1 Samuel 17:32 "And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." The story of David and Goliath is among the most epic in all Scripture. While many will recount it as a powerful display of courage, faith, and the triumph of the underdog, there is far more to this historic narrative of victory and defeat. Beneath the surface, this account reveals a profound picture of salvation and condemnation—illustrated through the principles of representation  and imputation . When viewed through the lens of the Spirit, we see how David and Goliath serve as vivid symbols of the two great realities of the Gospel of Christ: salvation and condemnation by representation and imputation. The Great Conflict: Goliath as the Representative of Condemnation Goliath, the towering giant of the Philistines, represents the overwhelming power of sin and death in this world. He is the ultimate enemy of God's people, mocking them with his challenges and intimidating them with his strength. Goliath stands as a figure of all that opposes the righteousness and holiness of God. In the narrative, we see how the Israelites are paralyzed by fear before Goliath, unable to act because of his might. The challenge he presents is one of imputed condemnation—the entire fate of the Israelite people hangs in the balance, depending on the outcome of this battle. The Israelites are condemned by their representative, King Saul, who fails to rise to the challenge. Goliath, as the Philistine champion, is the embodiment of condemnation by representation . If Goliath triumphs, it will mean the disgrace and subjugation of Israel. Similarly, all mankind stands condemned before God by the first Adam, our representative. Just as Israel’s fate depended on one man, so too does humanity’s eternal destiny rest upon the representative of Adam. Our sin and condemnation were imputed to us through him (Romans 5:12). Like the Israelites cowering before Goliath, we are utterly powerless in the face of sin’s condemnation—not only because of Adam but also due to our sinful nature and actions, which result from being condemned in him. David: The Representative of Salvation In stark contrast, David enters the scene as the representative of Israel to fight on behalf of the people. He steps forward in Faith, trusting the God of Israel to grant him victory. David’s courage and confidence are not in his own strength, but in the power of God, Who had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear. In this way, David foreshadows Christ—the true Champion Who comes to fight on behalf of His people. When David says, "Let no man’s heart fail because of him," he is portraying a picture of salvation that is not obtained through the strength of the individual, but through the power of the chosen representative. Just as David’s victory over Goliath would mean victory for all of Israel, so Christ’s victory over sin, death, Satan, and the Law procures salvation for all who are united to Him by God’s electing grace. Christ is the second Adam, chosen by God the Father as the Representative of those whom He has chosen to save. Through Christ’s perfect obedience to God’s Law and His victory over sin and death, His righteousness is imputed to each one for whom He obtained the victory (Romans 5:19) . Since the Lord Jesus came into the world and accomplished all that God’s righteous holiness required for our deliverance, the battle is over, and the victory has been won through His completed work. Imputation of Righteousness The doctrine of imputation by representation  shines brightly through David’s victory. David’s triumph is imputed to Israel. The people did nothing to earn the victory, yet the benefits of his triumph were applied to them as soon as David struck down the giant. The Israelites for whom David fought did nothing to win the battle, yet they shared in the victory. This illustrates the very heart of the Gospel: the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who represents God’s elect people for their salvation. Just as Israel’s deliverance was procured when David slew Goliath, so our salvation was accomplished when Christ laid down His life in satisfaction for God’s Law and justice. In the Gospel, the righteousness of God that Christ earned by His perfect obedience unto death is imputed to His people. Just as David’s victory meant salvation for Israel, so Christ’s righteousness is credited to each one for whom He paid the debt of sin, though they did nothing to deserve it. On the other hand, the condemnation of Adam is imputed to all who are in him. Just as Israel would have been condemned if Goliath had triumphed, so all humanity stands condemned in Adam. The Glory of Salvation by Representation David’s battle against Goliath is a picture of Christ’s victory on our behalf as God’s elect children. By the imputation of the righteousness that Christ earned and established, believers are counted as having fought and triumphed in the battle over sin and death, in Christ (Galatians 2:20) . Christ is our Champion, and His victory is ours by His faithfulness. His perfect obedience is reckoned to each of those for whom He laid down His life. When Christ finished His work on the cross, we were fully, freely, and forever justified before God. When David defeated Goliath, there were likely many in Israel who did not immediately hear the news of his victory. Yet, even before they learned of it, they were free because of David’s triumph. Similarly, believers, though we were once enemies of God, are justified in Christ through His finished work, even before we hear the GOOD NEWS that is revealed in our hearts by the Spirit and causes us to believe on the Christ Who died and paid our debt. FAITH is the fruit of what Christ accomplished. This reminds us that salvation is not a matter of our striving or ability, but of God’s sovereign choice to represent His people through His Son. In this, we find comfort and assurance, for the victory has been won, and we stand in the righteousness of Christ—not by our works, but by His. David’s words to Saul in 1 Samuel 17:32, "Let no man’s heart fail because of him," echo the Gospel truth for God’s children: Do not fear condemnation, for your Representative has already won the victory!! Just as David defeated Goliath on behalf of Israel, so Christ has defeated sin and death on behalf of those for whom He is the Representative. Through His representation, we are freed from condemnation and granted eternal life. By the Faith of Christ, His righteousness has been imputed once and for all to the spiritual account of every one of His elect people, for whom He obtained salvation and won the victory. Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the Faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

1 Samuel 22:1,2 "David...escaped to the cave Adullam... And every one that was in distress, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them..." This account of David's escape from Saul's pursuit is rich with types and pictures of Christ and His Church. Wherever Christ is depicted in Scripture, His Church is never far behind. David finds refuge in a cave and cries out to God for comfort. After escaping both Saul and the Philistines, David had nowhere else to hide except for a cave called Adullam. "So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam" (1 Sam. 22:1) . David had lost everything he knew, including his wife, friends, royal status, military command, and freedom. He could not find refuge in any Jewish town or among the Philistines. He was the most wanted man wherever he went. Even worse, he had done nothing to deserve this status. Yet, God remained his Refuge. The cave of Adullam, which means "refuge," was located in the territory of Judah. In the same way, the LORD Jesus came and tabernacled among sinners in the world. He, too, was pursued and maligned. Though He was both God and Creator of those He came to dwell among, they pursued Him to death—yet to no avail. God the Father, like David, had appointed Him to be King and Heir of His people, and the gates of hell could not prevail against Him. Though He would, like David, suffer much affliction and persecution before ascending to the throne (Acts 3:18), He would not be overcome. The sinners that Christ came to save are like those who gathered around David in his suffering—distressed and discontented. Christ said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). These individuals are typical of sinners drawn to the Rock of Refuge, symbolized by the cave of Adullam. "Adullam" means "hiding place," and as the old hymn says, "He hideth my soul in the cleft of the Rock...in the depth of His love...and covers me there with His hand." " But the LORD is my defence, and my God is the Rock of my Refuge" (Psalm 94:22). Those drawn to the Rock of Refuge are always those in trouble. "The LORD also will be a Refuge for the oppressed, a Refuge in times of trouble" (Psalm 9:9). God causes some to fall into great debt, some to be hunted by the world, others to endure great distress through trials, and still others to experience discontentment. But it is for such as these that the LORD Jesus came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:9-10) . To be lost is to have wandered, as sheep do so that they can never find their way back without the Shepherd seeking and bringing them home. The only hope for these malcontents was David, as a type of Christ. God will use whatever means He deems necessary to bring sinners to the end of their way—those He has purposed to save. Even as those who sought David were at the end of their way, the LORD used their circumstances to drive them to him. Similarly, the path God traces for His sheep is designed to draw them to Christ as their only Hope. David could identify with their sufferings because, like our LORD Jesus, he "endured the contradiction of sinners against himself" (Hebrews 12:3). "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things... to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10). As God made David the captain over this worthless bunch, so Christ became the Captain of His sinners through His obedient suffering unto death on the cross. "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of Truth and without iniquity, Just and Right is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4). The LORD Jesus is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20), and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). It is in Him that we “have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18). “ The LORD also will be a Sfronghold for the oppressed, a Stronghold in times of trouble" (Psalm 9:9). “And a Man shall be as an Hiding Place from the wind, and a Covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the Shadow of a Great Rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:2)R

Mark 13:33-37 "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." As we look into Mark 13 and consider the parable of the porter, the words call us to behold Christ Himself—the Son of Man taking a far journey, the Master of the house, the One Who left His house and gave authority to His servants, and to every man his work. He commands the porter to watch. The repeated word through this passage— watch —is the word that reveals His care for His people and His purpose for His church. “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (v.33). The LORD Jesus Christ is that Master Who, after His death, burial, and resurrection, went into a far country—into heaven—and entrusts His house and His work to His servants. The context in which Christ spoke these words reveals His Power and His Glory. He declared that not one stone of that magnificent temple would be left upon another (Mark 13:2). He told His disciples that all these things would be fulfilled in that generation: “Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done” (Mark 13:30). He spoke of coming in the clouds with great Power and Glory (Mark 13:26) —not His second coming at the end of time, but His coming in judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple in the first century. Between A.D. 30 and A.D. 70, every word He spoke was fulfilled. Yet even in the midst of destruction, Christ revealed hope, for “then shall he send his angels” (Mark 13:27) —His messengers of the Gospel—gathering His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Those whom the Father chose before the foundation of the world, for whom Christ died, would come to Him by the Gospel of Christ preached throughout the world in that 1st century era until the end of time. Christ’s command to take heed, watch, and pray was not given without purpose. He was preparing His disciples for the tribulation, the affliction, and the troubles they would face. When the abomination of desolation stood where it ought not (Mark 13:14), when Jerusalem was surrounded and the holy place ravaged (Matthew 24:15) , they were to flee. “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be” (Mark 13:19). Those who listened and were given ears to hear escaped that destruction, for the LORD had warned them. Through the parable of the porter or doorkeeper, Christ reminded them of Who He is. He is the Master of the house (v.35). The house is His, the Authority is His, and the work is His. His servants are entrusted with care over His house, but it remains His alone. The true temple is not physical stone but Christ and His church (John 2:19-21). God once for all forever put away that old economy, with apostate Israel, ushering in a new age—the age of the Gospel. Though all of this was fulfilled in the first century, the lessons remain for us today. We await Christ’s coming at the end of time, not knowing the day, nor the hour, nor the time. Our charge is the same: watch, pray, and be busy about His business (Luke 19:13). We are to do the will of God from the heart, “as the servants of Christ” (Ephesians 6:6). “With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:7), we watch over the LORD’s house and His work, guarding the sheep for the Master’s sake. The disciples faced tribulation with these words in their hearts. We live on the other side of their fulfillment, but we live under the same Master. Whatever good thing we do is all by God's Grace in Christ, and “the same shall he receive of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:8). The believer’s reward is not earned merit but the gracious fruit of Christ’s finished work. All that we receive—acceptance, strength, assurance, and final glory—flows from God’s free favor in Him. We are reminded throughout the Scriptures that we stand and persevere only by the Lord's Grace and Will, drawing from what the LORD Jesus has already obtained for us. Our Reward is Christ, and through Him we enjoying the blessings He purchased (Ephesians 1:3-9) : communion with God, preservation in the battle, and the Hope of eternal Life—all Gifts of sovereign Grace, not human achievement. Until He comes, we occupy, watch, pray, and serve for His Glory alone. The Master of the house is Christ. To Him be all the glory and the honor.

Psalm 110 "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head." In Psalm 110, we behold a psalm that really sets forth the Kingdom of God. Here the Father from eternity purposed that all the glory should go to the Son. “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (v.1). This is the Kingship of His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ, set forth in the beauties of holiness. He is King of kings and LORD of lords, seated on the right hand of the majesty of God the Father. Yet here also we see Him as Priest. “The LORD hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (v.4) Melchizedek came as King of Salem—King of Peace—and His very Name means King of Righteousness. He brought forth bread and wine, a picture of His priesthood. King and Priest together. Christ, Who came and worked out God's righteousness in His body, in the flesh on this earth, obeyed the precepts of the law and paid the penalty, shedding His blood unto death, by which is the remission, putting away, of the sins of His people. Paul said that this was the very blood of God Himself (Acts 20:28) , but in a body that was prepared for Him (Hebrews 10:5) , shed unto death. And how effectual is that blood? He was delivered for (because of) our offenses and raised for (because of) our justification (Romans 4:25). So when we read, “Sit thou at my right hand,” we see a resting posture. When He finished the work, He sat down. There were no seats in the tabernacle, no place for a priest to sit, because their work was never done. But Christ sat down after His ascension because His work of redemption and justification was finished. His very Presence is our advocacy, because our sin has been put away and righteousness imputed once for all. And since the Father has sworn and will not repent, this Priesthood remains, unchanging, eternal, and effectual. This is a continual, unchanging posture, because He has finished the work. But this Throne is also a place of judgment. For when He came the first time, there was a judgment rendered at the cross. Wrath was poured out. Not an ounce of wrath falls on those He came to save, because He bore it entirely. Just like Noah and his family went through the judgment but were spared because it fell on the ark, so the judgment of God's elect was born entirely by the LORD Jesus Christ in His death. As the judgment that the world endured also fell on those in the ark, so the wrath due God's elect fell on the LORD Jesus, and therefore they were spared although the world perished. And here in this psalm, we see the Rod of His Strength. "Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies" (v.2). Not one detail took place but what He ordained. Even while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. Pilate wrote, “King of the Jews” (John 19:19), not knowing what he was saying. But what he wrote, he wrote. Christ never stopped reigning. The gates of hell shall not prevail against Him. (Matthew 16:18). "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power" (v.3). Not in the day of their power. "It is not of him that willeth or runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Romans 9:16). “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2). Not our holiness. Not that of our own, we have none. But that righteousness He worked out, that holiness given by imputation. The Day Star rising in the heart (2 Peter 1:19). is the very Life of Christ revealed in the heart of those for whom Christ paid their debt. This is a Spirit-wrought hunger and thirst after Righteousness, the One Righteousness that the LORD Jesus earned and established, and God imputed to the account of each of the elect upon completion of His work. This is irresistible Grace—not because we never resist (for resisting is our nature), but because the Spirit makes Christ Himself irresistible. He draws His people. He feeds them with the Bread of Life—Bread that never grows old or stale. It's Christ the Living Bread (John 6:51). So we bow at His feet. A footstool for His enemies, but the place of Peace for His people. And He shall lose nothing of all that the Father hath given Him. King and Priest forever. Christ our Righteousness. Christ our Advocate. Christ our King. Christ our Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Christ is the exalted King-Priest appointed by God. He sits at the right hand of God the Father, signifying His sovereign rule over every enemy until all are finally subdued either in His grace for His elect, or in judgment for the reprobates. From Zion, His power goes forth. It was in that earthly Zion that He accomplished the work at Calvary, and now His Spirit goes forth to subdue in repentance every one for whom He paid the debt, making His people willing to follow Him in Truth, being drawn by His Grace. In contrast to any earthly ruler, Christ is the Eternal Priest after the order of Melchizedek—unique, royal, and unchangeable. The LORD has sworn this Priesthood, guaranteeing His saving work and intercession. The Psalm concludes with His certain victory: He judges the nations, triumphs over all opposition, and lifts His head in everlasting dominion and glory.

1 Corinthians 5:7 "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:" Christ our Passover stands as the one great title that gathers up all the types, pictures, and prophecies. The old leaven must be purged out, yet not to make us accepted by anything found in ourselves. If all we did was clean out the leaven and never offer the Lamb, we would remain under condemnation. Everything contrary to holiness fills the old lump, and it cannot be reformed. The new must be made in Him, for Righteousness, Holiness, and Justice are found only in the Passover Lamb sacrificed for His particular people. This Lamb comes set forth by many witnesses. One declares, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth… he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). Another stands by Jordan and cries, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), not "sins" as many misquote it, but that one great mass of sin belonging to Jews and Gentiles He came to redeem. Another speaks of “the precious blood of Christ… as of a lamb without blemish and without spot… who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:19–20). And in glory, the redeemed cry, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12). Every witness points to One Truth: Salvation is not in ceremonies, traditions, or a supposed purity in ourselves, but in Christ alone. Not one sinner believes by himself, for faith must be given— “who by him do believe in God” (1 Peter 1:21). He is both the Giver of Faith and the Object of Faith. Hope rests entirely on Him, for He is the Passover Lamb. To understand the foundation of this title, the Scriptures lead us back to that night in Egypt. The plague of death would pass through the land, but wherever the blood was found on the lintel and doorposts, wrath would pass over. Passover does not mean that God looked the other way, but that judgment fell on the lamb instead of the sinner. This is Substitution; this is Satisfaction—one of the clearest types in all the Old Testament. The lamb had to be without blemish. Every detail matters. Only a perfect, sinless Substitute could bear sin without becoming defiled by it. Only One Who fulfilled the law in life and suffered its penalty in death could stand as righteousness before God. The lamb was taken from among the flock, a picture of Christ coming from among men, the Seed of the woman, the Seed of Abraham, the Seed of David, according to the flesh. He came in a real body prepared for Him, yet without sin. The lamb was young, strong, in the prime of life, for Christ did not die of old age or frailty but laid down His life in full strength. His death was not random, nor general, but specific—one lamb for one house, every soul accounted for. Roasted with fire, not raw or sodden, the lamb pictured the fire of Divine Justice falling upon the LORD Jesus Christ. Men did nothing more or less than what God determined (Acts 4:28). On that cross He endured wrath—not hatred from the Father, but the righteous judgment demanded by the law. Not a bone was to be broken, for He was the whole Offering. The blood outside spoke of acceptance before God; the feeding inside spoke of communion. They were to eat in haste, for judgment was near, teaching the urgency of fleeing to Christ, believing on Him, resting in Him. To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to partake of Him by Faith, for “my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (John 6:55–56). The whole Christ must be embraced—His Person, His Nature, His Offices, His Work. None for whom the Lamb was slain remained behind in Egypt. When God sees the blood, He passes over. The typical blood pointed forward to the True Sacrifice offered to the Father, that one death that actually saves and delivers. “When I see the blood” finds its ultimate fulfillment in the sacrificial death of Christ, the true Passover Lamb. In Exodus, the blood on the doorposts turned away God’s righteous judgment, but it could not put away the sin; therefore, it was repeated every year. That event pointed forward to Calvary, where Christ shed His own blood as a perfect, once-for-all Sacrifice, and God, seeing that blood, put away the sin of His elect forever because His blood was the actual Satisfaction of which the Old Testament lamb was a type. God now looks—not at our works, merits, or worthiness—but at the blood of His Son, and He passes over all who are in Him. Christ’s blood fully satisfied divine justice, obtained our redemption, and guaranteed our deliverance from wrath as His elect people. In Him, the shadow becomes Substance, and Passover finds its everlasting completion. Oh, thank God for Christ our Passover—sacrificed, sufficient, victorious, and worthy of all blessing forever!

Hosea 1:1-5 "The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel." When we take our Bibles and turn to the book of the prophet Hosea, we are immediately brought face to face with the name that is actually the same as Joshua or Jesus, (Hoshea) signifying a Savior and a Deliverer. Here is a type of the LORD Jesus Christ as the Savior, the Friend of sinners, the One Who did not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners (Luke 5:32). And so when we look at Hosea as a type of Christ, we see the prophet commanded of the LORD to "Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms, for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD" (v.2) . In this, we behold a picture of how it is that God could love sinners such as we are, by His immeasurable Love for His elect people. Our LORD chose His bride from Adam’s fallen, sinful race. It wasn’t anybody who was deserving of being chosen or had any merit in themselves. As the Scripture declares, “ For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise… That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26–29). This is precisely what is pictured in Hosea going out and finding a bride among a sinful race, one who was a prostitute herself, and that he should love her. We love Him because He first loved us. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10) . It wasn’t that Gomer came seeking Hosea, saying, I want to marry you. No, it was Hosea that went out and sought her. And even after marrying her, she still went out seeking after her lovers, just as Israel sought after other false gods as lovers. And yet God did not destroy them, for "except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and… like unto Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9). So the LORD commanded Hosea, that he might see what God Himself was seeing, to go marry a prostitute from among the people. Israel, a divided nation, guilty of whoredom, worshiping golden calves, adopting idolatrous practices, a people who honored Him with their lips but their heart was far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). And yet in His faithfulness, He called Hosea as His prophet to go and preach to the people. Wherever the LORD calls a true preacher of the Gospel, it is God Who purposed to do His work, even when politically and spiritually the nation is in upheaval and apostate. And as we look at the historic setting, Jeroboam the son of Joash reigned in Samaria, as recorded in 2 Kings 14:23–27 , where the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter, and yet He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam. God’s immeasurable mercy is seen again in not destroying the northern kingdom entirely. But Jeroboam still did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. And the foundation of that kingdom itself was marked by the massacre recorded in 2 Kings 10:11 , when Jehu smote all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel. So the LORD said, " Call his name Jezreel" (v. 4) . Jezreel means "scattered". And Israel would be scattered in exile, conquered by the Assyrian army in 722 B.C. But all of this sets forth the truth that salvation is of the LORD from beginning to end. Ours is the sin, but His is the salvation. Christ said that of all that the Father gave Him, He should lose none (John 6:30) . And the reason for His love is not found in the sinner but found in God Himself. This is God’s immeasurable love for His people, pictured in Hosea, fulfilled in Christ, Who came to save those sinners that the Father had given Him. Even in the opening blows of judgment pronounced in Hosea 1:1–5 , the Holy Spirit teaches us that God’s wrath never moves independently of His eternal purpose of grace. Israel’s unfaithfulness could not nullify the faithfulness of God; their rebellion could not overthrow His covenant made with Christ before the foundation of the world. The scattering of the nation of Israel was just, yet within that scattering the LORD preserved for Himself a people—a remnant according to the election of grace—hidden, upheld, and secured in His Son. What men saw as the crumbling of a nation was, in reality, the unfolding of God's purpose that could not fail. Jezreel’s judgment would give way to Jezreel’s sowing; the God Who smites is the God Who heals. And in all of this, our eyes are drawn beyond Hosea’s day to Him Who is the true Israel, the faithful Son, the One in Whom the remnant is gathered, kept, and made one—our LORD Jesus Christ. May we therefore bow in humble worship of the God of justice and grace. For even when His hand is heavy in judgment, His heart is steadfast in mercy toward those that He has chosen and Christ has redeemed. Even when He scatters, He does so only to plant anew; and even when all seems lost, His electing grace in Christ ensures that nothing is lost. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). To Him be all glory. Amen.

Ruth 1:20,21 "And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?" To read this story to this point, and looking at Naomi and Ruth that are now trudging their way back to Bethlehem as the world looks on, the world might say as they do today, "How could such bad things happen to such good people?" That's how the world reasons. But when we who are the LORD's consider who we are by nature, the LORD having shown us that we're nothing but rebellious, wretched sinners, the better question is: "Why does anything good happen to such wretched sinners as we are?" If the LORD exercises in any way His sovereign hand to chasten or afflict or even bring any sinner into condemnation, like we read in Job 1 , may we not charge God foolishly or say as the wicked say, "Why has God done so? Why has He exercised His hand so?" None are innocent. That is a term that the world uses, and they ask, "How could it be that so many innocent people died?" Truthfully, there has never been an innocent person who has died other than the LORD Jesus Christ, and even more than innocent, He was righteous. But the reason He died was not for any sin in Him because the wages of sin is death. He died as a judgment, the wages of sin being laid on Him. It wasn't sin in Him. Isaiah in Isaiah 53:6 said that, "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." He didn't infuse it in Him, as some would say, that He had to become what we are so we become what He is. No, He identified with such wretched sinners as we are bearing that sin in righteousness and justice. He died the Just One for the unjust. But apart from the LORD Jesus Christ having paid that sin debt, there isn't a human being that has ever walked the face of this earth where it could be said that they died in innocence. " For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). We see in this story that God is not only all-knowing and all-wise, but also, He's directing. He is directing even in the chastening of His children. Those corrections may not seem pleasant for the moment, but if we're the LORD's, then every chastening, just like here, is a mercy. It all comes back to the cross. Before the cross, God was forbearing with those such as Naomi and Ruth. He did not put their sin to their charge. He withheld his hand from condemning them with the rest. Consider how Moab was a cursed nation (Deuteronomy 23:3), so why was grace shown to Ruth? Of these in Israel, why Naomi? That was the LORD's hand of mercy and Grace. This chastening was not out of wrath but out of love. Ruth and Naomi would never have recognized their need for Boaz had not God stripped them of everything. When they returned, they possessed nothing. If you wonder why God chastens us, it is because this flesh—so prideful in its fallen state—will not bow. Therefore, the LORD graciously removes every prop on which we lean. Stop and think: when do you most deeply feel your need for the LORD Jesus Christ, of which Boaz was a type? Is it not when He brings you so low through some affliction that you can scarcely breathe? You cannot turn to the right or the left. It feels as though, if the LORD kept His hand heavy upon you, you would suffocate and die. Yet, what does all of this accomplish? Your cries begin to rise to the LORD. That's what Job said, Neither is there any daysman, betwixt us, that might lay His hand upon us both" (Job 9:33). Consider God's holiness and Who He is. We need a Mediator to put His Hand on God, but we also need a merciful God to put His Hand on us before we die. When Naomi says "bitter," it means how she perceived herself as repentant, and testified saying, "The LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me." She acknowledged that God was just in afflicting her. That's what she was confessing about the LORD. It's taking sides with God against yourself, and until you've laid down your arms, whatever that weapon is, you've not bowed. You’re still a rebel, but the LORD brings His own to bow in His time, and He does it in grace and mercy.

Ruth 3:1 "Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?" This chapter presupposes both a knowledge of, and a relationship with, Boaz—at least as far as Naomi was concerned. Legally, Boaz was that near kinsman to Naomi and Elimelech; that relationship had already been established. However, you can imagine Ruth, being a foreigner from the condemned country of Moab, wondering what her lot would be. Yet Ruth had already made this confession: "Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God"  (Ruth 1:16). Still, as with any of us, we have wondered from time to time: How do we know that, in coming to Christ, He will receive us? How do we know whether God will be favorable and merciful to us, who are estranged sinners from Him? That begs the question, also, how are we to speak to others without giving them false hope? Jeremiah 6:14 speaks of many false prophets going around Jerusalem and saying, "Peace, peace, when there was no peace." Our landscape is full of such false witnesses. People are hell bound in condemnation, believing the word of false preachers, basing their entire profession for eternity on what that preacher tells them. We don't want to give people false hope, and yet, we don't want to withhold hope from those in whom the Spirit of God is working and is indeed drawing to Christ. When people ask, we tell them where the only Rest for the soul is found. No message will comfort the heart of a needy, hungry, thirsty sinner than the Truth as it is in Christ as the only Hope and Surety for His people. Naomi said, "shall I not seek rest for thee that it may be well with thee?" Boaz was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where do we point needy sinners? To Christ. And in essence, Naomi is saying there's only One that can deliver you. There's only One in Whom true redemption is found. And yet Naomi, could not presume that the LORD would be merciful to Ruth, knowing that she was a Moabitess. She knew that, legally, she had no right to an inheritance in Israel. That had already been established in the law. Moab was a cursed nation. " An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD forever," (Deuteronomy 23:3). The Spirit of the Lord directed Naomi with these words to include Ruth, even though she was not of the commonwealth of Israel, yet Naomi was directed of the Spirit to identify with her and say, "Is not Boaz of our kindred?" This is a prophecy of the type of people that the Lord has purposed to save, Jew and Gentile (such as Ruth), bond or free. And it's not based on any merit of our own. Why did Naomi need to seek rest for Ruth and her? Because the matter had not yet been settled legally. When she was directed to Boaz's field, it was fine to be there with the other maidens, and enjoy the kindness of Boaz in providing cuttings from the field according to the law (Leviticus 23:22). But unless Boaz took her case, unless he satisfied the law for her, she could live under his kindness, as many do under the mercies of God, but such mercy is not grace. God's mercies are over all His creatures (Psalm 145:9), but His Grace is reserved for elected sinners in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8). Anything this side of hell is a mercy, and many benefit from God's temporal mercies who die estranged from God, as would have Ruth, had she not been an object of God's Grace, one whom God purposed should be of the lineage of Christ through Boaz, and one for whom Christ would pay her sin debt (Matthew 1:5). So this was the burden that Naomi had for Ruth. It's the same burden the Apostle Paul demonstrated concerning those who were his kinsmen in the flesh. "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved" (Romans 10:1).   What an offense, in referring to his Jewish kinsman as being unsaved and praying for their salvation. He's not referring to pagan Israelites but those who counted themselves as children of God already based on their heritage. Try telling religious zealots today that, you are praying that God would save them, and they will answer you as they did the LORD Jesus in His day: " We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God " (John 8:41) Without the Spirit of God, religious sinners would rather die in their self-righteous blindness than to renounce themselves as lost and in need of Christ. Were you to say of them as Paul did, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved," their response would be, "Oh, so you don't think I'm saved?" Or "Do you think you're the only one that's saved?" Or, "So you think I'm lost?" When the Lord has taught us, and we see loved ones and acquaintances still following down this path of religion, even though they carry their Bibles, and may hold to the Word of God as inspired with a firm grip, like birds gripping the telephone wire, yet ignorant of the message passing through it. They believe that the Bible is God's Word and yet are clueless as to the God of the Bible, and the salvation that is entirely by Him through the Person and work of the LORD Jesus. Whether it is a popular preacher that everybody loves, and the parking lot is packed or not, if it's not the message of Christ and Him crucified alone, they are perishing. Until or unless the Lord is pleased to deliver them from their spiritual darkness, they will never renounce their false way. But when the Lord is pleased to deliver out His elect, they'll be like Ruth, separated from all of their upbringing, background, and idolatry to follow after this One. Some preachers are quick to call hearers fools, bearing down on them for being blind, and not seeing as clearly as they pretend to see. However, that is not how those taught of the LORD deal with others still in darkness. The tenderness with which even Naomi pointed Ruth to Boaz is expressive of how those taught of Christ will point others to Him. Consider how tenderly Paul expresses his heart's desire. My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel, that religious generation, is that they might be saved. And yet he speaks the Truth in love: "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:2,3).

Ruth 2:15,16 "And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not." Everything that happened to Ruth happened on purpose. Just as with us—if we are the Lord’s—it didn’t just happen; it was according to God's eternal purpose. That’s a key theme in Scripture that many in our generation overlook. Yet we dare not miss it, because if we belong to the Lord, that is the only reason. He purposed it (Romans 8:28). Here, we see a picture of how God commands all things for the good of His children—those He has purposed to save. When Ruth got up to glean, it says, "when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded." Consider the word: "commanded." She was unaware of it; she had already left. This highlights our need for the Lord to teach us repeatedly. We often think that God acts based on what we do or refrains from acting because of our failures. But that is a false god. The word "commanded " is strong. Nowhere do we see Boaz inviting Ruth to do something as if saying, "If you will, Ruth, would you please, then I will." That is the small "g-o-d" of our generation. Too often, preachers plead with sinners as if God desperately wants to act but cannot—because people won’t allow Him. In verses 15 and 16, the word "let" appears twice, but it is not Ruth letting Boaz do anything. Rather, it is Boaz commanding. When we read about "handfuls of purpose," it says that he "commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not." That is Boaz letting her; he has given the authority. The word "let" connects directly with the word "command." If we have come to Christ, it must be that He ordered it, or else we would never have come. If we can in any measure enter into who Christ is—partaking of the bread and wine, symbols of His body and blood—and enjoy fellowship with Him, sitting at His table, then it must be because He ordered it. Otherwise, it could never be. There are times when we may question, "Am I the Lord's or not?" Doubt yourself, but do not doubt Him. How do we even know anything about Him—how do we have even the smallest desire for Him? It must be because He has drawn us. Otherwise, we would be like the rest of the religious world, perishing and never coming to Christ. As our Lord declared, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44). Salvation is of the Lord, from beginning to end, according to His eternal purpose. God had purposed that Ruth be brought to Boaz, whom she would discover to be her Kinsman-Redeemer, as a type of the LORD Jesus. Therefore, when Boaz instructed his servants in verse 16, "Let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her," it was because he had already set his love upon her and would provide for her every need. This was something done on her behalf—a command given. Again, this is not as religion falsely teaches: "You just need to let go and let God." That is their little "g-o-d." No—if God wills, then it is God purposing that you do what you do, according to His will. The Hebrew text refers to a bundle of grain, not just a handful. Don’t picture a small handful. This refers to a large bundle of grain that was prepared and left for her to simply pick up. It is a unique word, found only here in Scripture, and speaks of a very generous bundle. Here, we pause to consider God's distinctive grace. It is unique. We could reflect on the fruitfulness of Boaz's fields or the law stating that when harvesting, they were not to cut the corners of the field (Leviticus 23:22). Some might say that is the picture here. But this is different. This grain was already cut and laid there for her to pick up. That is what the Lord does for us. There is no work on our part to merit His grace. It is unique and distinctive. We find the work already complete—just as when the Spirit of God opens the eyes of one of His elect. They discover that the work was already done, that Christ had already accomplished everything for them. His righteousness was earned and established for them already. He died for them before they even knew anything about Him. God had already justified them through Christ’s death on the cross (Romans 5:8-11). Everything had already been done for Ruth, and by the Spirit of God leading her, she discovered the bounty that had been purposed for her through Boaz, whom she came to know in time. The word "purpose" here means "to draw out" —even in the sense of preparing it so that when she picked it up, there would be nothing to harm her. If you have ever harvested barley or other grain, you know it can be itchy and prickly. It’s as if Boaz instructed his servants, "Fix it so that when it is left there, all she has to do is pick it up and carry it." That is a picture of the work of grace that the Lord does. It is deliberate. It is because of His unconditional love. Boaz loved Ruth. God’s grace is ordered—deliberate order. It is by free and unconditional grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). When the text says, "Reproach her not," and "Rebuke her not," what comes to mind? Romans 8:1—"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Later, Paul declares, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" No amount of jealousy of wicked men against us because of God's distinctive Grace in Christ can affect God's love for those He has chosen in Christ. Can anything separate us from the love of God? Stop and consider: This is the grace that the LORD has given His people in Christ! What a glorious picture of God's unconditional grace in Him.

Ruth 2:10 "Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?" In this passage of Scripture, Ruth is talking to her kinsman redeemer, Boaz. Boaz is a type of Christ, THE Kinsman Redeemer of all His children. Christ is a Kinsman, related to His children by way of His body of flesh, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14) All of Christ's children were given to Him in eternity, before they were born on this earth, "Behold I and the children which God hath given Me." (Hebrews 2:13) But none of these were saved from the "power of death," until Christ came to this earth to redeem them by His own death. Ruth sees herself as a stranger, unworthy of this man taking knowledge of her. She is an example of the redeemed of Christ, in awe that such a One could care for them. But we are never strangers to Christ, no matter how it may seem to us, "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an Everlasting Love: therefore with Lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Jeremiah 31:3) We are drawn by Lovingkindness, with Lovingkindness and to Lovingkindness, which is Christ Jesus our LORD

Judges 5:23,24 "Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent." In the song of Deborah and Barak, we find both a curse and a blessing: “Curse ye Meroz… because they came not to the help of the LORD”   (v.23), and “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be”   (v.24). Here, the Spirit of God draws a sharp contrast between indifference and devotion. One town is remembered for its cowardly refusal to stand with the LORD’s cause, while one woman, seemingly insignificant in the eyes of men, is forever honored for her courage and zeal. These two voices set before us the clear and unavoidable reality that God divides all men into two groups. There are no shades of gray, no safe middle ground. You are either blessed by God in Christ or cursed under the condemnation of sin. The curse fell on Meroz not because they openly fought against Israel, but because they stood indifferent. They would not come to the help of the LORD against the mighty. Indifference is never neutral. To stand aloof from Christ and His people is to stand opposed to Him. The LORD Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30) . He shows us in Matthew 25 that the cursed are those who had no regard for His brethren, who gave no food, no drink, no clothing, no shelter. They sought a false refuge in their own indifference, but in the end, the curse of God swallowed them up. But then, in stark contrast, we hear the blessing upon Jael. She was no one of reputation, no one of renown. She was, in the world’s eyes, insignificant. Yet God purposed her place, and at the appointed time, He brought Sisera to her tent. Though her very name meant “wild goat,” reminding us of what we are by nature—unruly, unclean, unfit—God set her apart for His glory. In this, she is a picture of God's sovereign grace in Christ. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, drunkards—all these are under the curse. And then he says, “Such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” That is the blessing. It is not earned, not deserved, not achieved, but freely given. Blessing means being set apart by God’s sovereign choice. As Paul wrote to Titus, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). It is God Who sanctifies, God Who justifies, God Who redeems. Jael reminds us that it is not the greatness of the instrument but the purpose of God that brings blessing. Her life and her place were ordained. She was in her tent, not in the battle, because God had placed her there. And when Sisera came, God delivered him into her hand. So it is with Christ’s people. Every detail of our life, every relationship, every circumstance, is ordered by His sovereign providence. Nothing is random, nothing is wasted. "" And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). But how is it that sinners are made blessed, when by nature we are Jaels—wild, guilty, condemned? The answer is the cross. Christ, the blessed One, became a curse for us. As Paul declares in Galatians 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” He bore the curse that was ours, that we might be clothed in the blessing that is His. On that tree, the wrath that was due to His people was poured out on Him. In His death, He finished the work. In His resurrection, He obtained the blessing forever. And the end is sure. Judges 5 closes with these words: “So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might” (v. 31). The enemies of Christ will perish under the curse, but His people, loved and chosen, washed and justified, will shine in the light of His glory. Outside of Christ, there is only the curse, whether in indifference like Meroz or in open rebellion. But in Christ there is Blessing without end, Blessing that sets apart the unworthy, Blessing that ordains every step, Blessing that flows from the cross where the curse was borne. To be in Christ is to be blessed above all, not in ourselves, but in Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us. Let us therefore rest in His finished work, rejoice in His sovereign grace, and look forward to the day when we shall shine forth as the sun in His eternal kingdom.

Judges 14:14 "And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle." When you think about a riddle, it's a statement, or it could be some sort of question or phrase that has a double-veiled meaning. This is why many read the Scriptures without any understanding because you can read the words that are here and imagine their meaning, but what natural men don't know is that in these words there is a spiritual understanding, and that all of Scripture has to do with the glory of Christ. When Samson told the riddle, it wasn’t to seek any glory for himself. But when you stop and consider what he was saying through this riddle—the destruction of the lion and the honey that came forth from it—it all pictures the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in defeating Satan and every enemy that stands between His people and Himself. It shows His glory in saving them. We know Samson didn’t go about boasting of this, just as Christ didn’t go about raising His voice in the street, though He was God in the flesh. When He came to this earth, He came to do a work—and there was a lion He met head-on: Satan himself. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. Stop and think about what that work was. Satan had caused Adam, even in his best state, to fall. The first Adam fell at the attack of this lion. But now Christ, the last Adam, would confront this lion and defeat him, thereby securing victory for His people. Yet not everyone perceived Christ’s mission in this way. They saw only a physical man performing miracles. Thinking naturally—as men do—they expected that if this was truly the Messiah, He would overthrow the Roman government and establish an earthly kingdom. That’s what everyone was looking for. But Christ continually showed them that the kingdom does not come with observation. We see here Samson as a type of our LORD Jesus Christ. Here's one little riddle that confounds the wisdom of the wise. And so it was with our Lord. What is the sense here then of this particular riddle that he told? Samson taking of this lion, It says in verse 5, that it was a young lion, so in its full strength. Think about the temptations that our LORD faced when He came to this earth. There wasn't any holding back on the part of Satan to attack Him from the time of His birth, all the way to His death. Numerous instances where Satan, like a roaring lion, sought to defeat Him and destroy Him, and yet he couldn't. In verse 6, these words that we're familiar with, with regard to our Lord, but true of Samson, it says, "And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and He rent him as He would have rent a kid..." So there's a parallel too with our Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God was upon Him, His Father. That's what it means to be the Anointed One. Honey is a type and picture of the sweetness of God’s grace. Not only did Samson enter into the enjoyment—if you will—of what he had accomplished in defeating the lion, but he also shared it with his loved ones; he came to his father and mother and gave them of it. There is a sweetness that flows from the death of the enemy—from the defeat of Satan. But this sweetness is for the people for whom Christ paid the debt, even as we see Samson here partaking of it himself. When you stop and think about honey and its properties, it’s not something man makes. It is something God, by His sovereign design, brings forth through bees. And what do bees do? They sting. Yet these bees, swarming about the carcass, could not keep Samson from obtaining the honey—the result of the lion’s death. So it is with Christ. Nothing could prevent Him from accomplishing redemption for His people. In 1 Corinthians 15:54–57 , a chapter rich with the truth of Christ’s resurrection, we read: “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ.” Think of honey in this light—life-giving and sweet. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? All the bees that once swarmed—representing the sting of death, sin, and the curse of the law—could not stop Him. Christ entered into death and rose victorious. O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ. I think of the story of the little boy who was out playing in the yard and got stung by a wasp. He came crying to his mother, and she gently removed the stinger and cleaned the wound. Then she told him to go back outside and play. But he said, " No, because the wasp can still get me." She replied, "No, the stinger was the only thing he had—and that’s been taken away. You can go out now and play in calm and peace." Think about that in light of the LORD. He has taken away the sting of death. The sting of death is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56). And yet, how often we are still affected by our sin and the memory of it. We may ask, “How could God be merciful and gracious? How could He be just, and still justify the ungodly?” The answer is Christ. Christ paid the debt. It is finished. What we are called to do now is, like Samson and his parents, enjoy the fruit of what that death—the death of the enemy—has accomplished. The stinger has been removed. Death is defeated. All that remains is the sweetness of God’s grace to be tasted by those for whom Christ died.