TD Jakes - God's Mercy Sits Here
Number one is the tablets of stone. What do you mean by the tablets of stone? Do you mean God had legal pads in there? No, I mean that the Ten Commandments, not the broken ones. Let me show you this real quick. This is something very few believers know. God gave the Ten Commandment three times. Some people say two, but they overlook the first one was oral. A careful study of the book of Exodus will show you that the first ten commandments were delivered orally. Then Moses goes back on the mountain again and God hews out the rock and writes on the stone. Then Moses comes down off the mountain with his face lit up with glory and the people are dancing naked around the calf. He drops the Ten Commandments. Those broke. That's important to know because God is saying the law was broken before we ever got it. Therefore, shall no flesh be justified by the law.
So, away with you telling me you keeping the law. You a liar. You did not keep the law. The law was broken before you ever got it. So, God tells Moses this time it's going to be a collaborative effort. He says, "I want you to hew out the stone and I'm gonna write the law". Collaboration, humanity, divinity. You cut the rock, I'll do the writing. These tablets remain whole. These are the tablets placed in the ark of the covenant. It is not the law broken, it is the law fulfilled. "I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law".
So, the law comes from the Father. The law is the constitution of the new theocracy. These people who were not a people 400 years in slavery have now become a people. Their form of government is not a democracy. It's not a republic. It is a theocracy. That's why you must understand this seat, because he reigns. You cannot have a government without a constitution. The constitution comes through the commandments. So, when you look at the Ten Commandments, you're looking at Israel's constitution that set them apart from other people. They never got a king until they asked for one. They asked for a king because they said, "All the other nations have a king that they can see. Give us a king that we can see". And because they wanted a king they could see, he gave them Saul.
They insulted him. What do you think the mercy seat was? Why do you think you couldn't enter in? It's because he's the King and he was a good King. He turned the bitter waters of Mara sweet. He sent the quail down to feed them when they were hungry. He clapped his hands and manna fell from heaven. He was a good King, and they rejected the good King for a human king 'cause we always want something we can touch.
So, inside the ark of the covenant, we have the Ten Commandments. I'm hurrying. I'm gonna move on. Second thing we had... are y'all with me? Okay, 'cause I swear I can do this awhile. The second thing we had was a golden pot of manna. And the golden pot of manna is important for a reason. The golden pot of manna's so... let me go up here to my drawings so you can see what we talking about. We got the Ten Commandments over here, not broken, fulfilled, complete in him. We got the pot of manna here. We're not supposed to have a pot of manna that makes it through the wilderness. Manna didn't last but a day. The Bible said that the manna fell in the dew of the morning and each family received according to the size of the family or their capacity. He warned them not to save the manna. He said, "Because if you try to save the manna, the worms will eat it up". The worms ate up every pot but this one.
This is Jesus. Jesus said, "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and they perished, but I am the true bread that cometh down out of heaven. If you eat of this bread, you shall never die". You shall never die. The fact that this pot of manna never went bad, it's a sign that Jesus is just as nutritious today as he was 2,000 years ago. He is the true bread. Come on with me, somebody. Come on with me, somebody. So, we have a golden pot of manna, manna, manna. What does manna mean, Bishop? What is it? We're still trying to understand who Jesus is. We're singing about it, dancing about it, jumping about it, but there's so much to his glory that is still being unveiled, who he really is. He's more to you today that he was ten years ago. He's more to you today than he was five years ago. He's gonna be more to you five years from now than what he was yesterday. Are you with me?
This is my last class, so just bear with me just a minute. It is the golden pot of what is it. Who shall I say sent me? "I Am that I Am. You can't limit me down to your definition 'cause I'll be whatever you need me to be when you need me to be it. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Are you hearing? Just as soon as you need me as a doctor. I'll turn around and be a lawyer when you need me as a lawyer. I'll come along and be a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. When you're hungry, I'll be bread. When you're thirsty, I'll be water. When you're sick I'll be healer. 'Manna' means 'Don't limit me.' I Am that I Am. I can do whatever I want to do. I can heal whoever I want to heal. I can bless whoever I want to bless. I'm gonna be more to you tomorrow than you are today. I'm gonna show you the manifold glory of God, from glory to glory, from faith to faith, manna.
And then there was Aaron's rod that the children of Israel put out trying to figure out which tribe was to be the priest. And for the tribe of Levi, they put out Aaron's rod and they left it out overnight. Aaron's rod is a walking stick. A walking stick is not a root. It's not a plant. It's not a stalk. It's a stick. You must understand that it's a stick. You gotta understand it's a stick, Serita, because if it were a plant, or a root, or a stalk, it would be living. And if it were living, and budded, and blossomed, that would not be a miracle. But if it's a stick, it's a dead thing. So, they took a stick and they laid it out overnight. And the sign of the priesthood of who was to be the priest over Israel was in the morning, it had budded, and blossomed, and brought forth almonds.