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 13:1,
"Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord
delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years."
Here we see the Lord actively involved in the national life of Israel.
They acted in a certain way and the Lord responded in a way that
impacted them. In this case, quite severely. In another place we see
Israel act in an entirely different way by turning to the Lord. There
we see the same thing with the Lord responding in a way that impacted
them, "the Israelites said to the Lord, 'We have sinned. Do with us
whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.' Then they got rid
of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear
Israel's misery no longer." Judges 10:15-16. In the account we see the
Lord raised up Jephthah and delivered Israel from the Ammonites who
had oppressed them (again, as a response of the Lord to choices the
people of Israel had made.) Maybe this is an obvious point, as the
Scriptures are full of them. However, I find for myself it is good to
be reminded.
From these accounts we find the Lord very "interactive" with the
nation of Israel. However, as we see in the book of Joshua and many
other places in Scripture, it is not just with the nation of Israel
the Lord is interactive. The wicked nations of Palestine provoked the
ire of the Lord who used Israel to vanquish them. And, don't forget
the flood in Genesis 6-8 where all mankind provoked the Lord into an
action that impacted all in a big way. We read in Jeremiah 18:7-10,
"If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,
torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its
evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had
planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is
to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does
not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for
it."
It is not just on a world-wide or national level that the Lord is
interactive in "real-time". He is on a personal level with us as well.
In Acts 5 we read of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Lord, Acts
5:4 which brought a response from him. In an entirely different way we
see the Lord responding to choices we make, "to all who received him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God..." John 1:12.
The Lord searches our hearts and responds interactively with the
choices we make. I am reminded of how involved in our lives the Lord
is with verses such as, "We are not trying to please men but God, who
tests our hearts." 2 Thessalonians 2:4. "... he who searches our
hearts ..." Romans 8:27 and "Nothing in all creation is hidden from
God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13.
Sobering to me and something I need to keep mindful of as a prudent perspective.
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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