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A Covenant of Release
If we are at the altar and remember someone who has unforgiveness
toward us, let us leave our offering and be reconciled
.
Today we are facing overwhelming foes. Our society is overrun with corruption and the church is hardly better than the world. The prophets are warning of judgment, and at times, it seems as though God has stopped listening to our prayers.
.
Yet, if we can sincerely
forgive those who are spiritual debtors to us, even starting with those in our
homes and families - if we extend forgiveness to our neighbors, and proclaim
release to those who left our churches - the mercy of God will begin to fall
again on our land. Let the Lord reveal all with whom you have unforgiveness.
By Francis Frangipane
Israel was hopelessly outnumbered.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon "and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were
under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem" and
its remaining cities (Jeremiah 34:1).
Because
of Israel’s sin, apparently even the Lord, Israel’s protector, had withdrawn.
For
nearly forty years, Jeremiah the prophet pleaded with God’s people to repent,
but they would not have it.
Israel
was nearly apostate, and the dire warnings of the prophet Jeremiah were about
to come to pass.
However,
hidden in the ways of God was a plan, a redemptive strategy that would reverse
Israel’s direction.
What was required was that "each
man [would] set free his male servant and each man his female servant . . . so
that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage" (Jeremiah
34:9)
Not only did they agree
to this year of release, but "all
the officials and all the people obeyed."
Then, in earnest faith, they "entered
into the covenant . . . so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage;
they obeyed, and set them free" (Jeremiah 34:10)
The Bible says the Judeans cut a calf in two and then passed "between its parts" (Jeremiah
34:18).
This was the same kind of covenant ritual Abraham had made with the Lord centuries earlier (see Genesis 15:10, 17-18.).
The redemptive plan of God was this: If the Israelites set free their slaves, they would not be taken as slaves. If they showed mercy, God would show Himself merciful to them as well.
Even though they were, by all counts, nearly apostate, the act
of releasing the debts of others would have averted the destruction of their
cities, for "mercy triumphs over
judgment"! (James 2:13)
As they
were releasing one another, something marvelous occurred.
Supernaturally the Lord drew "the
king of Babylon… away" (Jeremiah 34:21).
At the
very moment the people were releasing the debts of others, God was reducing their
debt to Him.
What
they did on earth was actually being replicated for them in Heaven!
In all
the years since the establishment of the Law, Israel had never celebrated a
year of release.
Yet
now, even with their enemies within striking range, Israel covenanted with God
to free every man his slave.
Unforgiveness
In the Church
How does the above story relate to us?
Today
we too are facing overwhelming foes. Our society is overrun with corruption and
the church is hardly better than the world.
The
prophets are warning of judgment, and at times, it seems as though God has
stopped listening to our prayers.
Yet, I
believe if we can sincerely forgive those who are spiritual debtors to us, even
starting with those in our homes and families - if we extend forgiveness to our
neighbors, and proclaim release to those who left our churches - the mercy of
God will begin to fall again on our land.
Let the
Lord reveal all with whom you have unforgiveness.
If we
are at the altar and remember someone who has unforgiveness toward us, let us
leave our offering and be reconciled (see Matthew 5:23-24).
Indeed,
let us take this one step further: let us release those who have voted for
candidates with whom we strongly disagree.
It is
time to rebuild our lives in Christ, and reunite in the power of redemption.
Let us
bring Christ’s covenant of forgiveness into our inter-racial relationships, and
let us, each one, embrace the covenant of the Lamb.
The Sad
End of the Jeremiah 34
In spite of the great breakthrough Israel experienced, their story ends badly.
For when the enemy left and the pressure was off, each man "took back his" male and
female servants ". . . and brought
them into subjection" (see verses 13-16).
Beloved,
hear me please: if only the Jews would have followed through and held fast
their release, the Book of Lamentations never would have been written!
Mercy
would have triumphed and remained, but such was not the case.
Still,
for us, the final chapters of our times are yet to be written.
We can
learn from the example we see in Jeremiah 34.
If we
will embrace mercy, if we can sincerely release one another, we will escape the
dire expectations coming to meet our sinful society.
Our
actions today, even now, will determine whether our society is blessed or
judged.
Let us, therefore, release the debts of every man and covenant for mercy for our land.
Francis Frangipane was born in 1946
and grew up in Lodi, New Jersey. After graduating from high school in 1964,
Frangipane entered the U.S. Air Force, where he was discharged honorably as a
sergeant on February 2, 1969. He relocated briefly to Berkeley, California and
then Honolulu, Hawaii before returning to the mainland U.S. These were the days
when the hippie movement was emerging, and Frangipane, like countless other
young people, was searching for meaning. He traveled extensively throughout the
United States and Canada. Eventually his travels brought him to the Blue Ridge
Mountains of Virginia where he became a Christian on November 26, 1970. Five
months later he met his wife-to-be, Denise Piscitelli, and led her to the Lord.
In October of 1971 they were married.
In
1972 Francis and Denise received ministerial training at Grace Chapel in
Southern California; by early fall they had moved to Hilo, Hawaii to start a
church. Their little work grew to about twenty-five people, most of whom they
had personally led to Christ. They also had their first child during this time.
After
fourteen months, however, they felt their time in Hawaii was complete. A church
in the Detroit, Michigan area offered them a pastoral position. For the
remainder of the seventies, they led a small church of approximately 100
people; they also planted eight churches and home groups in southeastern
Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
They
relocated to Iowa in 1980 where, with the addition of four more children and a
Vietnamese foster child, their family grew to eight. These were hard times.
Francis was self-employed and the family was very poor. It was during this time
that Francis began to develop his writing skills. It was also a three year
season of being shut in with God; the only spiritual food that nourished him
came from the words of Christ in the Gospels.
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