2011-04-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to write about Peter’s remarkable walk across water toward the Lord Jesus, until winds came up and he started to sink [MT 14: 29-31]. What happened is that Peter’s faith was weak, and he faltered. Christ understood this immediately and saved Peter from drowning. Still and all, it is a good lesson for us to jump-start us into examining just how much trust each of us is willing to put in the Lord. We also looked at the meaningful words of Amazing Grace, one of my favorite hymns, in this quest to understand the importance of trusting God and what God is capable of doing that mankind can’t. Today, we will begin by looking at mankind’s rebellion so long ago against God’s command, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” [GN 9: 1, 7]. We continue examining the question: Is God ever mean or evil?
After God had issued this command, what did mankind do? Instead, they settled in the land of Shinar [later called Babylon, and much later, Iraq-GN 11: 3]. GN 11: 1, 3-4, “At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words…They said to one another, ‘Let’s make bricks and bake them hard.’ So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together. They said, ‘Now let’s build a city with a tower that that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.’” This was a direct contradiction of God’s commands-certainly foreign to any kind of covenant relationship with Him. We must understand that the people were to have at least some rudimentary covenant relationship with God at this time, because of the Noahtic covenant that we’ve already examined [GN 9: 11-13]. In response, our disappointed God took action, which we see in GN 11: 6-9. “And He said, ‘Now then, these are all one people and they speak one language; this is just the beginning of what they are going to do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want! Let us [Note reference to our Triune God here] go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand each other.’ So the Lord scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. The city was called Babylon, because there the Lord mixed up the language of all the people, and from there He scattered them all over the earth.”
It’s significant that the Lord knew “this was only the beginning of what they are going to do” (6b). The people’s first response was to build a monument to themselves. They were looking inward, not upward to God for direction. Look at the difference between this and what a true believer writes in PS 86: 11-13. “Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth: unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me: and you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” We can see the submission to God here and appreciation for what He does for us in this passage. It is sorely lacking in the description of the erection of the tower of Babel. To the people of early Shinar, God’s command was entirely ignored, if not actively rebelled against. As for the languages, mankind learns them easily as a child. Anyone of us who has tried to study them later in life knows just how difficult it is to become a fluent speaker of a foreign language. The people of Shinar never took into account God’s rainbow covenant and the love that was behind this covenant commitment. God knew from the moment of the original sin, how things would lay out. He tells us, while speaking to the serpent in GN 3: 15, “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite their heel.” This one verse gives us an outline of the whole Bible!
As for God’s will. It might be delayed for awhile, but it will surely come to fruition. IS 46: 9-10, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times to what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” As history has shown us, mankind did get scattered and did fill the earth. But it would happen against man’s original plan seen in GN 11 and by God’s will. Can we say that God is ever mean or evil? Once again, I must say, “I think not.” If God decided to scatter people and confuse languages, He did it for righteous and even loving reasons. We see later, in MT 25: 32, what Christ defined as the separation of the sheep and the goats. Such a thing involved abrogating a portion of His omnipotence, enough to allow each person to decide for himself whether or not he accepted the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was willing to repent of his sins. That is hardly the action of a God who is either mean or evil. I believe heaven is filled with humble people who have proven to be gentle, teachable, obedient, and loving in their earthly lives. Sin, like a communicable disease, spread from one generation to another, from one part of earth to another. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave His life on the cross for our salvation, is the only relief from certain spiritual death [JN 3: 16; RO 7: 24-25]. If we review our personal history with our Covenant Partner, we will see in it love and mercy [PS 107: 43].
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand before Your mighty throne humbled by Your omnipotence and wisdom. We are aware of our sinful natures, but we choose to turn away from them in favor of the faith and teaching that Your Son gives us. We are imperfect and sometimes regress into our old ways. There is where we ask You for Your direction and help. We acknowledge Your intervention saying, IS 50: 4-5. “The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say, so that I can strengthen the weary. Every morning He makes me eager to hear what He is going to teach me. The Lord has given me understanding, and I have not rebelled or turned away from Him.” This verse and many others highlight the special covenant relationship that we have with You. We consider ourselves blessed to have You in our lives. Without You, we are useless and on a one-way path to eternal destruction. Our relationship with You is beautifully described in JN 15: 5, “I am the Vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without Me.” Dearest Abba, we express the love we have for You, and we acknowledge Your amazing grace/mercy. Surely we never deserve the blessings You repeatedly give us. Mankind has repeated the same mistakes over and over again in their history. We ask for Your help in bringing that bad habit to an end. Let us be Your people, Who obey You faithfully, leave a wonderful legacy on earth, and gain eternal life. We know You alone have the power to help us with this request. PS 138: 5, “How many times have we faced what seemed like a mountain to climb, prayed for His help, and He gave it to us!” We thank and praise You; may You always be honored and glorified. You are our God, and we are Your people! In Christ’s holy and mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am led to begin a new segment of messages called “The Promises to Abraham,” which deals with God’s next covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant. In the meanwhile, we are encouraged to live with three important features in our lives: piety, study, and prayer. A lot has been said and will be said about the importance of the Scriptures in our lives. They are a primary way that God speaks to us, revealing Himself-his attributes and His deeds. 2 TIM 3: 16-17 is a passage that bears frequent repetition in speaking, writing, teaching or other forms of communication. “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful in teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and given instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” Prayer is another essential feature, and it’s important that we set aside time every day to listen first for what God has to say and then to speak with Him about whatever is on our minds. Sometimes prayer can be questions to God, sometimes confessions, sometimes God’s instructions or commands; truthfully, prayer can take many forms. Some is corporate, some is very private one on One communication. Some is in small groups. PS 86: 5- 7, “You are good to us and forgiving, full of constant love for all who pray to You. Listen, Lord, to my prayer; hear my cries for help. I call to you in times of trouble, because You answer my prayers.” Piety is living a humble life, which places God and His word at the very center of it. A life of piety allows for the direction of the Holy Spirit to guide whatever happens in it. None of this is impossible for a human to do, but it will, at times, demand making hard, even unpopular choices. We must remember that God has equipped us to do this with integrity, love, faithfulness, and honesty. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15