SUNDAY, MARCH 20
Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-9

2 Samuel 7:1-9 is an account of the original offer of the covenant of Sure Mercy to King David. In 2 Samuel 7:9 God says, “I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.” The word translated “cut off” is biblical terminology for ‘judged and removed.’ God cut off those individuals who steadfastly refused to repent and end their attempts toward David’s destruction. God’s covenant mercy to David put his enemies in the grave when they would not relent. And we have David’s same covenant. We have to understand that God does not change – He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And He will cut off the enemies of His purposes who refuse to turn! Once we understand that, then we understand why David asked God to cut off his enemies. The Psalms are full of prayers asking God to cut off David’s enemies. Regarding an enemy that is full of iniquity and will not relent, we have the authority to ask God to cut them off when we are led by the Spirit. If we are pure, secure and mature in our walk with the Lord, we can by Holy Spirit direction assert the covenant of Sure Mercy and God’s Hand will move in our behalf. We can ask God to cut off the perpetrators who are intent on mocking God’s purposes, filling the land with iniquity and destroying God’s intended harvest. That is how we take the covenant of salt and preserve the land. But if the church does not know we can do that, when we approach fullness of iniquity it takes the judgment of God to save. Fullness of iniquity will destroy a land if the people do not ask God to save it by removing the perpetrators. Over and over again throughout the Bible, men and women have prayed, ‘God, cut off the enemy! Have mercy on the nation, preserve Your people and cut off the enemy!’ And over and over again, God did. God cut off the prophets of Baal in order to preserve the life of the nation. Judah, the southern kingdom, got an additional 110+ years of freedom over the northern kingdom because they repented and prayed and sought the judgment of God to remove the perpetrators. And God gave it to them! This is one huge benefit of the Word! Our Bible is a roadmap to bring people into the Kingdom. If judgment is required to save a land and save that harvest, we have to learn how to bring judgment from the Word. Under some circumstances, asking God to bless the guilty is the quickest way to guarantee their loss. Praying only blessing on people that are filling the land with iniquity enables evil and actually threatens the potential harvest.