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 Kings 14:8,
"I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you..."
This is a part of what the Lord had to say through his prophet to the wife of King Jeroboam when she went to the prophet to inquire about their terminally ill son. The Lord reminds Jeroboam that he had torn the ten northern tribes from the house of David and gave them to him.
There is an unmistakable pattern to the workings of the Lord if we follow what he does throughout Israel's history as well as the history recorded for us of others. When it comes time to gain the attention of a people (any people - not just Israel), the Lord brings about insufferable circumstances to them. This, he often does by bringing others against them, creating very difficult circumstances in the hope that folks will reach out to the Lord in their desperation.
Who looks for deliverance when no need for a deliverer is felt? Who reaches out for saving when not feeling a threat? I am entirely convinced the Lord scattered folks at the tower of Babel for just this purpose and I am convinced that the tearing apart of Israel by the Lord, in addition to his judgment of them, was to provide a context for drawing them back to himself.
Whether Israel returned to the Lord or not (which, for the most part they did not), this he left up to them. However, it may be viewed that in his efforts to reach out to the nation, he went far past half way to draw sinful Israel to himself. The Lord's efforts are always well beyond what anyone might consider to be "fair".
As a principle, this strategy has been used by the Lord over the years. The community of nations was created by the Lord as the environment he works in to draw mankind to himself. He generates fear, anxiety, a felt need for rescue in his efforts to draw us all to himself.
This anxiety, fear and frustration is seen in passages such as Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was 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 freedom and glory of the children of God."
Note what Paul had to say about the Lord bringing about the institution of nations, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27.
Not understanding the Lord and how he works, it is often thought the Lord would want all the nations to come together in peaceful union, an expression that mankind has somehow evolved to a point where he has overcome his sinful passions and proclivities.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Mankind is sinful and requires deliverance and salvation, bought at the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross. Having secured the price of our deliverance from his own justice, God now draws us to himself by helping us "feel the need."
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
"I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you..."
This is a part of what the Lord had to say through his prophet to the wife of King Jeroboam when she went to the prophet to inquire about their terminally ill son. The Lord reminds Jeroboam that he had torn the ten northern tribes from the house of David and gave them to him.
There is an unmistakable pattern to the workings of the Lord if we follow what he does throughout Israel's history as well as the history recorded for us of others. When it comes time to gain the attention of a people (any people - not just Israel), the Lord brings about insufferable circumstances to them. This, he often does by bringing others against them, creating very difficult circumstances in the hope that folks will reach out to the Lord in their desperation.
Who looks for deliverance when no need for a deliverer is felt? Who reaches out for saving when not feeling a threat? I am entirely convinced the Lord scattered folks at the tower of Babel for just this purpose and I am convinced that the tearing apart of Israel by the Lord, in addition to his judgment of them, was to provide a context for drawing them back to himself.
Whether Israel returned to the Lord or not (which, for the most part they did not), this he left up to them. However, it may be viewed that in his efforts to reach out to the nation, he went far past half way to draw sinful Israel to himself. The Lord's efforts are always well beyond what anyone might consider to be "fair".
As a principle, this strategy has been used by the Lord over the years. The community of nations was created by the Lord as the environment he works in to draw mankind to himself. He generates fear, anxiety, a felt need for rescue in his efforts to draw us all to himself.
This anxiety, fear and frustration is seen in passages such as Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was 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 freedom and glory of the children of God."
Note what Paul had to say about the Lord bringing about the institution of nations, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27.
Not understanding the Lord and how he works, it is often thought the Lord would want all the nations to come together in peaceful union, an expression that mankind has somehow evolved to a point where he has overcome his sinful passions and proclivities.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Mankind is sinful and requires deliverance and salvation, bought at the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross. Having secured the price of our deliverance from his own justice, God now draws us to himself by helping us "feel the need."
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
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