The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 2:19b-23,
"They [the Israelites] refused to give up their evil practices and
stubborn ways. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said,
'Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for
their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive
out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will
use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the
Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.' The Lord had allowed
those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving
them into the hands of Joshua."
I note here the Lord used nations to carry out his agenda. His focus
here is on Israel's lack of faith as manifested in their disobedience
to him. Due to Israel's disobedience the Lord decided, "I will no
longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he
died." Rather, "The Lord had allowed those nations to remain..." The
Israelites would soon discover how their disobedience to the Lord
would lead to their own demise. These nations "... will be thorns in
your sides and their gods will be a snare to you."
These are the same nations Moses had told Israel years earlier, "When
you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to
imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found
among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who
practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in
witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who
consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the
Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will
drive out those nations before you." Deuteronomy 18:9-12. As a result
Moses tells Israel, "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord
your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything
that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites,
Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has
commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the
detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin
against the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 20:16-18. These nations had
become detestable before the Lord, and although he initially wanted
Israel to annihialate them, he will now use these very same nations to
fulfill his purposes in his dealings with disobedient Israel.
We read of the establishment of nations in the account of the Tower of
Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. Paul tells us that the concept and
institution of nations on planet earth was ordained by God with an
ultimate purpose, "From one man he [God] made every nation of men,
that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times
set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this
so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:26-27. God's
ultimate purpose for the nations of the earth is that through the
interactions of nations, men might seek God, reach for him and find
him. These interactions are to provide a climate where we might find,
"the creation... subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but
by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation
itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into
the glorious freedom of the children of God." Romans 8:20-21.
Our existence here on planet earth, in this lost and fallen condition
of the world, living in sinful rebellion to its maker, is not one to
be pleasant and comfortable such that we are lulled into an inevitable
destination in a fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8.
Rather, God brings those things into our lives that we might recognize
our need of him and reach out to him to seize the salvation he offers.
Does God still work among the nations today? Is his reflection
captured in the news accounts of world events today? I believe very
much so. Paul's comment about the leaders of our countries is
enlightening, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing
authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has
established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against
what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on
themselves." Romans 13:1-2. Any understanding of world events today
that fails to recognize what the Lord is doing is woefully short. We
need to recognize that not just in the historical events surrounding
Israel's interaction with nations and not just today, the Lord is seen
working among the nations at the end of the age, "When the thousand
years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out
to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and
Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on
the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came
down from heaven and devoured them." Revelation 20:7-9.
"What in the world is God doing?" is a very relevant question.
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!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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