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 heart and mind in 1 Samuel 12:7,
"Now then, stand here, because I [Samuel] am going to confront you [the Israelites] with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts performed by the Lord for you and your ancestors."
"Now then, stand here, because I [Samuel] am going to confront you [the Israelites] with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts performed by the Lord for you and your ancestors."
Living in a population, a nation, a world, that is bereft today of moral clarity, how refreshing it is for me to listen to a man of God speak truth. Clear, unadulterated truth, expressed without any further motivation than the truth itself. Samuel does not mince his words and he does not hold back in his indictment of the nation of Israel, clarifying just how unjust the people were to turn their backs on God, the God who had done so much for them.
Samuel outlines how God had delivered the Israelites from their oppressors, beginning with their enslavement in Egypt. God had provided Moses and Aaron, then, later, he provided the various judges: Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and himself. God delivered the people of Israel from those who oppressed them, yet, once delivered, they always turned their backs on their Deliverer.
The current state of affairs had not changed. When confronted with danger, rather than turn to God, the nation insisted on replacing God as the king of Israel for a human king... so they could be just like all the other peoples that surrounded them. They shied away from their status of being God's people, his representative on the international stage.
Samuel made the Israelites stand in his presence while he brought his indictment against them, truth by truth. No spin, no equivocating, no mincing of words. None of the "depends on what the meaning of 'is' is..."
Where we live in a day when truth is only to be used and manipulated to gain power and wealth, such that it rarely sees the light of day, and then often only to support some political agenda, etc. Samuel, as someone who was inspired and animated by God, demonstrated that when a man of God speaks, he does so with sharp, crystal clear moral clarity.
How we need such people today! Maybe if we asked God...
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 respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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 respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment