Hosea 4:1-3: "Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: 'There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.'"
Global warming is a hotly debated issue in our modern culture, with proponents and skeptics arguing its viability. Irrespective of the correlation/causation between the natural catastrophes that we are observing and global warming, there is one thing that I believe that we're noticeably missing in our reflective evaluations, namely the judgment of the One True God!
In the above cited passage, God communicates to His covenant people that the reason for the death of creation is the sinful behavior of people. In the eighth century BC, the Israelites were committing detestable acts before the Lord, and they did not concern themselves with the Divine consequences of such behavior. For example, they were sexually promiscuous. . . . they were taking advantage of others for their own benefit . . . they practiced a 'ritual religion' without substance . . . . and most egregiously they 'lacked (any) acknowledgement of God.' These people chose to forsake the Lord in favor of their wanton lusts, and did not care that they were treating with contempt the Sovereign God who created them and expected their submission to Him as Lord. They created a theology that supported their vain, selfish desires and refused to hear the prophets of God who attempted to warn them of coming judgment.
In turn, God enacted judgment upon the land in which the people lived. As He struck His creation with a curse, it began to "waste away." The land began to mourn as the stench of people's sin brought Divine judgment; and to this day, creation has been "groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" (Romans 8:22). We continue to see the Divine curse placed upon nature for the perpetuated sins of humanity.
Lest I be misunderstood, the sins to which I refer are not merely the physical abuses that humanity perpetrates in nature (i.e. contaminates injected into the environment from mass global industrialization). The sins to which I refer are the ones that are mentioned earlier and are noticeably absent from being addressed in our culture as acts of rebellion against the Lord: adultery, sexual immorality, cursing, lying, murder, thievery, abuse, lack of love for one's neighbor, lack of submission to the Lord, etc.
If we want to counter the ill effects of global warming, we would do more than simply changing our environmental consciousness, we would repent of our sins against God and surrender ourselves to Him as the Lord of our lives. Only God can correct the ill effects that our sinful behavior has brought upon our world.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
God's Punishment is Restorative
Hosea 2:13,17,19: "'I (God) will punish her (Israel) for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot,' declares the LORD. . . . . 'I (God) will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked . . . . I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.'"
Hosea was a prophet called by God in the eighth century before Christ to proclaim judgment upon the Israelites for their pagan idolatry and licentious practices against the Lord. As God spoke through His chosen prophet, He identified Israel as His wayward bride who had followed after other lovers (idols) rather than the One True Lord. God reiterated that Israel was choosing her path of adultery because she selfishly desired her appetites to be satisfied above her commitment to her husband (God). For Israel, her self-fulfillment justified any behavior that brought her to this desired end. She was unrelenting in her passion for her wanton lusts.
God in response determined to frustrate His bride's attempts at waywardness. In His punishment of Israel, God desired that she would come to the realization that her immoral pursuits were worthless and thus would return to her True Beloved.
Toward the end of the second chapter of Hosea, God reinforced His eternal betrothal to His chosen bride. God proclaimed that His true people would dwell with Him in a state of eternal blessedness, secured by His love, compassion, righteousness, and justice (2:19).
Of course, this blessedness would be predicated upon God's initiatory work of relational restoration followed by His bride's consequent response of loyalty and submission. Those who were truly His would "remove the names of the Baals from their lips" and would call God "her husband" (i.e. her covenant partner).
As we reflect upon our lives today, we all can identify with the wayward wife of Israel mentioned in the book of Hosea, for all of us have sinned against the Lord (Romans 3:23). All of us have been unfaithful in our allegiance to the One True God. God, in response, has brought punishment for our sin in the form of the curses mentioned in the early chapters of the book of Genesis. Specifically, we will all experience physical death and we will toil in our life journey here on this earth; still, God's judgment is restorative in nature. God desires for all to come to repentance and seek Him as Lord. This is why He Himself came and died on a cross for our sins . . . that He might be the perfect, atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 2:1-2). He alone is solely sufficient to make atonement for our sinful disobedience to Him as Lord. He loves us so much that He was willing to take our deserved eternal punishment upon Himself through His death on the cross; and through His triumphant victory over sin and death in His resurrection, He offers the gift of His grace. Our husband is extending His hand of reconciliation through His sacrifice for us, even when we were utterly defiant against Him as Lord (Romans 5:7-8). This is TRUE LOVE!
Still, we must respond to this offering of grace by disavowing the gods that we have worshipped above Him. We must turn from our spiritual adultery and renew our commitment to Him as our Husband. This marital restoration necessitates our seeking the forgiveness of God and surrendering to Him. God will not refuse such an earnest response to His grace, and He will renew our marriage with Him for all eternity.
Hosea was a prophet called by God in the eighth century before Christ to proclaim judgment upon the Israelites for their pagan idolatry and licentious practices against the Lord. As God spoke through His chosen prophet, He identified Israel as His wayward bride who had followed after other lovers (idols) rather than the One True Lord. God reiterated that Israel was choosing her path of adultery because she selfishly desired her appetites to be satisfied above her commitment to her husband (God). For Israel, her self-fulfillment justified any behavior that brought her to this desired end. She was unrelenting in her passion for her wanton lusts.
God in response determined to frustrate His bride's attempts at waywardness. In His punishment of Israel, God desired that she would come to the realization that her immoral pursuits were worthless and thus would return to her True Beloved.
Toward the end of the second chapter of Hosea, God reinforced His eternal betrothal to His chosen bride. God proclaimed that His true people would dwell with Him in a state of eternal blessedness, secured by His love, compassion, righteousness, and justice (2:19).
Of course, this blessedness would be predicated upon God's initiatory work of relational restoration followed by His bride's consequent response of loyalty and submission. Those who were truly His would "remove the names of the Baals from their lips" and would call God "her husband" (i.e. her covenant partner).
As we reflect upon our lives today, we all can identify with the wayward wife of Israel mentioned in the book of Hosea, for all of us have sinned against the Lord (Romans 3:23). All of us have been unfaithful in our allegiance to the One True God. God, in response, has brought punishment for our sin in the form of the curses mentioned in the early chapters of the book of Genesis. Specifically, we will all experience physical death and we will toil in our life journey here on this earth; still, God's judgment is restorative in nature. God desires for all to come to repentance and seek Him as Lord. This is why He Himself came and died on a cross for our sins . . . that He might be the perfect, atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 2:1-2). He alone is solely sufficient to make atonement for our sinful disobedience to Him as Lord. He loves us so much that He was willing to take our deserved eternal punishment upon Himself through His death on the cross; and through His triumphant victory over sin and death in His resurrection, He offers the gift of His grace. Our husband is extending His hand of reconciliation through His sacrifice for us, even when we were utterly defiant against Him as Lord (Romans 5:7-8). This is TRUE LOVE!
Still, we must respond to this offering of grace by disavowing the gods that we have worshipped above Him. We must turn from our spiritual adultery and renew our commitment to Him as our Husband. This marital restoration necessitates our seeking the forgiveness of God and surrendering to Him. God will not refuse such an earnest response to His grace, and He will renew our marriage with Him for all eternity.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Do You Have the Right To Be Angry?
Jonah 4:4: "But the LORD replied (to Jonah), "Do you have any right to be angry?"
The book of Jonah is somewhat anticlimactic in its final chapters, for one finds that Jonah does not respond to God's mercy the way we might expect. As one reads through the early chapters of Jonah's life experience (i.e. his disobedience against the LORD by not going to Nineveh, his subsequent punishment by being swallowed by the great fish and residing there for three days, his repentance while in the belly of the fish, and his deliverance from the fish by the power of God) one would expect to find Jonah a person yielded completely to the will of God and excited about God's grace. Yet, as we will see, Jonah was grateful for God's mercy towards himself, but he was not so thrilled when that same mercy was bestowed to others . . . particularly the pagan Ninevites.
Once he was freed from the great fish, Jonah made haste to follow the Lord's command to go to Nineveh; he made his way quickly to the pagan city of Nineveh and proclaimed judgment upon the city if they did not repent. Yet in his indignation, Jonah wanted to see God's execution of judgment upon the people. After all, he had made the long journey to the city to do what God had told him to do. Now, he wanted to see the fruit of his labor.
To Jonah's surprise, the people of Nineveh listened to his words of stern rebuke. The king and his subjects of Nineveh fasted from food, put on sackcloth (as a sign of mourning), and called upon the mercy of God. God, in response, had compassion on the city and withheld His judgment against them.
Jonah was enraged at this outcome. In his prayers to the Lord, he in effect said, "Didn't I tell you that this would happen Lord? I know that you O Lord are compassionate and gracious, and I knew that if they repented you would withhold your judgment. Boy, this was a wasted trip . . . here I stuck out my neck to do what you asked me to do and nothing ultimately came from it. This was why I didn't listen to you the first time and fled to Tarshish. Why don't you just go ahead and take my life . . . I'm ready to die!"
Jonah then went outside the city and sat under a vine provided by the Lord for shade. He just sat for hours . . . sulking at his miserable lot. Still, God was resolved to teach Jonah an important lesson about grace even through the prophet's passive aggression. The next day, God caused a worm to chew up the vine that He had provided so that it withered and no longer provided shade for the prophet. Jonah was even more frustrated at lack of good fortune. As the sun blazed on Jonah's head, he grew faint and again petitioned God to take his life.
In response, God said to Jonah a second time, "Do you have a right to be angry . . . " God then used the vine as an illustration to the sulking prophet. He essentially said to Jonah, "here you are so worked up about this vine that you neither created nor tended, and yet Nineveh has more than 120,000 people that I created and thus am genuinely concerned that they have been misled in their disobedience towards me. Should I not be concerned about these people whom I created and to whom I desire fellowship?"
We don't know the response that Jonah gave to the Lord, for the book ends with God's questioning of Jonah's disposition at the course of events. Nevertheless, we can glean some important words of wisdom from this narrative account:
1. God is gracious and compassionate by nature, slow to anger and abounding in love (to the repentant). Jonah quickly forgot his own receipt of God's compassion, and in his "righteous indignation" wanted to see God's wrath befall these pagan Ninevites. Jonah should have been praising the Lord that the people of Nineveh had received the same mercy that he himself had experienced when the Lord delivered him from the belly of the great fish.
2. God has genuine concern that humanity (the pinnacle of his creation) experience propitiation (the turning away of His wrath). God is not sitting in heaven with lightning bolts in hand, ready to feed his insatiable desire to destroy his creation. In fact, he takes no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23), but he desires that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God's kindness toward the sinner is with the hope that it will lead him to repentance (Romans 2:4).
3. Although we (like Jonah) are quick to point out the shortcomings of others, while minimizing our own sins, God still is willing to teach us to appreciate his mercy which is afforded to all who would respond with submission, humility, and repentance. God's hope for us all is that we would be overwhelmed with His love and mercy, and that we would respond to His offering by being surrendered to Him as Lord.
The book of Jonah is somewhat anticlimactic in its final chapters, for one finds that Jonah does not respond to God's mercy the way we might expect. As one reads through the early chapters of Jonah's life experience (i.e. his disobedience against the LORD by not going to Nineveh, his subsequent punishment by being swallowed by the great fish and residing there for three days, his repentance while in the belly of the fish, and his deliverance from the fish by the power of God) one would expect to find Jonah a person yielded completely to the will of God and excited about God's grace. Yet, as we will see, Jonah was grateful for God's mercy towards himself, but he was not so thrilled when that same mercy was bestowed to others . . . particularly the pagan Ninevites.
Once he was freed from the great fish, Jonah made haste to follow the Lord's command to go to Nineveh; he made his way quickly to the pagan city of Nineveh and proclaimed judgment upon the city if they did not repent. Yet in his indignation, Jonah wanted to see God's execution of judgment upon the people. After all, he had made the long journey to the city to do what God had told him to do. Now, he wanted to see the fruit of his labor.
To Jonah's surprise, the people of Nineveh listened to his words of stern rebuke. The king and his subjects of Nineveh fasted from food, put on sackcloth (as a sign of mourning), and called upon the mercy of God. God, in response, had compassion on the city and withheld His judgment against them.
Jonah was enraged at this outcome. In his prayers to the Lord, he in effect said, "Didn't I tell you that this would happen Lord? I know that you O Lord are compassionate and gracious, and I knew that if they repented you would withhold your judgment. Boy, this was a wasted trip . . . here I stuck out my neck to do what you asked me to do and nothing ultimately came from it. This was why I didn't listen to you the first time and fled to Tarshish. Why don't you just go ahead and take my life . . . I'm ready to die!"
Jonah then went outside the city and sat under a vine provided by the Lord for shade. He just sat for hours . . . sulking at his miserable lot. Still, God was resolved to teach Jonah an important lesson about grace even through the prophet's passive aggression. The next day, God caused a worm to chew up the vine that He had provided so that it withered and no longer provided shade for the prophet. Jonah was even more frustrated at lack of good fortune. As the sun blazed on Jonah's head, he grew faint and again petitioned God to take his life.
In response, God said to Jonah a second time, "Do you have a right to be angry . . . " God then used the vine as an illustration to the sulking prophet. He essentially said to Jonah, "here you are so worked up about this vine that you neither created nor tended, and yet Nineveh has more than 120,000 people that I created and thus am genuinely concerned that they have been misled in their disobedience towards me. Should I not be concerned about these people whom I created and to whom I desire fellowship?"
We don't know the response that Jonah gave to the Lord, for the book ends with God's questioning of Jonah's disposition at the course of events. Nevertheless, we can glean some important words of wisdom from this narrative account:
1. God is gracious and compassionate by nature, slow to anger and abounding in love (to the repentant). Jonah quickly forgot his own receipt of God's compassion, and in his "righteous indignation" wanted to see God's wrath befall these pagan Ninevites. Jonah should have been praising the Lord that the people of Nineveh had received the same mercy that he himself had experienced when the Lord delivered him from the belly of the great fish.
2. God has genuine concern that humanity (the pinnacle of his creation) experience propitiation (the turning away of His wrath). God is not sitting in heaven with lightning bolts in hand, ready to feed his insatiable desire to destroy his creation. In fact, he takes no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23), but he desires that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God's kindness toward the sinner is with the hope that it will lead him to repentance (Romans 2:4).
3. Although we (like Jonah) are quick to point out the shortcomings of others, while minimizing our own sins, God still is willing to teach us to appreciate his mercy which is afforded to all who would respond with submission, humility, and repentance. God's hope for us all is that we would be overwhelmed with His love and mercy, and that we would respond to His offering by being surrendered to Him as Lord.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Forfeiting Grace
Jonah 2:8-9: "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD."
Idolatry is defined as anything that displaces God as first in one's life. It can manifest itself in physical forms like golden, carved images, or it can be the vain pursuits of a hedonistic culture (pleasure, affluence, relationships, etc.). Despite the wide array of manifestations that idolatry can take, its commonality is found ultimately is the satisfaction of "self." Each person who follows after an idol is in reality worshipping himself above all other persons and things (including God).
Jonah spoke the above cited words of truth at a pivotal point in his life. Specifically, he had been called by God to go to the formidable, pagan city of Nineveh and proclaim Divine judgment upon them if they would not repent of their sins against the Lord. Jonah would have nothing to do with God's summons. He fled as far as he could away from Nineveh; in fact, he boarded a boat bound for the distant land of Tarshish. We don't know the complete motivation for his refusal to go to the town of Nineveh . . . it could be because these people were ruthless, even skinning alive those whom they considered their enemies. Maybe the motivation was mere disdain for these pagans . . . maybe Jonah thought that these Assyrians were unworthy of his time (certainly, this seems likely given Jonah's response in 4:1-4). In response to Jonah's rebellion, the LORD brought judgment upon the prophet. After Jonah boarded the boat and headed out into the Mediterranean, the Lord brought such a violent storm that "the ship threatened to break up" (1:4). The experienced sailors knew that this storm was greater than any they had experienced before, and they cried out to their own gods seeking deliverance. When Jonah confessed that his sin was the reason for the storm, the soldiers decided to throw the prophet overboard to appease the Lord.
Jonah was tossed about the turbulent waves for an extended period of time; we know this from Jonah's own later account of his experience: "the currents swirled about me; all your (God's) waves and breakers swept over me . . . . The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head . . . . When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD." Jonah found himself in a setting that gave him time to reflect upon his previous response to the Lord; the prophet was now able to see the futility of his disobedience.
As Jonah was beaten by the raging waters crashing around him, he remembered the most important truth of life: Grace is afforded by God to those who refuse to cling to worthless idols. In other words, to those who surrender to God as his Lord, God brings salvation; to those who would chose himself over God, he will forfeit the grace that could be his.
Jonah learned the hard way to submit to the Lord. Let us learn from his life experience and his spoken words of truth to be a people surrendered to the One True God as our personal Lord and Savior.
Idolatry is defined as anything that displaces God as first in one's life. It can manifest itself in physical forms like golden, carved images, or it can be the vain pursuits of a hedonistic culture (pleasure, affluence, relationships, etc.). Despite the wide array of manifestations that idolatry can take, its commonality is found ultimately is the satisfaction of "self." Each person who follows after an idol is in reality worshipping himself above all other persons and things (including God).
Jonah spoke the above cited words of truth at a pivotal point in his life. Specifically, he had been called by God to go to the formidable, pagan city of Nineveh and proclaim Divine judgment upon them if they would not repent of their sins against the Lord. Jonah would have nothing to do with God's summons. He fled as far as he could away from Nineveh; in fact, he boarded a boat bound for the distant land of Tarshish. We don't know the complete motivation for his refusal to go to the town of Nineveh . . . it could be because these people were ruthless, even skinning alive those whom they considered their enemies. Maybe the motivation was mere disdain for these pagans . . . maybe Jonah thought that these Assyrians were unworthy of his time (certainly, this seems likely given Jonah's response in 4:1-4). In response to Jonah's rebellion, the LORD brought judgment upon the prophet. After Jonah boarded the boat and headed out into the Mediterranean, the Lord brought such a violent storm that "the ship threatened to break up" (1:4). The experienced sailors knew that this storm was greater than any they had experienced before, and they cried out to their own gods seeking deliverance. When Jonah confessed that his sin was the reason for the storm, the soldiers decided to throw the prophet overboard to appease the Lord.
Jonah was tossed about the turbulent waves for an extended period of time; we know this from Jonah's own later account of his experience: "the currents swirled about me; all your (God's) waves and breakers swept over me . . . . The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head . . . . When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD." Jonah found himself in a setting that gave him time to reflect upon his previous response to the Lord; the prophet was now able to see the futility of his disobedience.
As Jonah was beaten by the raging waters crashing around him, he remembered the most important truth of life: Grace is afforded by God to those who refuse to cling to worthless idols. In other words, to those who surrender to God as his Lord, God brings salvation; to those who would chose himself over God, he will forfeit the grace that could be his.
Jonah learned the hard way to submit to the Lord. Let us learn from his life experience and his spoken words of truth to be a people surrendered to the One True God as our personal Lord and Savior.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Blessing of a Godly Heritage
Psalm 61:5b: "(O God) you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name."
When recently I was reading this passage, I stopped to reflect upon the impact that one's childhood experiences have on his adult character development. I thought about those to whom I have counseled over a decade of ministry, and I thought introspectively of my own life and how those people in my early years impacted who I am today (some good and some not so good). Then I concluded that one's early setting and family of origin have a tremendous impact upon whom one becomes.
We inhabit the blessings (and the curses) of those who influenced our early lives. For some, the blessings of security, stability, and godliness that were modeled for us by our parents and friends will continue to shower upon us in years to come. These blessings may be made manifest in our ability to love and be loved, to live principally-driven lives, and to desire an intimate fellowship with Christ. Others will war throughout life with the consequences of a familial environment lived in performance-based, conditional love with a lack of affirmation and security as well as the absence of Godly commitment. These manifestations may take the form of insecurities or a lack of integrity or an apathy toward God Himself.
Still, we must remember that no one has to live the carbon-copy life of what was modeled for him as a child. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can rise above the experiences of the past to become the people that God ultimately desires for us to be. The ideal of our Lord is for us to be people who are committed to Him, so that by our lives of integrity, we might be a blessing to those who come after us. God is seeking future generations who will rise up and give Him glory (see Malachi 2:15). This necessitates that previous generations provide the legacy that will demonstrate love, integrity, and godliness. Listen to the words of the following Psalm of David to hear what each generation's responsibility is:
Psalm 145:4-7: "One generation will commend your works (O God) to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness."
Let us break the patterns of dysfunction that perhaps were modeled for us as children by surrendering our lives wholly to the Lord and following obediently His commands and His principles. Although we may continue to struggle with the consequences of our early lives, we can through the power of the Holy Spirit rise above those experiences to bless those who come after us. Future generations yearn for such blessings as these!
When recently I was reading this passage, I stopped to reflect upon the impact that one's childhood experiences have on his adult character development. I thought about those to whom I have counseled over a decade of ministry, and I thought introspectively of my own life and how those people in my early years impacted who I am today (some good and some not so good). Then I concluded that one's early setting and family of origin have a tremendous impact upon whom one becomes.
We inhabit the blessings (and the curses) of those who influenced our early lives. For some, the blessings of security, stability, and godliness that were modeled for us by our parents and friends will continue to shower upon us in years to come. These blessings may be made manifest in our ability to love and be loved, to live principally-driven lives, and to desire an intimate fellowship with Christ. Others will war throughout life with the consequences of a familial environment lived in performance-based, conditional love with a lack of affirmation and security as well as the absence of Godly commitment. These manifestations may take the form of insecurities or a lack of integrity or an apathy toward God Himself.
Still, we must remember that no one has to live the carbon-copy life of what was modeled for him as a child. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can rise above the experiences of the past to become the people that God ultimately desires for us to be. The ideal of our Lord is for us to be people who are committed to Him, so that by our lives of integrity, we might be a blessing to those who come after us. God is seeking future generations who will rise up and give Him glory (see Malachi 2:15). This necessitates that previous generations provide the legacy that will demonstrate love, integrity, and godliness. Listen to the words of the following Psalm of David to hear what each generation's responsibility is:
Psalm 145:4-7: "One generation will commend your works (O God) to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness."
Let us break the patterns of dysfunction that perhaps were modeled for us as children by surrendering our lives wholly to the Lord and following obediently His commands and His principles. Although we may continue to struggle with the consequences of our early lives, we can through the power of the Holy Spirit rise above those experiences to bless those who come after us. Future generations yearn for such blessings as these!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
God Will Restore Those Who Call Upon Him
Joel 2:25,32: " I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten . . . my great army that I sent among you . . . . (For) everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance."
These verses should be a tremendous source of encouragement to us all, for each of us like the sinful, obstinate Israelites of Joel's day has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In the passage above, the covenant community had lived for years in abject rebellion against the Lord. They had sought their own sinful delights over the One True God, despite God's petitions to draw them back into intimate fellowship with Him. Eventually, God needed to send calamity (i.e. the locusts) to get the attention of His people . . . and He certainly got their attention. Still, the purpose for such punitive measures was restorative, to return His people to right relations with Him.
Although God affirmed that He was the one who brought the famine upon the nation by introducing the swarm of locusts, He also proclaimed that He would restore everything that "the locusts had eaten." God is in the restorative business, for He "wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
Still, God's forgiveness is predicated upon our response to His calling. We must "call upon the name of the Lord," which means we must repent of our sins of rebellion against Him and surrender to His Lordship in our lives.
An interesting contrast is found in Joel 3:12, where God's declarative judgement is enacted upon those who defy Him (i.e. those who attempt to assert their own lordship over the One True God). The Lord says in this passage that He will judge all the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (whose name means "the Lord judges"). These people will experience the eternal wrath of a Holy, Sovereign God who will not let the wicked go unpunished. However, for those who chose to respond in repentance to the Lord, He will be faithful to restore His Divine blessings. Respond to the Lord today with a humble heart of contrition and let His healing begin to restore your soul.
These verses should be a tremendous source of encouragement to us all, for each of us like the sinful, obstinate Israelites of Joel's day has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In the passage above, the covenant community had lived for years in abject rebellion against the Lord. They had sought their own sinful delights over the One True God, despite God's petitions to draw them back into intimate fellowship with Him. Eventually, God needed to send calamity (i.e. the locusts) to get the attention of His people . . . and He certainly got their attention. Still, the purpose for such punitive measures was restorative, to return His people to right relations with Him.
Although God affirmed that He was the one who brought the famine upon the nation by introducing the swarm of locusts, He also proclaimed that He would restore everything that "the locusts had eaten." God is in the restorative business, for He "wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
Still, God's forgiveness is predicated upon our response to His calling. We must "call upon the name of the Lord," which means we must repent of our sins of rebellion against Him and surrender to His Lordship in our lives.
An interesting contrast is found in Joel 3:12, where God's declarative judgement is enacted upon those who defy Him (i.e. those who attempt to assert their own lordship over the One True God). The Lord says in this passage that He will judge all the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (whose name means "the Lord judges"). These people will experience the eternal wrath of a Holy, Sovereign God who will not let the wicked go unpunished. However, for those who chose to respond in repentance to the Lord, He will be faithful to restore His Divine blessings. Respond to the Lord today with a humble heart of contrition and let His healing begin to restore your soul.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
A Little Folly Ruins Everything
Ecclesiastes 10:1: "As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor."
Analogies are great at helping us better appreciate principles of truth; many comparative illustrations can be used to give us a powerful insight into words of direction for our lives. In this passage, the writer of Ecclesiastes uses a sensory illustration from his cultural setting to better aid his hearers in appreciating the reality of folly's devastating effects on life.
In the culture of ancient Palestine, perfume was costly. It could take years of accumulated wages to purchase many of the perfumes that were used in that day, so one was careful to protect the precious commodity once a financial sacrifice was offered for its purchase. Although used sparingly, the costly fragrance's blessing was noteworthy, given the rural, agrarian, semi-nomadic setting in which the people lived in that day. There was a lot of sweating from a lot of hard work with little opportunity to bathe. Perfume was a true treasure!
Still, if in one careless moment the flask or jar were left open, the costly perfume would be subject to flies or other elements that could contaminate it. Though years of hard work, sweat, tears, and sacrificial saving may have purchased the perfume, in one minute of carelessness, everything would be lost. It is a tremendous loss, given that the person has lost years of his life working for no substantive purpose. It is the ultimate waste.
As we reflect upon the analogy above, we are able to appreciate how one bad decision of folly can wreck everything for which we have worked in our lives. Whereas some may call it a lapse in judgment, it is nonetheless irreparably damaging to us. Although we may be able to find forgiveness from the Lord for our sin, we may have to live with the lasting consequences of poor decision making.
For this reason, we must strive to follow obediently the dictates of Scripture to avoid the costly decisions of waywardness. We must seek the Lord and His will as if we were seeking priceless treasure (thus above all things), for it is to this disposition of heart, that the Lord gives wisdom for wise decision making (see Proverbs 2:3-10). Our righteousness, sparked and fueled by the Holy Spirit, will bring us deliverance and blessing, free from the calamities of folly (see Proverbs 11:6).
Analogies are great at helping us better appreciate principles of truth; many comparative illustrations can be used to give us a powerful insight into words of direction for our lives. In this passage, the writer of Ecclesiastes uses a sensory illustration from his cultural setting to better aid his hearers in appreciating the reality of folly's devastating effects on life.
In the culture of ancient Palestine, perfume was costly. It could take years of accumulated wages to purchase many of the perfumes that were used in that day, so one was careful to protect the precious commodity once a financial sacrifice was offered for its purchase. Although used sparingly, the costly fragrance's blessing was noteworthy, given the rural, agrarian, semi-nomadic setting in which the people lived in that day. There was a lot of sweating from a lot of hard work with little opportunity to bathe. Perfume was a true treasure!
Still, if in one careless moment the flask or jar were left open, the costly perfume would be subject to flies or other elements that could contaminate it. Though years of hard work, sweat, tears, and sacrificial saving may have purchased the perfume, in one minute of carelessness, everything would be lost. It is a tremendous loss, given that the person has lost years of his life working for no substantive purpose. It is the ultimate waste.
As we reflect upon the analogy above, we are able to appreciate how one bad decision of folly can wreck everything for which we have worked in our lives. Whereas some may call it a lapse in judgment, it is nonetheless irreparably damaging to us. Although we may be able to find forgiveness from the Lord for our sin, we may have to live with the lasting consequences of poor decision making.
For this reason, we must strive to follow obediently the dictates of Scripture to avoid the costly decisions of waywardness. We must seek the Lord and His will as if we were seeking priceless treasure (thus above all things), for it is to this disposition of heart, that the Lord gives wisdom for wise decision making (see Proverbs 2:3-10). Our righteousness, sparked and fueled by the Holy Spirit, will bring us deliverance and blessing, free from the calamities of folly (see Proverbs 11:6).
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