Meet Me At the Cross

588 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 18:10, “Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, "I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!" (2 Sam 18:10) I love the tiniest of details we often find in Scripture. Absalom's hair did not just get caught in a tree, it got caught in a terebinth tree. What's so special about the terebinth tree? It was at a terebinth tree that God met Abraham: Ge 18:1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. It was at a terebinth tree that the angel of the Lord met Gideon ( Judges 6:11) Both men warmly welcomed the Lord with a meal. They desired fellowship with Him. Absalom's pride kept him from desiring fellowship with God and his meeting at the terebinth tree didn't turn out well. Terebinth trees are given specific mention as meeting places for God in the Old Testament, some good meetings, (in the cases of Abraham and Gideon,) and some bad in the case of Absalom. There is another type of wood at which we meet God, it is at the cross, and how appropriate to consider this meeting on Good Friday. It is at the cross that sin is judged and mercy is extended for all the world to see. It is what we do with the cross that determines our fate. Abraham and Gideon met God at the terebinth tree with humility and faith and a desire for fellowship, and were blessed. Absalom met God at the terebinth tree with pride and hardness of heart, and he was cursed. That's why Paul encourages us to “preach Christ crucified!” (1 Cor 1:23) Because it is at the cross that we meet God. Those who reject His Son are damned, and left hanging like Absalom, but those who receive Him as Lord and Savior are given a ticket to paradise. There were two thieves crucified next to Jesus on the cross. Their meeting with God on Calvary could not have been more personal. One sneered at God in hard-hearted pride, the other submitted to Him in humble worship. The latter was rewarded with a promise to be in paradise with the God whom he met at the tree. Do you want to meet God? Then ask Him to lead you to the cross. It is as the song says: Lead me to the cross where Your love poured out. Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down. Rid me of myself, I belong to You. Oh lead Me to the cross. It is at the cross that you will see the penalty of rebellion and it is at the cross that You will see the love of God for you. Receive Him and live!