, David sent that note to Joab by Uriah himself. The poor man carried his own death sentence back to the battle and didn't even know it.

There's also the census he took (2 Samuel) in Israel out of pride so he could boast in his kingdom as if he made it, exalted it and sustained it himself. Then later in life we know he was a slack father. His kids ran amok and he didn't discipline them. He didn't even defend his daughter Tamar when her brother Amnon raped her. Remember Absalom his son? He took vengeance on Amnon for the rape...something David should have done. Then later Absalom caused a rebellion and usurp David.

What made David so special to God was David repented. He was humble and when he sinned he admitted it. Because David was humble he was teachable.

When Nathan the prophet went to David about Bathsheba, David admitted his guilt, humbled himself, repented and turned away from his sin. He accepted the punishment God measured out by taking the baby she was pregnant with, but because David repented, God gave them Solomon who eventually took the throne. In every instance David humbled himself to God. That's what made David special. That's what made him the apple of God's eyes and it's not something all of us can't reach. We all sin. We all blow it. But when we're humble and we repent when we've sinned, no matter how embarrassing or crushing to our pride it might be, that's when God looks at us too and says "they're after My own heart".

He's not a tame lion

CS Lewis wrote that in the "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" concerning Aslan the Lion

If you don't know who CS Lewis is then I'll tell you! lol CS Lewis was not only (and still is) a highly respected theologian but also wrote the books (which are now movies) "The Chronicles of Narnia". He's dead now but his books (nonfiction and fiction alike) are still widely read

CS Lewis based his fiction books on the Bible and Bible characters. For example Aslan the Lion represented Jesus "the Lion from the tribe of Judah" Rev 5:5. But he made no truer statement about Him when he said "He's not a tame lion" but we're not only taught otherwise we conjure up this tame idea about Him ourselves. Part of it is ignorance and part of it is fear

Often times because God doesn't take immediate action on evil or sin we get this idea that He's indifferent to evil. Indifferent to sin especially our sin. We don't equate this with mercy, compassion, understanding and patience because He knows we are just dust (Psalm 103:14) and can be easily consumed (Lamentations 3:22) No we equate it with

1. He doesn't care
2. He's like us
3. God is good so that makes him a giant sappy pushover sitting in the heavens

It's our own sinful nature that settles on this idea about God. When we think of "Holy" we think "Good" and "Loving". We love to think of him with the above characteristics but we don't really think about those characteristics. We throw them around about our own sin. We throw them around about others but the idea of "patient" alone should tell us that at some point patience runs out!

Anyone possessing those qualities will be bulldozed by others. It's in us all to take kindness, compassion, patience, mercy for weakness and we will take advantage of someone like that long before we don't. It's our nature to do that! And we do the same thing to God. The fact that He's merciful doesn't make us stop in our tracks with reverent respect for Him. It makes us take advantage. It doesn't make us question why He's merciful or why we need mercy. It just drives us to presume His mercy, expect it and demand it even

We're know the stories of Jesus being born of a virgin in a lowly stable. We know He was born to die. We're ok with it that He was meek, humble, kind and good. He was indeed loving. But the corrosive idea rampant now is He was some long haired hippy giving everyone the peace sign and chanting "make love not war man!" We're even ok with the idea that He was God in the flesh but we're not ok with justice. O we want justice when we've been wronged! But we don't want justice about our wrongs

We like the idea of Jesus being "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." (John 1:29) We like the idea of him walking around saying all these nice things and carrying a helpless, fluffy lamb. Those are so nifty! It also makes God harmless and we like that

The same God that appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai, sent the plagues, slaughtered 23,000 Jews in a single swoop is the same God that took on human flesh, willingly was beaten severely and then went to the cross to die for us, to pay our debt to God, to save a people for Himself when He brings destruction and damnation. To satisfy His own laws, Holiness, justice and wrath cause we aren't capable of doing it ourselves. The same God described as the sacrificial Lamb is also called the Lion

There are over 330 prophecies in the OT just about Jesus's first coming and every single one of them were fulfilled down to the smallest detail. There are twice as many prophecies about His second coming...that's right I said TWICE as many. The second coming will be nothing like the first. This docile being will descend as the rightful King over the earth. And as any king must conquer and subdue his kingdom so must this King

This Lamb will return as the Lion. This Lamb is described as coming to conquer and damn. This Lamb is described as slaughtering most of the population of the planet. It will be completely one sided like a 2 year old trying to take on a ferocious, starving lion. His robes are described as dripping with blood (Rev 19:13). The earth will be covered is corpses...the blood so high and so much that it reaches the bridle of a horse (Rev 14:20)

Does this sound like a hippy, lamb carrying push over to you? That's a conquering King, that's an Emperor coming to dominate and to slaughter! He is described as bolting out of Heaven in an affront, ferocious, vengeful, wrathful offensive...He means to ride down and annihilate his enemies being absolutely ruthless in His execution of justice

This is not something that will happen in secret. This conquering King will make Alexander the Great look like a 2 year old playing army! He promises that when He comes back every eye (Rev 1:7)...ya every single person will see Him coming. It won't take place in secret where only a lucky few know. That kind of scene is setting people up for manipulation and brain washing. Especially when Jesus warned specifically that many false Christ's will come and we're not to believe them or follow them (Matthew 24). Then He followed it with the statement everyone will see Him coming. Scholars have even debated whether his descent with an army of angelic hosts following him will in fact be an all day event. As the earth rotates every person will see His awesome, vast, procession out of Heaven

I've heard people say "I believe that on the day of Judgment if I'm truly sorry for my sins He will forgive me and let me into Heaven."

There's no reason to live according to what God demands. They already have it in their heads He's merciful therefore if they cry, beg and are really sorry He'll totally go against everything He's commanded, every part of His Word and let them stroll into Heaven. That's man! That's the sinful nature

I recently told a woman in Romania who said "You know on the day of judgment that is going to be the only time you and everyone whose ever lived will be truly sorry for anything. If you think God will let you in based on that then what's the point of commandments? What's the point of Law? What's the point of sacrifice? What was the point of Jesus?"

Then I pointed out in the book of Ezekiel where God said on the day of His judgment He will have neither mercy or pity. Then I took her through the Bible where that day is described as a day of absolute horror for most people. The way it's described is billions will be wailing, screaming, begging, crying, gnashing their teeth in sheer, unadulterated horror and terror as they're judged before the living God, sentenced then drug off to hell(Matthew 13)

They won't go quietly! They will be fighting, clawing at the floor, screaming, forced into eternal destruction. Does that sound like a scene of calm, peace and mercy to you? It even goes on to describe those who will be entering heaven standing by and watching the madness...crying themselves as they witness their loved ones, friends, family, children, spouses being thrown into hell (Rev 21). Can you imagine how many of those will be wailing themselves and screaming out to them "I told you! I warned you! Why didn't you listen to me?! WHY?!!!"

We often think because we're not hurting anyone else and also because God has taken no action against us that He's OK with what we do. Psalm 50 destroys that concept...

"What right have you to recite My laws
or take my covenant on your lips?

You hate My instruction
and cast My words behind you.

When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.

You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.

You speak continually against your brother
and slander your own mother's son.

These things you have done and I kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.
But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.

Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you"

Does that sound like an indifferent, sappy, laid back, uninvolved, just like us, tame God? Does that sound like a God that thinks like us, talks like us, acts like us? Absolutely not. That sounds like a Holy God!

Because He is Holy He must judge sin. Because He is Holy, He must be righteous and punish sin. Because He is Holy He must be wrathful. He wouldn't be Just if He didn't judge and punish. The same God that John said "is Love" in 1 John 4:8 is also the same God that destroyed the earth and most people by flood. The same God is who merciful and compassionate is also the same God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and all it's inhabitants except for Lot and family. The same God that is patient and kind is also the same God who sent the plagues on Egypt. The same God who is understanding and long suffering is also the same God who will pour out His wrath again and destroy the earth by fire and send most people to hell. The same God who is giving, generous and good is also the same God who says He will tear us to pieces. He has to! He must!

Would you love a God who was ok with evil? Would you love a God who didn't hold a rapist, child molester, murderer, abuser accountable? Would you love a God who was indifferent to suffering? I couldn't and you couldn't either

So we search for God all our lives...groping in the dark like blind children whether we claim to be religious or not. Whether we believe in God or not. We're still searching for Him constantly. We know He's there. He's given us the ability to sense Him, to know He's there and no matter how we search and in what ways we're all still just looking for Him but the question is what kind of God are we looking for?

A God of our own making that's really nothing but an idol? Something we've conjured up in our heads or something we've been taught since we were babies. We think He's just like us. We think He thinks just like we do, He acts and talks just like us and if He doesn't He's ok with how we act, think and talk because He's not demanding. He's understanding of our awkwardness, failures and sins and He's happy to sit in the corner we assign Him until we need Him. Then He can pop out like some genie from a lamp and say "your wish is my command". The problem is in all our searching we're looking for the wrong thing. We're chasing and groping for our own small, ignorant, dark, silly, man-like ideas. We want to bring God down to our level and He's no where near our level. We want God to meet our standards when the truth is God refuses to lower Himself to our standards! Instead He demands and commands that we meet HIS standards

I saw a cartoon once of a character chasing a small animal into a dark place. He threw in a rope and it latched on to something. With all his might he pulled and pulled trying to drag the small animal out but instead what came out was a monstrous, huge animal. The character turned white, his eyes popped, his arms fell limp and he ran away in terror. That's not what he was looking for. That's not what he thought he hooked

We throw in our own hooks in our search never really expecting something to pull back. We don't really expect there is a life, a Person, a very much real Being that catches the other end and we freeze like kids sitting around telling ghost stories who suddenly get quiet at the noise in the hall. Is it real? Is something really out there? Then we get scared and throw down the cord. We really don't want to find out because for a brief moment we suddenly realize what's at the other end may not be what we want or expect. We didn't really want it to come to that did we? To come to a moment that we suddenly face what we were searching for. A sense of dread comes and we remember the old saying "be careful what you wish for. You may get it"

We want God but we become petrified at the thought of the real God at the other end and instead of pulling back He suddenly approaches at the speed of light like a thundering bolt. As we drop the cord we realize it's too late...He's suddenly found us

An encounter with the real living God is life changing. It changes your entire perspective and rocks your very existence to the core. You are suddenly forced against your own will to face reality and not something we've created limited to our own view of the world from our corner of the planet. Instead something infinitely greater than we could have ever imagined. Something so powerful, majestic, awesome, terrifying and alien to us that our minds would sooner melt than reach any tiny drops of understanding about the Being at the other end

There is no possible way the creature can stay the same after having come in contact with its Creator. Life changes. The mind suddenly goes through a complete twisting and overhaul without your consent! The world you once knew so well and trusted has suddenly become so tiny, dark, insignificant and seems to vanish before such a Being. This is not what you expected! But this King of Kings is infinitely superior to anything you could have ever created in your own mind. And you suddenly must face the fact that this Being doesn't live, breathe and exist at your whim, at your idea, at your command, at your little spot in the universe. You exist only for Him! As your mind bends and you fight to wrap your brain around what you're facing and the truth. As you struggle to come to some kind of grips with what every fiber of your being always believed to be true you instantly must face the shocking reality...that you lived an entire lie. You believed an complete lie. Your entire life was built around a lie

This is what keeps us from searching too deeply. We look long enough then come up with an idea about God we can handle...we can deal with...one that is to our liking and we settle with that because we know deep inside that if we look to hard we may have to face something we really don't want to face. Ignorance truly is bliss and we prefer ignorance to truth even if that willful ignorance destroys us later

He is no tame lion and all of our ideas about God are warped because we are warped creatures. How can you ask a blind man who has been blind since birth to understand the color blue as you do? But we must be willing to be taught. We must be willing to face truth. We must be willing to know that what's at the other end won't be what we wanted, expected and believed. We must not expect a fuzzy harmless bunny to come crawling out of its hole. The search for God is really about God searching for you. You've entered the territory of the Lion. He can smell you, He can hear you and when you throw our your rope don't let go

The Shepherd to His Love

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of th purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

-Christopher Marlowe