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 31:7,
"When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them."
As King Saul was vanquished, all of Israel suffered. Everyone. Not some, but everyone. I have seen over the years an attitude that since one goes to church, since one does not do terrible things but does good things, since one engages in various spiritual disciplines, there is nothing to fear personally as the nation runs off the tracks.
When a nation turns its back against God, he will often bring heavy consequences to bear. We see this displayed often for us in the Scriptures. It is God's way of drawing a nation back to him, "Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again." Psalm 78:34. The suffering God causes is an expression of his love in that the outcome is achieves his agenda of building his kingdom. We find our refuge and salvation in him when we are threatened and life becomes unbearable: we seek our refuge in him.
As we read the Scriptures we find that all people in a nation suffer. Not just the culprits, not just the abortionists, not just the homosexuals, not just those who pull the culture into a downward spiral. We all suffer.
"When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them."
As King Saul was vanquished, all of Israel suffered. Everyone. Not some, but everyone. I have seen over the years an attitude that since one goes to church, since one does not do terrible things but does good things, since one engages in various spiritual disciplines, there is nothing to fear personally as the nation runs off the tracks.
When a nation turns its back against God, he will often bring heavy consequences to bear. We see this displayed often for us in the Scriptures. It is God's way of drawing a nation back to him, "Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again." Psalm 78:34. The suffering God causes is an expression of his love in that the outcome is achieves his agenda of building his kingdom. We find our refuge and salvation in him when we are threatened and life becomes unbearable: we seek our refuge in him.
As we read the Scriptures we find that all people in a nation suffer. Not just the culprits, not just the abortionists, not just the homosexuals, not just those who pull the culture into a downward spiral. We all suffer.
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
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
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