By: Obed Pineda
Any good scout can tell you about the value of learning how to properly tie a knot. It begins with the simple logic of understanding what function the knot is going to serve. For example, if a person is going on a camping trip and will be setting up a tent for the night, they know to use a taut-line hitch knot because it slides for adjustment but will keep the tension necessary to secure it. Someone who is very experienced in sailing has become familiarized with the sheet bend knot used often to tie two ropes of different thicknesses or the double fisherman’s knot used to join multiple fishing lines. Without a doubt, there is a specific, practical functionality for every knot that can be made, but not all of them are ideal when it pertains to securely fastening something one desires not to lose. One such knot that is rather complex to make, yet very useful to learn to master, is a triple knot. There are a variety of different triple knots that can be made, but one thing remains the same among them all; its strength and its reliability. A triple knot is regarded as ideal for keeping objects securely fastened to a moving vehicle such as a carriage, boat, or car. It is considered to be the best suited knot to make for high stress applications. Regardless of its complexity, the peace of mind that using this knot provides truly makes it worth learning how to tie properly. Although it is not the purpose of this modest treatise to teach how to make a triple knot, one can take the same principle and apply it to our confidence in the promises of God. During a turbulent and unsure time, the inspired writer to the Hebrews exhorted his brethren, “do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-36). Timothy, too, heard Paul’s plea urging him, “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1st Timothy 6:12). Observe how in both Scriptures the holy directive is to adhere tightly to the promises that God has made to His saints. It would be irresponsible to ignore the fierce challenges that the Christians who came out of Judaism and Timothy were undergoing when these words were written to them (cf. Hebrews 10:32-34, 1st Timothy 4:6-16). Bringing this knowledge into light serves as a reminder that we are indeed engaged in a war for our souls and God did not veil from our understanding that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, cf. 1st Peter 5:8). It is true that when the full weight of what Holy Writ is revealing in this pericope has been fully comprehended, a sense of dread can surface in the mind’s eye, making one feel intimidated by the foe standing against us. Considering that the odds of victory are seemingly not in our favor at a first glance, it is human nature to revert to survival mode and want to escape the danger. However, it is in this moment when we must subdue the carnal mind with the spiritual one, and tie with a triple knot the assurance of God’s promise of delivery to those who trust in Him (cf. Psalm 18:1-3, 37:34-40). Many are the Biblical examples of the righteous who turned to God when the impossible appeared before them and triumphed over it, but one in particular teaches us how to bolt our faith in God with the sturdy and reliable heavenly triple knot. King Jehoshaphat of Judah is remembered by the Holy Spirit as a righteous ruler who “walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD” (2nd Chronicles 20:32). When the Moabites, Ammonites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir (i.e. the Edomites) gathered together to do battle against Judah, the Bible reveals that Jehoshaphat “feared, and set himself to seek the LORD” (2nd Chronicles 20:1-3). Scripture verifies that the armies that joined forces were great in number and formidable, but nonetheless the king gathered his kingdom and prayed to Jehovah God petitioning for His justice to be done against their foes (cf. 2nd Chronicles 20:5-12). When the king of Judah was done praying (along with all the people), God responded by proclaiming through Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2nd Chronicles 20:14-15). It is natural to want to associate the triple knot with prayer, but in reality Jehoshaphat’s pleading to God is the rope that he used to begin to tie his hope down. It is wise to pay close attention to the sequence of events as they unfolded. First the threat appeared at Judah’s gate, followed by the king’s supplication to the LORD, which resulted with God giving him a promise of victory, without having to actually lift a sword in battle. Remember that in our previous passages, it was to God’s promises that the Hebrews and Timothy were instructed to seize firmly to. Notice what Jehoshaphat does next after hearing the Word of the LORD: “So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.’ And when he had consulted with the people, appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: ‘Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever’” (2nd Chronicles 20:20-21). Jehoshaphat’s triple knot consisted of accepting God’s promise as true, receiving the counsel provided by God through His prophets, and by exhibiting his trust in God through obedience and thanksgiving with praise and worship. These three actions that Jehoshaphat is how he tightly braced his hope in the promise that Jehovah God had made to him. Jehoshaphat had the spiritual sight to see the invisible as Moses had, and for this reason was capable of believing in hope contrary to hope as Abraham had (cf. Hebrews 11:24-27, Romans 4:16-22). If one is to examine carefully every example of spiritual victory found in the pages of Holy Writ, one will be able to see how every one of the examples of extraordinary faith was tied down with a triple knot similar to Jehoshaphat’s. Thus, there is great value in learning to trust in God, to identify His servants speaking His Word, and to be obedient and grateful through honoring the Almighty. Even though we find ourselves engaged in raging war that intensifies with every passing day, let us remember that because he tightly secured his faith in God, “then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around” (2nd Chronicles 20:30, cf. 1st John 5:10-15).