(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them. Tell the children of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against my sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, therefore, behold, I will deliver you to the children of the east for a possession. They will set their encampments in you and make their dwellings in you. They will eat your fruit and they will drink your milk. I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and the children of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.” For the Lord Yahweh says: “Because you have clapped your hands, stamped with the feet, and rejoiced with all the contempt of your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand on you, and will deliver you for a plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish out of the countries. I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.””
(Ezekiel 25:1-7)
“So that your beloved may be delivered,
save with your right hand, and answer us.
God has spoken from his sanctuary:
“I will triumph.
I will divide Shechem,
and measure out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim also is the defense of my head.
Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my wash basin.
I will throw my sandal on Edom.
I shout in triumph over Philistia.””
(Psalm 60:5-8)
“Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:
God was revealed in the flesh,
justified in the spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
and received up in glory.”
(1 Timothy 3:16)
There is a difference between punishment/judgment and hatred. God doesn’t hate us. God hates Sin. Until Jesus paid the price, God had wrath toward Sin. When His people turned away from Him and embraced Sin, He warned them of that wrath. Not against them, but against Sin. Because they were choosing to embrace it and dwell with it and bring it into their lives on purpose, they were taking themselves out of the blessing zone and putting themselves under the curse. God warned them judgment was coming to correct the behaviour and to be the price they paid for their rebellion. They refused the warnings and got punished. But the instrument of their punishment, the nations around them, took GLEE in their destruction. They CELEBRATED and GLOATED and took JOY in it. They not only participated in the judgment – which was their role – they went the next step and took vengeance. They did more than punish, they tormented and oppressed. They took it further than the will of God AND made it about the victory of their idols over Him. They stepped over the carefully drawn lines God made. They did not heed warnings. Judgment was heading their way too.
It is a very simple system. God made us. God chose to pay attention to us. God showed us how we could have perfect lives. We rebelled and Sin entered. God showed us how to stay with Him. How to align with Him. How to wait it out until our Saviour came to deliver us. Once that happened, God showed us how we could accept His sacrifice and enter into their covenant. How to live godly in Him. God has always made a way for humanity to be with Him and hold to Him. But we keep going away from it. We keep wandering. We keep taking our eyes off. We keep missing the point, missing the boat, and turning away.
God has been proclaiming the same message to humanity since Genesis chapter three. God is consistent. If we align with Him, humble ourselves and submit, we will be able to live lives that are godly and keep us right there beside Him facing Him. We won’t turn away if we choose to keep ourselves in Jesus. We won’t sin if we choose to trust in Him every step of the way. If we pay attention to what He has done for us and what He has provided for us and if we stay in the clearly drawn lines, we won’t have problems living godly lives. If we simply look to Him and rely on Him we will be with Him. Period. It’s a choice, but it’s a choice we have to make every day at every moment.
Summary
Human nature is to be selfish and do whatever we want. This is a BAD idea. We have broken thinking. It led Israel’s enemies to go too far in their role. It has led people to embrace the worship of things they themselves have made. It has led to us deciding what God really said and wanted over and over again. Human history is full of human atrocity that has nothing to do with God at all. Human thinking is broken. It is not to be trusted. God made available to us better thinking. God made available to us a better way of living. God made available to us Himself. Nothing held back. Open for us to enter. We can do it. IF we choose to. We need to choose Him. We need to trust in Him. We need to rely on Him. We do that by remembering what He did. By remembering the sacrifice and WHY He sacrificed. By remembering that He loves us. And by remembering that we love Him too.
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