Begging for Judgment

In world news lately there has been a ramping up of "rhetoric" and "provocation" between North Korea and the United Nations, spearheaded by the United States.  The script looks something like this:  North Korea fires a missile over Japan because of war games in the region.  President Trump threatens the offenders with "fire and fury."  Chairman Kim Jong Un makes inflammatory statements, claiming increased sanctions will only increase the push for nuclear weapons.  The United Nations slaps additional economic sanctions on North Korea.  North Korea then fires another missile over Japan.  And the cycle starts over - with no end in sight.

Despite the widespread international condemnation of these acts, these dangerous provocations continue.  As a follower of Jesus Christ, I have noticed another kind of provocation which goes largely unnoticed:  provocative deeds and proud words spoken against God.  To reject God's Word - adding or taking away from it - is a grave crime which arouses God's wrath.  A U.S. diplomat said recently the launching of missiles and rhetoric from North Korea is "begging for war."  North Korea aside, I am convinced the sins of people and nations is begging for judgment from God.  God is far more patient and longsuffering than any human court, but His justice is pure and absolute.  The anti-christ rhetoric and scorn of those who take a stand on the Word of God is like the verbal firing of missiles in opposition of God.  I don't believe any sensible person wants war, but judgment from God will surely come to all who remain stubbornly in sin.

Let us not delude ourselves to think the world is the source of problems Christians face, for the issue is sin in us.  Whilst God pronounced woe on heathen nations for their rejection of Him, God also spoke strongly against His own people who forsook His Laws and did according to other nations.  Here is a small sampling in Isaiah 5:20-25:  "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ²² Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, ²³ who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man! ²⁴ Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. ²⁵ Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them and stricken them, and the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still."

As children of God, we must submit to and seek to uphold the Word of God.  Currently many have been rocked by massive storms, political upheaval, and the voting survey concerning same-sex marriage in Australia have many people pointing fingers at others.  The problems we are facing in the world are profound and we have no means within us to change a single heart.  Our wisdom is incapable of opening blind eyes or releasing the captives of sin.  Thanks be to God He is able to help us and will quicken us to accomplish all things He intends to do.  Those who follow Jesus will suffer for this stand, but there is great consolation for all who trust and fix their eyes upon Him.  The vitriolic and swelling words against God call for justice, yet let us choose compassion, grace, and mercy.  We will not be deterred from loving people, even if we are crucified for our beliefs and convictions.  They might be for war yet may we speak peaceable words, warning others of the certain results of sin.  If we do not love people as God does, our warnings are better applied to ourselves.

Singing in the Dark

One thing I appreciate about the scriptures is how they are true to real life.  There are intense victories won in battle, the unspeakable pain of losing loved ones, frustration over being slandered, and awe over the beauty of nature.  The breadth and depth of the human experience is expressed with insight and understanding of what matters to us.  Because of this agreement with our souls the people of scripture resonate with those who seek after God to this day.

A glorious revelation in the Bible about the nature of God is it is always time to seek Him.  Whether we win or lose, if we are healthy or feel sick, when we are filled with joy or deep depression, God is glorious and praiseworthy.  The book of Psalms is filled with people who knew and trusted God who found themselves in impossible situations.  Desperate times were often the background of David's songwriting.  It seems when he was in great danger the sweet psalmist of Israel was at his most melodious, writing prayerful lyrics to God.  Songbirds can be quiet at night, but it was in the dark times David's songs swelled to heaven.

How about you?  Do you sing to God in the dark times, bringing your petitions and adoration to a God who is the lifter of your head?  What great hope and comfort we find in Him, for when we pour out our souls to Him we are heard.  Psalm 61:1-4 provides an example:  "Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. ² From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ³ For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. ⁴ I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah"  David trusted in God, and at times he was overwhelmed.  There is great comfort here for those who trust in God who are overwhelmed today, for as God helped David He is faithful to help us.

May the LORD put a new song in our hearts to proclaim His praises, for He is good and His mercy endures forever.  You may not think much of your singing voice, but the LORD delights to hear it because He cares for us.  Whether we find ourselves in a cave, a dungeon at midnight, or feel like we are drowning, God will hear and attend to our prayer.  Praise Him forever! 

Our Choices Affect Others

Driving down Windsor Road yesterday I saw an illuminated sign which read, "Your driving affects others."  That's not something which often preoccupies my mind, but it is true.  Dangerous driving on my part bring increased risk to me, my passengers, pedestrians, other drivers, and property.  Lives have been lost and permanently affected by poor decisions made by others on the road.

Our driving affects others, and the way we live our lives affects others too.  Our everyday choices may not result in accidents which in seconds destroy life and property, but the results can be broader and further reaching.  Should we embrace sin, it will have a catastrophic and destructive impact on our lives and others.  Sin brings destruction not only on lives but upon eternal souls.  Adam is a fitting example, but perhaps that of Micah is more compelling because it occurred after man's initial fall.

Micah lived in a time in Israel when there was no king and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  Micah had stolen 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, but after she cursed the thief he admitted stealing the silver.  His mother blessed him for his "honesty."  She claimed she had dedicated the silver unto the LORD, and after he returned it she gave 200 shekels to the silver to make an image for his collection.  Micah had a collection of gods with an ephod, and he consecrated his son to be a priest.  A wandering Levite was later consecrated to take on the role of priest to the family, and Micah believed the LORD would do him good because he had a "proper" priest.  Of course all Micah had done was improper, illegal according to the Law of Moses, and abominable before God but he (like everyone else at the time) did what was right in his own eyes.

Over the course of time men from the tribe of Dan went through the land.  They were looking for good land with people isolated from any help or protection who would be easy prey.  After they found such a place, they took 600 armed men to take the land by force.  On the way they dropped by Micah's house, took his idols and his Levite "priest," and went on their way despite Micah's protests.  They warned him his life and those of his house would be forfeit if he interfered with them, so Micah returned home.  When the men of Dan arrived in Laish, they smote the city and burned it with fire.  They rebuilt the city and called it Dan, after their father.  Judges 18:30-31 explains the shocking consequences of the idolatry of Micah and his mother:  "Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹ So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh."

Micah's mother made an image of silver, and Micah placed it in a shrine in his house.  The tribe of Dan stole it, Jonathan and his sons become priests who used it in worship, and idolatry was entrenched in Israel for hundreds of years.  How many people and families were ensnared by the worship of Micah's idol whilst the Tabernacle of God stood in Shiloh!  Now I cannot say what your sin might be or what could be the ultimate impact of it, but even if one souls is ensnared and turned aside from the living God it would be too much.  It is a tragedy when one life is unnecessarily lost because of poor driving, and it is horrendous for a soul to go to hell for eternity because of sin.  Jesus came to this earth to seek and save sinners, to destroy the works of the devil, and provide eternal life.  The situation with Micah shows the sin of one person has the capacity to affect an entire nation for evil.

The way we live affects others - for good or for evil - more than you know.  It may not be something you often think about, but it is true.

Temptation's Subtlety

Today I read the passage in Judges 16 when Samson divulged to Delilah the secret of his great strength.  I was struck with how a man of great physical strength who could carry off city gates was eventually pushed over with pestering words spoken by a woman he loved.  Samson had bitter and bloody feud with the Philistines, yet he loved a woman named Delilah who lived in the valley of Sorek.  The Philistine lords for a long time had sought to capture Samson, and they bribed Samson's lover to discover the secret of his strength so they might neutralise it.

An interesting observation is as Delilah ramped up the pressure to share the secret of his strength, there was a softening of her request.  Consider the first time she brought up the subject in Judges 16:6:  "So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you."   This is a straightforward question with intent.  If I was Samson, I would seriously wonder why she would ask such a question!  Did she ask because she wanted to bind and afflict me?  Samson shrugged it off with a lie.  The next time Delilah made her request it was slightly different in Judges 16:10:  "Then Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with."  There was no mentioning of the source of his strength, nor any reference to affliction.  Again, Samson deliberately misled her.  Delilah's third request was very similar to the second time with the same results.

Finally Delilah said in Judges 16:15, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies."  Delilah made no mention of binding or affliction.  Her statement is insightful, for she connected the affections of Samson's heart with responding to her request.  She wanted to know where his great strength lie - conveniently not mentioning her intent to bind and afflict him.  Judges 16:16-17a says, "And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he told her all his heart..."  Day after day she pressed him, and the resolve of the mighty judge of Israel crumbled.  It was not long before he was indeed bound, afflicted, blinded, imprisoned, and made the object of ridicule.

It occurred to me the progression employed by Delilah mirrors the tactics of sinful temptation.  At first we are repulsed by the thing, realising the grave consequences of giving into sin.  Day after day of our soul being pressed leads to us wondering what all the fuss is about.  What is the big deal anyway?  Curiosity chews into our resolve and we find our affections shifting from allegiance to God and drifting towards the satisfaction of our flesh.  The scripture does not say, but I wonder if after Samson was bound and his eyes gouged out he regretted loving Delilah in the first place?  Blind in the darkness of a Philistine prison, I imagine Samson started seeing clearly mistakes he made when he could fend off his enemies easily.  It is good for us to realise the enemy of our souls is always looking to afflict and blind us, but as children of God he cannot do so without our permission.  The "secret" of our strength found through trust and obedience to Jesus Christ is no secret, but we can forget to guard our hearts from illicit affections and to keep our hands clean of sin.  When we give into sin's demands, we find ourselves weak as any other man.