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Time Is Running Out

2 Kings 20-21

Way back in Genesis, when God promised to give the land of Canaan to his descendants, God explained to Abraham that his descendants would spend 400 years in Egypt before claiming their inheritance because the time of the Canaanites was not complete.  In other words, the people of Canaan were sinful but they had not yet become completely irredeemable.

Genesis 15:13-16

“Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.  But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.  As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.  And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Here we get the first indication that God postpones His judgment, or wrath, until a people is finally unredeemable.  God did not unjustly take the land of the Amorites, which is Canaan, and give it to the descendants of Abraham.  God gave the inhabitants of Canaan an additional 400 years to return to Him or face the consequences of their sinful ways.

Another indication of God’s patience prior to judgment is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  God made it clear to Abraham that He was going to annihilate these twin cities of abject moral corruption.  Abraham pleaded for the cities, bartering with God and receiving a pledge that He would not destroy those cities if just 10 righteous people could be found living within them.  Of course there were not 10 righteous people within those cities as God well knew.  Their time for judgment had come.

What does any of that have to do with today’s reading you ask?  Take a look at the following verses.

2 Kings 21:8-9

“And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.”

The Northern Kingdom had already been taken into exile and the Southern Kingdom was about to take a similar road to the end.  Back when Israel first entered the Promised Land God warned them that His protection would last as long as they were faithful.  They weren’t faithful.  They weren’t faithful for a long time.  They weren’t faithful for a very long time.

 2 Kings 21:10-12

“And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.”

Judah’s time had come.

Billy Graham has been quoted as saying “If God doesn’t punish America He will owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.”  When will America’s time come?  When will the World’s time come?  Some wonder why Christ has delayed His return for 2,000 years.  I submit it is because the iniquity of the World is not yet complete.  Christ told His followers to make disciples of all nations.  The Gospel has moved westward from Jerusalem and today China is experiencing phenomenal growth in the number of Christians.  As the Gospel continues its westward trek back toward Israel the time is running out.

It’s a theory.  Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Different

Ezekiel 14-16

Do you know what I thought when I finished reading today’s passages?  I thought “Boy is God mad!  He is really, really mad!”  Now we have been reading of God’s condemnation of Judah for a while but in today’s verses He used some pretty strong examples to get the point across.  The first verses that really stopped me in my tracks was this:

Ezekiel 14:13-14

“Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.”

The reason these verses got my attention is that Ezekiel and Daniel were contemporaries.  Ezekiel was using Noah and Job as examples of righteous men and I understood that.  These were examples from the earliest of recorded history.  People had millennia to read of them and learn to revere their righteousness.  Daniel could very well have been alive at the time of the writing of these verses.  This meant that his renown as a righteous man had spread fairly quickly.

God’s point in mentioning these men was to help the wayward people of Judah to understand that not only did they lack righteousness to save themselves from punishment, but that, even if these three righteous men themselves were among them, even their righteousness would not be enough to save them.  You see Noah’s righteousness saved his sons and their wives and even the future of all mankind.  Job’s righteousness had allowed him to survive his trials and saw children and wealth restored to him.  Daniel was the current “rock star” of righteousness.  His fame as a righteous man, and the protection God had afforded him, was obviously known far and wide.   Ezekiel was simply using the most widely recognized person of righteousness known to the people of the day as another example of righteousness that could not save the condemned.

The people of Judah considered themselves righteous and they were horribly mistaken.  God was trying to get that point across to them.  I recently spoke with an individual who was as lost as lost can be.  He was rather nasty in his attitude toward Christians.  He was one of the most arrogant men I have ever met.  He viewed himself as a purveyor of peace and justice and love – all while cussing up a blue streak at me for the crime of being stupid.  He has it all figured out you see.  The rest of us are just too stupid to understand his brilliant truth.  He is his own idol.  He has no intention of repenting and turning away from all his abominations.  He is dead meat.  It breaks my heart.

The reason God said that even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them they would only deliver themselves, is because these lost folks would not listen to even these righteous men.  That man I spoke with?  I wonder if he would repent even if Jesus Christ himself appeared before him.  That is how hard his heart seemed to me.  That is how hard the heart of the people of Judah’s time had been.

Moving on, all of chapter 16 is a vivid example of how horribly Judah had behaved toward God.  God gave an analogy of infidelity as a way to communicate the severity of Judah’s transgressions.  I pictured a Hollywood movie as I read that chapter.  I’m sure I’ve seen some version of this on the silver screen.  The man that finds a down and out, helplessly wretched woman in a gutter and saves her, and pours his love and riches on her only to later discover her cheating on him and giving away his extravagant gifts to her many lovers who simply use her and cast her aside.  How would you feel if your wife did something similar to you?  Would you be angry?

Finally, this next verse made me wonder about the church in America.

Ezekiel 16:47

“Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.”

Judah had become more corrupt than the nations that surrounded them.  What was God’s purpose in establishing Israel as His people; His nation?  He established them to show His power and grace to the rest of the world.  What did His chosen people choose to do?  They chose to cast Him aside and chase after foreign gods.  They became even more debauched than the rest of the nations around them.  In today’s reading God mentioned Sodom in comparison to Judah.

I remember hearing a quote attributed to Billy Graham “If God doesn’t punish America He will owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology”.   America has certainly become a rather toxic culture.  Many in our country today think the Muslim world hates us because of our politics.  I’m sure our support of Israel doesn’t go down easy for some Muslims but many of their Imams seem to harp on our poisonous culture.  If you think sex and violence is a corrosive influence in society then you must think the American culture is pure acid.

So if our American culture is so foul, why do the statistics show little difference between Americans that call themselves Christians and those that don’t?  The divorce rate is almost identical.  We hear of sexual perversion and violence committed by alleged Christians almost every day.  I don’t believe we are there yet, but is there a day when the church in America is more corrupt than the non-believers?  I find it hard to believe that such a thing could ever occur, but why is that we so closely mirror the society around us?  Aren’t we supposed to be different?

Let me ask you; are you different than your lost neighbor?  How?  How does this difference make itself known?  Would your neighbor view you as different – in a good way?  Christians in America today are not the people of Judah back in the day; not even close.  The people of Judah had surpassed the evil of their neighbors; we have not done that, nor do I think we ever will, but our behavior is getting too close to that of our lost neighbors and boy is it time for us to start pushing the needle the other way.  It is time for us to stand up and show the difference.  Will you be different?  I hope so!

May your neighbor see the light of Christ in you!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Hope For America

Song of Solomon 5 – Isaiah 1

Well, we have gone through the Song of Solomon in two days and I have got to tell you that to make sense of this book I think we would need two months!  I’ve been reading the commentaries and even if we just look at this book as a story about Godly marital love there is still a lot of explaining to do.  I cannot do this book justice in this format.  So, of necessity, not wishing to slight the Song of Solomon in the least, but unable to do it justice, I will move on to Isaiah.

Isaiah is the first of 17 prophetic books, not because it was written first but because it is the most comprehensive in content.  Isaiah lived around 700 B.C. and prophesied to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  The Northern Kingdom had fallen to the Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C. and things weren’t looking to good for Judah as well.  Juda was in political and spiritual decline and it was in this atmosphere that Isaiah rose to urge God’s people to return to Him, trust in Him, and obey Him.  He urged them to look to God for salvation.

Below are a few comments and an outline from:

Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

“Some have suggested that the book has two themes, one for chapters 1-39 and another for chapters 40-66. Judgment seems to be the emphasis in the first part, and salvation and comfort are prominent in the second. Since Isaiah followed the theology of Deuteronomy (punishment must come for failure to live according to the Mosaic Covenant before a time of blessing can come), the two parts of Isaiah can be reconciled. Chapters 1-39 point out the nation’s problem of sin which must be rectified before a proper relationship with the covenant God can be restored. Judgment, emphasized in chapters 1-39, is the purifying force that leads to the forgiveness and pardoning of sins emphasized in chapters 40-66 (cf. 27:9). Ultimately redemption for Israel must come from the “ideal Servant,” the Messiah, who will accomplish what the servant-nation cannot do. This accounts for the so-called “Servant Songs” in the second major division of Isaiah (42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12).

But chapters 40-66 emphasize more than redemption from sin. Those chapters go beyond that to speak of a change in the cosmos, of the Lord’s restoration of His created order. In chapters 1-39 judgment on sin is stressed; in chapters 40-66 atonement for that sin and the resulting change in people and the world system are discussed. Judgment, then, must come before blessing can follow.”

OUTLINE

I.        The Retribution of God (chaps. 1-39)

A.       The Lord’s indictment of the nation (chaps. 1-6)

1.       The heading for the book (1:1)

2.       The Lord’s lawsuit against the nation (1:2-31)

3.       An affirmation of restoration (2:1-5)

4.       The present condition and future consequences (2:6-4:1)

5.       The holy survivors (4:2-6)

6.       The worthless vineyard (5:1-7)

7.       An indictment on sin (5:8-30)

8.       Isaiah’s commission (chap. 6)

B.       Prophecies of deliverance (chaps. 7-12)

1.       The birth of Immanuel (chap. 7)

2.       The coming Deliverer (8:1-9:7)

3.       Exile for the Northern Kingdom (9:8-10:4)

4.       Assyria’s fall and the great  kingdom’s rise (10:5-12:6)

C.       Judgment on the nations (chaps. 13-23)

1.       Babylon (13:1-14:27)

2.       Philistia (14:28-32)

3.       Moab (chaps. 15-16)

4.       Damascus (17:1-11)

5.       The land of whirring wings (17:12-18:7)

6.       Egypt (chaps. 19-20)

7.       The desert (21:1-10)

8.       Edom (21:11-12)

9.       Arabia (21:13-17)

10.     Jerusalem (chap. 22)

11.     Tyre (chap. 23)

D.       Punishment and kingdom blessing (chaps. 24-27)

1.       A time of judgment (chap. 24)

2.       A time of blessing in the kingdom (chaps. 25-27)

E.       The woes (chaps. 28-33)

1.       Woe to Ephraim and Judah (chap. 28)

2.       Woe to Jerusalem (chap. 29)

3.       Woe to the obstinate children (chap. 30)

4.       Woe to the Egyptian alliance (chaps. 31-32)

5.       Woe to the destroyers (chap. 33)

F.       Vengeance and blessing (chaps. 34-35)

1.       The Lord’s day of vengeance (chap. 34)

2.       The Lord’s day of blessing (chap. 35)

G.       Historical interlude: Judah to be in captivity (chaps. 36-39)

1.       God’s superiority to Assyria (chaps. 36-37)

2.       Judah’s captivity in Babylon (chaps. 38-39)

II.       The Restoration by God (chaps. 40-66)

A.       Deliverance of God’s People (chaps. 40-48)

1.       The majesty of God (chap. 40)

2.       A challenge to the nations (chap. 41)

3.       The individual Servant contrasted with the servant nation (chap. 42)

4.       A promise to regather the unworthy servant (43:1-44:5)

5.       The Lord’s uniqueness as the only God (44:6-45:25)

6.       The Lord’s superiority over Babylon (chaps. 46-47)

7.       An exhortation for Israel (chap. 48)

B.       Restoration by the Suffering Servant (chaps. 49-57)

1.       The Servant to be rejected (chaps. 49-50)

2.       The remnant to be exalted (51:1-52:12)

3.       The Servant to be exalted (52:13-53:12)

4.       Salvation to come from the Servant (chaps. 54-57)

C.       Restoration realized and completed (chaps. 58-66)

1.       The restoration to come by God’s initiative (chaps. 58-60)

2.       The coming of the Messiah and the coming of the Father (61:1-63:6)

3.       The nation’s prayer and the Lord’s response (63:7-65:25)

4.       The Lord’s fulfillment of His promises (chap. 66)”

As I read this first chapter of Isaiah I felt I was reading the entire case stating our need for a savior.  I also found myself thinking of our nation.   Billy Graham once said “If God doesn’t punish America He will owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.”

Isaiah 1:21-236

“How the faithful city
has become a whore,
she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
Your silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.”

I’m afraid I see my country that way; once faithful, now full of greed.  Our “princes”, or politicians, are rebels and companions of thieves.  God speaks of judgment for sinful ways.  He also speaks of the fact that He will wash our sins away if we are willing and obedient.

Isaiah 1:18-19

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;”

This is the hope we have in Jesus Christ.  I believe this hope is available for our nation as well.  A nation is made up of people.  The deplorable moral state of our nation exists because of the lostness of our countrymen.  How do you change a nation?  You change it one heart at a time.  I found this verse particularly apropos.

Isaiah 1:9

“If the Lord of hosts
had not left us a few survivors,
we should have been like Sodom,
and become like Gomorrah.”

The Lord of hosts has left America a few survivors; a remnant, you and me.  America does not have to be like Sodom and Gomorrah.  If a few good men will stand in the gap, if they will share their faith with the lost, if they will be faithful and obedient to the will of God, then this nation will be changed.  What an awesome responsibility God has given us.  By sharing our faith we can be part of God’s saving grace.  We can be part of changing hearts and changing this nation.  The solution to the problems of this nation will not be found in political parties and programs but in Jesus Christ.

I’m looking forward to reading through this book as it has a lot to tell us about the Messiah and His saving grace!

May you have a day that offers you the chance to share Jesus with others!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!