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 Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:42 am
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 4:20 pm
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I'm sure our Heavenly Father will destroy ISIS when he's done using them—but for now, he's using ISIS to attack all kinds of idolatrous places of worship: from the ancient ones (temples belonging to Ba'al) to modern ones (concert arenas where music idols are worshipped).
I pray more believers see things from a biblical perspective and take heed: we need to repent of all idolatrous customs/traditions or else we're walking right into the "trap" that is ISIS, the hammer in God's hands being used to wipe out idolatry from the land (I'm amused at how accurate a view of idolatry ISIS has—that it's not just limited to images).
And this must be said: Our Heavenly Father's commands would keep us safe from such attacks. I see this happened on a friday night—when Our Heavenly Father's weekly Sabbath begins (since new days begin at sunset, biblically, that means that at sunset on the 6th day of the week is the beginning of the seventh day of the week / the day our Heavenly Father set-apart to commemorate that he rested from his creative works on the seventh day of creation week—and that sabbath day ends at sunset on the 7th day of the week [the beginning of the first day]). Had they set themselves apart to God on time, putting a pause on worldly pursuits and just rested and worshipped YHWH/Jesus obediently, then they wouldn't have been there in the first place.
This story makes me as heartbroken as reading about the Baal worshippers in Israel who Jehu rounded up and killed in 2 Kings 10:18-28. Not at all. :l They're offending a Holy God. He sent Israel into exile for (1) not keeping his Sabbaths and (2) worshipping other gods / idols. In other words, for not setting themselves apart from the world and their ways. We should not be blending in unless we want to feel his wrath. And if we don't repent, then we'll be just like them.
Luke 13:2-5 (NIV)
2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Makes me wonder what will happen during the winter holidays.
If ISIS is in France, then the French would do well to avoid erecting a christmas tree (paganism) or else they're inviting judgment. Not just physically putting one up, but remove it entirely from their hearts.
I pray our Heavenly Father removes all affections for the festivity from the hearts of his believers; at the end of the day, this festivity is not in accord with what the gospels reveal concerning the night of Jesus' birth (that his birth couldn't possibly be in the winter because of the sheep being outside at night, and the census taking place during that time, thus why Joseph and Mary left for Bethelhem in the first place; this cannot have occurred in the dead of winter). God destroys all lies. And if you won't let go of the lie, he destroys you along with it.
In that regard, I don't want to be like Jehu because, even though he destroyed all Ba'al worship from the land, he left the idolatry occurring in YHWH's name to continue existing.
2 Kings 10:18-29 (NIV)
18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
They were worshipping YHWH, not any other god. Still, unacceptable to depict him as an image. And an ox / calf isn't that far removed from how the pictographic hebrew word for God looks like; the letter "aleph" is literally a calf's head.
May our Heavenly Father destroy all paganism/idolatry from his body, even if he must do so violently. But before it even gets to violence, that he gives us the discernment to identify what that idolatry is and give us a chance to abandon it so we don't incur his wrath.
Revelation 2:20-23 (NIV)
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
Amen.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 3:00 pm
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cristobela I'm sure our Heavenly Father will destroy ISIS when he's done using them—but for now, he's using ISIS to attack all kinds of idolatrous places of worship: from the ancient ones (temples belonging to Ba'al) to modern ones (concert arenas where music idols are worshipped).
I pray more believers see things from a biblical perspective and take heed: we need to repent of all idolatrous customs/traditions or else we're walking right into the "trap" that is ISIS, the hammer in God's hands being used to wipe out idolatry from the land (I'm amused at how accurate a view of idolatry ISIS has—that it's not just limited to images).
And this must be said: Our Heavenly Father's commands would keep us safe from such attacks. I see this happened on a friday night—when Our Heavenly Father's weekly Sabbath begins (since new days begin at sunset, biblically, that means that at sunset on the 6th day of the week is the beginning of the seventh day of the week / the day our Heavenly Father set-apart to commemorate that he rested from his creative works on the seventh day of creation week—and that sabbath day ends at sunset on the 7th day of the week [the beginning of the first day]). Had they set themselves apart to God on time, putting a pause on worldly pursuits and just rested and worshipped YHWH/Jesus obediently, then they wouldn't have been there in the first place.
This story makes me as heartbroken as reading about the Baal worshippers in Israel who Jehu rounded up and killed in 2 Kings 10:18-28. Not at all. :l They're offending a Holy God. He sent Israel into exile for (1) not keeping his Sabbaths and (2) worshipping other gods / idols. In other words, for not setting themselves apart from the world and their ways. We should not be blending in unless we want to feel his wrath. And if we don't repent, then we'll be just like them.
Luke 13:2-5 (NIV)
2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Makes me wonder what will happen during the winter holidays.
If ISIS is in France, then the French would do well to avoid erecting a christmas tree (paganism) or else they're inviting judgment. Not just physically putting one up, but remove it entirely from their hearts.
I pray our Heavenly Father removes all affections for the festivity from the hearts of his believers; at the end of the day, this festivity is not in accord with what the gospels reveal concerning the night of Jesus' birth (that his birth couldn't possibly be in the winter because of the sheep being outside at night, and the census taking place during that time, thus why Joseph and Mary left for Bethelhem in the first place; this cannot have occurred in the dead of winter). God destroys all lies. And if you won't let go of the lie, he destroys you along with it.
In that regard, I don't want to be like Jehu because, even though he destroyed all Ba'al worship from the land, he left the idolatry occurring in YHWH's name to continue existing.
2 Kings 10:18-29 (NIV)
18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
They were worshipping YHWH, not any other god. Still, unacceptable to depict him as an image. And an ox / calf isn't that far removed from how the pictographic hebrew word for God looks like; the letter "aleph" is literally a calf's head.
May our Heavenly Father destroy all paganism/idolatry from his body, even if he must do so violently. But before it even gets to violence, that he gives us the discernment to identify what that idolatry is and give us a chance to abandon it so we don't incur his wrath.
Revelation 2:20-23 (NIV)
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
Amen.
I wonder though if it should make us heartbroken, because all is lost. What a great tragedy it is if your life, all that is left of it is to serve as an example for others what not to do... People are beyond a chance of repentance once they are dead. They are beyond any kind of hope and mercy. I don't want that for anyone... It was the path I was walking on. Without any hope in this world, or the one to come. I can easily put myself in their shoes. That could have been me. I could in the past have attended that type of concert. I was an idol worshiper not one bit better than any of the Baal worshipers God decided punish on the mountain. I would have deserved the same punishment. Doesn't God wait too (long suffering?), with punishing because He would rather that people repented than that they are lost. If that is true, does He punish with a glad heart or out of necessity?
God have mercy on our nations and grant us the ability to repent and don't give us over to our stubbornness. In Jesus name I pray. |
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2015 9:45 am
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Garland-Green I wonder though if it should make us heartbroken, because all is lost. What a great tragedy it is if your life, all that is left of it is to serve as an example for others what not to do... People are beyond a chance of repentance once they are dead. They are beyond any kind of hope and mercy. I don't want that for anyone... It was the path I was walking on. Without any hope in this world, or the one to come. I can easily put myself in their shoes. That could have been me. I could in the past have attended that type of concert. I was an idol worshiper not one bit better than any of the Baal worshipers God decided punish on the mountain. I would have deserved the same punishment. Doesn't God wait too (long suffering?), with punishing because He would rather that people repented than that they are lost. If that is true, does He punish with a glad heart or out of necessity? God have mercy on our nations and grant us the ability to repent and don't give us over to our stubbornness. In Jesus name I pray.
Once God does decide to kill, and the circumstances end in death, however, it signifies he waited long enough, more than enough, for that group to turn from their wicked ways (like the generation in Noah's day and the Canaanites).
It's only sad if you focus on the momentary bloodshed (that someone once-made in God's image had to be destroyed); but it's not sad once you shift focus to what God is seeing: their hostile mind against him, they have fallen away from his image, and are seeking after sinful practices that they are leading, not just themselves, but others into. That hostile mind would have continued had he allowed them to live; sparing their lives would not have resulted in repentance. So, no, they're not like you. Yes, in the sense that you were both in sin, but no in that your response was different.
If you read over Lamentations, then you'll notice Jeremiah is sad because of the violence that he SEES with his eyes (the city desolated, dead bodies in the streets, the bloodshed), but God did not share his feelings.
Jeremiah's reaction:
Lamentations 2:21 (NIV)
21 “Young and old lie together
in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
have fallen by the sword.
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
you have slaughtered them without pity.
Lamentations 2:11 (NIV)
11 My eyes fail from weeping,
I am in torment within;
my heart is poured out on the ground
because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.
God's reaction:
Jeremiah 16:5 (NIV)
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity from this people,” declares the Lord.
I don't think you have to wonder. He does not want us to grieve over the death of the stubbornly unrepentant, who would rather cling to their sin and die, than let go and live. He does not want us—the reconciled, the righteous—to be heartbroken over them. He wants us to show no pity towards those kinds of people (those who died unrepentant in pursuit of wickedness despite knowing better, and who would not have chosen life had they been given more chances to repent). Everyone he decides to "kill off" knew better and refused to love that truth.
And maybe God had mercy on someone by killing them in the midst of the ordeal and thus spared them from having to suffer something much worse (the sinful treatment of another that would hurt them much more than a gun shot). Who knows, God knows.
For one reason or another, God didn't allow the attack on the sports arena to succeed. That is yet more mercy extended. They still have a chance—but only God knows for how long because ISIS clearly does have intentions to destroy sports idols too. I was watching AlJazeera reporting on Paris and heard that a suicide bomber tried to get into the sports arena but was stopped by security. God's mercy if I ever did see it.
I'll pull up an article: [Paris Suicide Bomber Reportedly Tried to Enter Stadium Before Attacks But Was Turned Away]
What God is feeling, according to scripture, is anger, displeasure, and wrath—not gladness—when he punishes sin. But he's not grieved over their death (he's grieved over the life they are living).
As far as rejoicing/gladness of heart goes, I see rejoicing in scripture only when there is no sin or death present, or when people turn from pursuing sin and death.
Rejoicing when there is no death or sin present / when all things are good
Job 38:4-7 (NIV)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
Footnotes:
a. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
Rejoicing when the righteous avoid sin and death for obeying God
Proverbs 29:6 (NIV)
6 Evildoers are snared by their own sin,
but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.
Rejoicing over repentance of a sinner, thus abandoning sin and death
Luke 15:7 (NIV)
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Ezekiel 18:23 (NIV)
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
But if they don't turn
Genesis 6:5-7 (NIV)
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.
God does not regret that he has to kill them, he regrets that he has made them—because look at what they're doing to the rest of his creations, what they are thinking, and how they reject him. He stops showing pity, compassion and concern for those who do not turn from their wicked ways, who won't hate wickedness, but persist in wickedness.
In contrast, those who reject wickedness, he does rejoice over. And those who avoided calamity are themselves rejoicing because they avoided the calamity due to their obedience to God's commands. How can they shout for joy in the middle of mourning for those who chose not to repent...? That's not happening. The righteous are not in mourning. The righteous are shouting for joy. They may not be rejoicing over the death of God's enemies, but they are rejoicing in God and in his ability to keep them safe, and that his commands kept them safe.
Not rejoicing over the enemy's destruction
Proverbs 24:17-18 (NIV)
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.
But rejoicing in God
Psalm 40:15-16 (NIV)
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!
Psalm 32:10-11 (NIV)
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
God knows how history will play out. And those commands are there to keep us from harm.
When calamity hits, there is something for the righteous to rejoice and be glad about—not the destruction of the wicked, but that once again God and his word proved true and that his word kept them from destruction; those who take refuge in him do rejoice—they rejoice in him.
And on the topic of God's word proving true:
What happened in Paris, though not exactly, does reflect similitude to what happened in Ezekiel 6.
Ezekiel 6:6-9 (NIV)
6 Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out. 7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. 9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.
This is specifically against Israel, but I pray mankind in general, not just Israel/the set-apart body of God, loathes themselves for the evil they have done and turn away from their wickedness and idolatry—and be given the eyes to see how that idolatry is manifesting in their life. He is grieved by their sins and their sinful life, their replacement gods, who speak contrary to his word, and that their "joy" is coming from idols instead of him (which is no joy at all, just a distraction).
If we're rejoicing that God saves us and keeps us safe by his commands, then we should be going out to share and teach those commands so that others avoid detriment as well, and find life and refuge from the danger instead. Obviously, we need to share the gospel, because without Jesus, they will be hostile to the Father's commands (Romans 8:7-9).
There's nothing sinful about mourning for the dead, but when it's a bunch of people that God has chosen to kill, because they have chosen to forsake him and will never turn back, there is no point in mourning for them or being heartbroken over them. The righteous are not suppose to be heartbroken.
Those who are asleep in the world, and are fleshly minded, I fully expect to be heartbroken over this because they are earthly-minded; they look at death and think it's the most horrible thing that could possibly happen (as opposed to sin and what it does to people); they have not learned to see death and suffering from God's perspective, and that sin is ultimately worse. Their hearts must break; that is when they're soft enough to recognize their ways as wrong, and that they must turn from wickedness and unto God. Even believers fall into this type of thinking, but we shouldn't—i.e. Peter (though he didn't have the Holy Spirit in him yet):
Matthew 16:21-23 (NIV)
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
I'm praying for their repentance on the chance that they're not reprobate already and have not been handed over to their desires/sins. Because at that point, there is no use praying for them. There comes a point when he will NOT listen to prayers over certain people if those people are not genuinely repentant over what sin is / over transgressing God's Law.
Jeremiah 14:10-12 (NIV)
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
Jeremiah 11:13-14 (NIV)
13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
14 “Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.
Jeremiah 7:15-17 (NIV)
15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’
16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Job 35:13 (NIV)
13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.
Proverbs 1:28-33 (NIV)
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30 Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
The New Testament parallels:
John 9:31 (NIV)
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.
1 John 5:16-17 (NIV)
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
If a sin is worthy of the death penalty (like idolatry), and that person refuses to turn from their idols and instead love God exclusively, then I don't think our prayers will do anything. You either go up to them and correct them, and they listen or you separate.
1 Corinthians 5:11 (NIV)
11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 5:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in 8:11, 13.
Old Testament or New Testament, there is a kind of person (even believer) whose prayers God will not listen to, and even if a righteous person prays for them God says, "no, don't pray to me about them". |
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:09 am
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cristobela Garland-Green I wonder though if it should make us heartbroken, because all is lost. What a great tragedy it is if your life, all that is left of it is to serve as an example for others what not to do... People are beyond a chance of repentance once they are dead. They are beyond any kind of hope and mercy. I don't want that for anyone... It was the path I was walking on. Without any hope in this world, or the one to come. I can easily put myself in their shoes. That could have been me. I could in the past have attended that type of concert. I was an idol worshiper not one bit better than any of the Baal worshipers God decided punish on the mountain. I would have deserved the same punishment. Doesn't God wait too (long suffering?), with punishing because He would rather that people repented than that they are lost. If that is true, does He punish with a glad heart or out of necessity? God have mercy on our nations and grant us the ability to repent and don't give us over to our stubbornness. In Jesus name I pray.
It's only sad if you focus on the momentary bloodshed (that someone once-made in God's image had to be destroyed); but it's not sad once you shift focus to what God is seeing: their hostile mind against him, they have fallen away from his image, and are seeking after sinful practices that they are leading, not just themselves, but others into. That hostile mind would have continued had he allowed them to live; sparing their lives would not have resulted in repentance. So, no, they're not like you. Yes, in the sense that you were both in sin, but no in that your response was different.
If you read over Lamentations, then you'll notice Jeremiah is sad because of the violence that he SEES with his eyes (the city desolated, dead bodies in the streets, the bloodshed), but God did not share his feelings.
Jeremiah's reaction:
Lamentations 2:21 (NIV)
21 “Young and old lie together
in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
have fallen by the sword.
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
you have slaughtered them without pity.
Lamentations 2:11 (NIV)
11 My eyes fail from weeping,
I am in torment within;
my heart is poured out on the ground
because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.
God's reaction:
Jeremiah 16:5 (NIV)
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity from this people,” declares the Lord.
I don't think you have to wonder. He does not want us to grieve over the death of the stubbornly unrepentant, who would rather cling to their sin and die, than let go and live. He does not want us—the reconciled, the righteous—to be heartbroken over them. He wants us to show no pity towards those kinds of people (those who died unrepentant in pursuit of wickedness despite knowing better, and who would not have chosen life had they been given more chances to repent). Everyone he decides to "kill off" knew better and refused to love that truth.
And maybe God had mercy on someone by killing them in the midst of the ordeal and thus spared them from having to suffer something much worse (the sinful treatment of another that would hurt them much more than a gun shot). Who knows, God knows.
For one reason or another, God didn't allow the attack on the sports arena to succeed. That is yet more mercy extended. They still have a chance—but only God knows for how long because ISIS clearly does have intentions to destroy sports idols too. I was watching AlJazeera reporting on Paris and heard that a suicide bomber tried to get into the sports arena but was stopped by security. God's mercy if I ever did see it.
I'll pull up an article: [Paris Suicide Bomber Reportedly Tried to Enter Stadium Before Attacks But Was Turned Away]
What God is feeling, according to scripture, is anger, displeasure, and wrath—not gladness—when he punishes sin. But he's not grieved over their death (he's grieved over the life they are living).
As far as rejoicing/gladness of heart goes, I see rejoicing in scripture only when there is no sin or death present, or when people turn from pursuing sin and death.
Rejoicing when there is no death or sin present / when all things are good
Job 38:4-7 (NIV)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
Footnotes:
a. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
Rejoicing when the righteous avoid sin and death for obeying God
Proverbs 29:6 (NIV)
6 Evildoers are snared by their own sin,
but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.
Rejoicing over repentance of a sinner, thus abandoning sin and death
Luke 15:7 (NIV)
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Ezekiel 18:23 (NIV)
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
But if they don't turn
Genesis 6:5-7 (NIV)
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.
God does not regret that he has to kill them, he regrets that he has made them—because look at what they're doing to the rest of his creations, what they are thinking, and how they reject him. He stops showing pity, compassion and concern for those who do not turn from their wicked ways, who won't hate wickedness, but persist in wickedness.
In contrast, those who reject wickedness, he does rejoice over. And those who avoided calamity are themselves rejoicing because they avoided the calamity due to their obedience to God's commands. How can they shout for joy in the middle of mourning for those who chose not to repent...? That's not happening. The righteous are not in mourning. The righteous are shouting for joy. They may not be rejoicing over the death of God's enemies, but they are rejoicing in God and in his ability to keep them safe, and that his commands kept them safe.
Not rejoicing over the enemy's destruction
Proverbs 24:17-18 (NIV)
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.
But rejoicing in God
Psalm 40:15-16 (NIV)
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!
Psalm 32:10-11 (NIV)
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
God knows how history will play out. And those commands are there to keep us from harm.
When calamity hits, there is something for the righteous to rejoice and be glad about—not the destruction of the wicked, but that once again God and his word proved true and that his word kept them from destruction; those who take refuge in him do rejoice—they rejoice in him.
And on the topic of God's word proving true:
What happened in Paris, though not exactly, does reflect similitude to what happened in Ezekiel 6.
Ezekiel 6:6-9 (NIV)
6 Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out. 7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. 9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.
This is specifically against Israel, but I pray mankind in general, not just Israel/the set-apart body of God, loathes themselves for the evil they have done and turn away from their wickedness and idolatry—and be given the eyes to see how that idolatry is manifesting in their life. He is grieved by their sins and their sinful life, their replacement gods, who speak contrary to his word, and that their "joy" is coming from idols instead of him (which is no joy at all, just a distraction).
If we're rejoicing that God saves us and keeps us safe by his commands, then we should be going out to share and teach those commands so that others avoid detriment as well, and find life and refuge from the danger instead. Obviously, we need to share the gospel, because without Jesus, they will be hostile to the Father's commands (Romans 8:7-9).
There's nothing sinful about mourning for the dead, but when it's a bunch of people that God has chosen to kill, because they have chosen to forsake him and will never turn back, there is no point in mourning for them or being heartbroken over them. The righteous are not suppose to be heartbroken.
Those who are asleep in the world, and are fleshly minded, I fully expect to be heartbroken over this because they are earthly-minded; they look at death and think it's the most horrible thing that could possibly happen (as opposed to sin and what it does to people); they have not learned to see death and suffering from God's perspective, and that sin is ultimately worse. Their hearts must break; that is when they're soft enough to recognize their ways as wrong, and that they must turn from wickedness and unto God. Even believers fall into this type of thinking, but we shouldn't—i.e. Peter (though he didn't have the Holy Spirit in him yet):
Matthew 16:21-23 (NIV)
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
I'm praying for their repentance on the chance that they're not reprobate already and have not been handed over to their desires/sins. Because at that point, there is no use praying for them. There comes a point when he will NOT listen to prayers over certain people if those people are not genuinely repentant over what sin is / over transgressing God's Law.
Jeremiah 14:10-12 (NIV)
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
Jeremiah 11:13-14 (NIV)
13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
14 “Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.
Jeremiah 7:15-17 (NIV)
15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’
16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Job 35:13 (NIV)
13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.
Proverbs 1:28-33 (NIV)
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30 Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
The New Testament parallels:
John 9:31 (NIV)
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.
1 John 5:16-17 (NIV)
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
If a sin is worthy of the death penalty (like idolatry), and that person refuses to turn from their idols and instead love God exclusively, then I don't think our prayers will do anything. You either go up to them and correct them, and they listen or you separate.
1 Corinthians 5:11 (NIV)
11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 5:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in 8:11, 13.
Old Testament or New Testament, there is a kind of person (even believer) whose prayers God will not listen to, and even if a righteous person prays for them God says, "no, don't pray to me about them".
As always you have given me much to consider. ^_^ |
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:01 am
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