Author: SFJBible

Exodus 5-9  12.13.25

Grab your Bibles, and let’s go deeper into Exodus chapters 5-9!

Let’s do a little recap of the bigger picture here. God’s people have been in Egypt for quite some time now, and God has decided the time for their slavery to Egypt has come to an end. So God tells Moses and Aaron to inform Pharaoh that God wants His people to be allowed to travel into the wilderness and worship Him. Now at the very suggestion, Pharaoh immediately adds to the labor of the Israelite slaves and begins punishing them for not carrying out this new burden he requires. We see all of this play out in chapter 5. So how did the Israelites respond? Let’s look at the passage and see:  

Exodus 5:15-16 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 

So the ones representing the Israelites, their “foremen,” come to Pharaoh and ask, “What’s going on? You demand the same work from us, but you’ve made the work ten times harder. How do you expect us to do this? If you are making this change, then why are your men beating our people when we aren’t able to do the required work?” Essentially, the foremen say, “We can’t do the work because of the changes you’ve made, but you are beating us for it. What gives?”

So Pharaoh answers them in verses 17-18:

But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 

Pharaoh responds by saying the fault falls on the Israelites, because if they have time to go worship their God, then they must not be working hard enough. (This reminded me of a line my old boss used to say: “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”)

This isn’t really what Pharaoh was trying to communicate to the Israelites. What Pharaoh was really saying was, “I am your god (the one in charge of you), and you will do what I want. I have the power to change your life–not this so-called God that you worship.” Pharaoh wanted the Israelites to see his power and be angry with their God and Moses. If you can divide a people against themselves, it is not hard to conquer them! We see this in their response:

Exodus 5:19-21 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” 

See how quickly the people turn against the very one sent to set them free. This was Pharaoh’s aim. It worked so well that even Moses blames God for the trouble.

Exodus 5:22-23 Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

So Moses blames God for doing evil, because instead of delivering them from slavery, He has brought more burden to the people. Now God has an interesting answer for Moses, which we find in Exodus 6:1:

But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

God lets Moses know that he hasn’t seen anything yet. The Lord spends most of chapter six reminding Moses who He is and what He is going to do. He tells Moses to share this reminder with the people and let them know that God is going to free them and take them as His own. The people still won’t listen because their spirits have been crushed by the burden that Pharaoh has placed on them. I’m sure many of you can relate to a crushed spirit from the burdens of this world.

When we continue in the story, God tells Moses, “Go and tell Pharaoh to let my people go.” Moses says, “But my own people wouldn’t listen to me; how in the world is Pharaoh going to listen?” Then God reminds Moses that Pharaoh won’t listen! Look at Chapter 7:

Exodus 7:1-5 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

God responds by telling Moses that this is just the beginning! How defeating it must have felt to Moses to hear God say, “Oh you’re going to do even more than this, and I (God) will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will not listen to you!” Many times in life, we see the commands of God, and they just don’t make sense to us. Moses must have felt discouraged to know that he was right that Pharaoh wasn’t going to listen and that God was going to ensure that Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. Like Moses, I believe many times we can’t see what God is going to do, but also like Moses, that is not our job. We like to be in control, but what is glaringly obvious throughout these chapters is that no matter how much man wants to be in charge or in control of things, God is the only sovereign being.   

So Moses goes to Pharaoh and he doesn’t listen. Then God bring plagues through Moses, beginning with turning the Nile to blood. The passages say that the land stunk, the fish died, and the Egyptians had to dig to find water to drink. However, Pharaoh did not let God’s people go. So God bring frogs. I remember thinking when I was younger that frogs don’t seem like that big of a deal. As I grew older, I realized that if frogs were covering the land, it would certainly cause some issues. Can you imagine so many frogs that they cover the ground and you literally are walking on them? When the frogs died, they were piled up and causing the land to stink as well. At this point, any reasonable human would have listened and realized they were not in charge; however, this was not the case for Pharaoh, so God brought gnats. I truly can’t think of something more annoying than being covered in gnats and not having relief. It would have been hard to breathe without sucking these little bugs in. In fact, though this was the smallest animal plague that God brings, it sure causes the Egyptians to respond. We see this in the magicians’ response in chapter eight, after being unable to reproduce this event:

Exodus 8:19a Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” 

So even when the people tell Pharaoh, “This is God; we should listen here,” Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, and he would not listen. This may have surprised you if it’s the first time you’ve read through this story. I remember when I had first read through this asking why was it so hard for Pharaoh to get that he was not going to win this battle. I was surprised because I didn’t see or understand what the rest of the verse had said, though.

Exodus 8:19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

What we must see is that this is not a surprise to God. The passage ends with this phrase “as the LORD had said.” So when did the LORD say this would happen? This clarity was actually given to us back in chapter 4:

Exodus 4:21-23 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

I have heard this taught so many times with a focus on Pharaoh’s hardening of his own heart, which does happen according to the Scriptures. What we need to see, though, was that this was God’s plan. Even before we hear of Pharaoh hardening his own heart, God declares that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart and do so until He brings Moses to the final plague. That’s what God is mentioning when He says He will kill Pharaoh’s first born. Now we will study this more in next week’s passages, but we really can’t begin to see the bigger picture of what God is doing if we don’t see this clarity now. 

When God brings the next plague, we see some more distinctions being made; namely, we see the difference between God’s people and the Egyptians. The land where God’s people lived would no longer be affected by the plagues he was bringing so that Pharaoh would have no doubt that it was God who was doing this work. So God brings flies, then pestilence upon Egypt’s livestock, then boils upon the people of Egypt, and then we see Pharaoh’s people begin to do to Pharaoh what Gods people did to Moses when Pharaoh had increased the burden upon them:

Exodus 10:7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”

Here’s where God turns the tables. In chapter five, Pharaoh had meant to display his power to the Israelites and make them submit to his authority by increasing their burdens and “flexing his muscles,” so to speak. Well God returns the favor through these plagues, and now it’s Pharaoh’s people who are realizing the trouble that’s brewing for them if their leader doesn’t submit to the far greater power of God. Pharaoh’s servants are now saying to him, “Your hard-heartedness is killing your land and your people”. We see this very clearly in the last part of verse 7: “Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” Pharaoh’s own people are pleading for Pharaoh to see with a clear mind what everyone else has already realized. However, Pharaoh would not listen because GOD had hardened Pharaohs heart! God said that was what He was going to do way back in chapter four, and God keeps His word! To be clear, Pharaoh is guilty for his own sin; God has not sinned in any way, and Pharaoh is not innocent. But see that all throughout these chapters, God has declared something, and He will bring it to pass. God could have ended all of this already. He says so quite plainly in chapter nine verse fifteen:

Exodus 9:15 “For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. “

So why didn’t God just wipe them out? Let’s read on:

Exodus 9:16 “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

God had a plan for Pharaoh and for his very existence. He raised Pharaoh up for this purpose: to do with Pharaoh what He (God) willed to do. He used Pharaoh to show His power so that His name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 

Exodus 10:1-2 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

God used all of this to display His power and to make known to His people that He is LORD! Let me show you this in a way that might be more helpful:

Exodus 10:1-2 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you [Moses] may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you [Moses and his offspring] may know that I am the LORD.”

God has given us plenty of reasons why He is hardening Pharaoh and carrying out all of these plagues. One of those reasons He gives here is so Moses and those who learn these truths from Moses may know that He is indeed LORD!

We see this same cycle continue through the end of chapter 10:

Exodus 10:14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again.

Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

Exodus 10:21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 

Exodus 10:27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 

How many times in your life personally have you wondered what God was doing when things seemed out of control? Rest assured and see through this story that God is never out of control, and in all His working, He has a purpose. You and I may not always understand what that purpose is, but God is never confused. This is why it takes a real faith to trust God, and since God is sovereign over the hearts of man (just look at Pharaoh), it is God who must give you faith to trust Him!

*Special thanks to my friend and ministry partner, S. Obert, for his help with this week’s study.  

By His grace and for His glory

Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine

Soldiers For Jesus MC

Chaplain Council

SFJbible.com

Mark 16 & Exodus 1-4  12.6.25

As we begin into the Exodus Era this week, I am very excited to get into the testimony of God’s work in and through Israel and His servant Moses. The events of the Exodus and God’s deliverance of this small nation of Israel is historically one of the most talked about events from generation to generation. We see this all throughout the biblical narrative and in the New Covenant, as God fulfills much of His redemptive plan in Christ, whereby key things were set in motion at the Exodus are fulfilled. In just the first few chapters, there is so much to cover as we focus in on Moses. So with that, let’s dig in.

A God ordained adoption

In Exodus 2, Moses’ story begins with his birth. His parents had to send him down the river in order to try to keep him alive. 

If they only knew what God had in store for him. The daughter of Pharaoh makes him her own (v. 10). Moses aimed to use his status in Pharaoh’s house to look out for his people (v.11). In his defending a Hebrew man who was being beaten, he killed an Egyptian soldier and fled to Mideon to avoid the wrath of Pharaoh (vs. 12-15). He married and had a son in his time away from Egypt. At the end of Exodus 2, we read that Pharaoh died, and the Israelites cried out to God to remove them from their bondage in Egypt. “Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (Exodus 2:23-25). 

An Unlikely Leader

In Exodus 3, we read about the incredible encounter Moses has with God at the burning bush. God making Himself known through this kind of encounter is what is called a Theophany. Moses shows great reverence and righteous fear at the presence of God. God tells Moses that He has seen His people’s affliction and heard their cries and that He will deliver them to the Promised Land. Then God says something Moses would have never expected: He says, “You will be my mouth piece before Pharaoh and My chosen leader.” Listen, to Moses’ response.

Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 

“Who am I? I am a nobody!”

Too often, we get caught up in only looking at the horizontal, meaning we are only worried about what other people think of us, how they will respond, and what we are capable of. But realize that when we do this, we are missing something very critical: what God thinks about us and what He can do in and through us. This is the vertical truth we must walk in every day. Yes, by the world’s standards, we are often very insufficient and unqualified. But that is not how God works. He most often takes the least of these and raises them up to do mighty things so that He is the one who gets the glory.

Notice as we read on, God doesn’t give Moses a pep talk. He doesn’t slow down and say, “You can do it!” What God doesn’t say to us in response to our feeling defeated or ill-equipped is, “You just have to believe in yourself.” 

God’s response to Moses is a statement of truth—of assurance of the One who is in power! God says five life-shifting words:

Exodus 3:12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

God isn’t the guy who wants to cast you in His epic story because He is desperate for anyone who will show up; this is the author, perfector, designer, creator, director, and sustainer of all things. He says, “I WILL BE WITH YOU!”

God has given the life-shifting statement to everyday, average, unlikely people time and time again. It was those same words Jesus told His previously cowardly, failed, and scared disciples. After experiencing the risen Christ, they heard the promise that He would be with them all the way. And what did they do? They rose up and gave all they had to their faith as they gave birth to the Church.  

The question for us is, “What have I done with those words?” God says, “I will be with you.” How did you wake up and live life this last week as a result of those words?

“Thank God; having you around will make things easier and more convenient.” Or, “Ok God, I’ll remember that when I can’t seem to do it on my own.” Or did you say, “God, I recognize it is all from you and for you. I trust you will lead me, sustain me, and use me for your purposes … let’s go!”

I AM

One of the things that helps us is to rightly know and remember who God is to understand what His name is. In our text, we get one of the most important insights into who God is, as He describes to Moses His name!

Exodus 3:13-18 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’” 

What you need to understand about the religious system in Egypt in that day is a belief in many gods. These are “little g”—little pretender gods: a god of soil, of fertility, of the sun, or of death. So Moses is asking, “How do I describe you to those who believe in many gods? Which god will they think you are?” Now listen to God’s answer:

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”  

Now you might be thinking, ‘Well that just clears it up!”

But really pay attention to what He just said: “I am who I am” is taken from a Hebrew word that means “to exist.” What God is telling Moses is “I exist; I am REAL!” In this, He is totally slamming the entire religious system and putting to correct shame all the “little g,” man-made gods. He makes no excuses, no explanation. He is as straight forward as He can be: “I AM! Whether you figure me out or not or whether you acknowledge me or not! I AM” 

Next God says, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” So, God’s name is “I AM.”

Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has sent me to you.’  This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. 

The Lord (all CAPS) represents four Hebrew consonants (YHWH). This was so sacred the Jewish people wouldn’t even pronounce them. Our modern word for God’s name is “Yahweh.” So anywhere you see the Lord in all caps in the Bible, this is a sign that it is in reference to the One true God.

This is the name of God! YAHWEH! It is not a name to be taken lightly! It is full of power and wonder! It is a name describing His eternal power and unchangeable character. In a world where values, morals, and laws change constantly, we can find stability and security in our unchanging God.

This name is used 6800 times in the Old Testament! Now think of the difference between knowing Him as GOD verses knowing Him as Yahweh—“HE IS!” When God’s reveals His name, He is not only letting us get to know Him, He is proclaiming who He is. So when He says, “I AM,” He is saying,  “I am huge, I am it, I am vast, I am who I am!” No matter what you think or have been told, “I AM!”

He is surely worthy of our trust and praise!

Setting the table for what is coming next:

Exodus 3:19-22 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians. 

This sets the table for all that God was about to do to deliver His people from the most powerful and dominate ruler in the world at the time. I’m stoked for what lies ahead of us in our reading of the Exodus. 

To close, what I love about the testimony of Moses is that it is far more a testimony about God. I want my life to be that way. I want the people who walked with me and heard my preaching and followed me to have way more to say about all that God did in and through me in that time than what I did. May we keep our eyes on the vertical and not just the horizontal. May we never forget that we are utterly dependent on the great I AM, who is with us always. May we never lose our gratitude or trust in God, even when what stands before us seems insurmountable. 

By His grace and for His glory

Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine

Soldiers For Jesus MC

Chaplain Council

SFJbible.com

Mark 11-15  (11-29-25)

In Mark 12:1-11, we read the parable of the tenants. This is a powerful story Jesus tells. 

Read this passage again and then I want to share with you a story Pastor John Piper wrote years ago that really impacted me. I pray it is a powerful illustration of the gospel application of this story and is a blessing to you as well. Enjoy!

By John Piper: 

Once there was a king who reigned over the whole earth. He was a good king and very powerful. He loved his subjects and governed the whole earth with perfect justice. No one could find fault with him. No one ever rebelled because the king was a good king. When there was rebellion, it was only because the people wanted to be kings themselves.

And it came to pass that the king decided to plant a beautiful vineyard, to grow fruit for his court and for all the earth. He supervised the work himself. He planted the vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. 

And then he chose one of the poorest groups of people in his realm to be the tenants of his vineyard, and he promised them all the help they needed if they would but ask him and trust him to give it. 

It was an almost unbelievable privilege to be chosen by the great king to tend his vineyard. 

And in the early days the tenants loved their work. They could scarcely call it work. 

The king gave them all they needed, he let them eat the fruit, he guarded their borders, and sent his messengers to them often. It was as if he were doing the work.

But that became a problem. Because soon the attitudes of the tenants began to change. 

They didn’t like the idea of giving the king all the credit for their produce. In fact, they didn’t like the idea of being tenants at all. They began to want to be owners. Owners get the produce; owners get the rent; owners get all the glory, especially when they do so much of the work. So deep inside the tenants wanted to be the owner. They wanted to be their own boss and not rely on the patronizing help of the king.

And so a terrible thing happened. One day the king sent his servants to receive a load of fruit from his vineyard. But they found no one at the winepress or in the barns or in the vineyard. These servants were three of the most faithful messengers of the king. 

They were duly commissioned and stood in the king’s place. They became very tense at the strange silence in the vineyard. There were no birds. There had always been birds. There were no children. There had always been children. There was no music. There had always been music.

But then, suddenly from everywhere, the angry tenants emerged, and the servants of the king were surrounded. Those who didn’t have sharp pruning hooks in their hands held large jagged stones. The servants of the king were armed with nothing but the king’s words to them before they left …  He had said, 

Though arrogance and rage assail,

Conspiracy will not prevail.

In death recall unerringly

That you will always reign with me.

With his words they were better armed than the wicked tenants. But not against the pruning hooks. The tenants rushed upon them and grabbed the two younger messengers and made them watch while they beheaded the faithful old man with a pruning hook. 

They could hear him repeating the king’s promise until he died. He really believed it.

In death recall unerringly

That you will always reign with me.

Then they turned on the younger servants and beat one and stoned the other and sent them back to the king half dead with a message:

We’ve had enough of sovereign care,

We see no need with you to share.

You have your kingdoms, fields and towers,

Go now, rule yours, and we’ll rule ours.

When the king heard this, and how his friend and servant had been slain, he went away and took counsel with himself in the royal chamber. All the court expected him to emerge readied for battle, for they knew he was a mighty warrior and deeply loved his messengers. 

But when he appeared, he did not gather an army; he called around him six of his most loyal ambassadors and asked, “Who is willing to go for me and deliver my message to the tenants of the vineyard?” The ambassadors were startled and said, “What message, my lord?” 

The king opened the scroll and read,

Of me it has been said of old,
It magnifies my strength to hold

In check my wrath, restrain my woes,
And offer mercy to my foes.

Turn now and bend the knee to me,
And I’ll forgive your treachery.

He looked up again and said, “Who is willing to go for me and deliver my word to the tenants of the vineyard?” And all six stepped forward. For there was no greater honor in the realm than to bear the message of the king. The king took each one by the hand, looked into his eyes, and said, as if he were the only person in the world,

Though arrogance and rage assail,

Conspiracy will not prevail.

In death recall unerringly

That you will always reign with me.

And with his words as their only weapon they journeyed to the king’s vineyard. When they saw guards, they paused outside the gate and renewed their vows of loyalty to the king. They entered a solemn covenant not to avenge one another, even if their hearts should break. As soon as they entered the gate, they were captured, bound, and taken before the leaders. The king’s message was read. And the tenants were enflamed with rage. 

Three of the ambassadors they killed, two they stoned almost to death, and one they flogged until he passed out. They loaded the three dying ambassadors with the three mutilated bodies on a cart and sent them back to the king with this message:

If we should ever want a king,

If we should ever want to bring

Our homage to a royal seat,

Know this: we’ll stand upon our feet,

And ask no mercy, bend no knee,

We’ll build our own if need should be.

When the good king read this message and saw the bodies of his beloved ambassadors, he paused only an instant, then he turned and walked to the chamber of his son, spoke briefly, and the two of them went on a long journey into the hills, alone. 

Meanwhile, the palace of the king was full of commotion and noise and planning. The mighty men were preparing for war. The blood of the martyr-messengers was screaming for justice to be done. The desecration of the king’s name was an intolerable offense to those who loved him and served him day and night. The chariots were assembled. The armor was shined, the swords and spears sharpened, and thousands upon thousands gathered at the palace of the king and waited. And at the head of the camp stood the great white stallion—the largest, strongest, most beautiful horse in the realm. 

Only one person could ride the stallion and lead the king’s forces against the treacherous tenants—the son, the king’s only son. Soon the king and his son would come out of their silence arrayed for battle. Soon the strategy of the hills would be revealed. It would be an incomparable battle plan—the son upon his mighty stallion, and ten thousand warriors in his train.

Early one morning they were spotted coming down out of the hills. And a great silence fell across the armies. What they saw was utterly beyond comprehension. The king was dressed in mourning garments, leading a donkey with a hemp rope, and on the donkey sat the son dressed like a common beggar. They entered and passed through the camp, and as they passed, the warriors bowed to the ground.

What had happened in the hills? What strange plan had these two made? It had not been done in haste. And no one has been consulted. (There are no counselors in the court of this king.)  It was a strategy from the depths of the king’s love and wisdom. And the son had joyfully agreed.

They passed through the armies without a word. At the far edge of the palace grounds nearest the territory of the vineyard they stopped. The king embraced the son and whispered just for him:

Though arrogance and rage assail,

Conspiracy will not prevail.

In death recall unerringly

That you will always reign with me.

After the son rode off alone on the donkey, the king turned back to his loyal subjects. 

They suspected what he was doing, but could scarcely believe it. The wicked tenants wouldn’t just kill him. They would humiliate him and torture him. It was hard enough to understand that the all-wise king would send his six beloved ambassadors to certain death. But now his son, his only son, to be toyed with and destroyed by worthless scoundrels. 

The king knew the armies expected some word of explanation. So he took his stand before them in his mourning garments and simply said:

When we have given all we can

Then we will fight, but only then.

So the armies of the King kept themselves in readiness. And the king sat down on his throne.

The word spread everywhere and ran ahead of the king’s son. By the time he arrived at the gate of the vineyard, there was quite a stir. The king’s son had never left the palace. He had never visited any realm. Most of the people found it incredible—the king’s son does not dress like a beggar and ride on a donkey. He wears white and purple robes and rides a white stallion, as the old books say. But the loyal old subjects of the king, who knew him well, recognized the son. They knew when they had seen the son, they had seen the king. And they were fearful of what was about to happen.

And the children! All the children loved him. Even as he entered the gate of the vineyard, no one could stop the children. They ran and leaped and cheered and threw branches in his path. It didn’t make any difference to the children that he looked poor. Children haven’t learned yet that a person must be rich to be happy. They saw the eyes of love. They had no trouble with childlike submission to the king. So for them the visit of the son was wonderful. 

  “Long live the king! Long live the king’s son!” they cried.

The wicked grown-up tenants watched from a distance. They could hardly believe that the king was so foolish. They said to each other, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance for ourselves.” And as they plotted the death of the king’s son, the children chanted over and over (as children do):

Great is the son! Great is the son! Who comes in the name of the king.

He is the one! He is the one! All homage to him we bring.

Finally the chanting faded. The children returned home. The king’s son looked out over the vineyards. The soil was rich and moist. The vines were thick and strong. The branches were heavy with the finest grapes—the king’s grapes. And he wept over the treason of the wicked tenants and the desecration of his father’s name.

When he lifted up his head, he was surrounded by armed men. He steadied himself with the king’s promise. Then, reaching into his simple cloak, he pulled out a scroll and said, 

“I have a word from the king.” “And we a word for him,” the leader replied. 

“Come, let us trade our messages.” The king’s son opened the scroll and read these words,

It is not seemly for a king   

To beg his subjects that they bring

Him love. But I do not delight
  

In mustering my awesome might

To end your lives for evermore.

I send my only son, therefore,

With news that I will yet forgive
    

And let those who repent still live.

“Is that all?” they sneered. “No; my father said I should add this: 

Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. 

For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you sing with the children, 

‘Great is the son! Great is the son! Who comes in the name of the king.'”

 “And what is that supposed to mean?” they snarled. 

“It means that for you mercy has almost come to an end. 

Soon your houses will be empty and you will be no more. 

And the vineyard will be given to a new and faithful people. 

And I will return to this place on the great white stallion. 

And by the magnificent mercy of my father a new generation 

will welcome me with palms and grapes and love and happy submission to the king.”

The wicked tenants stopped their ears when they heard the word “submission,” and the leader cried out, “Now, here is our message for your king.” And they rushed upon the king’s son, beat him mercilessly, dragged him out of the city to the highest hill for all to see, and nailed his hands and feet like a poster to a tree, and mocked.

If the wicked tenants had been able to read his lips, they would have known what carried him through the ordeal:

Though arrogance and rage assail,

Conspiracy will not prevail.

In death recall unerringly

That you will always reign with me.

As he died, he lifted up his eyes toward the region of the palace of his father, and he saw the armies of the king, ten thousand, with arms lifted in salute to the valor of the king’s son. 

And standing alone before the myriads, the king himself, holding the golden reigns of the great white stallion,  

waiting,    waiting,    waiting.

By His grace and for His glory

Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine

Soldiers For Jesus MC

Chaplain Council

SFJbible.com