Israel

Selective Hearing

“His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding back, and I could not”  (Jeremiah 20:9)

It has often been said that men have selective hearing. It is obvious which group in our population started this saying but they ought not to think they should be excluded.

The message that God is Love seems to have permeated much of our society but not that God is also holy and a righteous judge. Consequently when God deals with our wickedness in righteous judgment we are led to the thought that God is not love. Many have turned to bitterness and hatred of God because He exposed their wicked heart. Jeremiah records the Lord saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? The Lord then goes on to say that only He can.

The Lord says concerning a nation on which He is about to judge, “If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring on it” (Jeremiah 18:8). Also concerning a nation on which the Lord desired good,  “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it” (18:10).

Following these statements the Lord called for Israel to repent, to turn back from gods of their own making and obey Him. This they refused to do saying, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart” (v 12).

God is true to Himself and therefore His actions and words are consistent without variation. How He deals with nations is, in principle, how He deals with individuals. What we see in this revelation is that God will respond favourably to the person who repents and follows Him but that He will also remove His favour from the one who chooses to follow his own evil heart.

Those who accuse God of not loving them ought to have a look at their own attitudes and conduct – and evaluate them in the light of who God is. If they turn from evil, He will show favour toward them – but if they choose to remain in wickedness, God will remove whatever favour He may have desired for them.

Jeremiah was mocked (20:7) and put in the stocks (20:3) because the people rejected the message – but it was not him who was mocked and rejected, it was the Lord. Jeremiah didn’t want to keep on preaching the message because of the reaction of the people yet he couldn’t help himself (20:9).

Some people we rub shoulders with will have selective hearing and may mock our words as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Jeremiah the Lord has called us to proclaim the Good News. We must speak it clearly so that people can distinguish the true from the false and we must also speak it all. We cannot help it if others have selective hearing but we must not be selective in what we speak concerning the Gospel.

May the abundant grace of the Lord be upon you as you follow Jeremiah’s example in this New Year.

The Voice of the Lord

“I heard the voice of the Lord saying …” Isaiah 6:8

There have been a number of occasions in the life of this writer when someone has claimed to have a word from the Lord for me or the church I have been attending. In each case they were exposed as false by the Word of God but to whom does the Lord speak?

By giving us a specific example Isaiah also gives us general revelation of the conditions and the kind of person to whom the Lord speaks. The specific details of each communication will be different in each case but we are able to discern details that are common in each.

As we read chapter six of Isaiah we notice first that it was the Lord who initiated contact. It was not Isaiah. In that initial contact the Lord introduced Himself by seraphim and revealed His glory and holiness (v 3). We are unable to see the glory and the holiness of God unless He reveals Himself to us. Fallen and unredeemed people can never see God in His glory and holiness and neither can the carnal or worldly Christian.

The reaction of Isaiah is the reaction of any person who sees the glory and holiness of God. In the light of God’s holiness we will more accurately see our exceeding sinfulness. Isaiah was fully aware of his exceeding sinfulness in the light of God’s glorious and holy presence (v 5).

Before the Lord would speak there was still one more vital requirement. The man must be cleansed of all sin (v 7). Only then could Isaiah hear the heart of the Lord (v 8).

When he responded by surrendering his life to the Lord, the Lord gave him a message to preach. On hearing the message he may have wondered what he had gotten into because he knew it would not be a popular message. It may have been concern over the reception of the message that provoked him to ask how long the message would need to be preached (v 11). The response would have done nothing to ease his concern. The message would be preached until Israel has been all but erased and only a remnant remained (vv 11-13; cf. 11:20-23; Ch. 11).

We have a message to proclaim until Jesus Christ returns. It is a message that most do not want to hear but for the sake of those who do want to hear it we proclaim it.

Why did the Lord choose Isaiah? Of course there are a number of considerations regarding God’s sovereignty and purposes in history but an important one that is relevant to us is that Isaiah had a history of positive response to the Lord and an acute awareness of his own sinfulness. This is a picture of the person the Lord is pleased to speak with and use in His mission.

Lasting Peace

“When they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

The “they” and “them” in this verse is Israel but it also has application to the unbelieving world. The apostle Paul is writing concerning “The Day of the Lord.” It is a day that will most certainly come. It is the time culminating in Jesus returning in all His glory. Paul looked forward to this day with great anticipation and joy.

Who of us can remember an American president who did not try to bring peace in the Middle East? Ever since Israel declared nationhood in 1948 there has been no lasting peace. At best there has been a cessation of hostilities for brief periods. The current attempts to bring peace in the Middle East will not bring lasting peace. We who are “sons of light and sons of day” (v 5) know that there will come a day when peace will be declared between Israel and the surrounding nations. However, it will not last.

Daniel prophecies, “Then he [the Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many for one week [of years; i.e. 7 years]; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (Daniel 9:27). In Revelation six John records Jesus’ prophecies concerning this same period. In verse two the Antichrist conquers by the threat of war (bow, no arrows) but later (verse 4) he conquers with violence.

Will the current talks bring peace to Israel? At best we can expect a reduction or lull in hostilities. Will these talks lead to the commencement of “the Day of the Lord?” Only hindsight will reveal that.

The Bible says that Israel will have a peace declared by world leaders but that it will be broken after a short while. Only when the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, appears will there be lasting peace in Israel and the world. We do not look for presidents to bring peace on earth because they are unable to change the hearts of men. Only Jesus can bring peace to a person’s heart and only then to nations.

There is a time coming, perhaps very soon, when in the false belief that it is safe and secure Israel will neglect its defences and then sudden destruction will come. But it will not be complete because Jesus Christ will not permit that. He will come again.