God is eager for you to trust Him, and He is eager to trust you. Again and again He has been disappointed in trusting mankind, but still He is ready to put His trust in a human being. All who will look to Calvary, accept the blood that stained the Old Rugged Cross, God will put confidence in and save. He doesn’t look into their tomorrows to decide whether or not He will save them today. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21). If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

God did not know that the Law would fail any more than He knew that man would sin in Eden. That’s the reason God cannot be blamed for the mess on Earth today. Had God known that man would sin, He never would have created man. God gave Adam and Eve everything necessary to keep them in good health. He put the tree of life in the Garden for them to eat of the fruit and live forever. But when they sinned, they could no longer live in Eden. God had to keep them away from the tree of life lest they eat and live forever in the devil’s civilization. Thank God He kept them away from the tree of life! What if people lived forever in sickness, suffering with no way of escape through death? There is a period of time in the Tribulation Period, the Bible tells us, when men will not be able to die: And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them (Revelation 9:6). Seeking to die, wanting to die, so tortured and tormented, man will not even be able to take his own life.

God brought Israel out of Egyptian bondage in a great, wonderful way—not as paupers but rich. They had spoiled the Egyptians, taken their riches; and they were on their way to the most bountiful country they could ever imagine, the land of Canaan. It would have taken them all of eleven days to arrive there, but they made such a mess of things that they couldn’t enter. It took God forty years to get them to the Promised Land—those who were under twenty years of age when they left Egypt. Thousands died in the wilderness.

God had not looked into their future. He trusted they had done away with all worship of idol gods, and He was revealing Himself in every way so His people would love Him. How terrible to look down as He was giving the Law and see His people worshiping a golden calf! So patiently He had been in giving the Law. For many, many years God had worked to make a Moses, a man who would believe Him, who would be so much like Himself that he would go up on the mount forty days and nights and be with God. God would not even let a human hand write the Law: the first tablets were furnished and written by the finger of God—how wonderful! Always remember that God gave the commandments in great love. He didn’t mean for them to be destructive. The judgments under the Law, the punishments, God was forced into bring about. God is not to blame for sin or its results—thousands of Israelites were killed in God’s effort to be rid of sin. God loved them. If He didn’t prove His love for the Israelite people, He’ll never prove it to anyone. They were special to Him. Every time He had to deal with them He thought about Abraham—now in Heaven with Him. God loved Abraham, the Father of the Faithful. Abraham, it’s got to be done. Yes, Father, I know. I don’t blame you at all. You’re just in whatever you do to them.

What a mess! The Israelites grumbled and complained, grumbled and complained. God was vexed; He couldn’t bear their murmurings. Considering all His patience, all His love and greatness, think what grumbling it must have been to have caused God to send fiery, poisonous serpents among them. People died by the thousands. But God in His great love provided a remedy: And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live (Numbers 21:8). God knew there would have to be a cross, that His Son would be cursed on a tree to deliver people from sin and give them power to become new creations the way they were in the Garden before man and woman fell.

Israel Spoiled Her Greatest Hour

After forty years in the wilderness, Israel reached Canaan at last. It looked as though God’s troubles surely would be over. Seven nations were to be driven out. God carefully schooled each soldier in His divine plan to defeat the heathen, to drive them out and destroy all their idol gods. His children were to never bow down to idols. It was the greatest hour since Adam and Eve lived in Eden. The fruits of joy and peace were available the way they were in Eden. Israel had it made—but they didn’t want it that way. Did the Israelites drive out all like God told them to? No. Did they worship the idol gods? Yes, they did.

The time came when Israel wanted a king. Kings, kings—and God had another big mess. Only a few of the kings led the people to God. God’s wonderful Canaan for His people turned into a nightmare. Did the devil do it? No, man did. Man gave over to the devil. The devil couldn’t have done anything had man not given him the freedom—he didn’t have the power. Down through these thousands of years man has given the devil power to work and then blamed God for what took place. The devil wasn’t able to do anything with Adam and Eve until they gave themselves over to him. He can’t do anything with you unless you give yourself into his hands. He can’t make you sin; he can’t make you lie or accept one tiny seed of deceit.

God Was Rejected

The Israelites didn’t want to live holy before God, didn’t want to be clean. They wanted to be dirty like the devil. Not loving the truth, they sought lies; they wanted to steal, to pollute their bodies in all kinds of sins.

The Israelites didn’t care that the Lord wasn’t willing for them to have a king; they wanted to be like the nations that God couldn’t stand, the nations which were stripped of their riches by God. Fighting for the Israelites, God even sent hornets to drive out the Canaanites—and now they didn’t want this great Captain called Jehovah God to be king. God had made it possible for them to come to this land; He delivered them from Egyptian bondage, from the wilderness and rained down bread from Heaven. Their clothes didn’t wear out nor their shoes become thin for forty years. God looked out for them, spreading them a table in the wilderness. Loving them with all His heart, God was ready to defeat all their enemies. No country, no clan could ever have overcome Israel had they kept God as king and obeyed Him.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them (I Samuel 8:4-7). When you reject Jesus as king in your life, you have rejected God’s reign over you. Everyone who does not have Jesus today has rejected Him as king just as the Israelites rejected God.

The Lord told Samuel: According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee (I Samuel 8:8). Samuel, they have done this before, the Lord is saying. This is not a new thing. Ever since I brought them up out of Egypt they have rejected me, worshiped other gods. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king (verses 9,10). Samuel told them how the kings would make servants of their children, take their produce, their fields, vineyards and oliveyards. But the people refused to hear Samuel; they didn’t care.

People can be stubborn and arrogant with God. Jesus recognized this when He carefully told His followers to pray not their will, but God’s be done. Lord, thy will be done. If the Lord be willing, we will do this.

Samuel addressed the people: But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers. Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to-day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king (I Samuel 12:15-17). Samuel let the people know that he hadn’t been making small talk when he told them God didn’t want a king, and now he was going to let God answer from Heaven. God had talked to Samuel in an audible voice, and Samuel let the people know exactly what God had said.

So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king (I Samuel 12:18,19). When Israel got into a close place, they cried out to God that they had done wrong; and then, just like naughty children, when things went smoothly again, they did the same thing all over.

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart (I Samuel 12:20). Although they had failed God, done an awful thing, He would be merciful, give them another chance. And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way (verses 21-23).

I imagine that Samuel didn’t feel much like praying for them, but he didn’t go by feelings. He was patient. Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you (I Samuel 12:24).

The Lord still wants people to serve Him in truth with all their hearts. How many today are really living in the truth of God? Only the holy people are in the truth. In the truth you live free from sin, but outside the truth, no. Sin and truth won’t mix. The only way to serve God in truth is to serve Him with all of your heart, with nothing between you and God. You love God better than self, than your relatives, better than anything for anyone. He won’t settle for anything less. He must be first in your life. If you give Him second place, you are not really walking with Him.

Samuel warned Israel further: But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king (I Samuel 12:25). Israel thought their star had risen, that they had outsmarted God by getting a king. The devil puffs people up.

Saul was chosen to be king. First Samuel 9:2 tells us that there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. Saul looked the part of a king. He had begun humbly by acknowledging that he was from the smallest of the tribes and the smallest family. He thought he was insignificant, that there was nothing important about him at all. He even hid when people were coming to crown him king. That’s the reason God chose him. God showed much love in choosing the best available.

When Saul won his first battle the people clamored to put to death those who had not wanted him to be king; but he had a forgiving spirit; he was humble, meek. And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to-day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel (I Samuel 11:12,13).

Saul was chosen to take God’s place as king, and the people were proud of their choice. They enjoyed how that enemy trembled when they saw this big soldier-king standing before them. But the big soldier, Saul, did not follow God in truth with all his heart. He failed God, disobeyed Him. He had been something special—but then he gave over to the devil and to the people.

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him [David] to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee (I Samuel 13:13,14).

God said to Samuel, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night (I Samuel 15:11).

Oh God, what a mess! God did the best He could, but man failed Him. God always does the best He can. Man is the one who makes the messes with help from the devil. Man is to blame. At the White Throne Judgment, God will judge those who have chosen sin over Him. He won’t judge the devil there but people. The devil isn’t going to the White Throne Judgment. He has already been judged guilty and the sentence passed. For a thousand years the devil will be in the bottomless pit, loosed a season, and then cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.

Saul was in deep deceit. When Samuel confronted him with his disobedience, Saul bragged: I have performed the commandment of the LORD (I Samuel 15:13). It sounds like some people today: I obey God. I go to church. I’ve been baptized in water. God looks on their hearts and sees they are none of His. God knows those who belong to Him: the blood-washed.

Samuel said to Saul: When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel (I Samuel 15:17)? What a sad reading! I can feel the tears just reading it. God is the almighty, eternal one. Had Saul obeyed the Lord, there wouldn’t have been a David to take over as king. But David, a man after God’s heart, replaced Saul. David sought to be the man God wanted. He had that desire to be like the first Adam before the fall. Staying in the presence of God, David praised Him, not people. In his psalms he pictured all nature leaping in praise to God. But Saul, continuing to fail God, sought to murder David.

The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him (I Samuel 16:14). When God lifts His Spirit from a person, when a person blasphemes against the Holy Ghost, nothing is left for that one but death. That man who was once the best in all of Israel now has murder in his heart. It was Saul’s own son Jonathan who helped David escape. Samuel, that precious man of God, died. His sons didn’t follow him; they had their eyes on possessions, and they robbed the people. The sons of Eli, the priest before Samuel, had committed whoredom and adultery at the door of the house of God, and God rejected Eli’s generations from being priests. He cut them all off, killed the sons of Eli. Now the sons of Samuel, unfit to take Samuel’s place, were rejected by God.

Every person in the Christian world should take I Samuel 15:23 to heart: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Saul had sunk so low that he sought a witch instead of seeking God after Samuel had died. For the sin of witchcraft, God had people killed. If you rebel against God, it’s a sin, just like being a witch. God hates rebellion. Death, death is in God’s voice when a witch comes on the scene. Today witches are coming up out of the rocks. God hates every one of them; He will burn them in hell. Stubbornness is sin to God, just as grave as idolatry. I’ve seen people so rebellious and stubborn with God that they were beyond reasoning. Rebelling against His love and leadership, being too stubborn to do His will, being a troublemaker are sins that will send you to hell. The verdict God will hand down to all those kinds of people one day: I have rejected you. All hope of eternity with me is gone. I won’t look your way anymore.

It wasn’t that Saul didn’t know the truth; he always had been able to get an answer through Samuel. From the time Samuel was a little boy, he listened as God talked to him. God never stopped talking to him. Now Samuel was dead, and Saul was godforsaken; he had lost all, and he committed suicide.

David came to the throne. But after a number of years, he betrayed God and committed adultery and ordered a murder. But because he had a love for God in his heart, he found God again. God loved David, and David didn’t go back into sin like Saul did.

And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah (II Samuel 24:1). The Lord pressed David into numbering the people, for He was angry with them and would bring judgment, killing seventy thousand men. They had disobeyed, failed and insulted God. When God reaches over for the weapon of hate, woe to those in His path of destruction! How can a God of love do this? There is no hate in Him; God uses hate as a weapon against sin. Man has forced God to use the weapon of hate just as in Heaven He was forced to use hate to cast out Lucifer and a third of the angels. The Bible declares that God is love through and through. Love is the makeup of God. When God uses hate, it’s like a person without malice using a gun to protect himself in time of danger. God has used that weapon of hate against the devil to protect His true people again and again.

Lust Was His Downfall

God wouldn’t let David build a temple because he was a man of war, but he amassed materials for his son Solomon to use in the building of it. The apostasy of Solomon: But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father (I Kings 11:1-4). What a pathetic picture!

That once great king, wisest of all men to whom people traveled from all nations to learn wisdom, went after idol gods. Twice the Lord appeared to Solomon and warned him about worshiping idol gods. This man who once was so yielded to God, turned from Him and failed miserable. Adam was a great man, too; when he failed he was driven from the Garden. No matter how great you are, sin will destroy you, make you ugly in the eyes of God.

Solomon loved Pharaoh’s daughter, and the daughters of the enemies of God. He was eaten up with lust, and it destroyed him. Don’t think you can be so wise that the devil can’t get into you. He got into Solomon, the wisest man on Earth.

And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded (I Kings 11:6-10).

Stay on guard. Lust can eat the very heart out of you, destroy all your love for God, all your righteousness, leaving you nothing but a shell.

Many today are eaten up with lust. It’s one of the great sins in America. On television, in movies, magazines and conversations: lust, lust, lust abounds. The most lustful people that have ever been on Earth since Sodom and Gomorrah and the days of Noah live on Earth now. The Lord said it would be like this in the day of His coming—our day. If the lust for adultery or fornication is in you, you will never be satisfied, just like Solomon wasn’t.

When people get away from God and let the devil direct them, when they give over to the lust of the flesh, they are eaten up with it. Lust knows no limit. Lust is like the devil himself, the greatest evil that the devil has to serve mankind, and he serves plenty of it. He can’t act out his lust, the demons can’t act out their lust except through human beings.

Murdering devils lust to kill and are not satisfied until they cause humans to kill. They lust for sex and can’t have it, so they seek that satisfaction through human beings. Knowing they’re defiled, that God doesn’t care about them anymore, they seek to defile every human being they can, to make every human being look as ugly as they do. No matter what they do, it won’t satisfy their lust. God has tried in all kinds of ways to influence man to not sin against Him, but they sin anyway.

People steeped in sin, leeched in mind and soul, pay no attention to what God is saying. Talking to them is like talking to the dead. I have worked with some people for weeks, months and years to penetrate that hard shell of self. I seek and seek to find just one little place the Lord can penetrate and get into them. As long as God moves on me, I keep working with the person. You don’t know how God uses me or the time spent in trying to get people to yield all to Him. God holds you responsible who criticize the way He uses His true servants. You will have to meet God with your grumblings and complainings, for every idle word you speak. God judges it all.

Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen (I Kings 11:11-13). God will save Jerusalem, and He will let David’s descendant be king.

The death of Solomon was tragic. How pitiful to have so much and to lose everything! God once had a shining star in Solomon, but then the light went completely out. No rejoicing came in Solomon’s death. Judgment was pronounced on him before he died—the kingdom would be rent from his son. God did exactly what He said He would do. A spirit of revolt took Israel over right after Solomon’s death. It’s all recorded in I Kings.

The Kingdom Was Divided

Because of Solomon and his lust, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Only one tribe was left to David’s generation—Judah. God preserved that tribe for the sake of David. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam came to the throne, God put into his heart a disregard of the good advice from the older men. He chose instead to follow the poor counsel of the young men who had grown up with him. He told the people: My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions (I Kings 12:14). God hardened Rehoboam’s heart so He could fulfill His words to Solomon. A servant of Solomon, Jeroboam rose up against Rehoboam, united all the other tribes against Judah and became king of Israel. In the divided kingdom, Rehoboam kept only the tribe of Judah, just as God had said.

Did Jeroboam serve God? Afraid that Israel would return to the house of David if they were to go to Jerusalem to sacrifice in the temple, Jeroboam made two calves of gold, and said unto them [the people], It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt (I Kings 12:28). The same devilish spirit that was in the forefathers was now in the children. It’s a familiar pattern. Moses had come down from the mount after receiving the Ten Commandments only to find the people worshiping a golden calf, crediting it with bringing them out of Egypt. Now Jeroboam had one golden calf placed in Bethel and the other in Dan so the people wouldn’t have to travel so far to worship an idol god. Sin can strip people of all human dignity, cause them to fall down and worship any kind of idol gods made by the hands of man, gods with no life at all. Sin makes these messes for God, sin, sin, man giving over to sin. You can’t blame the devil for all the messes. God would not have had these messes had it not been for man’s yielding to the devil. The devil alone could not have pulled them off.

What an ungodly mess—the king did terrible things. Some even made their children walk through the fire, gave them as sacrifices to the devil. What a grief to the heart of God and to all those who love His name!

And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made (I Kings 14:25,26). Years after God allowed the Israelites to spoil the Egyptians, after He drowned the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, He allowed the king of Egypt to take all the gold from the house of God. Many treasures Egypt carried away. God didn’t plan that, but God can only protect what people put into His hands; Judah put in nothing. God had used great patience in detailing the way the temple was to be built. The color scheme, the structure, the foundation were all God’s plans given as carefully as were the plans for Noah’s ark. When the people went away from God and that beautiful temple, all the materials were unprotected.

Rehoboam died, and Abijam his son reigned in his stead. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem (I Kings 15:3,4). And so it went with the kings. King after king—oh God, what a mess!

And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him (I Kings 16:29,30). All that the other kings did, Ahab topped. He married Jezebel, one of the most wicked women ever to live. She brought idol worship to the house of Israel in a great way.

And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him (I Kings 16:33). Ahab made God angrier than all the kings of Israel put together. He was vile, and Jezebel was right there to help lower him further. What the devil couldn’t think of to degrade God and His people, Jezebel could.

Elijah said to Ahab: Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine (I Kings 21:19). Elijah stood before Ahab—a man mean as the devil himself—and prophesied these judgments upon him and his wife: And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel (verse 23). God’s anger is fierce. Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:30,31).

Ahab decided it was time to go to war against Syria again, and he asked the help of Jehoshaphat. Ahab gathered together his false prophets and they all foretold victory. But Jehoshaphat asked for a prophet of the Lord. Micaiah came, told them they would win; but he knew they would lose, he knew what the false prophets had said. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd (I Kings 22:16,17). Micaiah uncovered the false prophets: And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee (verses 19-23). He said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me (verse 28). For telling God’s truth, the prophet Micaiah was put into prison and fed bread and water. He was hated by Ahab because, as Ahab said, He doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil (I Kings 22:8).

Ahab thought that just in case Micaiah was right, he would outsmart God by disguising himself and having Jehoshaphat put on his clothes. The king of Syria had told his troops to fight only with the king of Israel. For a time they chased Jehoshaphat, but when they discovered he was not Ahab they turned back. In spite of his disguise, however, Ahab was wounded; and he died that evening. One lone arrow found its way between the joints of his armor, and his blood ran down into the chariot. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake (I Kings 22:38).

The prophecy about Jezebel came true, also. Two or three eunuchs threw her out of a tower window, and when they went to bury her they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands…This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel (II Kings 9:35,36).

How grieved God must have been to see an Ahab on the throne of Israel with Jezebel queen! This is what happens when people pray to have their own way and disregard God’s will in the matter.

How many times have you contended with God for your own way, not asking for His divine will? Many have prayed against God’s will. God has even spared the lives of some when it was not his will. Parents have prayed for children to live in spite of the fact that it was God’s will to have taken them. God knew from the circumstances that the child would face awful things; He would have spared them those torments, but the parents held onto God and God gave over. It was hell on Earth for the parents and the child as well later.

If doesn’t pay to contend with the Almighty. No matter how much you love a child, you had better say, God, not my will, but thine be done. I didn’t contend with God when He took my wife, Angel. I had promised her I wouldn’t. She was dying, and I was walking the floor, saying, God, I promised her. God, I won’t ask you to spare her life. Your will be done. I can’t ask you for her, Lord; I made her a promise. Angel was as excited over Heaven as a little girl over Christmas. She was going on a journey, and she couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to die and be with the Lord; Heaven was that real to her. She looked at death in the Lord in a beautiful way. It was her door into Glory, and she was ready. She didn’t dread death a tiny bit; she didn’t fight it at all. That’s the way of one who is totally yielded to the Lord.

Questions and Answers

In Genesis 50:26: So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Wasn’t it the heathen who embalmed their people?

Yes it was, but there is nothing with a child of God being embalmed, with removing the blood—the person is already dead. Embalming is a law today in the United States. The embalming preserves the flesh for a while. Egypt had an elaborate and advanced system of embalming as demonstrated by the preserved state of the mummies. Even today people don’t know everything the early Egyptian embalming process consisted of.

In the Old Testament God directed people to do battle and they won. Other times they lost until they fasted and humbled themselves—and then went back and won. Are these battles types and shadows of our spiritual battles, battles of self against yielding to God’s Spirit? Who is representing the enemy in our day?

Of course we can apply these battles spiritually, but the battles the Bible describes were real physical battles. The people had physical enemies as well as spiritual enemies. They fought the devil and his demons and enemy nations. Israel still has enemy nations, still is fighting today. Satan also is representing himself and his kingdom. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).

Why did God allow killing in Old Testament days?

God allowed killing because man went away from Him, made a mess. It wasn’t God’s society then or now. Man went on his own and did some of the killing. Other killings were because man had made such a mess for God that God had no other way to clean it up. God killed many thousands in Old Testament days because of their disobedience. For example, He killed seventy thousand Israelite men: So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men (II Samuel 24:15). Numbers 16:35 tells us that there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. And so it went.

Why did God allow a man more than one wife in Old Testament days?

Because of the hardness of men’s hearts in Old Testament days God allowed things that are forbidden under grace. No matter what God has done for man, man will lust like the devil himself as long as man gives over to the devil. Many will give over. God has proven Himself in the Old Testament, has tried every plan possible to get people to serve and love Him but to no avail. In the Church Age, God took over and said man would either be holy or unholy, either walk with Him or walk with the devil. Now a man may not have more than one wife at a time, and the regulations on remarriage are very strict.

Why didn’t God start with perfect love after the fall? Why didn’t He give the Word first?

God had given His Word, His truth first. He told Adam and Eve if they ate of the forbidden fruit they would die. God has never given anything but perfect love, either before or after the fall. Perfect love includes judgment for sin. To disobey God is sin; sin causes death. God has the same message today. Sin is death. If you partake of sin, you will die.

When someone dies and goes to Heaven, do they get to see God? Will everyone get to see Him?

In Heaven, in our glorified state, we’ll be able to see God because we’ll be living in His holiness. Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We’ll be able to look upon God just as the angels can look upon Him, upon His face. It will be very special.

Why is answer to prayer sometimes delayed when God is a good and true God?

Some prayers should be delayed forever. Israel’s desire for a king was a bad request. Because God is true and good He doesn’t answer all our prayers. If He had, most of us would be in trouble—or dead. Some prayed to marry a certain person, and it wasn’t answered. As the years passed, they thanked God it wasn’t. Look back to some of your unanswered prayers and see the wisdom of the Lord in not answering. It will give you patience when God doesn’t answer a prayer tomorrow, confidence that He knows best. Some people do not pray in faith but in wishful thinking. God moves where He finds faith—His faith—in the hearts of people.

Did people eat meat before the great flood?

There was no meat eating in Eden because there was no death before the fall, no death until God killed an animal (or animals) to make coats of skin to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. Outside Eden people ate whatever they wanted. We won’t eat meat in Heaven because in Heaven there will be no death. In order to eat meat, first something must be killed. If you’re a meat eater, you’d better fill up down here.

In Numbers 21:8, God told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole so that people bitten by poisonous serpents would live if they looked at the serpent of brass and continued to look. I realize this is a type and shadow of Jesus on the Cross; my question is why did God use a serpent to represent Jesus?

God used a serpent to represent Christ because He would be cursed. 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 (Galatians 3:13). The serpent was cursed by God and told he would eat dust and crawl upon his belly. Christ became a curse to lift the curse from us. It was not a glorious thing to die on the cross but the most cursed way to die in that day, the most degraded, painful way. The serpent represents evil; Christ was going to die, to take your sins and mine—evil—to shed His precious blood and take our place. He took our evil, our sins. He became cursed before God with our sins upon Him. And with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus lifted the curse of sickness from us as well as the curse of sin. He became our sickness-bearer as well as our sin-bearer.

How can Psalm 41 talk about a certain subject, and then out of the blue talk about Jesus in one verse? What about the verse that says God called His Son out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15 and Hosea 11:1)?

The verses are prophecy, jewels the anointed mind will recognize and treasure. At times these jewels are scattered in verses and phrases throughout God’s Word, and at times they fill chapters. How can the Bible talk about one subject and then suddenly bring in prophecy? How could it not! How better could God keep his plans for the future before us and turn hearts and minds to Jesus? God knew He had a Son that would come to Earth and be a sacrifice for sin. The Lord foretold the time when Jesus would be taken to Egypt; when it was safe for Him to return, the Lord would call Him back. We can see how well God’s prophecies have been and are being fulfilled.

What is a Daniel’s fast and its purpose? Do you eat things that make you sick or just bland foods? How long is it to be? Can one eat meat?

Daniel fasted from things that tasted good to him. He didn’t eat anything pleasant. On a Daniel’s fast, you do eat; but you don’t eat anything pleasant. The purpose of a Bible fast is to humble one’s self. When you deny yourself things self is calling for, it is a sacrifice. On a Daniel’s fast, if you like sweets, you can’t have any. If you like coffee, it’s out; but if you hate it, you can drink it. If you like hot tea and not cold, you can only drink cold. You have to deny self. Everything you like to eat, you can’t have. If you like meat, you can’t have it. If you don’t like vegetables, help yourself. You are sacrificing. If you like salt or seasonings on your food, you eliminate them. If you like dressing on your salad, you can’t have dressing; and if you like salad without dressing, you can’t have salad.

If you get so hungry you like everything, then you have to stop eating if you plan to continue a Daniel’s fast. Daniel fasted twenty-one days and ate nothing pleasant, but he ate. We don’t know what he ate, just that it was food he didn’t like.

Why did God give the Law instead of giving Jesus?

God gave people an opportunity to accept the good Law that would have kept them in the will of God so He wouldn’t have to give His Son. But the Old Testament types of that Son dying on the Cross show us that God was willing for the supreme sacrifice. God used the blood of animals for a sacrifice in the Garden when He gave Adam and Eve coats of skin to cover their nakedness, symbolizing a covering for their sin. He tried using the blood of animals under the Law, a shadow of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross; but it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sin. God gave the Law, refusing to look to see what man would do with it. Had He looked it would have been predestination. God gave man free choice to accept or reject the Law. When it became apparent that no matter how hard God tried, man would not abide by the Law, then God gave His final gift—His precious Son Jesus. God has used many different plans to bring man willingly back to Him; man has forced Him to do it and then criticized Him for all His efforts.

Why did God give the Law if He knew it wouldn’t work? Then thousands of people wouldn’t have been in bondage all those years.

God didn’t know the Law wouldn’t work because He refused to look into man’s future. He trusted man to obey Him. He trusted man because He wanted man to trust Him. People brought the problems they had with the Law on themselves; they brought that bondage. The Law wasn’t a bondage to people who wanted to live right. As long as you obey the law it is not a bondage to you. The law against stealing doesn’t bother a person who has no intention of stealing. But if a person wants to steal something, the law could cause him a big problem.

How did the heathen king Nebuchadnezzar know the fourth man in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew boys was like the Son of God? Why didn’t he think the fourth man was God the Father since Jesus had not yet come in the flesh?

This was prophecy, a revelation from God. One time God spoke through a donkey; you know He could peak through an old king. Of course that heathen king wouldn’t have recognized the Son of God; God gave him that revelation.

The universe is so vast, consisting of numerous galaxies. Was all this created for God’s enjoyment?

I imagine it was, and I imagine it’s where He has had most of His pleasure—mankind has given Him little enough. I’m sure He has had more pleasure out of the moon with nothing growing there than He has gotten from the earth. When the Lord restored the earth as we read in Genesis, He did it for His pleasure. He made a man and woman to live in it for His pleasure. Does He enjoy you?

Why doesn’t the Lord let us see angels and talk to them?

Because it isn’t necessary for you to talk to angels. Some people don’t even know the right way to talk to other people. The Lord doesn’t want you to torment angels by gossiping to them.

Why does God allow Satan to try to deceive us with counterfeit revelations and appearances?

Because God is not in control of mankind. Man left God and sold out to the devil. God didn’t leave man; man left God. This is not God’s society. Study what the Bible says about the Perfect Age, and get an idea of how God’s society on Earth will be when God finally is in control. You will be tried by the devil because the fall of man put us within his reach. Only the blood of Jesus can keep you safe, give you power to resist temptation. God gave His Son, gave His very heart to separate you from the deceit of the devil. The truth and the blood of Jesus separate you from the devil. The devil is not able to deceive you with revelations as long as you are covered by the blood and you live pure, clean and holy, using the wisdom of truth. With all that available help, it’s your own fault if the devil deceives you through counterfeit revelations and appearances. It’s your own fault if you don’t wait to see where the revelation is coming from. It’s your own fault if you don’t live close enough to God to be able to discern between good and evil.

The Bible says “Thou shalt not kill.” Is going to war to defend a nation a violation of this commandment?

Absolutely not. You don’t defend your nation through hate, but through responsibility; and you use the weapon of hate through necessity. If we hadn’t taken that responsibility in World War II, our freedom would be gone now. We couldn’t even serve God in liberty. Hitler or Japan would have taken over our nation had we not resisted. God fought for us in World War II, or Hitler would have won. He almost got England. Jesus is coming to fight the Battle of Armageddon—that’s how much He believes in war. Read the book of Revelation, the killing the Lord will do. God killed the Israelites by the thousands. Going to battle in wartime is not the same thing as committing murder. People who kill the enemy during wartime are not responsible. It’s their duty to defend their country. (Of course there are always some who have murder in their hearts, and they enjoy killing. I’m not talking about those kind. God knows the heart.)

Explain killing in the name of the Lord that took place in Old Testament days. Joshua, Elijah, Samuel killed in the name of the Lord.

In Old Testament days, God led warriors who would follow Him; and God gave victory. He told Israel to destroy the heathen nations. God told Saul to destroy every person and animal in a certain place, and Saul didn’t. For that reason, God departed from Saul. Samuel took a sword and cut the captive king to pieces because Saul wouldn’t do it. It was the will of God. When God tells you to do something, it’s all right because He’s a perfect God and He’ll never tell you to do something imperfect, unholy or wrong. In this day we have a new and living way, the blood of Jesus; we’re not supposed to kill our enemies as individuals but to love our enemies. Love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you.

How do you know your enemy?

The devil is your archenemy, for one. All evil is an enemy. Anyone evil can be your enemy. All the demons on planet Earth are your enemies. You’re subject to having a Judas in your life at anytime and not know it until he is uncovered. Jesus said, In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33). Enemies bring tribulation; you are promised enemies. Pray, fast, draw close to God, and He will fight for you.

Once God has pushed a person out of the way, can they ever come back to God?

It all depends on how far He pushes. If He pushes all the way out of the realm of His Spirit, there is no getting back. That happens in the case of blaspheming the Holy Spirit where there is no forgiveness in this world or in the world to come. If God pushes you out of position, you can get back to God, but there is no promise you will ever get your old place back. God loves you and is a forgiving God; but He has places to fill when people fail. He can put you into a place of service; He is always looking for two more hands. Everyone who will be sweet, humble and upright is needed. We must be very careful, very humble before God in this hour because we could be pushed out of the place God has for us. This is a dangerous hour, the hour of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Do You Need the Lord?

Is the Lord king in your life today? Have you really made Him king, or do you want another? If you don’t know Jesus, say the sinners’ prayer with me now. Oh, God, save my soul. Forgive me of my sins. I’m so sorry that I sinned against you; but I have come home and I’m going to serve you, Lord, the rest of my life. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come on into my heart, Jesus, come on in! Hallelujah, He has come! Jesus is mine.

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up (James 5:15). You who are sick and afflicted, agree in prayer with me now: Lord in obedience to thy Word, I bring the sick and afflicted. I’m your believer. I come with power from On High. I come with your gifts to set the captives free. In the name of Jesus: Heal! In the holy, holy name of Jesus, Heal! in the all-powerful name of Jesus. Thank you, dear Lord.

The healing power is flowing, flowing. Feel His presence now. Feel it, Mother and Dad; feel it as it flows through that little one’s body. Let that be your sign that God is going to get your little one well or get you well. Write and tell me about it. Let me hear the good news. Blessings, His blessings upon you is my prayer.

Walk Before God with a Perfect Heart

Kings, kings—oh God, what a mess they made for you! Study them in the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles. Most of them failed God. One king I didn’t mention: Hezekiah. God found joy in him, so much joy that He granted Hezekiah fifteen more years of life after the prophet Isaiah told him to get ready to die. Hezekiah prayed, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight (Isaiah 38:3). The Lord remembered his perfect heart. No wonder the Lord measured out fifteen more years for him!

Many in this last hour will be able to say at the end of the journey: I’ve walked before you with a perfect heart, Lord. My heart has had no other motive but to do your will. That’s what the Bride will cry in this her last walk, saith the Lord. How beautiful it will be for God to hear the voice of the Bride, a voice made up of many voices: Thank God, I’m walking before you in your perfect love. God will not look upon a mess when He sees His Bride; she will be without spot or wrinkle. The Bride will be His pride and joy, a people who will give all to do His perfect will in this the final hour.