I posted something on a social site this morning, but my thoughts around it wouldn't leave me. That usually happens when there was more to be said that I didn't say. So here it is...
Have you ever wondered why God dealt so harshly with the nations that He told Israel to destroy in the Old Testament? I think that particular subject gives some people a little trouble when it comes to their personal understanding of God, but I think at least part of the answer is found here:
“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.
For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.
Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD . It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 18:9-13 (NLT)
Have you ever wondered why God dealt so harshly with some of His own people - Israel, in the Old Testament? I think at least part of the answer is found here:
"Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.
And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.
Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.
And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.
These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age." 1 Corinthians 10:5-11 (NLT)
There are no gray areas in what God's made available for us to know in the things that He's commanded or given as law for us. If we think that there are gray areas, or places of allowance for our own preferences, we need to be extremely careful and respectful and study fully what God's made clear in scripture - or be prepared to bear the consequences of our ill conceived choices.
If we think there are gray areas, it's most likely the case that we need to study further what God's made available in scripture for us. His preferences and standards are made known to us throughout the Old and New Testaments and I think that our faithful diligence to seek them out enhances our lives in wisdom and understanding of Him and what He requires, or in my opinion, our slothful indifference to their existence may be found to speak the truth of the sincerity of our faith.
We live in a treacherous moment in time where even those professing to be faithful might be found in error when it comes to expressing gray areas around scripture or things contrary to the truth. And the only guaranteed opportunity for each of us to know the actual truth is to seek it out for one's self in its entirety in scripture and to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us everything God has said clearly.
I think it's a fact that a lack of respect for God, and for what He's actually said, that will result in many, many lives lost both here and in the life to come - the one that He actually created us for. I think it's true that most people know where to find the intended direction for their lives and the rules that we're supposed to live by, but also true that many people prefer to live in feigned ignorance of it in order to argue in favor of allowing their own preferences and lusts. I think that it's also a fact that what it may cost them in the end will be staggering even to them. We were given the bible in this day for a very serious and important reason. The stakes are higher than many care to think about. God hasn't changed and neither has what He's said. Do you know? ... I pray you do.
“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates..." Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NLT)
"No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NLT)
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