Stunned By God's Anger

“Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what [meaneth] the heat of this great anger?” (De 29:24 AV)

Israel is given two chapters of blessing and cursing.  If they obey the LORD and love Him with all their heart, then the LORD will bless them. If they fail to follow the law and reject the LORD, then there are cursings that follow.  I find it interesting the list of cursings is three times and long as the blessings only to show we are more prone to failure than we are to obedience.  One of the cursings is the destruction of Jerusalem and the people carried away into captivity.  This happened first to the ten northern tribes, then to Judah and Benjamin.  They went after the false gods of the nations around them and God judged them.  The words above are words of the pagan nations around them.  They are confused.  They do not seem to comprehend the wickedness of false worship.  To them, it may have seemed wrong, but not to the degree that God punished them.  They cannot comprehend how God can become so angry with His people that He would dispossess them and destroy their country.  To the heathen, God’s anger is always extreme.  They cannot compute that a God who claims to love also will become so angry that He destroys.

The lack of ability to acknowledge and see God’s anger is not something that should lack in the hearts and minds of God’s children.  God has a plethora of emotions.  All of them are right, infinite, and holy.  God is indeed love.  But God is also justice.  God is mercy.  But God is also anger.  God is compassionate.  But God is also indignant.  He owns and exercises His attributes infinitely and in balance.  To refuse to see God’s anger in not a trait the child of God should desire.  Yes, God is love.  But He is also a chastening God.  What struck me is the willful ignorance of those who would ask such a question.  They are so far removed from who and what God is, their expectations of what God should be is totally unrealistic.  But this also reminds me of saints who refuse to entertain the possibility that their ’bad luck’ might be the hand of God that has come out against their disobedience.  The ‘why me’ Christian thinks that life should be nothing but good times and if it is not, then God is unfair.  Believers like this sit stunned at the least bit of adversity because someone has misguided them or failed to teach them the proper way of looking at our relationship with the God who created us.

Remember the first time you had to spank your child?  They sat stunned!  What was that for?  Why did Dad just do that to me?  Why is he angry?  So what if I threw my bowl of cereal on the carpet because I was made?  Surely it doesn’t warrant a spanking.  If our toddler reaches from something he is not supposed to touch, and we swat his hand, he looks at us in deep shock.  He is amazed that his parent would do such a thing.  This is before tears.  This is before the fit.  This surprise comes because the child cannot comprehend their disobedience earned a swat equal to the infraction.  They simply do not see what they did wrong on the same level as the swat they just received.  This is immaturity.  This is lack of humility.  This is entitlement.  This is a child who believes his or her parents exist for the sole purpose of making them happy.  It is a shame that we as God’s children are shocked at what the LORD does or allows for our benefit and maturity.  We sit shocked that God would allow such things.  To be stunned at the hand of God because one has determined God’s actions to be unequal with our behavior is a trait of the lost.  If we know our Bibles as well as we claim, we would understand God’s grace in that we never do receive the full extent of what our sin deserves.  Praise the LORD.

Joy Is A Choice

“And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God.” (De 27:7 AV)

Put yourself in their shoes.  They were fixing to cross Jordan.  They buried their parents and grandparents in graves they would never visit again.  They literally survived forty years of wandering in the wilderness by the skin of their teeth.  There was no permanent settlement.  They lived the life of nomads.  They almost lost everything several times over.  Now, they cross the Jordon River and are immediately paced with two major battles.  Looking at their future, it will be filled with war, toil, and death.  This instruction is to the generation that would cross Jordon.  One of the first things they were commanded to do is to rejoice.  That is particularly difficult when one realizes what the immediate future might hold.  I can see how the allurement of the wilderness would be hard to leave.  One may have to wander and never have a home, but at least they were at peace.  Yet, there is it.  The command to rejoice.  This sounds kind of odd.  We normally think of joy as a spontaneous emotional response to exterior circumstances.  Yet, the LORD commands the people to rejoice regardless of exterior circumstances.  Therefore, we are to conclude that joy is something we can choose to feel.

We’ve all gone through that miserable teenage stage where misery seems to be our most faithful companion.  If anyone can rain on a parade, it would be a hormonal teenager.  There was this TV commercial featuring a family with an adolescent son and a teenage daughter.  This commercial featured different activities the family did while on vacation.  In each activity, the daughter could be found with a scowl on her face.  Her mission was to make everyone else as miserable as she was.  The tag line at the end was this vacation spot was so effective; it could relax the worst spirit out there.  Then the camera showed the teenager with a smile on her face and a chuckle under her breath.  While watching this, my wife and I remarked this young lady didn’t need a vacation.  She needed an attitude adjustment.  Have you ever been sent to your room because of a sour disposition?  I have.  How is that fair?  I may have had a bad day at school, got bullied, then found out the girl I liked thought I was no better than a pile of garbage.  How are my parents supposed to know all that?  It didn’t matter.  If I had a miserable attitude, regardless of circumstances, I had to answer for it.  The only way that could be fair is if our disposition was more of a choice than a response.  As far as my parents were concerned, attitude was a choice for which we were accountable.

Joy, as well, is a choice.  It all depends on what we wish to dwell.  Israel could have obsessed about the loss of family.  They could have preoccupied themselves with potential battles in the future.  They could have worried themselves over the struggles that a new nation would face.  Unpredictable weather might be a concern.  How are they to survive until the land could be settled?  Where would their food come from?  How many families would be left fatherless because they were conquering the enemies of God?  What of the two-and-a-half tribes on the other side of Jordon?  No doubt, the fathers and husbands worried day and night for them.  No excuses.  When they entered the land of Promise, even though great hardships still await, they were to rejoice.  They were to find things to be grateful for.  They were to rest their troubled hearts and spirits in the benevolent hand of God.  They were to rejoice that God choose them and that given a bit of tragedy, joy comes in the morning.  The command to rejoice is just that.  A command.  We can choose to be miserable, anxious, or frustrated.  Or we can choose to rejoice.  The ball is in our court.

Bury The Hatchet

“Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he [is] thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.” (De 23:7 AV)

Given the history between Israel and these two nations, that had to be difficult.  Edom is the descendant of Esau.  They abused Israel as they traveled through the wilderness.  They would not allow Israel to travel through their land while on the way to Canaan, nor would they sell water or pasture on a temporary basis.  Edom would often work with the enemies of Israel and open opportunities for those enemies to attack Israel.  Egypt, of course, enslaved Israel for 400 years.  Their bondage was cruel.  Egypt was a hard taskmaster who abused and even drove to untimely death those whom they enslaved.  The command not to abhor those who had treated them so badly had to be a tough pill to swallow.  I would certainly have a hard time with it.  How we feel doesn’t matter.  The LORD tells Israel not to detest those who have so badly abused them.

Who knew this biblical principle would appear thousands of years later?  World War Two saw the United States fighting Italy, Germany, and Japan.  When it came to cruelty, to the Americans, Japan was our worst tormentor.  For Israel, Germany obviously wins that award.  Following the great war Israel, and the United States, became allies to those nations that had tormented them so.  The United States, Germany, and Italy are in NATO.  Japan and Israel, both being western-style democracies, have an amiable relationship with the nations of NATO.  Where did we learn that?  Perhaps the example Israel set in their dealing with Edom and Egypt has something to do with it.  Perhaps nations figured out it is in their best interests to forgive and forget.  Those nations who cannot stop from hating others simply because they exist are forever embroiled in battles.  Unrest around the world is largely caused by feuds that have been going on for thousands of years.

Forgiveness is important.  Jesus tells us that if we do not forgive those who have mistreated us, then the Father is not inclined to forgive us.   If we hold on to grudges, then the LORD is not apt to walk with us in perfect communion.  The phrase ‘bury the hatchet’ comes from a custom of the Iroquois Nation of Native Americans. It was first witnessed by the English in 1644.  When the warring factions of native Americans concluded a battle or war, having determined conditions for peace, each faction would offer a war hatchet and bury them together.  It signified the war was over and terms of peace would rule.  That is a good picture of the above command.  Israel had to ‘bury the hatchet’ and live in peace with those who once abused them.  It is not easy.  But until the hatchet is buried, fighting will continue.  Much loss with no gain is the result.

The Best Qualified

“As in water face [answereth] to face, so the heart of man to man.” (Pr 27:19 AV)

There is one piece of information missing that causes confusion among our great authors.  Water acts as a mirror.  The man looks into the mirror of water to see his face.  He sees what he likes, or he fixes what he doesn’t.  More times than not, he looks at his reflection as an act of self-evaluation.  He is looking for flaws that can be corrected.  What is missing is the water, or means of reflection when the heart answers to man.  Is it another man?  Does another examine our hearts to reveal what lies within?  That is the most common understanding.  Or is it the man who reflects inward to discover the condition of his own heart?  That is the less favored understanding.  However, that is where I lean.  I believe a man examines himself in the water to discover flaws, and the same man reflects inward to discover his own heart.  The truth to be gleaned here is that the best authority outside of God regarding the condition of one’s own heart is Self.  What Solomon may be intimating is as common as examining our outward reflection in the mirror for correction, the same should be equally common in examining one’s inward health.

Every morning I get up and get myself ready.  A shower is the first thing.  I cannot function without a morning shower.  Before breakfast, before I take the dog out, before I do anything, I have to wake up in the shower.  Brushing my teeth is part of that routine.  Then I have to set my hair.  I have impossible hair.  It is finely stranded hair but a thick mat of it.  This means it likes to stand straight up and will not lay down.  After 59-years, I finally found the magic sauce.  Beard conditioner!  My shampoo and conditioner are super moisturizing blends.  But it is the beard conditioner that makes all the difference.  I prayed and fasted for this solution for decades.  And there it was, all along.  So, after I dry off, I stand in front of the mirror.  I apply two and a half squirts in the palm of my hand, rub my hands together, then apply to my hair.  I run my hands and fingers through my wet hair until all the conditioner is applied.  Then, I take beard oil on with a comb, apply that to my beard.  Without rinsing or wiping, I run the comb through my hair.  I have a part to one side and the larger hair I have to protrude a bit off my forehead.  But then it is set!  I let it air dry from there.  I do this every morning.  Unless I am deathly ill, that is my routine.  Then I sit on the edge of the bed and take my blood pressure three times.  I enter that data into my phone so my doctor can gaze.  I get dressed, take the dog out, brew coffee, and sit back to do my devotions.  But my day starts with self-examination in a mirror.  Everything has to be in order before I go downstairs to greet my wife and my dog.

This is what Solomon is trying to convey.  As natural as it is to examine oneself in the mirror, we are to examine our hearts.  As natural as it is to seek out flaws and fix them, we should seek out heart issues so that we can address them.  Although I can go to a barber and he can fix my hair, he has to learn how my hair lays.  I don’t.  I know it better than anyone.  So, too, is my heart.  I know it better than anyone.  Everyone else sees the heart I want them to see.  Only God and I know it as intimately as it can be known.  Therefore, alongside my routine to trim hair, shave, or set my hair every morning, there must be a time I reflect on the condition of my heart.  It is something I can do better for myself than relying on others to do.  As naturally as it is to examine the flaws in my physique, I should be equally disciplined to examine the flaws in my character or inner self.

Trust God As Much in Life as In Death

“For thou hast delivered my soul from death: [wilt] not [thou deliver] my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Ps 56:13 AV)

Some believe David is referring to a fatal injury in battle or disease of unknown occurrence.  There is no record of any near fatal circumstances on the battlefield or the sick bed.  However, being a warrior and king, there would no doubt have been one or two.  David makes reference to the temptations afoot from his adversaries.  He is speaking not of the battlefield, but rather, life’s troubles themselves.  His conclusion to this psalm is if the LORD delivered him from serious adverse circumstances, including certain death, then He is surely capable of delivering him from the troubles at hand.

It’s those little pesky things that often give us the most worry.  It’s not serious disease, it is the potential for a serious disease that worries us.  It is not a broken down vehicle, but the potential of being without a vehicle that worries us.  We trust the LORD for the serious things, but we worry ourselves over the minor things.  We can trust the LORD for our souls, but trust the LORD for life is a different matter.  We can trust the LORD in death, but trusting Him in life seems to be a more difficult challenge.  This is the point David is making.  He trusted the LORD in the heat of the battle, but now that he has adversaries that are constantly troubling him, he seems to be faltering a bit.  Trusting God in death seems to be easier than trusting God in life.

I have seen many people pass away.  Those that are saved pass away very peacefully.  I am always amazed at the look on the face of those who have departed.  They have a presence of peace and contentment, free of trouble or fear.  If only we could live that way.  We can and will die that way.  But living that way isn’t always so easy.  Trusting the LORD with the little pests in life seems to be more than we can handle sometimes.  Trusting the LORD in the everyday troubles of life is a lifelong lesson.  Just when we have it all figured out, life throws us a curveball.  We have a whole new set of problems that creep up.  David struggles more over court meetings, judgment on his people, or meeting the temporal needs of the kingdom more than he does Goliath, the Philistines, or any other nation that might rear its ire.  David has a bigger struggle with Joab, Shemei, and Absalom than he does Edom, Moab, and Egypt.  I can identify with David.  Give me a huge battle and I am good.  However, all these minor issues that seem to pile up are the things that bother me the most.  Trust is the key.  Seeking God’s help and empowerment is the only answer we have.

Growing Strong Through Obedience

“Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;” (De 11:8 AV)

There is more than one reason to keep God’s commandments.  The ultimate motivation is that in obedience, we please the Creator.  Another motive which is not that far removed from the first is in obedience, we realize the purpose of our existence.  The Creator made us to walk in obedience to His law.  Thirdly, in obedience, we understand purpose and calling.  We accomplish that which we were designed for and live in accordance to the Creator’s master plan.  However, the motive stated above is more practical than those previously listed.  In obedience, we grow in strength.  Sometimes that strength is physical or emotional strength.  More times than not, the strength mentioned is spiritual.  By walking is the commandments of God, internally, we become a stronger person.  We learn humility, patience, faith, and a desire to please God more than self.  We learn maturity.  We learn more and more of God by obeying Him.  We learn why He gave His commandments and that in His commandments is abundance of life.  In short, complying to the commands of God makes us stronger people.

Strength is a funny thing.  Sometimes, the smallest of thorns can drain the body of all strength.  This winter has been a hard one.  The flu is ravaging through the population.  Even my care givers have noticed it is particularly robust.  This writer contracted the flu.  It wasn’t too bad in the sense it was mostly a fever and body aches.  Fatigue was also a factor.  However, once having come out of it, I got an ear infection.  I haven’t had one of those since I was a kid.  It feels like a sharp object is jammed into my ear.  No fever.  Coughing from the flu has all but ceased.  Yet this painful earache is taking more out of me than the flu ever did.  Swallowing is a bit of a problem.  But the worst is when the pain comes on like an icepick being thrust into my ear and down into my throat.  As things go, this problem would be considered a minor one.  Yet, I’d rather have the flu again.  This small little infection is sapping all my strength.  It is considered very minor.  The urgent care doctor, who was fantastic, wrote scripts for meds.  Yet, there was nothing to do but wait it out.  One little thorn in the flesh and I need a serious nap in the middle of the day.

When we suffer even the smallest of consequences of disobedience, it can suck the spiritual life right out of our souls.  We pray for encouragement.  But one has to wonder how much of our discouragement is caused by disobedience.  Moses tells us that obedience to the commands of God brings internal strength to face the battles we must face.  The context is conquering the land of Canaan.  The way in which they were to win the battle was to first learn obedience.  Submission to a higher commander was key to following instructions that won the war.  If we are weak of disposition, zeal, or spirit, maybe the answer is no more complicated than obedience.

It Really Is That Simple

“Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that the LORD he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: [there is] none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong [thy] days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.” (De 4:39-40 AV)

Verse thirty-nine is often thought of and preached separate and apart from verse forty.  We look at verse thirty-nine as a proof text of God being only one God.  We correctly teach there is no other God but our God.  The singular nature of God and that fact there is none else is often a source of encouragement.  The fact there is only one God intimates security and predictability.  There are no other gods who might contradict one another.  There are no other gods who may have opposing wills.  Because there is one God means His ways are simple, singular, and discernable.  Because there is only one God, our relationship with Him is focused and personal.  We need not divide our devotion between multiple Gods.  This is a truth of great comfort.  But the context above refers to obedience.  Verse forty is clear.  Because there is one God and only one God, we are to obey His commandments.  It really is that simple.

There has been a trend of late.  I don’t know where or when it started, exactly.  But there is a trend to humanize the LORD.  The humanity of Christ is elevated above His divinity.  The Godhead is minimized for a less intimidating idea of who and what God is.  Truths like the fear of God and the wrath of God are seldom preached truths.  We want a friendlier and more relatable form of Creator who isn’t all that concerned with how we live our lives.  We have gone the way of the Gnostics who believe knowledge means spiritual maturity.  The more ‘nuggets’ we discover, the more mature we believe ourselves to be.  The definition of spiritual maturity is reduced to writing a book, hosting a video, or solving some obscure puzzle that the saints of God have been arguing for thousands of years.  God is reduced to a theological construct, no more to be feared than the textbook from which we are gleaning these concepts.  God has been neutralized.  He has been humanized.  God is no longer the Creator of all things, Owner of all things, and Controller of all things.  His creation believes it owes Him nothing, and that He is there to accommodate us.  Our prayer life is usually about what God can do for us.  Although we are encouraged to lay before Him our needs, it is not with the presumption that He owes us those needs.  We have wandered far from the true nature of our Creator and unless we return, there are hard days ahead.

The conclusion of the declaration of God’s sole existence is that His creation must obey Him.  Our walk with God is no more complicated than that.  Most of today’s preaching centers on the felt needs of the saints.  Just the other day I went by a community church who was advertising a series of messages on surviving in a difficult world.  When will we hear old-fashioned sermons on the commandments of God?  When will we get back to the laws, statutes, and principles of the Bible to which we are commanded to heed?  When will we hear honest preachers of truth warn the sinner and the saint that God is our Creator and He is not pleased when we walk in disobedience to His law?  There is no fear of God and no desire for salvation because we have abandoned the preaching that once grew our churches.  We have neglected holiness as a command of God and reduced it to a preference for better living.  When do we hear again that God will judge?  When do we fall on our face and seek forgiveness from a merciful God because we have utterly failed to live according to His word?  I fear the longer time marches on without the understanding of fearing God and obeying His commands, the closer the LORD is to conclude His plan for mankind.  God is God!  He owes you and me.  He has every right to do with that which He has created.  As it pleases Him!  Fear God and keep His commandments, because that is the whole duty of man!