Category: Prophecy

The Suffering Servant

6/10/2015

After Keith Blackburn's class last past Wednesday, I went back and looked at Isaiah 53. I made a chart of that passage that I thought I'd share it with you. - Josh Allen

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The Day the Devil “Almost” Destroyed God’s Plan

3/11/2014

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Can you name the day? The day the devil “almost” destroyed God’s plan?

Someone is bound to say that it was the day Jesus died. On that day the devil may have thought he was destroying God’s plan. No doubt he was rejoicing as the crowd cried out “Crucify Him,” but he was far from defeating God. Calvary did not catch the Lord unaware. When His Son was dying on Golgotha’s hill, the Father was not searching His playbook for a Hail Mary. Even from the foundation of the world, the Cross was a part of His plan (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20). So, while the devil might have felt as if he had dealt God’s plan a deathblow on the day Jesus died, the reality is that he was an active agent in his own demise.

The day this article has in mind is found in 2 Kings 11 and 2 Chronicles 23. It is the day that Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah, claimed the throne for herself by killing all of the royal heirs. All that is except one, a young heir named Joash.

This tale has everything:

Athaliah - the murderous queen
Jehosheba - the princess who saves the day
Jehoiada - the priest and resistance leader
Joash - the rightful heir and child king.

While the story is obviously intriguing, one might ask, how is this the day the devil “almost” destroyed God’s plan? Well the answer is found in prophecy.

For the past month we have been looking at the many Messianic prophecies found within the Old Testament. It has been God’s plan from the beginning to send His Son to redeem mankind from sin. All along He has been leaving clues telling man about this great event and its Hero.

Of the three hundred plus prophecies, beginning with Genesis 3:15 and going through Malachi, one of the best known of the prophecies showed that He was to be of the family of David. In Jesus’ day it is evident the Jews misunderstood much concerning the Messiah, but when Jesus asked the Pharisees about Him, even they knew He was to be “the Son of David” (Matthew 22:42). On the day Athaliah slew the royal heirs, she was not just threatening David’s line, she was also threatening the Messianic plan.

This story is a reminder of many encouraging truths. First, although the devil through Athaliah tried to stamp out the line of David, God was triumphant in the end. He reminds us that He does not let anything or anyone get in the way of keeping His promises.

He not only preserved His plan for the salvation of the world, but He also used satan’s so-called victory to provide Judah with a King they needed. While there is no way of knowing how Joash’s brothers would have led the nation, it is known that His father Ahaziah walked in the ways of the house of Ahab (2 Chronicles 22:2). God turned the situation to His benefit and Joash grew up outside the influence of such an evil family and became a reformer in Judah who rallied the people to repair the Temple. Even though later in his life Joash turned from the Lord, God used this dark period to give Judah a king who would do much good for a time.

There are other situations recorded in the scriptures that may equally serve to answer the title of this article, but let us be reminded that the devil’s so-called “almost” victories are complete defeats. No matter how dark things may get in our lives and how strong satan’s assaults become, God will always find a way. Take courage from the words of Paul, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose...If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:28, 32).

Josh Allen (Pikeville, KY)

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The Suffering Servant

The Day the Devil “Almost” Destroyed God’s Plan

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