The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross

Author:John R. Cross
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-03-12T04:00:00+00:00

Some people believe that if you trust in God then you’re okay. But in the back of their minds they believe that all roads— all beliefs— ultimately lead to the same God. This is not what the Bible teaches. The Scriptures tell us that there are many false gods, but only one true God. The Israelites were judged when they trusted a false god.

Time of the Kings

Of all the nations of the world, Israel was the most fortunate, for God himself was their Leader and King. But as time passed and the Israelites observed other nations, they rejected God and demanded a human king. God granted their request, but their propensity to wander off and trust false gods remained.

Israel was to have many kings, but only a few believed and obeyed the LORD. Because of this, the cycle of earlier years continued, only instead of a Judge, they now had a King.

Several of the kings were especially noteworthy. Probably the greatest and best known of Israel’s monarchs was David. Unlike many of the other kings who ruled over Israel, King David truly trusted God. He believed that only God could save him from the consequences of sin. David called the LORD, “my Saviour.”

King David was also a great Prophet, inspired by God to write down Scripture. He is noted for the songs he wrote, praising God for his love and mercy. David wrote specifically about THE PROMISED DELIVERER, and God made a pledge to him that THE ANOINTED ONE would be one of his descendants.3 King David had a great ambition to replace the portable tabernacle with a permanent structure of a similar design. It would be called the Temple. He wanted to build it in Jerusalem, which had become the capital of the country during his reign. Although David gathered the building materials, it was his son, Solomon, who actually saw the task accomplished.

King Solomon is known for two things: his great wisdom and the Temple he built. This magnificent structure was constructed in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, possibly on the same site where Abraham was prepared to offer Isaac.

After Solomon’s death, the nation split in two: the northern ten tribes retained the name Israel, while the southern two tribes became the nation of Judah. This division seemed to be the Israelites’ first step towards a semi-permanent distance from God. The northern tribes led the way. The people went through the motions of doing what the LORD said, but their hearts were far from God.

Prophets

God sent prophets, men who not only preached against the wandering morals of the people, but also warned of judgment to come.

Many of these prophets were also prompted by God to write Scripture. Some of them gave specific information about the coming PROMISED DELIVERER.

Generally speaking, the prophets were not well received by the Israelites or their respective kings. There was a reason. The prophets were giving them a message they did not want to hear. For example, the prophet Isaiah told the people…

The LORD says:

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.