 | "This is a Covenant between the LORD and us, to give up ourselves fully to Him, without reserve, soul and body, hearts and affections, to be His children and Him to be our God and Father, if it please the Holy Lord to send His gospel to the land again. And then there is their prayer, 'O LORD, give us real grace in our hearts to mind Zion's breaches, that is in such a low case this day, and make us to mourn with her, for Thou hast said, they that mourn with her in the time of her trouble shall rejoice with her when she rejoiceth..." - Fair Sunshine |
My reader, what does it mean for "our hearts to mind Zion's breaches"?
These men were called "the Covenanters", therefore we can expect they had certain biblical insights about what a Covenant is: how it is firstly engaged, and then subsequently, how it is verified or nullified. Let us consider this topic in the following order.
1st) The Abrahamic Covenant
2nd) The Davidic Covenant
3rd) The New Covenant
1st) The Abrahamic Covenant
2nd) The Davidic Covenant
3rd) The New Covenant
The Abrahamic Covenant
| Motivation and Intent for Salvation Salvation as a work of God based upon the faithfulness of God The spoken word of God The Promise of God The Oath to their fathers The Oath to the Exodus generation | --> --> --> --> --> --> | “God remembered His Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exodus 2:24) “I am come down to deliver,” “to bring them up out of that land,” “unto the place” [meaning the Promised Land] (Exodus 3:8) "And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." ( Exodus 3:17) "And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service." (Exodus 12:25) "And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month." (Exodus 13:5) "And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as He sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee," (Exodus 13:11) |
These are rich and glorious words given to a beloved people (the Exodus Generation)! Nevertheless, what happened to these words, promises, and oaths? What happened to the Exodus generation? My reader, stagger at this! God said - THERE WAS A "BREACH"!
| _______________ BREACH OF PROMISE __________ | "Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my BREACH of promise. I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." - Numbers 14:28-35 |
The Davidic Covenant
| David Preached to Solomon David Prayed for Solomon David said | --> --> --> | “serve [God] with a perfect heart” – 1 Chron. 28:6-11 “give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart”–1 Chron. 29:17-19 “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt Thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart” (Psalm 101:2). David can say, “I will behave” and “I will walk,” nevertheless he knows that he can do nothing by himself. He did always confess, “it is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect” (Psalm 18:32), and again, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me” (Ps. 138:8). |
A perfect heart strives and presses to obtain (Php. 3:14), fulfill (Rom. 8:4, Gal. 5:14, James 2:23), and lay hold (1 Tim. 6:12, 19) on the promises of God. Do you have this mind toward the promises of God in the New Testament? Saving faith is objectively defined by a carefulness to fulfill the Covenant's conditions. We cannot affirm anyone that he or she savingly believes in God, while yet, the present behavior in which they do walk in is blamed by one of the conditions of the Covenant.
| God gave Solomon Conditions of Warning | --> | “IF…THEN will I perform My word with thee” – 1 Kings 6:11-13 |
Solomon sought after that which was promised to be “fulfilled” and “performed” (1 Kings 8:15-20), as if he had to “lay hold upon” that which was freely promised and freely given to him (1 Tim. 6:12). To lay hold upon the promises of God in the Davidic Covenant, Solomon prayed for that which was “promised” to be “verified”; more specifically, verification means - God does indeed “keep” that which was promised, instead of breaching it (2 Chron. 6:14-16, 1 Kings 8:22-26). Maintaining a “perfect heart” was Solomon’s most vital concern (1 Kings 8:54-66); otherwise, he knew - God would BREACH the promises.
| Eventually Solomon fell from grace, or in other words, iniquitous snares did catch him until they "turned away his heart" from God. My reader, this means that "his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God" anymore (1 Kings 11:3-6). Therefore, my reader, the promises given in the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:4-17) were not completely fulfilled. | --> | “In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the BREACHES thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, saith the LORD that doeth this." - Amos 9:11-12 |
The verse above does prophesy of a day when God does “build” and “raise up” the Davidic Covenant, because for now, as you can see in Psalm 89, the Davidic Covenant is “fallen”, utterly broken with “breaches” (breaks), and thus... it has crumbled into “ruins” (Amos 9:11-12). The Davidic Covenant is the second major and eternal Covenant that God did breach. When the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants were breached, the people of God were thrust into a holy bewilderment. Psalm 77 reflects on the salvific work of God in the Abrahamic Covenant, when at that time, all such “favour” (77:7), “mercy” (77:8), “promise” (77:8), and “grace” (77:9) were no more. The psalmist who wrote Psalm 77 exudes the painful experience of when the God of the Bible is overwhelmingly absent. Pressing upon his soul is the overwhelming feeling that God has hidden Himself. Do you ever wonder where the God of the New Testament is?
| “I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will He be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone for ever? Doth His promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah." - Psalm 77:3-9 |
It is a damnable sin for pastors and preachers to fail to say – “Where is the LORD?” (Jer. 2:8). The Spirit-filled psalmist said, “I remembered God, and was troubled,” but most people don’t remember the God of the Bible as He has testified of Himself in the plain accounts of scripture – by doctrine, deed, and historical example. Most people worship an imaginary, self-invented, self-conforming god, a god they made up in their own mind. Children have imaginary friends, and adults have an imaginary god. In Jeremiah 2:8 men failed to say, “Where is the LORD,” because they didn't remember the God of the Bible! In backslidden generations which span for years of time, if all this time is spent in the absence of God’s great glory and promise, it is then that the righteous are troubled and the wicked are at ease. Where is the biblical God of the 1st century today? This is a troubling question… now look carefully at the prayers of this psalmist (written above), and you will see that remembering God is remembering the deeds of His mercy, favor, promise, grace, and tender mercies; thus he recognizes that the absence of God’s famous glory in these wonderful works is the angry casting off of the people of God.
God was confronting the psalmist of Psalm 77, and therefore he was troubled, and when this biblical, hidden, and holy God confronts you, you too will experience the same “enlargement of heart” (Ps. 119:32) with a divinely set hope in the written word (Psalm 119:49). There will be no hope put in men to change the hardness of your heart, but God alone. Under the intense conviction of a Covenant made void, you will cry to the Sovereign for help and hope, “incline not my heart to any evil thing” (Psalm 141:4), “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions” (Psalm 39:7-9). “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned; for Thou art the LORD my God” (Jer. 31:18). “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise” (Jer. 17:14). “Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy people? Thou feedest them with bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure” (Psalm 80:3-5). “Return, we beseech Thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; and the vineyard which Thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance. Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself. So will not we go back from Thee: quicken us, and we will call upon Thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved” (Psalm 80:14-19).
“LORD, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us” (Isa. 26:12). The Covenant is there in word, but the performance thereof is absent. The very means of salvation, the instrumentality of His ways and works, these things are gone. It is impossible to replicate the workings of God. There is subservience in the people under the sovereignty of God. They do recognize that God is the Potter and they are but clay. When a Covenant is breached, the people are rejected of God, and therefore the two are only reconcilable by the free will of God.
God was confronting the psalmist of Psalm 77, and therefore he was troubled, and when this biblical, hidden, and holy God confronts you, you too will experience the same “enlargement of heart” (Ps. 119:32) with a divinely set hope in the written word (Psalm 119:49). There will be no hope put in men to change the hardness of your heart, but God alone. Under the intense conviction of a Covenant made void, you will cry to the Sovereign for help and hope, “incline not my heart to any evil thing” (Psalm 141:4), “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions” (Psalm 39:7-9). “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned; for Thou art the LORD my God” (Jer. 31:18). “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise” (Jer. 17:14). “Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy people? Thou feedest them with bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure” (Psalm 80:3-5). “Return, we beseech Thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; and the vineyard which Thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance. Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself. So will not we go back from Thee: quicken us, and we will call upon Thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved” (Psalm 80:14-19).
“LORD, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us” (Isa. 26:12). The Covenant is there in word, but the performance thereof is absent. The very means of salvation, the instrumentality of His ways and works, these things are gone. It is impossible to replicate the workings of God. There is subservience in the people under the sovereignty of God. They do recognize that God is the Potter and they are but clay. When a Covenant is breached, the people are rejected of God, and therefore the two are only reconcilable by the free will of God.
Further Applications Which Lead into the New Covenant
After having read the text which I have just written above, I urge you to consider the great length God has taken to teach us (via scripture) about the doctrine: the Breaching of God’s Promises. At first hearing, it sounds so heretical…and yet, are the scriptures being taken into consideration? Like, for example, when God said that He would break His Covenant (Ezek. 16:59, 17:18-19, Zech. 11:10-11). Or, for example, when Jeremiah cried out in desperate prayer, saying, “break not Thy Covenant with us” (Jer. 14:21)! Such scriptural language needs to be added into our vocabulary, or, into our theological lens by which we view potential experiences with God. Why is it that we never pray Jeremiah’s prayer? Do we think we better than he?
Scripture provides vast explanations on how and why God does send retributive deceptions upon the souls of men, deceptions wherein He reflects their unjust deeds back upon them. This reflection (or repayment) is an attribute of justice (see Lev. 24:19-20). Justice is alive horizontally (man-to-man) and vertically (God-to-man). Oh my reader! How pertinent is it for us, that we understand the activity of God’s justice!? We NEED to understand the principles of God-to-man justice (see Psalm 18:25-26, Prov. 1:24-29, 2 Chron. 15:2), and also, with it, the correlating deceptions which accompany it (via deceptions: Psalm 125:4-5, 81:12, Hos. 4:17, Prov. 14:6, 28:5)?
Scripture provides vast explanations on how and why God does send retributive deceptions upon the souls of men, deceptions wherein He reflects their unjust deeds back upon them. This reflection (or repayment) is an attribute of justice (see Lev. 24:19-20). Justice is alive horizontally (man-to-man) and vertically (God-to-man). Oh my reader! How pertinent is it for us, that we understand the activity of God’s justice!? We NEED to understand the principles of God-to-man justice (see Psalm 18:25-26, Prov. 1:24-29, 2 Chron. 15:2), and also, with it, the correlating deceptions which accompany it (via deceptions: Psalm 125:4-5, 81:12, Hos. 4:17, Prov. 14:6, 28:5)?
“Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the BREACH, to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them.” – Psalm 106:23
God explicitly spoke of breaking His Covenant (as formerly cited), and God specifically breached many Covenants (as formerly cited), but furthermore going on... many other promises of God have been likewise broken (or breached) in the justice of God’s wrath – the Lord being bound thereto because of the trespasses of His people. For example, when God killed Israelites from a particular tribe, the word BREACH was used to describe the annihilation (Judges 21:15, & see also the promises in Deut. 28:3-4). When God killed a good-intentioned man who was seeking the establishment of salvation (so he thought), it was written that a BREACH was made (2 Sam. 6:8, 1 Chron. 13:11, 15:13)... but why? What do these things mean? The manifest action of God’s wrath is, by essence, a hindrance of the promises of God’s mercy, which means that, by operation, it is the accomplishment of the opposite of a promise (a breaking of the promise instead of the performance of a promise). Thus it happened over and over again: a breaching of God's promises of salvation and grace! This happened to promises which pertained to, for example, success and victory at war, and this resulted in great loss and destruction before Israelite enemies. We must understand, my reader, that these losses exist because there was a spiritual BREACH of the promises of God (a breach which could have been filled by the means of intercession, like in Psalm 106:23, but the breaches were left unfilled). Had the promises of God been performed such losses would have been IMPOSSIBLE! The spiritual breach of God’s promises do consequence the physical manifestation of God’s wrath – and this is how the breach of Israel’s defensive fortifications transpired (Ezek. 13:5, 9-10, 11-16, 22:28, 30-31, Isa. 30:13, 5:5, Psalm 80:12, 89:40). We can see how, evidently, in these various ways, the promises of God were being breached (see Chapter 11, section 3, "Life - City & Nation"). It for this reason the word "breach" is used, over and over again.
“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the BREACH, the restorer of the paths to dwell in.” – Isaiah 58:12
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the BREACH thereof; and I will raise up the ruins, and I will built it as the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, saith the LORD that doeth this.” – Amos 9:11-12
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the BREACH thereof; and I will raise up the ruins, and I will built it as the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, saith the LORD that doeth this.” – Amos 9:11-12
So also, looking deeper, the nation of Israel can be viewed in perspective of the Temple (see Chapter 11, the section: "Life - The Temple of God"). So also, the nation of Israel can be viewed in perspective of a single Person (see the subsection of the hyperlink above, called “wound for wound”). By viewing Israel's promises and salvation from these two separate angles, correlating breaches are explicitly or figuratively applied. By following the former link you will find a detailed explanation of “wound for wound” as it relates to the breach of promise, but for now, at the moment, a scripture that serves as an example is: “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the BREACH of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound” (Isaiah 30:26). Here, "the breach" and the "wound" are seen as parallel characteristics, communicated by two distinct metaphors.
According to scripture, only false prophets denied that "breaches" were a potential experience for Israelite promises, therefore under their preaching the people never learned to avoid them. A denial of this truth (breaches in their New Testament applications) will turn men into modern day false prophets. A lifestyle oblivious to God’s breaches is the most murderous characteristic active in the work and ministry of Old Testament false prophets (see Lam. 2:6-9, Jer. 30:12-13, Micah 1:8-9, Isaiah 30:26, 1:6-7, Ps. 10:5-6, Jer. 6:7-8, 14, 8:11, 15, Hos. 5:13, Jer. 30:11-18, 33:6-7). If we become like these men were (false prophets), we will not be able to detect the operations of God’s wrath to any degree at all, which means that we will not be able to detect if God's promises have been breached to any degree at all. Therefore, we will live (by prayer or preaching) irrelevant to the dire necessity of intercession: the redemptive act which fills the breaches. All saints are called to the work of intercession by nature of their spiritual vocation as priests in Christ (see Rom. 8:26-27, 1 Pet. 2:9, Mk. 11:17, and "Groaning Which Cannot Be Uttered"). A failure here will result in the modern expression of what was written, “There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines” (Jer. 30:13). Or in other words, God said, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the headge (the wall), and stand in the gap (the BREACH) before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezk. 22:30-31). At such a time as this, the Temple of God is destroyed (and the Temple was and is the emblem of salvation, or, the emblem of the promises of God: see Lev. 26:31, 1 Kings 8:27-30, 43, Deut. 12:2-7 [and it was the place where God’s name dwelt: Deut. 14:23, 16:2, 17:8, 18:19, 26:2]). When there was a loss of the promises of God (in their performance), the word BREACH was used (breaches which were physical and spiritual in their manifestations: 2 Kings 22:5, Isa. 58:12, Amos 9:11-12, 2 Chron. 34:8, 10, Lam. 2:13-14). Because BREACHES were characteristic of promises being lost, true prophets agonized over them in great lamentation (see Jer. 4:19-22, Isa. 63:17-18, 64:11, Jer. 10:19-20, Dan. 9:16-19, Neh. 1:3-4, 2 Chron. 29:5-10, Lam. 2:6-9, Jer. 15:18, Hos. 6:1, Jer. 14:17-15:1)... and woe to us if we are utterly without this experience! Woe to us if, in fact, we stand in the modern day expressions of these old-time breaches (only in their New Covenant applications)… and yet we live oblivious to them! Woe to us, for then we are the false prophets of today!
According to scripture, only false prophets denied that "breaches" were a potential experience for Israelite promises, therefore under their preaching the people never learned to avoid them. A denial of this truth (breaches in their New Testament applications) will turn men into modern day false prophets. A lifestyle oblivious to God’s breaches is the most murderous characteristic active in the work and ministry of Old Testament false prophets (see Lam. 2:6-9, Jer. 30:12-13, Micah 1:8-9, Isaiah 30:26, 1:6-7, Ps. 10:5-6, Jer. 6:7-8, 14, 8:11, 15, Hos. 5:13, Jer. 30:11-18, 33:6-7). If we become like these men were (false prophets), we will not be able to detect the operations of God’s wrath to any degree at all, which means that we will not be able to detect if God's promises have been breached to any degree at all. Therefore, we will live (by prayer or preaching) irrelevant to the dire necessity of intercession: the redemptive act which fills the breaches. All saints are called to the work of intercession by nature of their spiritual vocation as priests in Christ (see Rom. 8:26-27, 1 Pet. 2:9, Mk. 11:17, and "Groaning Which Cannot Be Uttered"). A failure here will result in the modern expression of what was written, “There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines” (Jer. 30:13). Or in other words, God said, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the headge (the wall), and stand in the gap (the BREACH) before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezk. 22:30-31). At such a time as this, the Temple of God is destroyed (and the Temple was and is the emblem of salvation, or, the emblem of the promises of God: see Lev. 26:31, 1 Kings 8:27-30, 43, Deut. 12:2-7 [and it was the place where God’s name dwelt: Deut. 14:23, 16:2, 17:8, 18:19, 26:2]). When there was a loss of the promises of God (in their performance), the word BREACH was used (breaches which were physical and spiritual in their manifestations: 2 Kings 22:5, Isa. 58:12, Amos 9:11-12, 2 Chron. 34:8, 10, Lam. 2:13-14). Because BREACHES were characteristic of promises being lost, true prophets agonized over them in great lamentation (see Jer. 4:19-22, Isa. 63:17-18, 64:11, Jer. 10:19-20, Dan. 9:16-19, Neh. 1:3-4, 2 Chron. 29:5-10, Lam. 2:6-9, Jer. 15:18, Hos. 6:1, Jer. 14:17-15:1)... and woe to us if we are utterly without this experience! Woe to us if, in fact, we stand in the modern day expressions of these old-time breaches (only in their New Covenant applications)… and yet we live oblivious to them! Woe to us, for then we are the false prophets of today!
The New Covenant
Breach #1) Stripped of Power and Success at War
Breach #2) Spiritual Famine or Spiritual Desertification
Stripped of Power & Success at War: God blessed the people by giving them unconquerable armies and impregnable fortifications (Lev. 26:6-8, Deut. 28:6-7), and He cursed the people by disarming them of their battle-skills (“The battle is the LORD’S”), and contra-wise He blessed their enemies so that, when they attacked Israel at God’s beckoning, Israelite fortifications were breached and their defenses overthrown (Deut. 11:22-25, 28:25-26, 49-50, 52, 32:30). Now what, oh man, do you disbelieve that God, in His wrath, would leave His New Testament people so that they, being rendered defenseless at God’s absence, are conquered by their enemies who seek their life? (For a detailed address of this biblical reality see Life – City & Nation (chapter 11, section 4) & Personification & Anthropomorphism (chapter 12, section 1)).
Old Testament: 1 Sam. 17:47, Jer. 17:5, & Ps. 31:20, 62:5 [the battle is the Lord’s], Ps. 119;114 [hiding place and shield], Ps. 61:3 [shelter and strong tower], Ps. 18:1, 10 [fortress, buckler, and high tower], Ps. 127:1 [watchmen], Hos. 9:12, Ezek. 21:5, Ps. 17:13-14 [the Lord joining the opposing army which fights against Israel]
New Testament: 1 Pet. 2:11 [war against the soul], Rom. 7:23 [warring], James 4:1 [wars], 1 Tim. 1:18 [warfare], 2 Cor. 6:7 [armor], 2 Cor. 10:3-6 [war, weapons, & strongholds], Rom. 13:12, 1 Thess. 5:8, Eph. 6:10-19, & Rev. 12:11 [armor, weapons, wrestling, & the secret of victory], 1 Cor. 9:26, 1 Tim. 6:12, & 2 Tim. 4:7-8 [the fight is for eternal life], 1 Pet. 4:1 [soldier-like readiness to suffer], 1 Cor. 15:32 [fighting beasts], 2 Tim. 2:3-4 [a soldier-like lifestyle].
Terrifying Conclusion: God has delivered His Old Testament people over to tribute, captivity, and annihilation, and is there no New Testament servitude and captivity to avoid (2 Tim. 2:26, Gal. 3:1, 5:1, 7-8), no war to fight in, no battle to win, or no overthrowing annihilation to escape (Rev. 13:17, Rom. 8:13, Eph. 6:12, 1 Jn. 5:4-5, Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21, 21:7)? What? Do you disbelieve that God, in His wrath, will raise up devils to rob us of our weapons of righteousness, inundate us until we remain without skill or success to win the battle, making us tributaries to worldly wisdom (1 Cor. 3:18 [being deceived to think worldly wisdom is true wisdom], 1 Cor. 4:8-10 [being deceived to oppose apostolic doctrines and ways, i.e. normal & scriptural Christianity], James 3:15 [being deceived to fellowship with and walk in devilish wisdom instead of God’s wisdom], James 1:26-27 [being deceived so that our religion is vain])? If we do not recognize the war, learn the skill to fight the battle, reckon the eternal consequence of success or loss, discern the identifiable conditions of temporary defeat, and discover the means to restore success, surely my brethren, we will perish! We must be of the number that “waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of aliens” (Heb. 11:34)! Behold it, oh man, your longstanding foes upon the battlefield! The battle rages, oh man, and the cries of your fallen comrades do sound from the carnage of dead men! “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches” (Rev. 2:11)! Oh my brethren, “thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment” (Lam. 2:14)! How, you ask? By misapplying promises to the people of God when, at present, they are disqualified from their performance (see Life – City & Nation (chapter 11, section 4)).
Spiritual Famine or Spiritual Desertification: God blessed the land with prosperity by sending rain (Lev. 26:4-5, Deut. 7:12-14, 28:3-5, 8, 11-12), and He cursed the land with famine by withholding rain (Duet. 28:16-18, 23-24, 33, 38-42, 48, 51). Now what, oh man, do you disbelieve that God, in His wrath, will withhold spiritual rain from His New Testament people? Spiritual Famine or Spiritual Desertification (chapter 16, section 3)
Old Testament: Amos 8:9-13 [famine], Isa. 5:6, 44:3 & Joel 2:23 [the Spirit of God is rain], Isa. 41:17-18 [pools and springs], Isa. 35:6-7, 43:19-20, 49:9-10 [streams, pools, and springs invading wilderness’ of dragons], Ps. 46:4 [river], Isa. 13:20-22, 34:10-15 [deserts, the dwelling place of devils].
New Testament: Acts 2:15-21 [the Covenant beginning is an outpouring of rain, this is applied as prophesied in Joel 2:28-32, this is applied in parallel types in Ps. 68:9, 15-20, applied in Eph. 4:7-13, & recollected in 1 Cor. 1:4-8], Heb. 6:7-8 [rain is a present-continuous salvific experience recorded and interpreted in Heb. 6:4-5], John 7:38 [rivers of water invade deserts of dryness], Lk. 10:19 [devils inhabit deserts], Heb. 6:8 [men can become desert-lands of thorns and briers, which is an inviting habitation for devils, see Jn. 13:27], James 5:14-20 [rain-releasing effects can be wrought by effectual prayers of New Testament intercessors, and here, in James 5:17-20, the rain restores the fruitfulness of NT Israelites who were caught in rain-less days, and upon the release of rain the erring brethren, fruitless and inhibited because of a personal spiritual famine, are restored from their “err from the truth”, thus fruitfulness springs forth from their decertified souls; a desert wasteland experiences restoration!].
Terrifying Conclusion: “Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.” – Jer. 5:18-25
Breach #2) Spiritual Famine or Spiritual Desertification
Stripped of Power & Success at War: God blessed the people by giving them unconquerable armies and impregnable fortifications (Lev. 26:6-8, Deut. 28:6-7), and He cursed the people by disarming them of their battle-skills (“The battle is the LORD’S”), and contra-wise He blessed their enemies so that, when they attacked Israel at God’s beckoning, Israelite fortifications were breached and their defenses overthrown (Deut. 11:22-25, 28:25-26, 49-50, 52, 32:30). Now what, oh man, do you disbelieve that God, in His wrath, would leave His New Testament people so that they, being rendered defenseless at God’s absence, are conquered by their enemies who seek their life? (For a detailed address of this biblical reality see Life – City & Nation (chapter 11, section 4) & Personification & Anthropomorphism (chapter 12, section 1)).
Old Testament: 1 Sam. 17:47, Jer. 17:5, & Ps. 31:20, 62:5 [the battle is the Lord’s], Ps. 119;114 [hiding place and shield], Ps. 61:3 [shelter and strong tower], Ps. 18:1, 10 [fortress, buckler, and high tower], Ps. 127:1 [watchmen], Hos. 9:12, Ezek. 21:5, Ps. 17:13-14 [the Lord joining the opposing army which fights against Israel]
New Testament: 1 Pet. 2:11 [war against the soul], Rom. 7:23 [warring], James 4:1 [wars], 1 Tim. 1:18 [warfare], 2 Cor. 6:7 [armor], 2 Cor. 10:3-6 [war, weapons, & strongholds], Rom. 13:12, 1 Thess. 5:8, Eph. 6:10-19, & Rev. 12:11 [armor, weapons, wrestling, & the secret of victory], 1 Cor. 9:26, 1 Tim. 6:12, & 2 Tim. 4:7-8 [the fight is for eternal life], 1 Pet. 4:1 [soldier-like readiness to suffer], 1 Cor. 15:32 [fighting beasts], 2 Tim. 2:3-4 [a soldier-like lifestyle].
Terrifying Conclusion: God has delivered His Old Testament people over to tribute, captivity, and annihilation, and is there no New Testament servitude and captivity to avoid (2 Tim. 2:26, Gal. 3:1, 5:1, 7-8), no war to fight in, no battle to win, or no overthrowing annihilation to escape (Rev. 13:17, Rom. 8:13, Eph. 6:12, 1 Jn. 5:4-5, Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21, 21:7)? What? Do you disbelieve that God, in His wrath, will raise up devils to rob us of our weapons of righteousness, inundate us until we remain without skill or success to win the battle, making us tributaries to worldly wisdom (1 Cor. 3:18 [being deceived to think worldly wisdom is true wisdom], 1 Cor. 4:8-10 [being deceived to oppose apostolic doctrines and ways, i.e. normal & scriptural Christianity], James 3:15 [being deceived to fellowship with and walk in devilish wisdom instead of God’s wisdom], James 1:26-27 [being deceived so that our religion is vain])? If we do not recognize the war, learn the skill to fight the battle, reckon the eternal consequence of success or loss, discern the identifiable conditions of temporary defeat, and discover the means to restore success, surely my brethren, we will perish! We must be of the number that “waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of aliens” (Heb. 11:34)! Behold it, oh man, your longstanding foes upon the battlefield! The battle rages, oh man, and the cries of your fallen comrades do sound from the carnage of dead men! “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches” (Rev. 2:11)! Oh my brethren, “thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment” (Lam. 2:14)! How, you ask? By misapplying promises to the people of God when, at present, they are disqualified from their performance (see Life – City & Nation (chapter 11, section 4)).
Spiritual Famine or Spiritual Desertification: God blessed the land with prosperity by sending rain (Lev. 26:4-5, Deut. 7:12-14, 28:3-5, 8, 11-12), and He cursed the land with famine by withholding rain (Duet. 28:16-18, 23-24, 33, 38-42, 48, 51). Now what, oh man, do you disbelieve that God, in His wrath, will withhold spiritual rain from His New Testament people? Spiritual Famine or Spiritual Desertification (chapter 16, section 3)
Old Testament: Amos 8:9-13 [famine], Isa. 5:6, 44:3 & Joel 2:23 [the Spirit of God is rain], Isa. 41:17-18 [pools and springs], Isa. 35:6-7, 43:19-20, 49:9-10 [streams, pools, and springs invading wilderness’ of dragons], Ps. 46:4 [river], Isa. 13:20-22, 34:10-15 [deserts, the dwelling place of devils].
New Testament: Acts 2:15-21 [the Covenant beginning is an outpouring of rain, this is applied as prophesied in Joel 2:28-32, this is applied in parallel types in Ps. 68:9, 15-20, applied in Eph. 4:7-13, & recollected in 1 Cor. 1:4-8], Heb. 6:7-8 [rain is a present-continuous salvific experience recorded and interpreted in Heb. 6:4-5], John 7:38 [rivers of water invade deserts of dryness], Lk. 10:19 [devils inhabit deserts], Heb. 6:8 [men can become desert-lands of thorns and briers, which is an inviting habitation for devils, see Jn. 13:27], James 5:14-20 [rain-releasing effects can be wrought by effectual prayers of New Testament intercessors, and here, in James 5:17-20, the rain restores the fruitfulness of NT Israelites who were caught in rain-less days, and upon the release of rain the erring brethren, fruitless and inhibited because of a personal spiritual famine, are restored from their “err from the truth”, thus fruitfulness springs forth from their decertified souls; a desert wasteland experiences restoration!].
Terrifying Conclusion: “Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.” – Jer. 5:18-25
"O LORD, give us real grace in our hearts to mind Zion's breaches, that is in such a low case this day, and make us to mourn with her, for Thou hast said, they that mourn with her in the time of her trouble shall rejoice with her when she rejoiceth..." - Fair Sunshine
"'Oh, that preachers would preach repentance, and professors would exhort one another to mourn in secret, and together, because of their sin, and with their mourning would believe, for these are very consistent together...'" - Fair Sunshine
"Do we not need a very much greater conception, of how tremendously valuable a true expression of the Church is to the Lord - it's priceless! May the Lord give us more of this anguish for the Church as a whole, and then it will be precious to Him." - The Revival Hymn
"Your words have been stout against Me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His Name. And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that Day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." - Malachi 3:13-18
For further studies on how all of this affects the New Covenant, see The Condescension of God; see Chapter 3: The Abrahamic Covenant; see Chapter 6: The Davidic Covenant: Seeking a Performance of the Promises.
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