DETERMINED TO UNDERSTAND

September 16, 2001 am

MF Blume



2 Samuel 21:1-10  Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.  And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.   And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,  Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:  And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
Hosea 6:1-3  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.   Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.




On June 30 I preached a message entitled DO WE KNOW WE'RE DEAD YET?
Last week the tragedy of terrorism threw many people into shock and agony.
This very emotional and sad picture in 2 Samuel 21, in which a mother agonized to understand the seemingly impossible-to-understand scenario of her own sons being hanged opens up a profound truth that will help us all in our own agonizing sorrows of life.

Israel experienced a famine for three entire years, without relief.
The Lord responded telling David that the sin of Saul from years before had not diminished in guiltiness through the years.
David then sought the Gibeonites and requested from them how this sin against their ancestors might be resolved.
So the Gibeonites demanded that seven of Saul's sons be hanged.
This mother was determined to understand why.

The sons were hanged at a specific time.
It turned out that the period of time until she came to grips with the reality of the situation occurred simultaneously with the time God became satisfied that the justice required of this sin was satisfied.
But by sitting there and staring at the boys' bodies, and most likely praying with words people could not hear, in her own heart, to God, she came to an acceptance.
The moment she came to understand and accept what occurred, God was also satisfied and blessed Israel once again with rain.

Determined to understand.

Like Israel, mankind has been cursed due to the sin of Adam and Eve.
Romans 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 5:19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
And the Bible tells us that anyone who is hanged on a tree is considered a curse.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23  And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
No curse is pleasant to experience.

Notice what Paul the apostle stated about Jesus' hanging on the cross.

Galatians 3:13-14  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Mankind was cursed, and the Bible teaches that Jesus was hanged on a cross because He would stand as a curse in order for cursed humanity to be free and receive the blessing of Abraham.
Deuteronomy 28:12  The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
So the hanging of the seven sons of Saul, which represented the removal of ALL of Saul's children (seven implies ALL), satisfied God and He sent the blessing of rain once again.
Isaiah 53:10-11  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

God looked upon the suffering of Christ and was satisfied.
The famine of Israel represents the cursed world who is away from God.
Hosea 6:1-3  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
We must RETURN.
The torn and smitten references point to Jesus' sufferingsas though he deserved and experienced what we deserved for our sins.

The sorrow and agony of life beneath a curse is still nothing to be compared to God's wrath of hell.
If you are determined to understand the hanging of Jesus Christ as much as that grieving mother sought to understand the hanging of her boys, you will finally receive insight and revelation.
Romans 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
You need to listen to the words of the preacher who sheds forth truths from the Bible that you need in order to live a victorious life for the Lord.
That little mother stayed there until she had it settled in her heart.
We can mentally know the facts that Jesus died to take away the curse, but until we get a revelation of those facts, and it AFFECTS US TO THE POINT OF CHANGING US, it can do nothing for us.
Hosea said that on the third day WE SHALL BE RAISED.
No matter how long you've been away from God, you're only a revelation away from getting back.

Even the sorrow and the agony you experience can be cast upon Christ on the cross and there be crucified and put away from your life.

No matter how deep into sin you've gone, you're only a revelation away from getting back.

RETURN!

Look at the cross until you really get the revelation that YOU'RE RAISED AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION.
Any problems you face, after entering Christ's death by baptism, your sorrows and agonies can all be thrown back 2,000 years by your faith onto Christ and His cross, and removed from your life.

Hosea said God will come to you in all His blessings like the latter and former rain together.
It should be harvest time.
When Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord, he was in agony of facing his vengeful brother Esau.
Genesis 32:26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
And he got it.

He fought all night.
People are too impatient nowadays and give up too early.

Rizpah drove away the birds by day and the beasts by night.
Genesis 15:8-13  And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Abram wanted to know for certain.
What do the fowls represent?
Luke 8:5  A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it .
Jesus explained the symbols of the story.
Luke 8:12  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
The fowls speak of the devils who come to steal away the words preached.
When you are given truths from God, the devil is not going to sit there wand watch you receive it and enjoy the blessings of deliverance from your sorrows.
If you're determined, the devils will come to throw all sorts of obstructive thoughts in your mind.
The effort to allow the word of God to affect us demands that we be determined to understand.
Rizpah, in effect, drove any devils away from her thoughts that would try to remove the picture in her mind of the boys hanging there.
We need to look at the cross no matter what problem we face in life.
Notice that we need to gaze at the hanging.
We get so self-centred and focused that we cannot live with the idea of ANYBODY thinking or doing or saying wrong against us.
The real problem is not our bad experiences, but OUR REACTIONS TO THEM.
Like Peter's revelation of who Jesus was, flesh and blood cannot reveal this unto us, but our Father only.
Numbers 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
John 3:14-15  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Jesus took the sting of death for us on the cross that the serpent infected Adam and Eve with in the Garden.