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Verse:“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.” —Isaiah 58:1
The king would be heartbroken.
His son was dead. But who would inform David of Absalom’s demise? Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, volunteered to convey the tidings to Israel’s monarch. “Please let me run and bring the king news that the LORD has freed him from the hand of his enemies!” (2 Samuel 18:19, NASB). Joab, however, preferred to send a foreigner with the delicate message that the king had lost a child. “Joab said to the Cushite, ‘Go, tell the king what you have seen.’ So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran” (verse 21, NASB).
But Ahimaaz was insistent, prompting Joab to exclaim, “Why would you run, my son, since you will have no messenger’s reward for going?” (verse 22, NASB). When finally permitted by Joab to take the news to the king, Ahimaaz ran quickly, overtaking the Cushite along the way. When King David asked about the welfare of Absalom, Ahimaaz returned an evasive answer. “I saw a great commotion, but I did not know what it was” (verse 29). In the heat of the moment, Ahimaaz wilted.
He elected not to share the timely message.
Late in this world’s history, God’s people must share a message.
As given to John on Patmos two thousand years ago, the three angels’ messages were calculated by God to meet the needs of troubled minds immediately prior to the return of Jesus. The everlasting gospel presents Jesus as the hope of the world and proclaims His righteousness as the only remedy for the lost.
Ellen White affirmed, “Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, ‘It is the third angel’s message in verity.’ ”* Every facet of the everlasting gospel points to Jesus as the hope of the world. Only the forgiveness and justification offered to the world in Jesus can prepare a sinner for eternity. Faith lays hold on the righteousness of Jesus and makes salvation a present reality. God’s people have a saving message to share with the world.