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“I’m Bob Jameson from the Jackson County Mental Health Facility. I understand your church needs Puppet Counseling?” The phone was very fuzzy. I didn’t think I heard him right, but he repeated it, and yes he was asking if we needed “puppet counseling!” I didn’t recognize the voice, but we did have a hilarious and dysfunctional puppet play in Sunday School so I played along. “Yes we have a few schizophrenic puppets! They won’t follow the script and they continually engage in impromptu puppet fights! And one of them keeps calling the other a retard!” It was John! Dave had called him and given a blow by blow commentary on Sunday’s play, it was so funny John decided we needed puppet counseling! You had to be there! It was a blast!
Today's Scripture reading is 2 Samuel 7; Jonah 1; Mark 14:32-72
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Today’s thought comes from 2 Samuel 7:12-16 12 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 "But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."’"
Land, seed, blessing… these are the three catchwords we use when talking about the Prophetic covenants God made with Israel. The Land has to do with the little 8000 square mile strip of land that the nation now possesses. To give you some perspective, Oregon is 98,000 square miles or 12 times larger than modern Israel! Of course God promises that in its final form Israel will be much bigger than that! The blessing is about the fact that all the nations will be blessed through Abraham. And the Seed has to do with the royal line which leads to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. That’s what 2 Samuel 7 is all about. We call it the “Davidic Covenant.” God made an unconditional covenant with David (although parts of it are conditional) that He would set up David’s descendents on the throne of Israel forever – this is the unconditional part. For 500 years one of David’s children or grandchildren ruled from Jerusalem, and then in 586 BC they all got carted off the Babylon. Since that time not one of David’s children has ever ruled the nation! Instead what has happened is that since they committed iniquity God has chastened “him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men” and this is the conditional aspect! If they didn’t follow God, he would bring chastening in the form of exile and foreign rule. So what happened to the Davidic Covenant? For 2500 years there has not been one single descendent sitting on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling the nation! Has prophecy gone bad? Enter one child that would change the world, Jesus Christ. The book of Matthew and Luke take great pains in tracing the genealogy of Jesus back to David, to Abraham and to Adam. The promise of the Deliverer was first made to Adam and Eve. Christ fulfilled that promise. The Promise of the Blessing was first made to Abraham. Christ fulfilled that promise. The Promise of the reigning King was made to David. Christ is the fulfillment of that promise! That promise is fulfilled now, but not yet! The “now” part of that is that Christ is seated on the throne in Heaven. His resurrection and ascension sealed that! The Martyr Stephen said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" The “not yet” part of this prophecy is that when Christ returns he will reign over Israel from the throne of David in Jerusalem… but not just over the nation! The book of Revelation promises He will bring a reign of peace to the entire world!
Dear Lord Jesus, come quickly! May you bring a reign of peace and hope to this confusing and difficult world. We all want peace, but it seems so elusive. We know that peace only comes from You, the “Prince of Peace!” We anxiously await your return.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and warning one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
6-10 Land, Seed, Blessing
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