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 2 Chronicles 27:5a,
"Therefore the Lord his God delivered him [King Ahaz of Judah] into the hands of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus."
Ahaz, Judah's twelfth king, earned the Lord's wrath because, "He followed the ways of the kings of Israel..." He practiced pagan idolatry, sacrificed his own children in fiery offerings to non-existent "gods" and a number of other things that brought misery to the entire nation.
God responded.
How is it assumed today that when horrible things happen, God has nothing to do with them? God had his purpose for Judah in Ahaz's day, and when Ahaz took the nation in another direction God responded.
We are told that there is no authority that exists on planet earth that God has not established. "... for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Romans 13:1. It sounds to me that God is every bit involved in nations today as he has ever been.
If this be true (and it certainly is!) then might we not expect God to interact with various nations, such as ours? When we turn our collective back on God, why would we not expect God to respond?
Today God is building his kingdom. In that effort God created the nations we have just for that purpose, "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
When a nation veers in a direction that is opposed to the building of God's family, his kingdom, why would we not expect him to respond in the very same manner he has in the past to those who opposed him?
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.
"Therefore the Lord his God delivered him [King Ahaz of Judah] into the hands of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus."
Ahaz, Judah's twelfth king, earned the Lord's wrath because, "He followed the ways of the kings of Israel..." He practiced pagan idolatry, sacrificed his own children in fiery offerings to non-existent "gods" and a number of other things that brought misery to the entire nation.
God responded.
How is it assumed today that when horrible things happen, God has nothing to do with them? God had his purpose for Judah in Ahaz's day, and when Ahaz took the nation in another direction God responded.
We are told that there is no authority that exists on planet earth that God has not established. "... for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Romans 13:1. It sounds to me that God is every bit involved in nations today as he has ever been.
If this be true (and it certainly is!) then might we not expect God to interact with various nations, such as ours? When we turn our collective back on God, why would we not expect God to respond?
Today God is building his kingdom. In that effort God created the nations we have just for that purpose, "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
When a nation veers in a direction that is opposed to the building of God's family, his kingdom, why would we not expect him to respond in the very same manner he has in the past to those who opposed him?
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.
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