God's Completed Wrath

I was encouraged while reading Revelation 15 when John observed seven angels parading plagues out of the temple of God in heaven.  Each of them was given a bowl that was filled with the wrath of God that would be a manifest judgment of God through the plague poured out.  It struck me how these plagues came from God and were intended to accomplish His perfect will at the right time.  Though we cannot see a plague as a good thing in itself, knowing God is wise, sovereign and good moves us to worship God when He administers judgment and wrath.

It occurred to me I have often expressed gratitude and praise to God that He is just, but I have neglected to worship God for His wrath He has revealed and will one day pour out bowl after bowl.  Because God is good and righteous, every judgment He makes and action He takes is upright and good.  His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and thus it is faith in God that enables us to thank and praise God like the martyrs, psalmists and children of God for His righteous judgments.  When a judge on earth pronounces a judgment and sentence, we have opinions whether "justice" was served or not.  But we must realise God is not at all like a judge under law and guided by precedent:  He is the lawgiver and the law is beneath Him.  He is not beholden to any law like a human judge, for He is also KING OF KINGS.

In the seven plagues carried by the angels, God's wrath was complete.  It is awesome God's love, grace and mercy have no bounds, and this is revealed by His choice to restrain and limit His wrath.  In light of God's wrath martyrs for the sake of Christ in the Great Tribulation will sing:  "...Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! ⁴ Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested." (Rev. 15:3-4)  Those people who refuse to draw near to God at the revelation of divine love through Jesus Christ on Calvary may indeed be moved by the manifestation of His judgments in wrath.  The glorified believers do no wring their hands at the prospect of the devastation and destruction that will result, but worship the LORD God Almighty for His great and marvelous works and His ways that are just and true.  Nations will come and worship God because He is in Himself glorious and worthy, able to do what we cannot.

The song of Moses ends in Deuteronomy 32:43:  "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people."  The wise who fear God are called to worship and rejoice in God who will avenge the blood of His servants, render vengeance upon His enemies, and provide atonement for the land and His people.  If we will praise God He is just, that He is loving and merciful, we also can praise Him for the righteous administration of His wrath in judgment.  The trusting soul delights to do this, for God does all things perfectly in righteousness.  Praise the LORD for His wrath, and that one day it will be completely finished.

Drawn By Love

An illustration many Christians are familiar with concerns a common way how shepherds dealt with wayward lambs or sheep.  The story goes a shepherd would carefully break the leg of the sheep, immobilise the limb, and carry the animal around.  By needing to rely upon the shepherd for everything, a strong bond was forged between the sheep and shepherd and the wandering issue was over.  A problem I have with this story (one I have likely perpetuated over the years) is there is no biblical evidence of this practice.  There is scant or any evidence outside the Bible this was ever a common way to correct sheep that wander.  I place this among the often parroted illustrations because we heard it from someone we respect and it made sense at the time.  The more I think about it, however, the less sense it makes.

Let me preface this by saying, I have never cared for a flock of sheep or even one little lamb.  My only interactions with sheep was at a petting zoo.  In a stinging rebuke to the religious rulers in Israel, God used the responsibilities of a shepherd to expose their failure to serve His people in Ezekiel 34:4:  "The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them."  Among the things good shepherds did was to bind up the broken, but there is no suggestion it was their responsibility to break bones of the sheep.  Shepherds cared for the flock by lovingly nurturing them, protecting them from harm, calling out to them, counting them regularly so the lost might be sought and found, and bringing them back to the safety of the fold.  Breaking bones sounds forceful and cruel--characteristics that marked these wicked rulers but not God.

I was reminded of something that happened long ago that illustrates how love, patience and care makes a better, lasting bond than breaking a bone.  I was house-sitting for a workmate who had a dog named Buddy who was anything but my buddy.  I had dogs growing up and always enjoyed them, but for whatever reason Buddy was timid and did not care to be around me at all.  One morning I awoke to find the back room where Buddy slept in a crate looking like a crime scene:  the poor dog had lost control of his bowels and the mess was everywhere.  After calling the owner and being assured this was not out of the ordinary, Buddy seemed to know I was there to help.  He let me pick him up (and I don't think I had even pet him by that stage), place him in the deep sink, and wash him of his filth.  As the warm water poured over him, I remember him simply staring into my eyes as I talked to him.  Showing love to Buddy when he was willing to receive it marked the beginning of Buddy trusting me, and the ice melted.

It has been a long time since I read A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, but there was a passage that always stuck with me.  Phillip Keller spoke of a quality ewe that was the epitome of a wayward sheep he named "Mrs. Gad-about."  The problem with this ewe is she was a skilled escape artist that was never content to remain in the fold and taught other sheep how to follow suit.  It seems Keller did not consider the broken-leg technique on the ewe, for she had to go.  He said, "...I took the killing knife in hand and butchered her. It was the only solution to the dilemma."  This was not a cruel thing to do because he was moved by love for all his sheep and the good of the flock.  This may not make for a homey sermon illustration, but it rings true with reality how shepherds dealt with problem sheep in their flocks.  Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and He laid down His life for the sheep so we can have eternal life.  Our call as sheep of His pasture is to love one another as He loves us.

Shepherds pursued sheep that wandered and were lost; they helped the ones that fell into a pit and broke bones on rugged terrain.  Jesus described the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to find one sheep rejoicing when he found it.  He would carry the sheep on his shoulders, call his friends and neighbours together, and ask them to rejoice with him because he found his lost sheep intact.  There were times this didn't happen, as Amos 3:12 says, that only piece of an ear or a couple legs would be found by the shepherd. The gladness of the shepherd and kindness towards his sheep was more likely to build bonds of love and loyalty in a sheep towards the shepherd than a shattered leg.  This agrees with God's word in Jeremiah 31:3:  "The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you."  When David or Jeremiah spoke of their bones or skeleton being broken by God, it is figurative indication of inner agony--not an allusion to the practice of eastern shepherds.

David sang in Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise."  God's desire is His people would humble themselves and be broken and contrite due to our sins.  God desires one person to be broken in spirit and heart like David was for his sin before a holy God more than a million burnt offerings.  Breaking a leg does not change a heart. God does not need heavy-handed tactics to convict us of sin nor will He force us to be with Him.  He wants us to love and want to be with Him even as He has demonstrated His love for us as our Good Shepherd by dying in our place.  We can humbly offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God (with all limbs intact!) as a spiritually acceptable offering, made whole by Jesus and transformed by His love.  Even if our physical body is broken we are accepted in the beloved by God's grace because of Jesus.

God's Exceptional Glory

Of all people, kings and queens might be among those most difficult to impress.  Their wealth, fame, power, possessions and land holdings are vast in comparison to their subjects.  They have the authority, ability and right to take anything they want for themselves, to demand even the lives of anyone who may be a threat to their rule and prosperity.  For this reason I find it remarkable how the queen of Sheba was amazed and overwhelmed by the wisdom and glory of king Solomon.  Reports of king Solomon had reached her ears and were intriguing enough to compel her to personally pay a visit to Jerusalem.

After the queen of Sheba was granted a tour of king Solomon's courts, she was overwhelmed by everything she saw--the architecture, clothing and service of his servants, and the grandeur of his entrance to the house of the LORD.  2 Chronicles 9:5-6 says, "Then she said to the king: "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁶ However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard."  I have the sense that the queen of Sheba experienced what we do when we try to capture the beauty of a sunrise or windswept vista with a picture that cannot possibly contain it.  The energy and excitement we feel being in a crowd when the championship game is won cannot be conveyed fully second-hand or by a video.  The queen of Sheba heard great things about Solomon, but no one came close to telling her the full story.

The queen of Sheba came bearing gifts worthy of royalty that included gold, an abundance of spices and precious stones.  Amazingly, 2 Chronicles 9:12 tells us she and her servants left with more than they brought due to Solomon's wealth and generosity:  "Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants."  This reminds me of when we come to Jesus as Saviour.  We come to Him having heard He loves us, that He died to save us sinners.  When we come to Him in faith and give our lives to Him, as time goes on in our relationship with Jesus we realise we have not been told or have begun to comprehend a fraction of how good He is.  There was no spirit left in the queen of Sheba because she was overwhelmed in Solomon's presence, and God has chosen to put the Holy Spirit within us when we come to Him, not as kings and queens, but as beggars who are undeserving to even speak with divine royalty.

In offering our lives to Jesus, we end up being enriched far beyond what we have ever given by God's grace.  What is lovely is the observation in the text that spices brought by the queen of Sheba were unlike any found in Solomon's kingdom before or since (2 Chron. 9:9).  This is also true concerning the way God has created human beings in His image and how He unites us individuals in the body of Christ, the church.  There is no one else in God's kingdom like you and me, and this is God's doing.  We each bring a unique personality, perspective and spiritual fruitfulness by the Holy Spirit that brings a sweet fragrance and flavour to the kingdom of God.  The almighty God does not lack anything, nor does He need us to accomplish His will, but He delights in us like parents do their own child.  When we offer to God freely what He has already given us, it is we who are enriched and blessed beyond reason.

It is true what is written:  that eye has not seen, ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him--and He reveals them to us through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).  The queen of Sheba was of another kingdom, so at some point she had to leave king Solomon and the glories of Jerusalem.  For Christians, our glorious Saviour will never leave or forsake us, and we can abide with Him forever starting right now!  How awesome is our wise and holy God who gives us all things to richly enjoy, who supplies all that is needed for life and godliness for eternity.  Whatever we know of God today, we only know a fraction of the greatness of His wisdom and the glory of His kingdom.  When we seek the LORD and His kingdom, everything else will be added to us because it is God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:31-32).  Rather than weighing us down, our glorious God draws us close and lifts us up.

God Prepares Hearts

Even in societies that have forsaken God, God is gracious and faithful to preserve a remnant for Himself.  The prophet Elijah lamented he was the "only one" who was zealous for the LORD's sake in Israel, but God had reserved 7,000 who had not bowed once to Baal (1 Kings 19:18).  After Jeroboam became king over the 10 northern tribes of Israel, he was instrumental in establishing the worship of idols throughout the kingdom.  He rejected God fearing priests and Levites from serving the LORD and sanctified priests of the lowest (character-wise) of his subjects.

The priests and Levites took a stand against the king's abominable idolatry by leaving the lands given them as an inheritance and moving their families to the territory of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.  These men refused to bow the knee to the calf idols Jeroboam set up and remained faithful to the LORD.  The rise of king-sanctioned idolatry resulted in a revival of true worship in the hearts of those who took a stand to honour God all across the land as 2 Chronicles 11:13 says:  "And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him."  With one heart and mind to serve the LORD, God galvanised the faith of His faithful servants--and used a wicked ruler to set it in motion.

One might imagine the illiterate and uneducated in the land were like lambs sent to the slaughter because of Jeroboam's idolatrous ways, yet God is able to guide those who fear Him to walk in wisdom even when accountability before men is low.  2 Chronicles 11:16 reads, "And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers."  Like the Levites, those from all the tribes of Israel who set their heart to seek the LORD God continued to travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the annual feasts, and brought tithes and freewill offerings.  They rejected the lure of convenience to offer sacrifices to the LORD at the high places Jeroboam set up, for they set their heart to seek God at His temple.

Praise God He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God has promised all who seek Him will find Him regardless of how secular a society, government or rulers might be like in Deuteronomy 4:29:  "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  God does not weigh our worthiness but is looking for people who seek God with all their heart so He might reveal Himself according to the riches of His grace.  Those who do not prepare their hearts to seek the LORD will do evil (2 Chronicles 12:14), and God holds each person responsible to prepare their hearts to seek Him.  Any who prepare their heart to seek God can know this is evidence of His working in our hearts and lives (Proverbs 16:1).  Let us glory in our awesome God as it is written in Psalm 105:3:  "Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!"