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"My lord delayeth his coming"

We read in one of Jesus’ parables, “My lord delayeth his coming” (Luke 12:45 KJV). As a result of his delay, some of the servants who were in authority over the household began to mistreat those who were under them. The misuse of authority, according to the parable, resulted in a flogging when the “lord” finally came.

It is often assumed that these men in authority abused those who were under them because they thought they could get away with it. Being shortsighted, perhaps they figured they could profit from their authority by turning the people into their personal slaves. No doubt this is one of the lessons of the parable. However, it recently occurred to me that there is another motive as well.

When we experience delays in regard to the promises of God, how does our flesh react? Obviously, faith does not react negatively, though we may question God, even as Habakkuk did. But the flesh also has its own reaction—primarily disappointment or disillusion. I believe that such reactions are rooted in fear—fear that the promises of God will fail. Fear produces many possible reactions, including abusing others. We cannot take out our frustrations on God, so we abuse those around us as proxies for God.

This, I think, is the main motive of the abusive servants in Jesus’ parable. Hence, it is also the main lesson (warning) that we should take from it.

Saul

Saul is a classic example of a fleshly believer who failed when tested by delay. Though he was an Old Testament Pentecostal (1 Samuel 10:6) and even crowned on the day of “wheat harvest,” i.e., Pentecost (1 Samuel 12:17), he showed his impatience almost immediately. In 1 Samuel 13:8-11, we read,

⁸ Now he waited seven days according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul could not handle the delay. In the natural, of course, we might sympathize with Saul, for we may have done what he did, if we had been in his shoes. But we read in 1 Samuel 13:13, 14,

¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever [olam, “indefinitely”]. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

As always, the judgment fit the crime. Saul lacked endurance, so “now your kingdom shall not endure.” Endurance is one of the main themes of the book of Hebrews. While faith justifies us, endurance secures the promises. In fact, endurance is continuous faith, or faithfulness. Saul remained king for 40 years, but his dynasty did not endure, for his son was killed just two years into his reign (2 Samuel 2:10).

The implication is that David had endurance and was faithful to the end. For this reason, he was promised a never-ending dynasty, for the prophet told him in 2 Samuel 7:16,

¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.

Though some of David’s descendants lacked endurance—and were judged accordingly—this promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The principle applies to us as well.

Elijah

After Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Elijah prayed for rain to end the 3½ year drought. We read in 1 Kings 18:43, 44,

⁴³ He [Elijah] said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said “Go back” seven times. ⁴⁴ It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down so that the heavy shower does not stop you’.”

Why did God not send rain the first time Elijah prayed? Why did the servant see no sign of rain until the seventh time? Surely God did not need more time to create a cloud. So why did God delay?

This story has significance to us, because it prophesies the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our time. I wrote about this in chapter 6 of The Laws of the Second Coming.

When Elijah raised the widow woman’s son from the dead in 1 Kings 17:17-24, it prophesied of the resurrection of the dead at the feast of Trumpets. Elijah then returned to Israel and had his showdown with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20). This prophesied about the Day of Atonement, which is the great day of repentance.

Finally, Elijah’s prayer for rain prophesied about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that comes through the feast of Tabernacles. Tabernacles was a seven-day feast (Leviticus 23:41). For this reason, Elijah had to endure in prayer “seven times.” It is not that God was hard of hearing, or that it took God a long time to create a rain cloud. Rather, the delay was designed to teach us something about the purpose of the seven-day feast of Tabernacles.

The seven-day feast of Tabernacles is probably the shortest delay at the time of the end. There may also prove to be a seven-year delay and a longer delay of Daniel’s prophetic “times” (7 x 360 years). We have already come through the longest cycle, ending in 2017. I suspect that we are now in the sixth year of the 7-year cycle from 2017-2024. If this proves to be correct, then perhaps we might see the 7-day feast of Tabernacles fulfilled next year. Time will tell, so be watchful.