Tag: corrosion

12.i. “Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures”

Zachariah 5:1 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll. He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.” And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’”

Job 20:26     Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures; a fire not fanned will devour him; what is left in his tent will be consumed.

James 5:2-3     Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

The curse of God is on all who live falsely toward God and who lay up treasures for their own gain and pleasure.  Do you ever wonder what a false life toward God would look like?  “They serve God with their mouth but not with their heart, mind, and soul.”  The work of their hands is for their own good, their own satisfaction, their own pleasure, their own gain.  This world is full of things that make us think that our lives and our purpose in life is about what we own, what we do, and what we accomplish in our won strength and wisdom.  Oh, we might give glancing words of thanks to God but in our heart, we say, “look what I have accomplished”.  Our life is not to be about us and for our own glory and honor.  It is and should be for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.  All that we are and the talents we have been given are to bring honor and glory to Him, Him alone.  What is the end for all of those things we worked for, for ourselves – destruction?  They will be burnt up like twigs thrown into a fire.  They will end in a puff of smoke and our life will end without purpose, without, meaning, without heavenly satisfaction, without eternity in heaven. Thinking we can fight off sinful desires of self-satisfaction, self-worth, self-glory, and honor apart from God’s word and complete surrender to deny self and honor, glorify, follow, obey and trust Him are lies of our sinful nature and Satan.  Feed on His Word.  Surrender all to Him for His glory and honor. Seek to listen.  Desire to hear. Be willing to obey.

 

11.u. “There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

Nahum 3:1  Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms.

Ezekiel 22:2-3   “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.  You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!

Ezekiel 24:6-9    “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.  For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.  To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

Habakkuk 2:12    “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!

Zephaniah 3:1-3     Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!  She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God.  Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.

  Isaiah 42:24     Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?

Hosea 4:2     there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Nahum, proclaiming God’s Word against Nineveh, reveals the heart and soul of that city and the people who lead it.  Lies and plunder and killing are used to charm their people into thinking what they are doing are good, right, and without consequences.  Nineveh is not alone in these acts of defiance as recorded over and over again in scripture.  When God is removed from the hearts and minds of young and old children and adults their hearts will turn to what seems right in their own eyes.  When God is removed who is to say what they are doing is wrong when the masses are charmed into joining in and believing the enticements of their lies.  Their satisfaction and sense of well being come from blindly following their leaders.   When the fear of God and worship of Him is willfully abandoned false hopes and self-assurance/reliance will take firm root.  No warnings seem to have been listened too.  No plead to repent and turn away from their sinful actions will be listened too.  No urgent need will be seen.  God is just and His justice is always right and true.  His anger, wrath, and judgment will not be withheld.  Our responsibility as children of God is to be proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  God’s Word will never return void.  Sometimes it will be used by the Holy Spirit to convict a person into repentance and the love and worship of God, and sadly it will also harden a heart into hate and defiance of God.  The point is we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ and proclaim the Love of Jesus Christ.  We may never see the fruit of our discipleship but fruit there will be.  Currently, we can see some of the moral character of our nation crumbling before our very eyes.  When more and more people demand God be removed from school, work, and government what can we expect?  Likewise, when more and more Christians proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ there is hope and we can expect God to do mighty work in our country.