defiled – Praying Pint

40.v. “A land flowing with milk and honey”

Exodus 3:8 I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

Deuteronomy 8:7-9    For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills,  a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,  a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

Nehemiah 9:24  You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess.

Jeremiah 2:7   And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.

Jeremiah 32:22   And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Ezekiel 20:6   On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.

A good land and a large.—The land promised to Abraham (Genesis 15:18) well deserves this description. Besides Philistia, and Palestine on both sides of the Jordan, it included almost the whole of Syria from Galilee on the south, to Amanus, Taurus, and the Euphrates on the north and north-east. This tract of country is 450 miles long, and from sixty to a hundred and twenty miles broad. Its area is not much less than 50,000 square miles. Although some parts are unproductive, it is, on the whole, a region of great fertility. (Ellicott)

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,…. Which must be understood consistent with the omnipresence of God, who is everywhere, and strictly speaking cannot be said to remove from place to place, or to descend; but such a way of speaking is used, when he gives some eminent display of his power or goodness, as here in a wonderful manner he appeared in a burning bush, and manifested himself in a way of grace and kindness to his people, signifying that he would shortly save them: so Christ in our nature came down from heaven to earth, to save his spiritual Israel out of the hands of all their enemies and to bring them out of that land; the land of Egypt, where they were in bondage, and greatly oppressed. (Gill)

The purposes, plans, and will of God are at best a mystery which He exposes to whom He and when He chooses. He knows the beginning from the end. Everything in the future is known to Him. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is new. Nothing is beyond His knowing. He orchestrates His creation for His pleasure which is clothed in righteousness, holiness, justice, grace, mercy, and love. Paul, trying to explain this says; “we are the clay and He is the potter, who are we to question what He chooses to do with the creation of His hands”

His promises for His chosen people are clear. The timing of fulfilling these promises is not. However, the fact that God gave the promises means with no uncertain terms, they are already fulfilled if not seen by man. Eternal life is promised to those who believe. Eternal hell and torment are promised to those who do not. Though they are not yet realized, they are in fact already executed by the Promises given. Denying or rejecting promises does not make them void. They are sure to come because God has given them. You can know the promises of God but not believe them, just as you can know the commands of God and not follow or obey them. Belief and faith in God’s promises are essential for a person to come to repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever would believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” Belief and faith in this promise change a person. they are born again, a new creation, for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ in all they think, say, and do. Belief and faith in the promises of God change a person from a destination of eternal hell and torment to eternal life.

The promise of a land flowing with milk and honey in this life is but a small glimpse of what awaits us in heaven within the presence of the Holiness of God.

38.e. “Because he had defiled their sister Dinah”

Genesis 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her………..Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done……….The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah……..On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

We remember that Jacob brought his family to a region in the Promised Land that God didn’t really want them to be in. It seems God directed him to return to Bethel (Genesis 31:13), and his time spent in the city of Shechem did much harm to his family. The Canaanite’s proposal to marry the daughter of Jacob after she was raped was a dangerous challenge to the covenant family. Irresponsible intermarriage with the Canaanites could prove especially harmful for this family with such an important destiny in God’s redemptive plan. Worse yet was the retribution of Simeon and Levi using deceit to carry out their plan of killing all of the men, taking captive the women and children, and plundering their livestock and homes. Their outrage is understood but their sense of what is just is not.

When we are led in a specific direction by God, we do well to follow that lead. Though we may feel safe and secure in our decision we can never know the full impact of that decision and the harm it will bring in the future. It is common for us to rely on ourselves for plans that seem right and for our good. Would it not be better to seek the counsel of God and rely on His leading, protection, wisdom, and leading us in doing what is best for His honor and glory? Nothing good comes from rejecting God’s leading or neglecting seeking His leading.

35.x. “Being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen”

Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in. The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Isaiah 24:1-8    Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.  And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.  The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word.  The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish.  The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.  Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.

Hebrews 11:7   By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Psalms 91:1   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalms 91:9-10   Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—  no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

The call to Noah is very kind, like that of a tender father to his children to come in-doors when he sees night or a storm coming. Noah did not go into the ark till God bade him, though he knew it was to be his place of refuge. It is very comfortable to see God going before us in every step we take. Noah had taken a great deal of pains to build the ark, and now he was himself kept alive in it. What we do in obedience to the command of God, and in faith, we ourselves shall certainly have the comfort of, first or last. This call to Noah reminds us of the call the gospel gives to poor sinners. Christ is an ark, in whom alone we can be safe, when death and judgment approach. The word says, Come; ministers say, Come; the Spirit says, Come, come into the Ark. Noah was accounted righteous, not for his own righteousness, but as an heir of the righteousness which is by faith, Heb 11:7. He believed the revelation of a saviour, and sought and expected salvation through Him alone. Thus was he justified by faith, and received that Spirit whose fruit is in all goodness; but if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. After the hundred and twenty years, God granted seven days’ longer space for repentance. But these seven days were trifled away, like all the rest. It shall be but seven days. They had only one week more, one sabbath more to improve, and to consider the things that belonged to their peace. But it is common for those who have been careless of their souls during the years of their health, when they have looked upon death at a distance, to be as careless during the days, the few days of their sickness, when they see death approaching; their hearts being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. As Noah prepared the ark by faith in the warning given that the flood would come, so he went into it, by faith in this warning that it would come quickly. And on the day Noah was securely fixed in the ark, the fountains of the great deep were broken up. The earth had within it those waters, which, at God’s command, sprang up and flooded it; and thus our bodies have in themselves those humours, which, when God pleases, become the seeds and springs of mortal diseases. The windows of heaven were opened, and the waters which were above the firmament, that is, in the air, were poured out upon the earth. The rain comes down in drops; but such rains fell then, as were never known before or since. It rained without stop or abatement, forty days and forty nights, upon the whole earth at once. As there was a peculiar exercise of the almighty power of God in causing the flood, it is vain and presumptuous to attempt explaining the method of it, by human wisdom. (Henry)

From Scripture, we know the command to build an arK was given to Noah when he was 500 yrs old. Noah went into the arc in his 600th year. The building of the ark took place during this time frame. People certainly knew what Noah was doing and why he was doing it and they thought it was foolishness for they never believed it would come to pass. 100 years of warning. 100 years of extended grace by God. 100 years to give people time to choose to believe and intentionally choose to find restitution with God. No one did. No one believed the warning. No one accepted God’s grace even after shutting Noah and his family in the ark, God waited 7 more days and no one believed. Every piece of lumber cut and put into place building the arc was a warning that judgment was coming and for over 100 years everyone rejected this warning. Everyone rejected the warning but Noah and his family.

Scripture tells us that another day of judgment is coming and it is only by God’s grace this day is delayed. There is but one difference between the time of judgment at Noah’s time and the time coming – God sent His one and only Son to proclaim the Good News of salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life. Believe and be saved or reject God’s grace and face His wrath and anger. People rejected the message of Noah about coming judgment but how much more guilty will those be who reject the message of God’s Son?

35.n. “So that the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

Genesis 3:17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Romans 3:19   Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Jeremiah 7:23-24   But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’  But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.

Isaiah 24:5-6    The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.  Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3   Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.  What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 1:13-14   And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Romans 8:20-22   For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Job 1:21   And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Eve was deceived but Adam was not. He chose to willingly disobey God’s command. Such is life. We either are deceived like Eve or we willingly, like Adam, choose to disobey God. Being given the free will to choose does not remove the consequences of choosing paths apart from God’s desire and purpose for our lives. Our single purpose is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Anything short of this by deception or willingly disobedience is sin against God, our Creator. Neglect, complacency, or flat-out rejection and denial of God is no excuse. If we neglect, become complacent, reject, or deny God’s Word, if we do not see it as food for our soul and water for our hearts and minds, if we find little to no time for His word in our lives, if we allow the busyness of life to consume our minds and time, if we desire more of what this world has to offer rather than honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ we deceive ourselves into a false sense of security willingly in disobedience to God our Creator. We choose every day that which does or does not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. It was in paradise Adam and Eve chose to sin. How much easier is it to sin in this world full of deception and lies. Satan still tries to deceive by claiming that the things of this world are much sweeter and gratifying than the things of God. Lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and ears are all deceptive temptations placed before each person every second of their lives. These deceptively lead people to conclude self-worth, self-reliance, self-gratification, self-grandeur, self-pleasing, self-satisfaction, self-justification, self…………….. is more worthy and satisfying than following after God.

Do we think for a second that half-hearted head nods toward things of God honor and glorify Jesus Christ? Do we think Godly words from our lips that never reach our hearts and minds honor and glorify Jesus Christ? Do we think being lukewarm is better than cold to things of God? It is safe to say that your life will reflect that which fills it. Do we think for a moment that God does not see through and know our neglect and complacency toward Him in our thoughts, words, and actions? Do we think we can bluff God with our lack of commitment or half-hearted commitment? When our hearts desire and seeking is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ, it is then the deceptions of this world will not only become apparent but more importantly, they will have less and less influence in our lives.

33.k. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Matthew 15:10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Isaiah 55:3    Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;

Titus 1:15    To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

Isaiah 60:21   Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

Isaiah 56:10   His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.

Isaiah 28:9-10   “To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast?  For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

Proverbs 10:32   The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse

Jeremiah 17:9   The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Revelation 21:27   But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

In the heart and mind of every person resides the root of their intents. Lust, anger, hate, envy, lies, gossiping, selfishness, self-worthiness, and self-reliance seeds are planted, rooted, watered, cultivated, and harvested within the heart and mind and manifest in thoughts, words, and actions that reveal a person’s path in this life. When the gospel of Jesus Christ is rejected the fertile ground within our hearts and minds will raise and harvest crops that do not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. When the Word of God is rejected and neglected the harvest is surely not God-honoring or glorifying.

We don’t have to be around people very long to see what is planted and being harvested within their hearts and mind. Their words and actions reveal their intended harvest. How is a person to know what it is that is planted, growing, and being harvested from within their hearts and minds? The Word of God will lay wide open a person’s heart and mind, exposing the thoughts, intents, and actions stemming from within. Without the Word of God it is clear – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Human discernment apart from God’s Word will never understand the thoughts and intents of the heart. Their understanding is blind and deaf because there is nothing planted from which good crops can be harvested in either thoughts, words, or actions. Oh, they can do good things according to cultural and social norms, but the intent is self-serving, not God-honoring and glorifying. People will blindly accept their life without God in it and give no thought to their eternal destination. As they age and approach the time in their life where death is closer than their birth, they may give some thought to death and eternity. They may ask themselves; where is my eternal destination? Are heaven and hell real? Have I been good enough to be allowed into heaven? These questions all reveal a heart and mind that has never humbly repented, surrendered, believed in, and trust Jesus Christ for their forgiveness, redemption, and salvation. The good news is that it is never too late, nor is a person too old, nor is a person too unforgivable. Jesus Christ came into the world to save the sinners. He died on the cross, bearing all their sins so that they might have eternal life if they would just humbly repent, surrender, believe, trust, and rely on His sacrifice alone and apart from any good works they may have done. It is in this humble repentance, surrender, belief, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ that a person is born again and eternal life promised. These lost souls will find rest for their souls and peace of mind for their hearts.

I have seen the intents of the hearts and minds of “Christians” revealed in their words and actions. We are not immune to the seeds of destruction being planted, rooted, and harvested in our lives. These seed thoughts are being planted all the time by what we read, what we watch, what we are exposed to, and what we allow to reside in our hearts and minds. Paul addressed this very clearly when he said; “take every thought captive”. We are to be able to discern what is right, holy, good, pure, and acceptable. How can this be if we neglect and become complacent with the Word of God? God’s Word is the seed, fertilizer, and water for all that is right, true, holy, good, and acceptable. Discernment is a result of desiring and seeking God’s Word with the intentional choice to know what is right, true, good, pure, holy, and acceptable for the single purpose of being able to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do.

Do you want to discern what is in your heart, continually expose it to God’s Word with an expectant mind that God will reveal it. David had such a heart – “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

22.p. “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 9:6    Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Galatians 6:7    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

2 Timothy 2:16-17    But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,  and their talk will spread like gangrene.

Hebrews 12:15     See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Paul deals with the moral problems of the Corinthians: envy, divisions, pride, immorality, greed, irreverence, and selfishness. How much of this came in because of they kept evil company? This speaks to the vital need described in Romans 12:2: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. By keeping evil company, the Corinthian Christians were being conformed to this world, and they needed to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Christians must let the Word of God shape their thinking, not the evil company of this world.

It is very easy to “get conformed to the world”. The world does not recognize God. The world does not speak about God, other than to say He does not exist. The world tries to replace the joy, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ alone with everything that promises to satisfy the soul but leaves the soul lacking and wanting more, something better. All-day long the world denies, rejects, and proclaims its self-center self-reliance and calls things of God foolish and false. Paul is saying rid yourselves of these influences. Take your guidance from the Word of God.

12.u. “They do not obey or accept correction”

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She obeys no one, 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 rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are unprincipled; they are treacherous people. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law. The Lord within her is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame.

God called to His people, but they did not listen. If there is any voice for the sheep to obey, it is the voice of the shepherd. When correction came from the hand of God, they did not recognize it or receive it. You have to wonder if they were saying to themselves that this was just a rough spell, bad time, tough circumstances, whatever – they did not receive the warning as intended. It is not as though God gave any reason not to be trusted. He never proved Himself unfaithful or untrustworthy. People just openly deny and refuse God’s Word and His promises. Though God longs for us to have a close and deep relationship with Him we seem to intentionally choose to reject His desire and go our own way. God displays what righteousness is and what it should look like in our lives, yet we choose to respond by turning away and walking in what delights our own desires and passions. Are we dedicated to humbly serving, honoring, following, glorifying, obeying, and trusting Jesus Christ? Do we allow certain areas of our lives to live in sin and think it is ok? Can we not see the things that are happening all across our nation and the world are at the direct hand of Jesus Christ? God is calling out for each of us. We do well to desire to hear His quite whispers of direction, correction, and purposeful leading for our lives. This does not come to us without desire within our heart, mind, and soul. It comes when we surrender and seek to have Him lead us and direct us and show us where we are acting and thinking thoughts that neither honor or glorify Him. There will be no revival in any heart that is not fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. There will be no revival in any heart that chooses to walk hand in hand with things of this world and what it has to offer. Oh that we were as critical of ourselves as we are of everything and everybody around us.

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.

11.

Micah 4:9 Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.

Jeremiah 30:6-7     Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?  Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

Isaiah 13:8   They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.

Jeremiah 22:23    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!”

Isaiah 21:3    Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

Hosea 13:10-11     Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

Time and time again people of God have forsaken their love and devotion to Him. He sends prophets to speak the truth, warnings, and righteousness expected. What do they do? They still choose to disobey and turn their ears deaf to His calling to them. Time and time again. It is not as though they have not heard of the anger of God being displayed against people who have forsaken Him in the past. Yet in their time of prosperity and peace, they choose to go down paths that are away from God. They first become complacent and then neglectful and then disobedient. It is not as though one day they woke up and said “Let us be disobedient to God. It is a small step up on a small step upon a small step. Our growth in Jesus Christ is word upon word, line upon line, and precept upon precept. When we allow ourselves to become neglectful and complacent we are not adding word upon word, line upon line, or precept upon precept. We are though, taking small steps away from God and it does not take many of these steps to lose your way and/or influence others to lose their way too. We do well to search God’s Word for truth for our soul We do well to search it for meaning in our lives. We do well to seek and desire it with all our hearts, minds, and souls. In it, we will find soul-deep satisfaction. In it, we will find living water that will continue to purify our sinful nature. In it, we will become aware of sin in our lives. In it, we will find hope for today and tomorrow. In it we will be more than conquerors, we will be God-honoring faithful, trustful, and obedient followers.

10.t. “And you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.”

Micah 2:1 Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.

Psalms 7:14-16    Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.  He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.  His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

Proverbs 6:12-19    A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,  winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,  with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;  therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.  There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Isaiah 59:3   For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.

We don’t have to look very hard to hear lies, discord, lying tongues, wicked plans, and the haughty. Haughty is not a word we use but a quick search in a thesaurus gives us a much clearer picture of this word; (proud, vain, arrogant, conceited, snobbish, stuck-up, pompous, self-important, superior, egotistical, supercilious, condescending, lofty, patronizing, smug, scornful, contemptuous, disdainful, overweening, overbearing, imperious, lordly, cavalier, high-handed, full of oneself) We see it in sports, entertainment, news, business leaders, doctors, professors, teachers, and local, state and national politicians. It doesn’t matter if you look at it is locally, regionally, or nationally. It is there and it seems to be the norm rather than the exception. If this is the norm what keeps us grounded and humble before God? Many of us can thank God for giving us parents who instilled this in us throughout our informative years. We can see what is in their heart by their words and actions. We compare what they do and say to what we were grounded in. Hopefully, that was godly parents and the word of God. Without this foundation, we may think this haughtiness is normal, though it should not be. God’s Word is very clear on this and He will bring low those who are. Keep these haughty adjectives handy when you read articles or listen to podcasts, or watch reports on TV. They will help you take a proper perspective on what they are saying and how they say it. None of us are above being like this and if we stay in God’s Word, it will be light until our soul and will guard our heart and mind against being drawn into these very unholy thoughts and actions.