Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“However, Jehu didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin—the golden calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan. Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, and have done to Ahab’s house according to all that was in my heart, your descendants shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin. In those days Yahweh began to cut away parts of Israel;”
(2 Kings 10:29-32a)

“Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. If a woman herself divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.””
(Mark 9:14-19)

Jehu did what benefited him, but he didn’t do it out of love for the Lord or reverence for God’s Law. It wasn’t that he was against God, it was that he wasn’t for God with all his heart. That’s enough to sink you. God tells us that the only way we can avoid evil is to cling to Him (James 4:7). We get the benefit of being followers of God when we follow God with all our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:5). It is our love for God that breeds our obedience to God (John 14:15). Because Jehu didn’t lead the people in whole-hearted following of God, they began to suffer the same punishments as the nations who were in the Land before them. God has the same standards for everyone. The foundational first part of those standards is looking to Him and Him alone as our God and Source.

God allows things because of our stubbornness. It does not mean they are right. And they can be done in both a right and a wrong way. He doesn’t condone them. He restricts them, which in turn restricts the negative fallout on us. God calls us to purity and right relationship with Him. He always has and He always will. There is a model for godly behaviour (Jesus) and we need to follow it (1 Peter 2:21-25). No compromise. No doing what we know is wrong because of tradition or habit. We need to be invested and we need to be in Him.

Summary

We need to take care to make sure we are not committing spiritual adultery. We need to take the time to take our time and get to know the Lord. Intimately and deeply. Taking each day one at a time, but taking time each day to do it. A relationship with the Lord is the goal of our lives. One that isn’t marred by stepping out, deceit, or turning our heads. God should come first and last for us. He should be our prime motivation for getting up and lying down. We should never, EVER let go of the WHOLE of what He asks of us. Purity is a fight against the temptation to stray. But it is a fight that is good to make, and with the Lord’s help, one that is simple to win.