Tag: Overthrew in anger and wrath

2.w. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?

2 Chronicles 25:14  After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?” But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

2 Chronicles 16:9     For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

2 Chronicles 19:2    But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the LORD.

Judges 2:2    and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?

Psalms 96:5    For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

Jeremiah 2:5    Thus says the LORD: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

We can read these verses and say to ourself that clearly, we would not have done as these people did, where they abandoned God and did things and followed after things that were foolish and apart from God.  We don’t have to look very far into our thoughts and actions to know we too have the same tendencies, foolish ideas, lack of understanding, lack of wholehearted commitment.  We get pulled and pushed aside by the tidal waves of self-interest, self-satisfaction, and self-serving busyness into the ocean of neglect and complacent service to God.   

What changed in these people’s heart and mind that they so easily were drawn away?  Have you ever cleaned and organized your garage and made a commitment to keep it that way, only to have the same type of mess 4-6 months later?  You wonder how did it go from organized to mess?  It is not as though you didn’t know what cleaned and organized looked like. It is not as though you intended it to happen or planned to have it happen.  You did not set a commitment in your heart to make it happen, but yet it did. So what happened?

The commitment faded. The desire changed. The ability to see the change was lost.  Something else replaced that commitment.  It is not that we intentionally chose to make the garage a mess again but rather we chose not to keep it in order.  The same is true for humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, and obeying God.  It is not that we intentionally chose to keep our heart from Him but rather we chose to give our heart and mind to ourself.  Keeping God first closes the door to self.  Being mindful of the internal tidal wave of “Self” wants, desires, plans, and thoughts is a good place to start to keep the garage of our heart, mind, and soul clean.  Being mindful of this requires us then to take appropriate measures to ensure they stay clean.  For the example; you could commit to truly looking at your garage every night before calling it a day.  You could commit to not allow yourself to go back inside until it was put back in order.  You could commit to never leave your garage when something was out of place.  You could take a picture of what organized looked like and then compare each area of organization against that picture to ensure you were not allowing yourself to drift.

You see the same is true with our commitment to humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ.  We don’t choose to make our lives a mess.  We choose not to keep them in line with God’s word.  Herein lies the problem.  This intentional choice to “Not” is going to yield every bit as bad results as if we have intentionally chosen to make our lives a mess.  The commitment must be firm.  Paul said “Stand Firm”. He also said to “take every thought captive.” And, to “put on the full armor of God”.

The picture we can compare our heart, mind, and soul garage too is the word of God.  If we commit to comparing every thought, word, and action against this then we will have eyes and ears sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Do not allow drift in your life because you have been neglectful and complacent.  We have brothers and sisters in Christ that can help us see drift in our lives when we have no longer found time to spend in His word.  Each of us should commit to helping others in this struggle with self and point them always to the worthiness of Jesus Christ and the word of God.

Judgement – Sodom and Gomorrah

“My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.”

Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
They shall not return to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.
The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.
My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.

Deuteronomy 29:22
And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— all the nations will say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land,

Deuteronomy 32:37
Then he will say, Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
if I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’

How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim?  Most will know the story about Sodom and Gomorrah and how God rained down His wrath on them but he also included the the towns of Admah and Zeboiim for the same reason. God’s wrath is being stored up and will once again will come upon mankind on the day of Judgement when every knee will bow and confess Jesus is Lord.  I wonder what it will be like when we come face to face with Him.  Will we bow before Him in humbleness, awe, and thankfulness or will it be in shame, sorrow, and great remorse?  Will we hear well done my faithful servant or I do not know you and be cast into the lake of fire?  Just because we live in a time of blessing and prosperity does not mean we are in any way shape or form humbly serving Him, living for Him, following His leading, seeking to hear Him, loving Him, or honoring and glorifying Him.  Jesus said “Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” He was speaking of those who hear the word and neglect it.  Peter said it this way “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.”  In Jude we read “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”  How will God find you on the day you pass from now into eternity?  Do we think we are immune to judgement for how we live for Him now?  Trusting in God is not an insurance policy for eternity.  It is a new life lived out in humble service to honor and glorify Him.