Tag: Anger of the lord

43.o. “Wilderness” – 7.v. Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone

 

Exodus 22:20  “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

 Numbers 25:2-4   These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.  So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.  And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

 Deuteronomy 13:1-15    “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,  and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.  But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God

 Deuteronomy 17:2-5   “If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing his covenant,  and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden,  and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel,  then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones.

 Deuteronomy 18:20   But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’

 Joshua 23:15-16   But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you,  if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

Unto the Lord only; the true and living God; Jehovah, the self-existent, immutable, and eternal Being; the Creator of all things, the possessor of heaven and earth, the most high God, and the only one: sacrificing takes in all the acts of service performed to an idol as to the true God, as offering incense, pouring out a libation, as well as slaying and burning an animal as Jarchi observes: he shall be utterly destroyed; be accursed, anathematized, devoted to destruction, as the word used signifies. (Gill)

Man is wired to seek and worship the Creator. Denying and rejecting God, this inward yearning will turn to almost anything as a substitute and will become their act of worship and sacrifice. Look at the world around us. It is full of the lost who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and acts of love, grace, mercy, kindness, gentleness, and generosity of the redeemed. Let it be our goal, commitment, and intentional choice to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do.

42.w. “Wilderness” – 7.e. Sinai – You Shall not bow down

 

Exodus 20:5  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Joshua 23:7   that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them

 Joshua 23:16    if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

 Judges 2:19   But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

 2 Kings 17:35    The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them,

 Numbers 14:18    ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

 Job 21:19    You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it.

 Isaiah 65:6-7    Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap  both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.”

 Jeremiah 2:9   “Therefore I still contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children’s children I will contend.

 Jeremiah 32:18     You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts,

 Romans 8:7     For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

 James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 John 15:23-24    Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

Thou shall not bow down thyself to them,…. Perform any worship to them, show any reverence of them by any gesture of the body; one being mentioned, bowing the body, and put for all others, as prostration of it to the earth, bending the knee, kissing the hand, lifting up of hands or eyes to them, or by any outward action expressing a religious esteem of them, as if there was divinity in them: nor serve them; in a religious manner, internally or externally, by offering sacrifice and burning incense to them; by praying to, or praising of them; by expressing love to them, faith and trust in them, hope and expectation of good things from them, and the like. The reason of this second command, relating to the making and worshipping of images, next follows:

for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God; jealous of his own honour and glory, and will not give it to another; even to graven images, nor suffer it to be given to them without resenting it; and jealousy is fierce and cruel, and breaks forth into great wrath, and issues in dreadful scenes oftentimes among men. (Gill)

If God is first in our lives there should be no room for other things to which we serve, honor, and give reverence. No room should be given to make something more reverent than God. We should not allow something to take place of God or the honor and glory due Him alone. We may not make images of gold, silver, or wood and place them in our homes and take time to worship the form or bow down to it, but in essence, we do allow things to become an idol of sorts. Take a look at where your TV is placed and how much time it is given. It may not be an idol, but certainly, it is given more time and reverence than God. How would your lives be different if there was no TV being watched, no internet to surf, and no iPhone available?  I would like to think there would be more time for God’s Word, more time for reverence to Him, more time to communicate face to face, and much less being told what to think, how to act, and what to say by the narratives being spewed out day by day, minute by minute. Do we not discern that these narratives proclaim what is contrary to God and things of God? Do we not understand that what we take in will have an effect on our hearts and minds? 

What would our lives be like if we studied God’s Word in equal amounts of time that we spend on social media, yet alone watching TV?  How much time would we have to meditate on God’s Word and the things of God? Would we live differently, think differently, and speak differently?  

Obviously, we all know the answer to this, but are we/you willing to intentionally choose to live life differently than how the world indicates you should?  Try it for a week – no TV, social media time reading, or posts on computers or phones or iPads, in the home or away from home.  Try using this time for reading, communicating, and discerning things of God. I think there may be a big change in your thought pattern, speech, and actions.  

Do not bow down to what this world has to offer. Give God the reverence, honor, and glory through how you spend your time.

31.p. “O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you”

 

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

 Deuteronomy 10:12-13   “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?

 Hosea 6:6   For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

 Hosea 12:6   “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

 Zephaniah 2:3    Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

 Proverbs 21:3   To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

 Isaiah 1:16-19    Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

 2 Peter 1:5-8   For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Psalms 73:28    But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

The want to do good needs a foundation. It needs to be based on something firm, lasting, and true. “Doing Good” needs definition. Where are we to find this foundation and definition? What are we to base “good” and “doing good” on? This all depends on where you look and where you are seeking answers from. Worldly good has some benefit but this secular good has little to no eternal foundation. If doing good is for the benefit of another this is good but what is the reason behind the act of goodness? Was it because you feel good after doing it? Was it done because of empathy? Was it a combination of both? Was it done so it could be seen by others and thereby you receive some sort of recognition? The foundation upon which good acts are done is more important. If I do good acts of kindness what is the reason and purpose behind the intentional choice to do them? 

The foundation of all good acts should be grounded in the desire to obey and honor and glorify Jesus Christ. It is when this foundation is present in the heart, soul, and mind that the good we do will be for something heavenly and lasting. There is so much to say about being able to discern the leading and being willing led by the Holy Spirit in acts of goodness, but the foundation of all our thoughts, speech, and acts needs to be from a humble and pure heart that believes, trusts, relies, obeys, and follows God’s Word for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

90. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

Judges 10:6   Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”

The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

But 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.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18     And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.  Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’  And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

Deuteronomy 29:20-28    The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

Nahum 1:6     Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

After 18 years of being oppressed, they cried out to God.  18 years!!!!  How stubborn do we have to be to wait 18 years before we confess our wayward ways and disregard for honoring, worshipping, and serving God?  How heavy must the oppression trial be before we see our state of affairs clearly?  How would you like to hear “But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” Go cry out to the things you are giving your heart and mind too.  Go cry out to the things you give your time too.

If we are not grounded each day in an intentional choice to humble know, serve, honor, follow and obey Jesus Christ, we risk becoming like those examples of the past who followed what seemed right in their own eyes.  They did not stay in God’s word.  They did not seek to know His word.  They did not find value in knowing His word.

If this is where you see your heart, soul, and mind, stop it,  confess it, repent, and turn away from being neglectful and complacent in your walk with Jesus.

63. For the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.

Deuteronomy 31:16  And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’

Judges 2:14-15     So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.  Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

Psalms 2:12     Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalms 90:11     Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

1 Chronicles 28:9    “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Psalms 104:29     When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

Isaiah 64:7     There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

There is nothing hidden from God past, present or future.  Just look at how he spoke with Moses and told him what was going to happen.  We can read over and over again how people who were close to God and living in and under His blessings soon turned away.  It is not as though they did not know God but rather they chose to go their own way and serve self-interests.  Beware of what our culture is selling.  It will surely lead you down a path where God is nothing more than a second thought.  Keep an earnest desire for Him and learn to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.

2. The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people

Genesis 41:29  There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt,  but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt.

1 Samuel 5:6    The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

Isaiah 24:20    The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it,

Exodus 9:3   behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.

Psalms 32:4    For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

Acts 13:11    And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.

Isaiah 5:7-30     For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!  Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.  The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.  For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”  Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!  They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.  Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.  Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.  Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.  But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.  Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.  Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,  who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!  Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,  who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!  Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.  Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.  He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!  None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;  their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.  Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.  They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Is their a living God, sovereign over all, who judges mankind and at times places His mighty hand heavily upon them?  Is there a living God that sees all thoughts and intents and actions of mankind?  Is there a living God that warns man?  Yes there is and it is not good to turn deaf ear to His warnings.  We easily claim His blessings and promises but rarely think of His warnings and discipline.  His warnings are out of love to keep us from doing harm to our soul and that which does not honor and glorify Him.  Pride, lust, greed and placing something other than God first in our life are all warned against.  When warnings are not taken to heart, or the heart and ears are hardened to not hear His warnings, and repentance and returning to Him is desired, the hand of God will be upon us.

This side of eternity it is a good thing to have the hand of God upon us and lovingly trying to turn us away from our wrong paths in life.  It is a very sad and dreadful day when we pass from this life into eternity without taking heed to His warnings.

Tomorrow I will start to post excerpts from a sermon Johnathan Edwards gave  July 8, 1741; “In the hands of an angry God”

Uttered Judgement

“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”

“For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”

“ But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.”

“Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.”

Psalms 76:7  But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is rouse?  From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth.

Psalms 89:7    a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?

Jeremiah 10:7    Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.  They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!  Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men.

Matthew 10:28    And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Revelation 14:7     And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Revelation 15:4    Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Zephaniah 2:3     Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Living in the this time of grace and mercy of God does not mean He is not storing up His anger and wrath.  We need to be mindful of what it means to our soul to neglect His word and be complacent in humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying Him.  He is a living God who sees all of our actions and knows all of our thoughts.  Walk worthy of “Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell”.

Even now return to Me

“ Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD”

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;”

Zechariah 1:1  In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.  Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

Ezra 9:6  saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.  From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.

Nehemiah 9:26  “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.

2 Chronicles 36:13  He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.  All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem.  The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.  But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

James 4:8  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Hosea 6:1   “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

It is a slippery slope away from God when your heart is not seeking to honor and glorify Him.  Many hearts have hardened and call foolish that what God has revealed to man about himself, sin, redemption, and eternity.  With great boasting they defy God, His existence, and His purpose for mankind.  In this boasting many are pulled away and lack encouragement to hold the course.  Our lives should be filled with words and actions that honor God, encourage others, and shine light into the darkest corners of the hearts of those lost and without hope.

Blind, Naked, and Poor

“Ah, but I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

Hosea 12:8
Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

Deuteronomy 29:19
Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man,

Zachariah 11:5
‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord.

Revelation 3:17
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

How do people get to the point where they determine they need nothing?  “Prosperity!” How do they get to the point where they no longer see need to humbly serve God? “Serving self!”  How are they encouraged out of it?  “The word of God!” What is the counsel of the Lord and how does it come into our everyday lives? “The word of God.”  In Hebrews it says “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 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.” We live like there is no God or that if we believe He exists it is only for our benefit of eternity and a place to run to in times of trials and troubles.  How can we understand His grace, mercy, love, blessings, punishment, and discipline not to mention how are we to be a light that shines in a dark and lost world, or how we are to lead our families, or how we are to be an encouragement to others, or how we are to make disciples, or how we should live to be humble servants, or how can we grow in faith, love, kindness, mercy, grace, gentleness, generosity, godliness, or why we should praise Him….. The answer is simple – choose to stay in His word.  Choose to humbly serve Him.  Choose to honor and glorify Him.  Choose to listen to His leading.  Choose to desire Him.  Choose to obey Him.  Choose to have our eyes opened to see as He would have us see and understand.  Choose to have our ears opened to hear what he would have us hear.  The word of God is alive and active – choose to live and walk in it.

Seems right

“And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”

Judges 12:7
Jephthah led Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in GileadAfter him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites. 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.

Judges 3:7
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan- rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan- rishathaim eight years

Judges 4:1
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan

Judges 6:1
The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years

All through Judges we see time and time again of His people falling away.  I think about this often and wonder how this happens.  Sometimes I think it starts with one person who is looked at as a person of God.  His actions and words seem right.  Somewhere along the line he takes a small step way and then another and another.  I have to think back in his mind he is watching the reaction of those around him for approval or not.  Every little step is further and further away from serving God.  It is not as though he is wanting to lead people astray but rather trying to justify the way that seems easier for him.  The more people who do not speak up and hold him accountable the more others take this path as “Approved”.  When men of God do not speak up and hold their brothers and sisters accountable, when they don’t encourage and warn them to honor and glorify God – history shows us how easy it is to follow what the culture is saying is ok.  Proverbs states it like this:

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
Even in laughter the heart may ache,
and the end of joy may be grief.
The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways”

People wonder why it is important to read and know scripture.  If we do not desire it, read it, know it, meditate on it, remember it, – how can we obey it and live in such a way that all we say and what we do is honoring and glorifying God.