The Lord Expresses Love, Even In Judgment - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 22:30-31,

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord."

After enumerating the many sins of Israel, some of them quite horrific, the Lord tells Israel he looked for someone to "build up the wall", to "stand in the gap" to protect Israel by preventing the Lord's wrath in his destruction of them. Finding no one, he informs them of his coming judgment.

I take this to mean that the Lord could find no one that could lead Israel into repentance, someone to lead them in a return to the Lord, to draw them away from their detestable practices and receive his blessing rather than his judgment.

No one capable, no one qualified, no one willing: whatever the case, here is a statement that brings two things to my mind, one horrible, the other wonderful. First is the obvious decline into the ungodliness that Israel had sunk to. But the second is a wonderful statement about the Lord who eventually destroyed Jerusalem. He looked! He looked to see if there was anyone who could lead Israel into a path that would spare them his judgment. Someone he could work with to draw Israel to himself! It speaks to me of his enduring patience, his desire to build up, not to tear down; it speaks of his love of man in spite of man's rebellion and rejection of him.

As we will read in Ezekiel 33:11, "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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God's Judgments Are Always Appropriate! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 21:1-5,

"Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to her: 'This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.'"

As I read the words of this prophecy the phrase comes to mind, "politically incorrect". In today's world the discussion among the nations would be "Unilateral, bilateral or multilateral?" The concept of destroying a people, no matter how well deserved, has become something of an "anathema" in our day.

Negotiation is the way of our day. Reason and understanding, possibly some education is the way. But this is not the tack that the Lord took with Israel and her surrounding neighbors. They were warned of impending judgment and destruction if they persisted in a life of rebellion and sin against him and having had ample time to repent without doing so they were destroyed. Jerusalem was leveled and its inhabitants yielded to either captivity, famine, sickness at the Lord's hand, or put to the sword. He destroyed Judah and Jerusalem as they had existed. A little over a hundred years earlier he had destroyed the northern ten tribes of Israel.

So, have we "evolved" now past the Lord? He tells us he is "the same yesterday, today and forever." Since he didn't employ the craft of the diplomat and reason with Israel and her surrounding neighbors to arrive at some acceptable settlement but rather resorted to violence, has mankind now come to a superior point where we view God's actions with disdain?

I think not. I find in my God action that is always appropriate and effective. My perspective is he knows a few things we do not. He knows mankind has an amazing facility for delusion. We are artful in deceiving ourselves and accepting that which is abhorrent and abominable. Those who find repugnant the use of force to eliminate those who engage in horrific acts are often engaged in it themselves.

We deceive ourselves all too easily and at times divine wisdom has dictated the removal and/or elimination of the wicked and rebellious. Whether through the flood in Noah's day, the judgment of Israel and her neighbors, or the future judgment the world will see in the Day of the Lord, our God's actions are always fair, just and appropriate!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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God Has Determined He Be Known As He Is - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 20:9,20b,

"But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations they lived among and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites by bringing them out of Egypt… Then you will know that I am the Lord your God."

I don't think the Lord is concerned with the trifling issues of conceit or winning popularity contests. Yet several times in this chapter the Lord repeats the thought that he did certain things to protect his name, to keep it from being profaned. See verses 20:14, 41 as well. He also repeats quite often in the prophecies he gives to Ezekiel that he wants the Israelites and surrounding nations to know he is the Lord - both through his judgments and his redemptive acts.

We worship a big, big God and in all he does he certainly demonstrates he is lofty, transcendent and above issues like petty conceit in his majestic splendor. He never indicates he wants anyone to feed a perceived starved ego, much unlike the false deities the Israelites had turned their hearts to. And so it causes me to wonder about his interest in the "sake of his name" - keeping it from being profaned. Why is it he is adamant that the Israelites and surrounding nations know it is he who is God?

My thoughts drift to the predicament of mankind. As a race we are lost. After rebelling and sinning against God we fell under his judgment. We all face certain death as he warned of in Genesis 3. Out of a love for us he has made it possible to escape his wrath expressed in his judgment – and to join his family. What he has chosen is that those who, unlike the expression of Adam and Eve in their rejection of God and his warning, embrace him in the faith Abraham did, become children of God (John 1:12). "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." (See Genesis 15 and Romans 4.) In his love for us and his desire that as many as will embrace him in faith to come to him, it requires he hold a perceived stature that is beyond reproach. It seems to me he doesn't want false impressions of who he is to keep folks from coming to him in faith. Unlike so many who want to impress others with an appearance of respectability that deserves honor which may or may not be deserved, our Lord wants people to see him clearly as he really is.

If anyone steps in the way of God's name being revered they risk action from God. Not because he needs our approval by protecting his name, his reputation, but because we desperately need him. He wants us to see him clearly as he is. He doesn't need our approval - we desperately need him.

To me, the Lord's purpose in protecting his name and doing those things that cause us to know he is God is further demonstration of his boundless love for us in these efforts as he keeps us from hurdles created by mankind in coming to him.

Just how wonderful is this love of his?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God's Blessing And Our Straying - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 19:11-14,

"Its branches were strong,
    fit for a ruler's scepter.
It towered high
    above the thick foliage,
conspicuous for its height
    and for its many branches.
But it was uprooted in fury
    and thrown to the ground.
The east wind made it shrivel,
    it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
    and fire consumed them.
Now it is planted in the desert,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
Fire spread from one of its main branches
    and consumed its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
    fit for a ruler's scepter."

This metaphoric lament over Israel and its princes points to a truth about all mankind. Here is something our "health and wealth gospel" friends may want to take note of. Israel had been blessed by God, as pictured in this lament. However, in spite of the goodies God blessed Israel with, she turned her back on God. Throughout the Pentateuch, the book of Joshua particularly, and the entire history of Israel, it mattered not that God had provided his blessings, (and no matter how great those blessings) Israel would wander from God. It is not just Israel either, as all mankind has a sinful nature that prompts us to wander from God.

What we do learn from the book of Judges and what this lament in Ezekiel points to is that often it is not the goodies that God gives, his blessings, his abundance, the peace and affluence he bestows on people that will bring their faithfulness to him, but just the opposite. It seems it is only in difficult times that people turn to God and plead for his help. It is only in those times people reach out to him, commit themselves to him, turn to him, remain faithful to him.

And, paradoxically, often, when God, in his mercy provides the good things in his blessings on people, it is in that state of peace and affluence they drift from him.

Don't believe me? Read your Bible and find out for yourself. You may even find it true in your own life. In speaking of believers, when Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.", Revelation 3:19, he meant what he said. It is in love he doesn't answer those prayers of making us affluent and removing our difficulties. He knows it is when we are closest to him we are happiest. He also knows when we believers live in peace and affluence, we may stray. It is the proclivity of our sinful natures, even as believers, that may cause us to drift from him.

Only in the resurrection, when we are completely, utterly, and finally delivered from our sinful natures, will we find peace and affluence no longer an opiate that causes us to drift from our Creator and Savior. What a day that will be!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Is The Lord Just And Fair? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 18:29,

"The house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O houses of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?"

So, how do we measure what is just or unjust? From our verse here we learn that the house of Israel accused the Lord of being unjust. What yardstick, what measure do we use to determine such a thing? Is there some external rule of measure we go to?

We all have our concept of what is just and unjust. Although many of us would agree on most things as to whether they are just or not, fair or not, I suspect that we would not all agree on everything.

So, how do we determine if someone is acting in an unjust manner as Israel accused God of doing? Is there a yardstick to determine whether someone is acting in a just or unjust manner? The answer to that is yes and the rule of measure is the Lord himself. As the creator of the cosmos, the Lord himself is the very definition of what is right or wrong, what is just or unjust. That which is consistent with the Lord's character is just. That which is in agreement with the Lord's perspective is just. The cosmos was created by the Lord and is ordered according to how he has created it. It operates on the design and principles that reflect his character and nature.

It is delusional thinking to even consider the Lord to be unjust. His very character defines the concept of just and fair. In the insanity that Israel had sunk to, they were unable to think clearly about the Lord's actions and decisions. Those who are embittered toward the Lord and take the position that God is unjust in allowing something to happen in their lives are actually in rebellion against the Lord and rejecting him, his character and his nature. It is never appropriate to accuse the Lord of being unjust when our own sin brings bad things into our lives, when we respond to life in an expression of our sin nature or the fact that we live in a sinful and fallen world perverted by the sin of mankind.

But on the other side of this is the reality that we can know and count on our just and fair God. He is just in a way that, as his creatures, we sense the "rightness" of his character and nature. The Lord's sense of what is fair and just fits so well because it is consistent with how he designed life to be lived. For the most part, we have an innate sense of the appropriateness of God's judgments and his sense of what is fair and just. And the most wonderful part of acknowledging this is that because God never changes, whatever I might not understand clearly, I can count on God always being just and fair. So, if I don't understand just exactly, say, what happens to little children who die and those who are not mentally equipped to respond to the gospel message, I can take great satisfaction in knowing our Lord is just and fair and that whatever he does will be appropriate and satisfying to us all in the end.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.