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between two (or three) generations
may cause a greal deal of friction
and tension in the family. The point
made in Genesis is that ideally a
husband is to independently estab–
lish a new household when he
marries.
m
"What place did Jesus mean
KtJ
by promising 'in my Father's
house are many mansions'? Was he
refe r ri n g to a golden age in
heaven?"
Anonymous
fiJi
Many have misunderslood
1
11
John
14:2-3:
"In my Falher's
house are many rooms [KJV, man–
sions]; if il were nol so, would 1
have told you that
1
go lo prepare a
place for you? ...
1
will come
again and will lake you lo my–
self , that where
1
am you may be
also."
The phrase " my father's house"
does not refer to heaven, but
rather to the same "house "
spoken of by Jesus when He drove
lhe moneychangers and lheir ani–
mals out of lhe Temple. Al this
time He quoted from lsaiah
56:7
and Jeremiah
7:11:
"11
is written,
·My
house
shall
be
called a house
of prayer'; but you make it a den
of robbers"! (Matt.
21 :13.)
In the accounl of lhe Temple tax
(Matt.
17:24-27),
Jesus, by identi–
fying Himself as the "son" of lhe
Temple's owner (RSV), in etfect
called the Temple His "Father's
house. "
By speaking of the Temple hav–
ing many " rooms" (the numerous
side chambers which were built
along the side walls of lhe Temple
and along the inside of the walls of
lhe Temple court). Jesus illustrated
lhe concepl that there would be
places for many assistanls in lhe
governmenl of lhe Kingdom of
God on earth, when Jerusalem and
its Temple would be the millennial
capital. "1 will come [back lo earth]
again and will take you to myself,
that where 1am [headquartered in
lhe Temple itself, on earth] you
may be also." For more on the
subject of heaven, write tor the
free ·booklet
What
ls
the Reward ot
theSaved?
The
PLAIN TRUTH May 1978
DAVID
(Continued from page 26)
Israel. No means ofsharpening even
the fa rming tools they purchased
from the Phi listines, except, at great
expense, they were sharpened by
the Philistines! And it was the Phi–
listines they were supposed to fight!
Hopeless! Saul was sick!
The Philistines held the lowlands
unhindered. They held even the
mountain passes. Israel was bott led
up in the barren hills like a rabbit in
a hole, dependent on Philistines to
even harvest their meager crops.
Rejected by God, if not by the
people, after his first year as king,
Saul brooded.
Saul 's Sane Son
_
nnce J o n a-
1
~
1
than , who
had g rc ate r
..__..___.. faith in God,
was more ofa
man tha n his father. With his one
sword and with one faithfu l com–
panion armed with a duU ax (or
perhaps a sickle, ox goad, club or
stick, and maybe a rock or two),
Jonathan attacked a Phi listine garri–
son at a strategic pass. " 'Let's go
across to those heathen,' Jonathan
had said to his bodyguard. ' Pe rhaps
the Lord will do a miracle for us.
For it makes no difference to him
how many enemy troops th e re
a re !'" (l Sam. 14:6).
Jonathan , with one ill-a rmed
companion , a u acked an entire
mountain-pass garri son of Phil is–
tines. Among the Philistines were
conscripted Hebrews, bearing a rms
against their brethren. When Jona–
than and his unnamed companion
had killed more than twenty Philis–
tines. the enemy began to falter .
God added His miracle by produc–
ing an earthquake and causing the
Philistines to fight each other, and
the Hebrews among the Philistines
turned on their masters.
Two men triggered the rout of an
entire Phi lis tine a rmy !
Saul, observing th is from a fa r,
rushed wi th his six hundred men to
join the chase.
Victory!
"1
will be avenged," Saul said .
And he proclaimed a fast that day
for a ll , despite the fact that his
troops were exhausted.
But Jona than had not heard his
father 's decree; he a te sorne honey
he found in a tree. Saul called a ll
the a rmy together, and when it was
found that Jonathan had eaten
honey, he stubbornly stuck firm by
his edict of death for any who would
eat that day, despite the fact tha t
Jonathan was his son and the hero
of the day!
Unwisely, in haste, rashly. pre–
sumptuously, Saul signed his own
son's death warrant.
But his troops would not hear of
it! "'Jonathan, who saved Israel
today, shall die? Fa r from it! We
vow by the life of God tha t no t one
hair on his head will be touched, for
he has been used of God to do a
migh ty miracl e today.' So th e
people rescued Jonathan [from the
people's choice, Sau l)" ( I Sam.
14 :45).
The people didn ' t agree with
Saul's decision. Ye t he was king still ,
and Jonathan's victory had lifted
the morale of his troops. "And now,
since he was securely in the saddle
as king of Israel [thanks to Jona–
than], Saul sent the Israelí a rmy out
in every direction against Moab,
Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah ,
and the Philistines. And wherever
he turned, he was successful. He did
great deeds and conquered th e
Ama lekites and saved Israel from
all those who had been their con–
querors" (verses 47-48).
Need for a New King
e t de s pite
1
~
17
)
Saul 's s uc-
/
cesses. h is
~--
..----• character
flaws showed.
He had already been rejected by
God to found a dynasty to be the
kings of Israel forever. And he was
ye t to commit a final blunder on a
commission from God which would
deny him the throne itself.
Next issue we' ll ee what that mis–
take was, and how David- a man
after God's own heart- came
to
be
chosen as his succcssor.
o
(To Be Continued)
39