Category: Faith

The Omnipotence of God

Posted on by scott

 

 

2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”- Job 42:2

Job’s Perspective

If only we all had the same perspective of God that Job did after his confrontation with his Creator.  Despite the creation account of Genesis and the “redemption” account of Exodus, followed by numerous other displays of the mighty power of God, His power is often questioned.  When a natural catastrophe occurs, many assume that God, if He exists at all, was powerless to stop it.  Certainly, we are told, He is no match for Mother Nature.  When a loved one succumbs to a terrible disease, the same charges are leveled.  If we see “innocent” young children suffering, God is accused of being either unloving or unable to intervene.  Does the fact that God is all powerful obligate Him to exercise His power according to our desires?

God’s Power & Character

God is able to “do all things”, provided those “all things” are consistent with who He is.  His power is tempered by His holiness, wisdom, perfect love, etc.  In other words, the only limitation on the power of God is His perfect character.  He can create the heavens and earth and fill them with men and beasts, stars and planets; but He cannot sin.  He can mold the mountains, carve out the canyons, and set the boundaries for the oceans and seas; but He cannot change.  Speaking light into darkness; no problem.  Bringing vegetation out of the soil; no sweat.  Breaking a promise; impossible.  God can do all things that are in accordance with His will.

Man & Creation

It was the will of God to have fellowship with man.  Accordingly, God spoke creation into existence in six days.  The light and the vegetation and the gases in the atmosphere are all in accordance with the requirements for His apex of creation to thrive.  The intricacy of the human body, the complexity of the eyes and brain, the marvel of the data in DNA, all reflect the wisdom of the Creator.  And He started with dust (in Adam’s case).  Amazing how He shapes such clay, only to have the clay question and doubt Him.

Seeing that it was not good for man to be alone, God created a helpmate out of a rib.  When sin became rampant, God flooded the entire world.  When He promised never to do so again, He put the rainbow in the sky.  He confused the plans of tower builders, He destroyed wicked cities with fire and brimstone, and He opened old and barren wombs.  He turned a sea to dry ground, brought water from a rock, and brought dry bones to life.  This is just a sampling of the power of God, a power whose evidence speaks to us every day.

24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
    who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
    who alone stretched out the heavens,
    who spread out the earth by myself. – Isaiah 44:24

Mountain Peaks & Ocean Bottoms

Both the stars on a clear night and the clouds on an overcast day reveal the power of God.  We look up and see either in the sky above and take them for granted, but a study of the composition of either would give us a new appreciation.  Consider the size and heat of a star and try not to be impressed the next time you lift your eyes to heaven and see the sky filled with them.  As the clouds drift over us blocking out the light of the sun stop and consider how God has taken water and suspended it in space only to tell it where to drop its rain.  As God “spread out the earth by Himself”, He chose to give us majestic mountains and rolling hills.  He gave us oceans of salt water and lakes and streams of fresh water.  He made the mountain goats to ascend to the mountain peaks, and the lanternfish to plumb the depth of the sea.  He adorned the mountains with edelweiss and the seas with a giant plumose anemone.  The next time you stop to smell a rose, consider who gave it its beauty and fragrance.

A Newborn

As awe-inspiring as nature is, nothing compares with a newborn child in my book.  The same God who suspends great burning balls of gases in space and floats masses of condensed water vapors in the atmosphere knits human life in the womb.  What does He start with?  One cell from dust and one from the rib of dust.  God takes these two cells and makes a new creation.  One bearing His image.  As we hold a newborn baby and look into its eyes, we see a reflection of the incredible “power” of God.  Don’t let the little fingers and toes deceive you.  Despite its size, the child in our arms is not only special, it is extremely intricate.  The stars and oceans may remind us of the majesty of their Creator, but only the offspring of Adam and Eve, formed in the womb, can bear His image, and house His Spirit.  In fact, God Himself,  became a newborn, to show us His greatest power.

Man & Recreation

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. -Romans 1:16

I don’t understand all of the details of stars or clouds.  I have not had the vantage point of the mountain goat or lanternfish.  The human body is too complex for my comprehension.  But I have experienced the power of God for salvation, and someday will experience His resurrection power.  Not because of my intelligence, understanding or comprehension, but because of my belief.  I believe I am a sinner in need of a Savior.  I believe that Christ, as the second person of the Trinity, became a baby in a manger.  I believe that Jesus lived a perfect life; fulfilling the Law.  Further, I believe He died for my sins on the cross and three days later rose from the dead according to Scriptures.  In short, I believe the Gospel; the power of God for salvation.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. – 1 Corinthians 14:3-4

Abundant in Power

God used a star to lead the wise men to the Christ child.  He used the clouds to hide the sun when Christ hung on the cross.  He used an earthquake to release the saints from their tombs and to accompany an angel to roll away the stone.  God’s power is in accordance with His will.  His will is that all might be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).  God’s power is still being displayed on a daily basis.  God may not stop every catastrophe or every “premature” death according to our wishes, but He does offer hope for our greatest need.  And only He has the power to secure it.  Instead of questioning the power of God, why don’t you put your faith in it and experience it for yourself?  The cross and the empty tomb beckon you.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save. – Isaiah 59;1 

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure. – Psalm 147:5

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. – Jude verses 24 & 25

Thanksgiving

Posted on by scott

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name! – Psalm 100:4

Be Thankful

I woke up at 4:00 this morning and panicked.  Today is Thanksgiving day and I am not prepared.  I knew it was coming.  It’s on the calendar.  My employer gave me a box of food.  I have the day off work.  The island in the kitchen is covered with pies and cookies.  Tables and chairs are all taken care of.  So what is there left to do?  Be thankful.

No Shortage

Is it only me, or are most of us in our society “spoiled”?  Christ tells us to pray for our daily bread, but do we do it in faith and gratitude when we have a refrigerator and multiple freezers full of food?  Daily bread?  We’re stockpiled for a zombie apocalypse.  No shortage of bread here.

My closet is in competition with my freezers.  It is crammed with clothes.  If I can’t decide what to wear it is because of excess, not lack.  The only shortage in the closet is hangers and hooks.  No shortage of clothes.

How about shelter?  Most of us have plenty of room to spare.  If necessary, we could accommodate upwards of fifty people in our homes.  They wouldn’t all have a cozy bed but we could keep them warm and dry in a crisis.  And that is only our residence.  How about that cottage or second home?  No shortage of housing.

How about transportation?  I remember when most families had one car.  If you had two, you were wealthy.  Now, it seems there are more cars in the driveway than drivers in the house.  We are a society on the go and our plethora of autos reflects such.  Like our clothes, our dilemma is which auto to drive today.  No shortage of transportation.

How about Bibles?  We’ve got them in King James, New King James, New American Standard, NIV, and ESV.  Those are only the translations, how about the niche bibles?  Bibles for students, teens, grandparents, etc.  I’m having a hard time locating my bible for CPA’s with blue eyes, but I know it is around here somewhere.  If I can’t locate it soon, I’ll just order the bible for blind CPA’s over 50 years old.  No shortage of Bibles.

Excess Danger

Why do I talk about excess on Thanksgiving?  For the obvious reason, that excess can rob us of our thankfulness.  If our excess doesn’t, our greed will.  Let’s face it, we struggle with both.  Thanksgiving has evolved from a special day set aside to recognize our dependence upon God, to a speed bump on the road to Christmas, to an afterthought, steamrolled by the new “spirit” of Christmas.  As if we don’t already have enough possessions, Black Friday “begins” well before we prepare our Thanksgiving meals.

See why I woke up in a panic?  We need to look in our mirrors.  Are we truly thankful?  I am not saying that having material things is wrong, but ingratitude is.  Excess and thankfulness are not mutually exclusive, but they aren’t exactly Siamese twins.  It takes a mature Christian, and I personally have not yet arrived.  I’m spoiled, but at least I recognize it.  Which means, there is hope.

Simplify & Share

I have resolved to simplify my life.  The guns I haven’t shot for years are going.  Same with the clothes I haven’t worn since who knows when.  As I have thought about this issue, I have come to the conclusion that it is better to share my excess, when possible, rather than giving it away.  When I share my possessions, I share myself as well.  I know this is a wise plan because it is what God has done with His wealth.

When God looks at us, he sees lack, not excess.  Spiritual zombies walking in darkness totally unable to save ourselves.  God did not send a legion of angels to save us, rather He came and shared in our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14).  He gave of Himself.  He didn’t just reach down, He reached out.  He shared in our flesh and blood, so we could share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Excess In Christ

Want to talk about excess?  God has given us the body of Christ as our bread and wine.  Through faith in His sacrifice, we will never have an unsatiated spiritual hunger or thirst.  We will have food to nourish us that the world doesn’t comprehend.

As children of God, we have been clothed with the Righteousness of Christ.  According to Colossians chapter three, our closet now contains clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

As children of God, Christ has promised us a heavenly dwelling.  In fact, He is preparing it for us right now.  Until He calls us home, He has turned our hearts into temples and taken up residence in us.

As children of God, we have been transported into the Heavenly places with Christ.  We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3)!!   As citizens of Heaven, we can now store our treasures there where they will await our arrival.  Never will they be subject to decay.

As children of God, our fellowship is with the incarnate Word.  Obviously, He speaks to us through His written Word, but with the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we now have the ability to understand any translation of the Bible and have the Word speak to our souls and not just our minds.

Thanksgiving Reminders

Don’t let your material excess blind you of your spiritual wealth.  God has blessed you beyond comprehension.  He loves you with an everlasting love.  His mercies are new every morning.  When you were dead in your sins, He offered you eternal life.  The list is endless.  James tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from God, Himself (James 1:17).

This Thanksgiving may your material excess remind you of your spiritual blessings.  Might your Thanksgiving cornucopia proclaim the generosity of God.  I challenge you to look for someone to share your blessings and by extension, yourself with.  Use your blessings to bless others.  More importantly, take time to come into God’s presence with a thankful heart and praise on your lips.  He didn’t save you from being a spiritual zombie to see you become an ungrateful child.  As the Psalmist says, we are to thank Him and praise His name.

Thanksgiving day is just another reminder.

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Omniscient

Posted on by scott

139 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. – Psalm 139:1-4

Daunting Task

It is rather daunting for the finite to write about the infinite, for the sinful to write about the sinless, and the ignorant to write about the all knowing, but such is the case when men try to communicate the attributes of God.  As I try to work my way through (some of) the attributes of God, I have found this attempt to express God’s omniscience, pushed to the back burner.  I touched on the subject briefly when we looked at the fact that the “secret things” belong to God, yet there is so much more to say.  Obviously it is a topic we could never exhaust.  Fortunately that is not my goal.  Rather, my hope in writing about the attributes of God is to remove any frames you might have in your mental pictures of God.  None can contain Him.  Any delusions that we can comprehend God is not only a path down the trail of idolatry, it is flirting with blasphemy.  Such is an attempt to reduce God to the level of man.

All Knowing

When we look at today’s text, we see that David did not attribute human limitations to God or His knowledge.  According to David, God not only knew every move he made but also every thought he had.  Before a word could even cross David’s lips God already knew it.  Do we believe the same things?  Is David wrong or is he not to be taken literally?

39 Then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind) – 1 Kings 8:39

So prayed Solomon, the son of David.  According to Solomon, God, and only God, knows the hearts of all the children of mankind.  Is this possible? Jeremiah writes that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?  God, Himself, answers the question, 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10).  The greatest enigma is no challenge for an all-knowing God.  The heart of man may be deceitful, but God sees it clearly.

Like Father, Like Son

This ability to know every action and thought of man was also evident in Christ.  Before He ever met Philip, Jesus saw him under the fig tree.  Before He ever conversed with the woman at the well, He knew about her life history.  Furthermore, Jesus knew of the death of Lazarus before the news could reach Him.  Before the last supper, He described to His disciples in detail the person they were to meet to make arrangements.  When His audience had evil thoughts (Matthew 9:4), Jesus confronted them.  When the Pharisees had blasphemous thoughts (Matthew 12:25), He challenged them with a parable.  When the scribes entertained thoughts that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy (Mark 2:6-8), He corrected them.  When the scribes and Pharisees vindictively thought that they might be able to level an accusation against Jesus (Luke 6:6-11), He exposed their hypocrisy.

Number of Stars

Not impressed?  Let’s look at another Psalm.  4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;  his understanding is beyond measure. (Psalm 147:4-5).  From what I have read, an Australian study claims that the number of stars we can see is 70,000 million, million, million (70 followed by 22 zeros).  I have not verified that number due to a shortage of fingers and toes, but the number is not staggering to God.  He has not only created the stars, but has named each one.  God knows the way to the dwelling of light, and the place of darkness (Job 38:19).  He knows when the mountain goats give birth (Job 39:1) and when a sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29). 

Before Creation

Before Adam and Eve were created, much less ate from the forbidden fruit, God had a plan of redemption (1 Peter 1:20).  A plan which God revealed years before it’s fruition (Isaiah 7:14).   God also revealed to Isaiah His plans for Cyrus, a century before Cyrus was even born.  Likewise, Christ could see into the future.  Events such as Peter’s denial and Judas’ betrayal were known in advance to Jesus.  Same with the destruction of the Temple.  God’s knowledge has no limits.  He knows every detail of His creation, He knows our every move and thought, and He knows the future.  

Do I understand the omniscience of God?  Absolutely not.  When God challenged Job, Job’s response was classic.  He repented and covered his mouth.  The attributes of God should have the same effect on us.  God is so much above us, that all we can do is to be amazed.  While we can not grasp the knowledge of God, we can find comfort in it.

He Knows & Cares

Our omniscient God not only knows about every detail of your life; He is concerned about them.  He cares about you.  He knitted you in your mother’s womb and is cognizant of every breath you take and every beat of your heart.  Not because you are great, but because He is.  Christ tells us that our Heavenly Father knows the number of the hairs on our head to impress upon us just how intimately God knows each and every one of His children.  God is not just some piece of automation that stores a lot of information; rather, He is the intimate Being who created us for a personal relationship with Himself.  Rather than being intimidated by God’s perfect knowledge of us, we should recognize that we can approach Him just as we are.  We can have confidence that He understands our struggles and weaknesses.  He knows our cares and our doubts.  God knows we are finite, sinful and ignorant, but He loves us regardless.  He knows our deceitful hearts and offers us new ones.

I concur with Elihu.

“He does great things that we cannot comprehend.” – Job 37:5b

Saved?

Posted on by scott

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” – Acts 16:30b

The Right Questions

Amazing what constant reminders of our mortality can do to our perspective.  Hours of hospital visits, cancer centers, and non-stop discussions about test results and medical options have a way of reminding us that we are all terminal.  Faced with this truth we are forced to step back and do a lot of evaluating.  Certainly, we ask a lot of questions but are they the right ones?  Without a doubt, our priorities are adjusted at such times.  Suddenly the weather forecast and sports scores just don’t seem so important or interesting.  It is a good time to pause and take a breath and ask, “why?”.

How Much?

Why do we spend so much time accumulating possessions only to give them away as we age?  I understand that we are to work and provide for our families, but how much is enough?  How much is too much?  How often do we deny our children or grandchildren what they crave and need; our time; because we are too busy working?  Again, I ask, for what?  The possessions are not as important to them as our attention.  Undivided!!

How about our health?  It has been said that when we are young we sacrifice our health to accumulate wealth, and when we are old we spend our wealth to try to buy back our health.  As we step back and prioritize, we need to ask ourselves if the stress we place ourselves under is worth it.  Do we really need to be so busy?  Is it a necessary evil, or do we use busyness as a means of escape?  And if so; from what?  Are we afraid to be confronted with our mortality?  More importantly, are we afraid of the most important question, what happens to us after death?  As important as relationships and health are, they are not as “urgent” as eternity.  So while we are talking about stepping back and evaluating, let’s learn an important lesson from the Philippian jailer.

The Question!

In Acts chapter sixteen, we find Paul and Silas in prison.  With their feet in bonds, Paul and Silas decided to “pass the time” by praying and singing hymns.  Naturally, they had a captivated audience in the other prisoners.  Around midnight, God decided to set the prisoners free via an earthquake that loosened their bonds and opened the prison doors.  The jailer was definitely faced with his mortality since the loss of the prisoners could have resulted in his execution.  As a matter of fact, rather than wait to be executed, he was going to take his own life assuming that all of the prisoners had escaped.  Instead, once torches were lit he found that despite the loosened bonds and opened prison doors, none of the prisoners had fled.  Seeing that his life was spared, he asked the most important question, that concerning his eternal life, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”.

The Answer!

I don’t mean to be morbid, but let’s be real, you and I are terminal.  Because of sin, we are all going to die.  Do you know where you will spend eternity after you have taken your last breath on planet earth?  Have you ever asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?”?  Look at the response Paul and Silas gave to the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”  Believe!  Are you “working” for your salvation?  If so why?  If you can earn your salvation, why do you think Jesus hung on a cross?  As a matter of fact, did you know that your attempt to earn eternal life is an insult to the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary?  As humans, we are “wired” to work.  In our pride, we like to earn what we have.  However, this doesn’t work in the spiritual realm where Grace reigns.

Spiritual “Work”

In John chapter six, Jesus was confronted by some Jews who wanted to know what work they had to do.  Look at the exchange.

28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Ok, the Jews say. But if we are to place our eternal destinies “in you”, what evidence do we have that you are trustworthy?  How do we know we can trust you?  Again, look at the exchange.

30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

The Only Answer

Moses we “know” was God sent because he gave our fathers manna to eat.  That’s pretty impressive Jesus, can you compete with that?  Jesus had just taken a few fish and loaves of bread and fed the multitudes.  That was impressive, but the crowds were looking for more.  Jesus simply says, our fathers may have eaten manna with Moses, but my Father has sent down the bread of life from Heaven.  He goes one step further and says that HE is the bread of life who came down from Heaven.  Whoever comes to Him shall not hunger and whoever believes in Him shall never thirst.  In other words, not only am I trustworthy, He tells the Jews, I am the ONLY means of eternal life.

At the end of the day, we all have a final authority.  Like the Jews, we look for something or someone we believe is trustworthy.  There are so many passages I could quote to validate the sufficiency in the blood of Christ and the exclusivity of the sacrifice of Christ as our ONLY means of salvation.  For now, I hope I have caused you to pause and look at your life and ask the important questions, and certainly the most important question, if you haven’t yet done so.  Why do you exist?  What are you living for?  What are you doing with your time?  What must you do to be saved?

The only cure for our sins is faith in Jesus.  We must confess we are sinners.  We must admit we are helpless and hopeless left to ourselves.  We must repent of our sins and place our faith in Christ alone.  That is what it means to believe in Christ.  Come as a penitent to the cross and leave your sins there for His blood to wash away.  It is the most important thing you can do with your life.

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. – 1 John 5:13

The Eternality of God

Posted on by scott

 

90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night. – Psalm 90:1-4

Your Dash

For today’s devotion, you are going to have to pick up your dash and a time remote.  Don’t know what your dash is?  Look at your tombstone.  It is that little line between your date of birth and date of death.  Don’t have a tombstone yet?  Then you are still working on your dash.  We are going to take our dashes and lay them down on that red line.  Which red line?  The one that goes as far to the left and to the right as your eyes can see.  We will call the point at which we laid down our dashes the present.  In order to stop the present from becoming the past, we are going to use our remotes to stop time.  Didn’t think it was possible, did you?  Now we are going to walk back in time (to the left, it is always backward).

Milestones

As we walk we see the events that have shaped our lives.  Some we want to bypass, others we want to stop and relive. We all have those milestones or time markers we reference when we talk about our past.  The year we graduated, the year we were married, the years our children were born, and the years loved ones passed away.  Personally, I would like to revisit early 2010 and hold my daughter one more time before the grave took her.  You may have a similar longing, but as we review our dash, there are no d0-overs.  Only memories and reminiscing.  Those of us that were alive when President Reagan was shot know where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.  Same for those who were alive when President Kennedy was shot.  We have witnessed wars, political upheavals, and natural catastrophes.  We have celebrated birthdays, holidays, and sporting events.  As we get to the end of our dash (which is actually our beginning), our journey takes us from the realm of personal experience to the realm of history.  Now we get to observe the dashes of others.

Historical Dashes

Wouldn’t it be nice to stop and listen to Spurgeon preach in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, or to hear Whitefield preach to thousands in the open air with no amplification?  Perhaps we could drop in and speak with President Lincoln or President Washington.  But we have to keep walking.  It is amazing to see the different ways people have influenced the world with their dashes.  Some have left their mark with military prowess, others with pen and ink.  Some have been great orators, others have possessed great business acumen.  History has been replete with powerful politicians and gifted athletes.  There has certainly been no shortage of great artists and musicians.  Many lives have been touched by those who perform on the stage, and many have been inspired by those who preach behind a pulpit.  But as our text says, all will return to dust.  Their dashes are done.

Our walk ends where time began.  We stand in the Garden and look into an expanse.  Men’s dashes end, but the red line continues into the expanse.  What is out there is a mystery.  All we know is that it is occupied by the Trinity.  Before there was creation, there was no “time”.

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1

El Olam

In Genesis chapter 21, Abraham referred to God as El Olam, “The everlasting God” or “Eternal God”,  Hard for us to grasp the eternality of God.  He existed before time.  He exists outside of time.  Yet, He entered into time.  As we stand in the Garden in the cool of the day, Jesus joins us.  As God walked with Adam and Eve, Jesus walks with us.  As we turn around and walk back to the present, He converses with us as he did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  As the dashes of humanity lay on the red line of eternity, Christ gives us a His story lesson.  From the fall in the Garden and the ensuing promise of a deliverer, Jesus tells us how everything points to Him.  Moses, the prophets, the law and the feasts, they all pointed to Christ.  As Jesus talks about the manger, a smile comes to His face.  As He talks about Gethsemane, He sheds a tear.  As He recounts Calvary, we shed some tears.  By the time He discusses the resurrection, our hearts are burning.  As Jesus shares His story and opens the scriptures, the dashes become less relevant and the red line of eternity more prominent in our eyes.  Hearing from the mouth of Jesus about the sacrifice that was made and the blood that was shed for us, gives us a greater understanding of and appreciation for eternity.

As He brings us back to the present, we look ahead to the future.  Eternity’s red line still extends as far as the eyes can see.  Like the expanse we looked into before “time” began, the future is a mystery.  We don’t know what lies ahead, but we know it is occupied by the Trinity.  This fact alone makes it a little less intimidating.

Your Dash & El Olam

It is time to pick up the remote and hit the play button.  We can’t pause time forever.  But before you hit that button to resume time, ask yourself this question:  What are you going to do with the remainder of your dash before it is etched in stone?  A lot of people will try to influence your decision.  Some of their arguments will be pretty appealing.  But ultimately, they will return to dust.  The wisest thing we can do with our dash is to surrender it to the one who stepped out of eternity, so we can spend eternity with El Olam.  He who is from everlasting to everlasting.  It is what Jesus has prayed for before your dash began.

4 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. – John 17:24

 

The Immutability of God

Posted on by scott

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” – Malachi 3:6

Seasons & Change

The Preacher once said, “For everything there is a season, and a time to every matter under heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).  With each passing year, life’s “seasons” seem to pick up speed.  I suppose that is inevitable for those of us who are “over the hill” (maybe there is more for gravity to work with).  For whatever reason, the descent is certainly more rapid than the climb up.  Along the way, we seem to become much more acquainted with the times of “deaths” and “pluckings” than those of “births” and “plantings”.  Yesterday’s visits to the maternity ward have become today’s hospice visits.  To everything, there is a season.  Every season brings change.

Think of the seeds planted with great hopes that only yielded weeds.  How many peace treaties give way to wars.  How often do promising business ventures end up as bankruptcies?  More often than not, the starry-eyed “I do’s” end up in teary-eyed divorces.  I don’t mean to sound pessimistic or cynical, but experience teaches us that despite our “Pollyanna” naivetés, everything under the sun is subject to change; which is another way of saying, capable of failing, abandoning, and disappointing us.  Such is life in a fallen world.  But God offers us a hope, “I the Lord do not change.”

Immutable

Years ago I gave a devotion on this text from Malachi during a prayer meeting.  Ironically, it happened to be my birthday.  As the calendar was reminding me that I was another year older, I was encouraging my audience with the truth that God is immutable.  He never changes.  No gray hairs, no balding, no wrinkles.  Ever.  Many in the audience that night have since passed into eternity.  They are now witnessing first hand the fact that God is the great, I Am.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Unchanging Essence

Being spirit, and not flesh and blood, God’s essence will never be subject to change.  As finite beings surrounded by constant change, this is difficult for us to grasp.  We like to say that change is the only constant in life.  Everything we come in contact with is changing.  Granted the rate of change may be different, but the consequences of sin and death in our world has made change a given.  But the Creator is not like His creation (Psalm 102:25-27).  God is beyond the reach of sin.  His purity will never be tarnished.  An ethereal spirit, He has no “beachhead” that time or sin can touch.  While change may be a constant for us, it is nothing God will “experience”.  With Him, there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).

Unchanging Attributes

Like the essence of God, His attributes are also unchangeable.  His power will never weaken; His arm will never shorten.  He will always remain omnipotent.  His knowledge will never diminish; His wisdom will never fail.  He will always remain omniscient.  His grace and mercy will not lessen.  He will always be perfectly holy; He will always be just.  He will always be absolute truth; He will always love with a perfect everlasting love.  God has always been perfect.  By definition, He cannot change and remain perfect.  He cannot become more; he cannot become less.  “I am the Lord, I change not.”

Unchanging Plans

“But he is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back?  What He desires, that He does.  For He will complete what He appoints for me…” (Job 23:13-14a).  The unchangeableness of God pertains not only to His essence and attributes but also to His plans.  God is not reactionary.  There is nothing unseen that will surprise Him necessitating a change in plans.  The wisdom behind His plans is infinite.  The resources to carry out His plans are unlimited.  Being eternal, He will never run out of time to see His plans come to fruition.  What are a thousand years to God?  If God decrees something, who has the power to alter His plans?  God’s plans reflect His perfect nature.  Why should He change them?

Unchanging Promises

We like to cling to the promises of God.  And rightly so.  But what value would they be if they were subject to change?  Of course, they are not.  God’s promises will never be revoked.  His mercies will always be new every morning; those who call upon the name of the Lord will always be saved.  As heirs of the promise, we have this hope, “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:17-18).  Cling to the promises of God.  They will never change.

Unchanging Threats

As much as we like to claim the promises of God, we would often prefer to ignore His threats.  But that is foolish.  Just as God’s promises are unchanging, so are His threats.  God’s justice demands it.  Sin must be punished.  There is a literal hell for those that do not believe.  God’s plan of salvation is perfect.  God’s plan of salvation is exclusive.  To reject it has eternal consequences.  There is great comfort in the immutability of God unless one is His enemy.  Heed God’s warnings.  They are as unchangeable as His promises.

Real Change

I am not implying that all change is bad.  Nor can I promote change for the sake of change.  Instead, I believe we have to recognize that our only hope for “real” change comes from our unchanging God who makes all things new.  He gives us a new heart.  He gives us a new spirit.  He gives us a new name.  He gives us a new body.  He gives us a new home.  He gives a new life.  He gives us a new song.  As Malachi wrote, our salvation is contingent upon the fact that God doesn’t change.  As the seasons of life carry us closer to the grave, it is comforting to have the only true constant to cling to!  Every seed of hope that He plants will produce fruit.

I’ll take the “changes” of an immutable God over those of a fallen world any day.

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

The King of Ages

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17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Timothy 1:17

Different Doctrine

As Paul writes to Timothy, his “true child in the Faith”, he encourages him in his ministry.  Paul has asked Timothy to remain in Ephesus to charge certain persons who are teaching a “different” doctrine.  According to Paul, these teachers had drifted from the Truth.  Instead, they had devoted themselves to myths and endless genealogies.  Rather than stewardship resulting from faith, they were promoting speculation.  Ignorance seemed to rule the day.

Paul’s Plea

The aim of Paul’s charge was, “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5b).  As he was nearing the date of his death, Paul’s plea was passionate.  Paul’s charge was near and dear to his heart.  If anyone could testify to the saving power of the gospel and the Grace of God, it was Paul.  After challenging Timothy to charge the wayward teachers, Paul recounts his own calling.

Paul’s Appointment

12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. – 1 Timothy 1:12-16

King of Ages

Paul had spent time as a prisoner in Rome before he wrote to Timothy, but he is spiritually free.  And forever will be.  While he was a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent of God and His church, Paul was confronted with God’s mercy.  Despite being the “chief of sinners”, God saw in Paul a valuable servant.  Paul considers himself a model of one simple fact; Jesus came to save sinners.  Plain and simple.  As he prepares to meet his Savior, Paul’s focus is locked on God’s honor and glory.  Church leaders like Paul and Timothy will come and go, but the God they serve stands outside of time.  He is indeed the King of the ages.  He is the one who unites the links in time’s chain as history moves towards its culmination.  As King, God rules over the epochs of human history.  Caesar may have put Paul in bonds, but Paul recognizes none but his heavenly Father as King.  One whose reign will never end.

Immortal

As I look at the attributes Paul writes in this doxology, I wonder about the solace Paul found in them considering his conversion experience.  Paul says that he was a persecutor and insolent opponent of God.  As such he was responsible for the torturing and perhaps even killing of Christians.  Certainly, he did nothing to stop the stoning of Stephen.  This man who once “breathed threats and murder” against the disciples of the Lord, now refers to God as immortal.  This former chief of sinners who once seemed to find so much satisfaction in the death of Christians now takes comfort in the immortality of their heavenly Father; his heavenly Father.  God is beyond the reach of sin’s consequences.  Death and decay will never touch or alter Him.  The hate and disbelief of man will never remove God from His throne.   Perhaps Paul had flashbacks of Stephen’s stoning as he penned this.  Or perhaps he had speculations of the probability of his own approaching martyrdom.  Paul knew the cost of serving Christ.  Regardless, as he approaches the end of his life, Paul wants to extol the fact that the King of ages is immortal.

Invisible

God not only stands outside of time, but he also lives outside of human “sense”.  When Paul states that God is invisible, he is stating more than the fact that God cannot be seen.  In actuality, God is beyond discovery by any of the human senses.  If God did not choose to reveal Himself to us, we would never be able to discover Him through our own efforts.  Again, Paul knew this very well from experience.  On his way to Damascus to persecute the Church, God very clearly revealed Himself to Paul in the Second person of the Trinity.  Knocked off of his horse and blinded by a bright light, Paul heard the voice of Jesus.  Although invisible, God very profoundly introduced Himself to Paul.  Neither Paul nor his senses would ever be the same.  The invisible God temporarily blinded Paul, but when his eyes were opened he saw everything in a different light and perspective.  Through Jesus, God introduced Paul to the spiritual realm.  Paul was lifted from the realm of the empirical to the realm of the “real”.  The realm where the invisible King of ages does His eternal work.  The realm where the only God works.

Saved Sinners

It was the King of ages who created Adam.  It was the immortal God who chose Abraham.  It was the invisible God who handpicked Moses.  It was the only God who appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was even born.  From the Old Testament Prophets to the New Testament Apostles, the King of ages has been active in the spiritual realm saving lost sinners and turning them into servants.  Paul and Timothy were blessed to be included among the “appointed”, but the chain would continue to be forged.  Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Whitefield, Spurgeon, Tozer, Lewis, Lloyd-Jones, the beat goes on.  The kingdom advances.  All of these saints were aware of one very simple fact.  They were sinners saved by Grace.  That is why Christ came into the world.

Like Paul, all true Saints can echo, “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus”, so that the charge may be made, “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”  Throughout history, the faith and love of Jesus Christ have flowed through the lives of the saints and will continue to do so.  The God of ages will make sure this happens for His honor and glory.  Forever.

Sinners saved by grace.  Perhaps if we truthfully assessed what God has done for us in Christ, we too, like Paul might break out in a doxology!

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Secret Things

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29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” – Deuteronomy 29:29

Secret Things

God is knowable, but we will never know everything God knows.  There are secret things, things which God in His infinite wisdom has chosen not to reveal to us.  Things in the future we can not foresee, yet totally under His control.  I am not sure why God chooses to reveal some things and not others, although it is obvious that our finite minds could not comprehend or retain that which is known by our all-knowing Creator.  He has not only put the billions of stars in the sky, but He has also named them.  He not only knows the seven billion people currently living on planet earth, as well as every human that ever has trod the soil of this planet throughout history, but He also knows the number of their hairs.  Speak a careless word; He knows it.  Have an evil thought; He knows it.  Pretty sobering to think of how many words I will speak and thoughts I will have today that I won’t even remember tomorrow.  But our minds can only retain so much.

Curiosity

Why is it that despite our limited understanding we want to know God’s “secrets”?  For instance, why do we have a such a fascination with the end times?  Once when His disciples asked Him about His return and the end of the age, Jesus responded, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).   Secret things.   So secret that neither the angels of heaven or Jesus, Himself had privy to.  And it was His return they were talking about!  How many have foolishly claimed to know what the Father did not reveal even to Jesus?  How much effort have men put into developing theories and putting them on fancy timelines and charts trying to convince others they know the unknowable?  They may impress other men but God is not impressed.  “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but…”

Revealed Things

While so many are pursuing the unknowable, God is patiently waiting for us to avail ourselves of what “belongs to us”; the things that are revealed.  While God retains the rights to His secrets, He offers to us more than we can ever fathom.  In His Word, He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.  He has revealed His nature to us.  He has revealed His attributes to us.  He has revealed His dislikes and His passions.  He tells us not only about Himself but His plans for us as well.  How we were created.  Why we were created.  How sin entered the world and His plan of redemption.  Hence Moses could write to his fellow Israelites, what God has chosen to reveal to us is a valuable possession.  A possession that belongs to us and our children forever.  But the possession is just the beginning.

What God has chosen to reveal to us has been done with the purpose of prompting obedience to His will out of loving and grateful hearts, “that we may do all the words of this law.”

Indifference?

I realize that we are living under the New Covenant today, but I also believe that many truths are relevant under both the Old and New Covenant.  God has always delighted in intimacy with His children, and God has always expected obedience from them.  God has made the effort to reveal Himself to mankind with the intention of having both.  Although God has chosen not to reveal everything to us, He has revealed enough to accomplish His purposes for us.  The question now becomes, what are we doing with the things that He has revealed that belong to us?  Do we take the Bible for granted?  Do we long for God as a deer longs for water?  Would we be willing to sell everything to obtain the kingdom of heaven?  Is our love for God so great that by comparison we “hate” all earthly relationships?

Invaluable

What God has revealed to us is that valuable.  At least Jesus claimed so much.  44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:44-46). 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus made this profound statement, 3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).  The kingdom of heaven has been offered to us.  Eternal life, the ability to know God and Jesus, His exact representation, is available to us.  Made available because an all-knowing God has chosen to reveal specific Truths to us.  Truths that will belong to us forever.  May we not worry about the secret things that belong to God, rather may we revel in the fact that he has already revealed so much to us.  Instead of trying to grasp what God has not revealed, we should saturate ourselves with what He has revealed through His grace.  May we have the wisdom to make our knowledge of God our highest priority.  Such is God’s desire for us.  And that is no secret.

Negative Love

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Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. – Genesis 2:7

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 2:16-17

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” – Exodus 20:2-3

Shall Not’s

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, you shall not bow down to them.  You shall not take the name of your Lord in vain.  You shall not work on the Sabbath.  You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not bear false witness.  You shall not covet.

No.  The first word every child learns.  No.  The first word every child learns to hate.  Why are parents such killjoys?  I want to put this in my mouth…NO!  I want to put this in the outlet…NO!  I wonder how that fire feels…NO!  Life isn’t fair.  Life isn’t fun.  We should have just stayed in the womb.  Adam should have just remained dust.  Israel should have just stayed in Egypt.  Are we really created just to be told, “NO”!  Yes.  Sometimes.

Liberating Boundaries

By definition, “no” is negative.  However, experience teaches us that “no” can be very positive.  More importantly, the Bible shows us time and again, being told, “no”, or “you shall not”, is a way God reveals His love for us.  As a loving Father protecting His children, God has given us boundaries.  While we see them as a form of restriction, in actuality they are a form of liberation.  Clearly defined boundaries enable us to enjoy life without the inhibition of uncertainties.

A story has been told of young children in a schoolyard.  The school was in close proximity to a busy road.  Every day during recess the children would stand closely huddled against the school building.  Instead of enjoying themselves in the schoolyard, they wanted to avoid the danger that the traffic represented.  Wisely, the school decided to put up a fence enclosing the playground area.  Immediately, the children were running around and enjoying themselves within the defined boundaries that the fence represented.  They did not see the fence as restricting, but rather liberating.  The fence was viewed as a form of protection.  Obviously, it would not be sufficient to stop a vehicle, but it was sufficient to keep the children out of the street.  Now there was no uncertainty as to how far they could go.  Of course, there will always be those who climb over the fence, tempting fate and exposing themselves to unnecessary dangers, but that is the “risk” God took when He chose to give men the ability to choose.

Haunting Consequences

Staying within God’s boundaries keeps us free from the consequences of acting out of ignorance or rebellion.  Consequences that can haunt us and weigh us down for the remainder of our lives.  Consequences that often outlive us and haunt our offspring or others.  Often following them to their graves.  We don’t have to search hard to prove this.

Adam and Eve were not only expelled from the garden for eating the forbidden fruit, but they had to live with death.  The fruit must have left a bitter taste when Cain killed Abel.  When Israel miraculously defeated Jericho, they were told to keep themselves from the things devoted to destruction.  Achan’s disobedience not only cost him his life but the lives of thirty-six other men who were killed in the ensuing defeat at the hands of Ai.  When commanded to attack the Amalekites, Saul was instructed not to spare anything, but rather was to devote everything to destruction.  A few bleating sheep revealed Saul’s disobedience and Saul lost his kingship.  In the New Testament, we see that lying to the Holy Spirit cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives.

These are just Biblical examples.  How many families do you know that have been torn apart because marriage has not been honored or the marriage bed was defiled?  How about the devastation that alcoholism can cause.  The Bible says not to get drunk with wine or to look at wine when it is red and it goes down smoothly.  Yet so many individuals and families are suffering terribly because of alcoholism or other addictions.  But there are more subtle steps over God’s boundaries.  God tells us we are to have no other gods before Him, but how many of us are guilty of this?  Work, wealth, status, comfort, or even our families can become idols.  We need boundaries to protect us from ourselves.  God has to say “no” because He knows best.

Embracing Boundaries

With the privilege of making choices, comes the responsibility of making wise choices.  Choices within the boundaries established by an all-knowing God who infinitely loves us and wants to protect us.

Before He ever tells us,”no” (you shall not), God tells us who He is and how much He loves us.  Adam knew God as his creator before he was told not to eat the fruit.  Israel knew God as their liberator before they were given the Ten Commandments.  God knows the inclination of our hearts.  He wants to protect us from the evils within and the dangers without.  May we have the wisdom to enjoy life within the fence and spare ourselves the misery that comes from rebelling against His “negative” love.  May we have the wisdom to know when to say “no” to ourselves and those we love.  Who knows how much unnecessary suffering might be avoided in doing so?  I believe there is great wisdom in learning to embrace the first word we learned.  By the grace of God might we learn the benefits of “un-hating” it!!

How Lonely Sits the City

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1 How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
    has become a slave. – Lamentations 1:1

The Unfaithful Bride

“How lonely sits the city.”  So writes Jeremiah.  What a sobering personification.  Jerusalem, destined for such greatness.  Jerusalem, desolate because of sinfulness.  The city on a hill is now sitting in the dumps.  She who was once full of people is now stripped by her enemies.  Her people have been exiled to foreign lands.  Laughter has given way to longing.  Greatness has given way to groaning.  Power has given way to persecution.  The proud bride is now an abandoned widow.  The princess has become a slave.  Her once full streets are now desolate.  Pride came before a fall.  “How lonely sits the city.”

It wasn’t meant to be this way.  God found Israel along the road.  He cleaned her.  He nurtured her.  He showered her with His love.  She spurned Him.  As sad as the illustration sounds, Jerusalem is not a helpless widow.  She drove her husband away.  She wasn’t a faithful wife, but faithless.  Time and again God would lavish His love on Israel, only to see Israel reject Him.  When Moses was on Mount Sinai too long the people made a golden calf.  When the desert (not dessert) menu wasn’t to their liking, they wanted to go back to the leeks and onions of Egypt.  The people who cried for deliverance from slavery begged for liberation from the monotony of manna.  Instead of submitting to the rule of God, they wanted to be ruled by a king.  Instead of pointing the nations to their Salvation, Israel slept with them.  The bride God intended to be pure was defiled.  The apple of God’s eye was spoiled.  “How like a widow she has become.”

Jerusalem not only boasted of the Temple of God, but it also throned mighty kings such as David and Solomon.  During the reign of these kings, Jerusalem was on top of the world.  King David subjected their enemies.  Solomon reigned in wisdom and peace.  During their reigns, Israel collected tributes from the nations they ruled over.  The might of David and wisdom of Solomon were world renown.  All that was gained under their rule was undone by foolishness and unfaithfulness.  Her king was deported and the ruler became the ruled.  “She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.”

The Faithful Groom

“God is love.”  So John writes in his first epistle.  So we like to remind ourselves and one another.  We like to talk about love.  We desire and need to be loved.  We like to quote the love chapter, First Corinthians chapter thirteen, “Love is patient. love is kind, etc.”  We like to quote John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…”  We like to be the object of affection.  We enjoy being lavished with love.  That is why Jeremiah’s description of Jerusalem is so sobering.  “How lonely sits the city.”

What God has done for Israel, He has done for you.  When you were dead in your sins He cleansed you with the blood of Christ.  He covered you with the robe of Christ’s righteousness.  He filled you with the life of His Holy Spirit.  He liberated you from slavery and made you an heir.  He continually lavishes you with His love.  Do you reciprocate His love or do you spurn Him?

The picture Jeremiah portrays of Jerusalem sitting alone touches our hearts.  We envision an elderly widow perhaps sitting in the corner of a room lost in her thoughts.  Thoughts of what used to be.  Her husband embracing her when he walked through the door after a hard day’s work.  Her children chasing each other around the yard and through the house.   The neighbors stopping in and making memories by passing the time with her.  The walls are still there.  The memories are still there.  The sights and sounds are still vivid.  But the joy of life is gone.  Reminiscing won’t bring them back.  Once chance is all there is.  Unless…

Another Chance

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

As I stated above, Israel was not a helpless victim of time or circumstances, but rather was responsible for their predicament because of the choices they made.  The sins of the people precipitated the loneliness of the city.  The personification of Jerusalem is a rebuke to Israel, but the people would come back.  The walls and the Temple would be rebuilt.  More importantly, the life would come back.  Voices and laughter would again fill the homes and the streets.  Tears of sorrow would be replaced by tears of joy.  Not because the bride deserved it, but because of the mercy of the faithful groom.  One that will never break his word to His bride or Himself.

59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant,60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 16:59-63

God is Faithful.  God is love.  He desires and deserves to have these attributes reciprocated not spurned.  Israel’s rebuke is a good reminder for us.  The lonely city grieved the heart of a Faithful “groom”.  A groom who first loved us so we could love.  One who atoned us so that we would.