Ezekiel 6:14 "So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD."
The people have forgotten. In one place, it says that the people have turned their back toward the Lord. A nation that has known God is more likely (or so it seems to me in scripture) to reap the judgment of God. It would take many scriptures to explain what I mean by that.
In this chapter, there is a description of the horror of judgment upon Israel. Some nations, like people, seem to harden themselves even more rather than learn from chastisement. It is sad.
The one theme that starts in this chapter is the phrase "they shall know that I am the LORD..." it is repeated over and over.
v3 "And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a swrod upon you, and I will destroy your high places."
The high places are where Israel worshipped idols.
Showing posts with label judgment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label judgment. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Troubled Sea - Isaiah 57
Isaiah 57:20-21 "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
We have all seen the pictures of the sea when it is tossed and slams against the beaches in rage. Such is the case for those who persist in wickedness even after they see the uselessness of the struggle to declare their righteousness.
v10 "Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved."
By comparison the righteous have a hope of peace and rest.
v1-2 "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and mericiful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."
Although the righteous seem to be the ones punished it may be that they are taken to protect them from a greater trial ahead.
v2 "He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness."
The evil ones keep on in their deeds of evil:
v3 "But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. v4 "Against whom do ye sport yourselves?..."
v5 "Enflaming yourselves with idols..."
v7 "Upon lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed..."
v8 "Behind the doors also and the posts ..."
Sometimes it seems evil is all around us and there is no stopping it. But judgment day will come when they will stand to account.
v13 "When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away, vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain;"
As has been said before, the ways of God are much above our understanding but he tells us in his word that there is a day of reckoning (as the song says) in the by and by.
We have all seen the pictures of the sea when it is tossed and slams against the beaches in rage. Such is the case for those who persist in wickedness even after they see the uselessness of the struggle to declare their righteousness.
v10 "Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved."
By comparison the righteous have a hope of peace and rest.
v1-2 "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and mericiful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."
Although the righteous seem to be the ones punished it may be that they are taken to protect them from a greater trial ahead.
v2 "He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness."
The evil ones keep on in their deeds of evil:
v3 "But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. v4 "Against whom do ye sport yourselves?..."
v5 "Enflaming yourselves with idols..."
v7 "Upon lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed..."
v8 "Behind the doors also and the posts ..."
Sometimes it seems evil is all around us and there is no stopping it. But judgment day will come when they will stand to account.
v13 "When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away, vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain;"
As has been said before, the ways of God are much above our understanding but he tells us in his word that there is a day of reckoning (as the song says) in the by and by.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Indignation of the Lord Isaiah 34
Isaiah 34:1 "Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it."
Indignation is a very strong word. It means anger aroused by something unjust. While Assyria and others were used to execute judgment on Israel, there was instance of nations going beyond this chastisement and abusing Israel. I do not totally understand all that is involved here but I think of parents and their children. A parent may do something that seems extreme prompted by a single event but is actually a result of cumulative infractions of parental rules. It was like the straw that broke the camel's back. But one thing for sure, no stranger should think they will get away with stepping in and correcting the child. So, it is with Israel.
v2 "For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all nations, and his duty upon all their armies; he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter."
It is a scary thing to be on the wrong side of the Lord's anger. It will happen to the unsaved when judgment day finally comes. There will be those looks of 'why me' and I've done so much for everyone and given to charity. The problem is we will not be judged by how we followed our plan of salvation but by how we followed God's plan of salvation. It will be an awesome day. Even as a child of God, I dread facing him.
v6 "The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea."
That verse escapes me for meaning but my thoughts, as I read it, were two fold: one of the word of God which is said to be sharper than a two edged sword, and of all the sacrifices Israel made even while they were turning away from the Lord. Sacrifices were an indication of their belief in God but without loyalty they meant nothing.
Then we see a description of a great nation and city which I think refers to Babylon.
v13 "And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court of owls."
Finally, we are told as was Israel, to search through the book of records to see if things did not happen as the Lord said they would.
v16 "Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read; no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate; for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them." Speaking of the owls and vultures. See also Psalm 56:8 and Malachi 3:16
So Isaiah, is going about preaching of the coming days of trial and the judgment that follows. Also, he speaks of a future day when the people will be gathered and there will be joy with their true worship of the Lord.
Indignation is a very strong word. It means anger aroused by something unjust. While Assyria and others were used to execute judgment on Israel, there was instance of nations going beyond this chastisement and abusing Israel. I do not totally understand all that is involved here but I think of parents and their children. A parent may do something that seems extreme prompted by a single event but is actually a result of cumulative infractions of parental rules. It was like the straw that broke the camel's back. But one thing for sure, no stranger should think they will get away with stepping in and correcting the child. So, it is with Israel.
v2 "For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all nations, and his duty upon all their armies; he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter."
It is a scary thing to be on the wrong side of the Lord's anger. It will happen to the unsaved when judgment day finally comes. There will be those looks of 'why me' and I've done so much for everyone and given to charity. The problem is we will not be judged by how we followed our plan of salvation but by how we followed God's plan of salvation. It will be an awesome day. Even as a child of God, I dread facing him.
v6 "The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea."
That verse escapes me for meaning but my thoughts, as I read it, were two fold: one of the word of God which is said to be sharper than a two edged sword, and of all the sacrifices Israel made even while they were turning away from the Lord. Sacrifices were an indication of their belief in God but without loyalty they meant nothing.
Then we see a description of a great nation and city which I think refers to Babylon.
v13 "And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court of owls."
Finally, we are told as was Israel, to search through the book of records to see if things did not happen as the Lord said they would.
v16 "Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read; no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate; for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them." Speaking of the owls and vultures. See also Psalm 56:8 and Malachi 3:16
So Isaiah, is going about preaching of the coming days of trial and the judgment that follows. Also, he speaks of a future day when the people will be gathered and there will be joy with their true worship of the Lord.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
God talks to Job Part 2 Job 39
Job 39:1 "Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?"
In these chapters the LORD builds step by step to a mysterious creature of the deep.
-38-the elements as we call them, the universe and the earth
-39-the animals we do not normally see but still they survive
-40-behemoth, a creature that is unafraid to try to swallow the Jordan
-41-the creature that leaves a trail of light and has scales and breaths fire
In Isaiah it is said of the LORD that he is counsellor(Isaiah 9:6). In job's case he builds a case step by step to convince Job of his wrong.
v13-17 "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's; her labor is in vain without fear; Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding."
Job is being brought to a point where he can see for himself that self-righteousness is not sufficient. As Scofield said that is a path to more fruitfulness. I Cor. 11:31,32, Heb 12:7-11.
I Corinthians 11:31-32 "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
God talks to Job.
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In these chapters the LORD builds step by step to a mysterious creature of the deep.
-38-the elements as we call them, the universe and the earth
-39-the animals we do not normally see but still they survive
-40-behemoth, a creature that is unafraid to try to swallow the Jordan
-41-the creature that leaves a trail of light and has scales and breaths fire
In Isaiah it is said of the LORD that he is counsellor(Isaiah 9:6). In job's case he builds a case step by step to convince Job of his wrong.
v13-17 "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's; her labor is in vain without fear; Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding."
Job is being brought to a point where he can see for himself that self-righteousness is not sufficient. As Scofield said that is a path to more fruitfulness. I Cor. 11:31,32, Heb 12:7-11.
I Corinthians 11:31-32 "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
God talks to Job.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Elihu Part 4 Job 35
Job 35:1-3 "Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's? For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?"
The advantage is to man and the profit is to man. It brings him into a closer relationship to God.
Those things done on earth have a direct bearing on the state of the person committing the acts. However, it is not for God's benefit that people do right for our activity will neither diminish nor lift God up.
v7 "If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?"
Elihu then tells us how God has elevated man above the animals by teaching us more than they. v11 "Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?"
We are reminded that it could have been different if God had so desired it. He is the designer.
Then we come to one of those statements that man makes that is really out of man's control. I've heard people talk about how they are unafraid of the legal system and they will go on and on about how they will tell them a thing or two or maybe not even show up. It is a different story when they stand before the judge either willingly or by the hand of the law.
v14 "Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him."
People can say all they want that God is not real and therefore that they will not stand before him to give account for their life. That belief does not change the fact that God is real and will hold man accountable whether or not they belief in him.
v16 "Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain, he multiplieth words without knowledge."
Amen.
Elihu talks to Job about righteousness or wickedness before God.
Previous post
The advantage is to man and the profit is to man. It brings him into a closer relationship to God.
Those things done on earth have a direct bearing on the state of the person committing the acts. However, it is not for God's benefit that people do right for our activity will neither diminish nor lift God up.
v7 "If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?"
Elihu then tells us how God has elevated man above the animals by teaching us more than they. v11 "Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?"
We are reminded that it could have been different if God had so desired it. He is the designer.
Then we come to one of those statements that man makes that is really out of man's control. I've heard people talk about how they are unafraid of the legal system and they will go on and on about how they will tell them a thing or two or maybe not even show up. It is a different story when they stand before the judge either willingly or by the hand of the law.
v14 "Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him."
People can say all they want that God is not real and therefore that they will not stand before him to give account for their life. That belief does not change the fact that God is real and will hold man accountable whether or not they belief in him.
v16 "Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain, he multiplieth words without knowledge."
Amen.
Elihu talks to Job about righteousness or wickedness before God.
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Man...A Few Days Job 14
Job 14:1 "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble."
Chapter 14 is becoming one of my favorites. Job talks of the limitations of man's life on earth but he also speaks of the resurrection. I believe the best is yet to come for us after we are raised from the dead. It is hard to get depressed when you know you will live forever but for a small pause in the grave.
v5 "See his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass:"
The Bible says: Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment:"
Job asked the question: v14 "If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."
Job knew after his troubles and even if he died, there was hope beyond the grave.
v15 "Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands."
Job here expresses the love he knows God has for him. Job said God would remember him and desire to see him, the work of his own hands.
He then goes into the time frame which seems a long time, the water wearing away the stones, the mountain falling. He also speaks of being in the grave while his sons have success in life but he does not know of it. It is a touching expression of his thoughts.
Song of Solomon 2:8"The voice of my beloved: behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills."
Job speaks of death, old age, and the resurrection.
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Chapter 14 is becoming one of my favorites. Job talks of the limitations of man's life on earth but he also speaks of the resurrection. I believe the best is yet to come for us after we are raised from the dead. It is hard to get depressed when you know you will live forever but for a small pause in the grave.
v5 "See his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass:"
The Bible says: Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment:"
Job asked the question: v14 "If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."
Job knew after his troubles and even if he died, there was hope beyond the grave.
v15 "Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands."
Job here expresses the love he knows God has for him. Job said God would remember him and desire to see him, the work of his own hands.
He then goes into the time frame which seems a long time, the water wearing away the stones, the mountain falling. He also speaks of being in the grave while his sons have success in life but he does not know of it. It is a touching expression of his thoughts.
Song of Solomon 2:8"The voice of my beloved: behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills."
Job speaks of death, old age, and the resurrection.
Previous post
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