Category Archives: Slow to Anger

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Slow to Anger, Unteachable / Foolish, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The LORD Wants His Children to Be in Relationship with Him

Today we study another exciting chapter of history that is part of the best story ever told, the Bible. A series of wicked kings led the people away from Yahweh. Yahweh turns sends messengers and tries to call them back but to no avail. The people reject Him. With no other recourse to get their attention, he uses the Babylonians. After 70 years in captivity in Babylon, Yahweh uses the Persians to restore the people to their land. We will review a few key points after we read the scripture.

2 Chronicles 36:10-23

Captivity in Babylon Begun

      10At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the LORD, and he made his kinsman Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

      11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD. 13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. 14Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the LORD which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

      15The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; 16but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. 18All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. 19Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

      22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah—the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!’”

Yah’s ultimate goal is to help His people return to relationship with Him. When the people are stiff necked and refuse, He has to escalate His approach to get their attention. In reality, it is not unlike how many of us would discipline our own children. If they refuse to listen to our message over and over, we escalate. Truthfully, Yah could be considered more patient than most of us in regard to how many messengers He sent to give the people a chance to repent before He brought in the Chaldeans.

Some may say that Yah is too harsh. I choose to start with the conclusion that Yah is correct, even if He is harsh. If I disagree, then I am in the wrong and should consider His example. In either case, whether we agree or not, we can learn how Yah relates to His people. If you don’t want the potential for hardship to get your attention, then turn to Him now and be sensitive to when He is reaching out to you to draw you to return to Him. Do not be hard hearted and you can listen to the messengers rather than the severe punishment.

He disciplines His children for the same reason we do as people. He loves them and wants to correct their attitude and behavior. He was not rewarding the Chaldeans for their righteousness. Some will say, “But His people were better than those other people. Why let them win.” The answer is that Yah is trying to guide His people to be in proper intimate relationship with Him.

Revelation 3:19

 19Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Another point I have frequently overlooked that I now find interesting to highlight relates to Zedekiah rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar. Because Zedekiah swore allegiance before Yah to Nebuchadnezzar, he is called out as wrong for rebelling against him. It does not matter that he was “forced” to swear allegiance by before Yah. We must take very seriously any promise or vow we make before Yah.

Ecclesiastes 5:5

4When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5It is better that you not vow, than vow and not pay.

After all of the rebellion and punishment, we still see the LORD stir up the Persians to send His people back to Judah. He loves His children and wants them to be in right relationship with Him. If He wanted to simply destroy them, that would be much easier!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please soften the hearts of Your people and draw us near to You and closer in unity to one another. Help turn away from the ways of men, even those in place for centuries, and turn back to Your ways. Raise up leaders and teachers and renew us as Your people locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. Use me as You see fit. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassion, Compassionate, Healer, Kindness / Gentleness, Loving / Kind, Slow to Anger, Teachable

Do Not Grieve Yeshua With the Hardness of Your Heart

Sometimes we can get very focused on certain ways of dong things. We can be sure we are right. In fact, we may be so sure we are right, that we lose track of what is most important. We may miss Yeshua working through or in someone we do not expect. We may look past miracles or the opportunity to help someone, because we are so focused on following the rules.

In fact, if the rules in question are Yahweh’s commands, we may indeed be right to want to follow them. However, we still need to take care that we don’t get so focused on someone obeying the rules that we let our hearts grow hard and miss out on something that may be even more important. Mark 3 records an example we should pay attention to. Think beyond the miracle and beyond the perspective of the man who is healed. Focus for today on Yeshua’s anger at the hardness of their hearts in focusing more on “getting” Yeshua and less on a man being healed.

Mark 3:1-6

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

      1He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” 4And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me have a love of obeying Your commands, but also help me to keep focused on loving others and helping them. Let not my heart grow hard. Help me to be loving and kind.  Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Arrogance, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Murder, Obeying God, Parables, Persecution / Glorifying God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Selfishness, Slow to Anger, Submitted / Servant, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

How Will You Treat God’s Messengers? His Son?

The Parable of the Landowner lays out in Yeshua’s words a summary of the relationship of Yahweh with His people, Israel. He chose them. For a time they followed Him. There were times when they rejected and mistreated His prophets (servants in the parable). So, He sends Yeshua (the landowner’s son in the parable) to the people of Israel. They reject Him and kill Him. Ultimately the LORD scatters the Jewish people and reaches out to gentiles to be grafted in to His people and His ways. This may sometimes be called “spiritual Israel” to differentiate from physical Israel which is a nation of Jewish people, who do not accept Yeshua as Messiah, but have the lineage back to Jacob who was renamed Israel.

As you read the parable, keep these things in mind. Consider what it can mean for us as His people today if we refuse to listen to His instructions and His messengers or even as we reject His son as a nation.

Matthew 21:22-45

Parable of the Landowner

      33“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34“When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35“The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36“Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37“But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38“But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39“They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40“Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

      42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;
THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD,
AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?

43“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44“And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

      45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

When the chief priests and Pharisees heard the parable from Yeshua, they were not open to listening and learning and then changing their lives in repentance. They got defensive and rejected the message and the messenger. Ironically they moved right toward the worst part of the warning in the parable… to kill the landowner’s son. I pray those of us reading this today will be more open to receive Yahweh’s message and apply it in our lives. The wise listen to correction and learn from it. They receive a rebuke and change. Fools and arrogant people assume they are right and anyone who speaks to the contrary is wrong and must be silenced or ignored.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to receive your rebukes and the truth of your word from scripture. Help me not to be arrogant and defensive like the Pharisees and chief priests in the scripture reading. Rather than striking down a messenger who brings a message of truth and warning, help us to listen and turn towards you and your ways. Let us receive the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. Help us have the courage and wisdom to change where we should. As a nation, and as a global body of Christ, help us to experience revival and restoration. Lift up the righteous and strike down the wicked from power and influence. Help your people to draw near to you and be loyal servants with a right relationship with you. Amen. 

Shalom.

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Learning To Pray Effectively, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Slow to Anger

“Slow” to Anger Does Not Mean “No” to Anger

The kings of Israel continued to lead the people to sin and do evil in the sight of the LORD. The LORD was patient and made many attempts to call them back to Him. The stubbornly refused, continuing in the ways other pagan nations worship their gods and even worshipping other false gods directly. They were so far from the LORD that even when dominated by the Assyrians, there is no mention of turning to the LORD for help.

For those nations whose strength was founded in fear of the LORD, such as Israel or the United States, when they continue generation after generation turning away from the ways of God and continue to do evil in His sight there will be consequences. In 2 Kings 17 we see an example where He not only removed His hand of blessing, but actually brought Israel to defeat. We should not think of this as some old story, but realize a similar situation applies even now in the United States and we should be humbled and repent as a nation.

2 Kings 17:1-23

Hoshea Reigns over Israel

      1In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned nine years. 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. 4But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

      5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years.

Israel Captive

     6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

      7Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods 8and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced. 9The sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the LORD their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10They set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the LORD had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the LORD. 12They served idols, concerning which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” 14However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them. 16They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him. 18So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.

      19Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs which Israel had introduced. 20The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.

      21When He had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin. 22The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them 23until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

The LORD can raise up an adversary to conquer or simply let our nation rot and decay from the depravity of our own minds internal to our nation. The point is that any nation that drew strength and blessing from relationship with the LORD, as I believe the USA did since its founding for many generations, should take heed if / when they turn from the Father’s ways and pursue the ways of man.

It is not much better to mix and mingle false gods with worship of Yah than to simply turn from Him completely. Both are very bad.

I hope each of us can humble ourselves and pray for our personal lives, our family, our communities, the body of Christ as a whole, and our nation. Pray for repentance and that God would lift up righteous leaders and bring down wicked godless ones, even if they acknowledge Him with their lips. We can see with their policies and actions whom they serve.

In all of this, we must remember that our true enemy is Satan, and not individual people who come against us. We fight above all else, a spiritual war and should always remember that prayer and repentance is a huge part of any strategy that will bring our nation back to the one true God. (Read more on Spiritual Warfare.)

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, you and you alone are God. There are none like you. There are none whose works are like yours. Please help me personally and help your people collectively to humble themselves, turn from our wicked ways, and pray for your forgiveness and victory. Please restore the hearts and minds of the people of our nation to you and away from the paths of wickedness. Lift up righteous leaders and protect them with your right hand. Bring forth restoration and revival and a complete purge of wickedness and false teaching from our nation and most certainly from those who claim to follow you. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Repenting from Sin, Righteous, Seeking God, Slow to Anger, Traditions / Holidays, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Do Not Continue in the Sins of Prior Generations

When we continue walking in the ways that pagans worship their gods, the LORD is angered. It does not matter that it is the same way our fathers or grandfathers have followed. That is not an excuse. He can remove His hand of  blessing or more strongly bring us to continued defeat. That affects us personally, but in the most basis sense it is a loss that we are not turning away from the ways that pagans worship their gods to walk in the way Yahweh has instructed us because we want to show love to Him.

2 Kings 13:1-13

Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash

      1In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from them. 3So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4Then Jehoahaz entreated the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. 5The LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. 6Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. 7For he left to Jehoahaz of the army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place.

      10In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in them. 12Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Just because “everyone else is doing it” or “that is how my family has done it for generations” is not a good excuse for continuing to live apart from the ways of the LORD. Focus on the words of scripture more than my comments… there is no comment about what these traditions of man meant to the people. It is irrelevant. What matters is what it means to Yahweh.

For those of you with children, consider that you can help them immensely by making a change when they are still young so that they will grow up walking in the ways of the LORD instead of burdened with traditions that are displeasing to the LORD. Parents can take on the hard change and help their children have an easier time of it. Do not focus on who’s to blame. Just focus on changing and walking in the ways of the LORD and then sharing that transformation with others.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, help us to walk in your ways and be pleasing to you. Let us not continue in the sins of our fathers or the sins of the culture around us. Give us clarity and wisdom to identify where we need to change and courage to do so. Help us draw strength in you and your Holy Spirit. Let your righteousness sweep across our nation and the world. Let your people who are called by your name repent from the ways of men and embrace you fully. Raise up workers to help in this harvest and prepare people to receive the message and change their lives. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Compassionate, Faith / Trusting God, Humility, Miracles, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Slow to Anger

The Fleece of Gideon and The Patience of YHWH

It seems YHWH knew that was really stretching Gideon in this assignment. He was very patient to show him signs multiple times. I think that this partly was due to YHWH understanding that Gideon was not used to this kind of direction from and relationship with the LORD. Clearly, if Gideon was afraid of the men of his father’s household when he took down the altar to Baal and the Ashera pole, YHWH knew he would benefit from the signs with the fleece to set him up for success going against the Midianites.

I think we can also conclude that as YHWH’s relationship communicating with someone matures, so do his expectations for obedience without signs and wonders. I think Moses is a good example of this idea. He started with many signs and wonders and much reassurance from YHWH. Later, YHWH was displeased when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it in the wilderness to bring forth water.

We can ask for signs, but we do want to develop our relationship with the LORD so that we need not have signs every time he gives us direction, even if it is challenging.

Judges 6:33-40

    33Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. 35He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

Sign of the Fleece

      36Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, 37behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.” 38And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” 40God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.

I am very grateful our Father is patient and kind and understanding of his children’s doubts and fears. When we are new to accepting his specific instruction or when he asks us for something that seems really challenging, he knows it is hard for us.  I also understand that he wants us to mature over time in our relationship with him so we overcome those doubts and trust him, even without signs like the fleece.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Born Again (spiritually), Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Holy, Immutable (unchanging), Justice / Judgment, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Righteous, Share the Good News, Slow to Anger, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Let Scripture Define the Truth of Who God Is, Not the Teachings of Man

Let us allow scripture to inform us about the character of YHWH rather than our own assumptions and what we have learned from the teaching of man. We know that YHWH is love. For those that study the word, we also know that we do not define how to love his way. All of the law and the prophets are based on loving God and loving one another. These are not my words, but rather the words of Yeshua in Matthew 22.

Matthew 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [a]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

This is very different than today’s common view where loving others is taken to mean accepting them as they are in whatever sin they embrace, no matter if they rebel against God or not. That is not the truth revealed in God’s word.

God loves people, but he hates sin and rebellion against him. He is not only love, but also holy and righteous. Sin will carry with it a price. For those of us who accept Christ as savior and repent of our sins to follow him, our price has been paid. For those who reject Christ, there is no other path. Living in a constant state of unforgiven and active rebellion is not pleasing to God. Don’t assume he is ok with it just  because he may be patient in bringing it to an end. He waited hundreds of years before bringing the Israelites into the promised land to punish those living their who rejected and rebelled against him. I would say that is far more patient than any of us. However, ultimately there was a time for judgment.

Joshua 11

Northern Palestine Taken

     1Then it came about, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph, 2and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the Arabah—south of Chinneroth and in the lowland and on the heights of Dor on the west— 3to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. 4They came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5So all of these kings having agreed to meet, came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

      6Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and attacked them. 8The LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, so that they defeated them, and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and the valley of Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until no survivor was left to them. 9Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

      10Then Joshua turned back at that time, and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the head of all these kingdoms. 11They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them; just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. 13However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned. 14All the spoil of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one who breathed. 15Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

      16Thus Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negev, all that land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17from Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings and struck them down and put them to death. 18Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. 19There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. 20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      21Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod some remained. 23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the land had rest from war.

Perhaps the toughest verses for us to absorb are the following:

19There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. 20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

The time for mercy had past. The Lord himself saw to it that he would make sure no other groups came in peace to Joshua, so they could be fully destroyed.

If this makes you uncomfortable, that is ok. But take care to start with an understanding that God is right and just and without error. Take care that he is also unchanging though time in his character.

Now ask him to show you how to process this truth about him in a way that increases your knowledge of his character rather than allowing yourself to just dismiss it and continue to think of him as nothing but a cuddly grandpa in the sky. Sin has serious consequences. If we don’t recognize that it is very offensive to him, we may make poor choices in how we live or encourage others to live. In the right context we must acknowledge that accepting people as they are in sin so as to avoid offending them is actually not loving them. For any of us whose lives have been transformed by Christ, we realize that it changes us in this life and brings more joy and fulfillment in addition to leading us to heaven.   Thus to encourage people to accept sin in their lives rather than repent is like encouraging people to stay in a burning building. True love and concern for them demands that we tell them the truth of God’s word, even if it offends them. Let us each seek to find an effective way to do so and pray for boldness and wisdom in how we approach it.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Father / Yahweh, Slow to Anger, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Disobedience and Rebellion Have Consequences

Joshua 7 is a difficult passage for many today. It clearly illustrates that it is a serious mistake to disobey clear guidance from the Lord. It has implications for you and for others around you. In this case it had implications for all Israel to some degree, but dramatic consequences for the offender and his household.

Today we are taught much about forgiveness and grace and mercy. Forgiveness and grace and mercy are not new. The Father did not suddenly acquire them and now never gets angry at his people for disobedience. He has always had these characteristics. That is why he always planned to send Yeshua for our sins. Still, there are clearly things, such as rebellion and intentionally living against his clear instruction, that anger or disappoint him… and there may be consequences.  Think of our Father as just that… a father. He will discipline his children for their own benefit as a whole.

Hebrews 12:4-14

A Father’s Discipline

     4You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

5and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;

      6FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”

7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Let us not fool ourselves that somehow now that Yeshua has come, the Lord is never angered or disappointed by the conscious choice of his people to disobey him and instead accept the standards of the world. We even have the example of Yeshua getting angry in the temple and turning over tables as written in Matthew 21.

Joshua 7

Israel Is Defeated at Ai

     1But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.

      2Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.” 4So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

      6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8“O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? 9“For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?”

      10So the LORD said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11“Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. 12“Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. 13“Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.” 14‘In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes by lot shall come near by families, and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 15‘It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

The Sin of Achan

     16So Joshua arose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17He brought the family of Judah near, and he took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18He brought his household near man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” 20So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.”

      22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was concealed in his tent with the silver underneath it. 23They took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the LORD. 24Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 25Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. 26They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.

Prayerfully reflect on your life. Are there areas where you are not fully submitted to the Lord? Are there areas where you openly choose a different path than the instructions he has laid out for his people? Do not assume you are fully pleasing to him in that you say you accept Christ as savior. If you truly accept Christ as savior and lord, that means you submit to him and to his ways. You turn from your own ways and become more like him. Ask the Spirit to show you areas where you need to make a change and to help you with that change.

Repent, seek forgiveness, accept the consequences.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Grace / Forgiveness, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Slow to Anger

Father Forgive Them

What an example our Lord sets for us, as He is crucified He asks the Father to forgive those who are doing this to him. It is not enough for them to kill Him, but they must mock and taunt Him as well. Everyone from soldiers to a criminal on the cross next to Him join in. In the midst of His greatest suffering, He still sets an incredible example for us to follow. Flawless indeed.

There is more for us to ponder here as well. On one of the crosses next to Him is someone deserving judgment and hell. But He repents and turns to Christ at this late hour… and Christ comforts Him and assures Him He will be received. There was no time for his actions to “earn” salvation. It is all about grace through faith in Christ.

Luke 23:33-49

The Crucifixion

     33When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

      39One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

      44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” 48And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. 49And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

It is never too late for us to repent (until we die) if we are genuine. That is grace indeed! But do not wait for your deathbed or put off submitting to Christ when you have the chance to find Him now. There is joy and hope and rejoicing in a relationship with Him in this life as well as treasure in heaven to be had by how we live for Him.

When we find ourselves in suffering, try not to let our suffering block out our concern for them. Ask God for help with this as I am not sure how to do this on my own power.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Correction, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Satan, Sin Nature, Slow to Anger, Worldliness

Jehovah Is Not A Fluffy Marshmallow Man Who Accepts Everyone As They Are

One of the lies that Satan has convinced people to be true is that somehow Jehovah will accept anyone with loving arms and no consequences no matter how much they rebel against Him. The lie is attractive because it basically feeds the narrative that none of us really need to change to please God. We just “know” He loves us as we are. Suddenly this lie enables us to be complacent and not even strive to know or trust God more. We just do whatever we want and expect Him to love us as we are. The lie is most destructive in that it hinders us from turning toward God and repenting. Sin separates us from the Lord.

It should be fairly obvious that God would not just accept everyone the way they are in the midst of rebellion and sin. This would not make sense in any way. None of us could point to a meaningful example where a loving Father really did not care at all about how His children behaved or if they respected and obeyed Him. But if that is not obvious to some, let us just explore a well known example of the Lord interacting with His chosen people.

In Numbers 14, God has just led His people out of bondage in Egypt with many signs and wonders including plagues on Egypt, parting of the Red Sea, feeding the people with Manna and quail from heaven and leading them as a pillar of fire at night and pillar of smoke during the day. Incredible, right?

The people complained when the felt trapped at the Red Sea. They rebelled by worshipping a golden calf and He did not destroy them. The people complained about wanting meat and He gave it to them… along with a plague for discipline. Here we go again as the Lord delivers His people to the promised land and they still trust Him not because there is some adversity in front of them. They rebel. Ultimately, God cares… He is angered. He considers destroying them and just starting over. Moses intercedes and convinces the Lord not to destroy them. The Lord still disciplines them with a stern hand. They end up sentenced to die in the desert as they wander for 40 years before their children will get a second chance at the promised land. God is no marshmallow man just accepting everyone as they are. He is indeed slow to anger, but people must repent and submit to Him first (through Jesus Christ)… and then He accepts them with open arms, no matter what they have done before.

Numbers 14:1-19

The People Rebel

     1Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3“Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

      5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8“If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. 9“Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” 10But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

     11The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? 12“I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

      13But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, 14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15“Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 16‘Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17“But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 18‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ 19“Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The LORD Pardons and Rebukes

     20So the LORD said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; 21but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. 22“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. 24“But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. 25“Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

      26The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. 28“Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30‘Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31‘Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. 32‘But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33‘Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. 34‘According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. 35‘I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.’”

      36As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, 37even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD. 38But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Do not fall prey to Satan’s lies. God calls us to repent from sin and turn to Him. We are called to turn away from our selfish and worldly ways and seek after and obey His instructions, which will put us at odds with those who love the flesh. We do indeed have to pick whom we will serve… Jehovah or the flesh. There is no compromise. He does care and will not accept or tolerate rebellion.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.