Tag: judgment

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Lessons from Habakkuk on Sin and Judgment

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Habakkuk.

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
    and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
    and you will not save? (Habakkuk 1:2)

Habakkuk’s displeasure with God sounds familiar. Why doesn’t God do something? Why doesn’t God do something about the violence, wickedness, and injustice going on all around us?

It’s a great question. Why doesn’t God do something? Why does he seem remote, aloof, and unconcerned about our situation? From our limited point of view, there are two answers. Either God doesn’t care, or God can’t fix it.

God’s response is shocking. He’s assembling the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to sweep through and put an end to the horrible behavior and inexcusable idolatry of God’ people.

Well, that’s one way to deal with the problem, isn’t it? Let’s bring in an even great evil. Let’s burn down the house because the roof leaks. Cut a hole in a shirt to get rid of a stain. Trade in the car for a new one because the brakes are squealing. Put the TV on the curb because of an offensive word from a person in one episode of one TV show.

Would you consider any of those things be an overreaction? I would. Fix the roof. Remove the stain. Repair the brakes. Patch the roof. Watch a different TV show.

Clearly their sin was beyond repair. Their sin and idolatry called for extreme measures. Like foreign invasion. Destruction. Exile.

Bottom line: don’t challenge God unless you are willing to hear some hard truths about your sin, his holiness, and judgment.

Posted in Advent devotions

Safe and sound in the ark of God’s grace

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’m tempted to believe that the world is much worse than it has ever been. Just look around. War, communities in ruin from hurricanes and tornadoes, pandemics, contaminated food, and sex trafficking. I could list more, but it’s depressing.

If you think it’s bad now, the bible tells us about a much worse time in history. Just a few generations after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden, “Every intention of the thoughts of [people’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In just a few pages, sin ran amok in God’s “very good” creation.

That reality doesn’t sit well with the Creator, who tells Noah to get to work on an ark because, “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die” (Genesis 6:17).

Advent is a sobering reminder that when God shows up, he’s not happy. He’s holy. We’re not. This is gonna be ugly.

Unless you’re on the ark.

On the ark, you’re safe from the flood.

On the ark, you float on the water. On the ark, you’ll survive. You’ll be tossed by the waves, heaving over the side of the boat, and have to take care of all those animals, but you’ll survive. You’ll live to tell about it.

Divine judgment is real. “We will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:10). “Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12). And if you’re honest, it’s gonna be ugly.

Unless you’re on the ark.

Unless you find refuge in the arms of the one who comes to rescue you. “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24,25)

Jesus is your ark, a refuge from the judgment to come. Wrapped in his righteousness, you’re safe from the deluge of wrath. You’ll survive, forgiven and alive. (And he gives you animals to take care of, too!)

That’s why we put an ark on a Jesse Tree:

Posted in Devotions

You probably don’t know what God is up to

Posted on by William Douthwaite

As a parish pastor, the majority of my conversations contain some reference to God. Lately, the majority also include information, comments and opinions about the Covid-19 pandemic. And many of the folks I talk with want to know if there’s a connection between the two.

Some interpret the millions of positive tests as a sign of the end, since biblical images of the end times includes pestilence. Some view the virus as punitive, God’s judgment on an ungodly world. Still others see it is a call to repentance, urging unfaithful people to turn back to God.

I’m extremely cautious about trying to connect the dots between current events and the actions of God. I remember a few guys in the Old Testament who tried to figure out what God was up to. Job and his friends thought they had all the answers. Boy were they wrong!

At the beginning of the book of Job, God grants Satan permission to test Job’s faith. Satan thinks Job is only faithful because he is blessed. Take away the good stuff, and Job will fold. He’ll curse God to HIs face. God says, “OK. Give it your best shot.” Job suffers the loss of his house, all his livestock and his house. In response, Job went to church. He worshiped God.

Satan raises the stakes. If you take away Job’s health, Job will curse God to His face. God says, “He’s all yours. Just don’t kill him.” Job breaks out in sores all over his body. He is miserable. Yet he still doesn’t say one bad thing about God.

Three friends come to sit with Job, and for the first week, no one says much. But then they all begin to offer explanations as to why Job is suffering as he is. Their theories don’t sound that bad.

Job must have done something to deserve this. God must be disciplining Job. Get your act together and God will once again bless you.

That theory makes sense to me. If you get caught speeding, you get a ticket. Pay the fine, go to traffic school, drive more carefully in the future. Case closed.

Job’s not buying their diagnosis. His big question is, “What did I do wrong?” He follows up by asking, “What did I do to deserve this?” He my not be perfect, but did Job really deserve so much misery? And finally he wonders, “If I’m that bad, why doesn’t God save himself a lot of trouble and just let me die?”

Job’s words make sense, too. At the very beginning of this book, wasn’t God just boasting about what a good guy Job was? Surely there must be others that needed discipline a lot more than someone like Job. Job makes a good point when he points out many despicable people that aren’t being disciplined. It just doesn’t add up.

In the end, they are all wrong. They have no idea what they are talking about. Every attempt to explain God and how things work is misinformed. They are oblivious to what is happening in the spiritual realm.

I am very aware that I am not aware of everything God is up to. For me to speculate about God’s judgment on some and not others is far above my pay grade. My best guesses about the end would be ridiculous. All I know for sure is what God has told me in His Word. I know I deserve to punished for my sins. I know I’m not punished because Jesus was crucified for my sins. I know I’m going to die one day. I know I’ll be resurrected one day.

Those truths get me through good days and bad days, health and illnesses, hurricanes and beach days, unexpected bills and unexpected blessings. What is God up to on days like that? Who knows?