God's Glory Church

Last time you and I talked about the fact that our life, time, abilities and various material wealth – all this has been entrusted to us by the Lord. It is not enough to just know about it, it is important to use what has been given to us correctly! It is at the stage of managing all that is entrusted to us that we most often fail to pass the most important exam – we succumb to the temptation to use what God has entrusted to us only for ourselves, as if it belonged exclusively to us. And this is not just a problem for believers – it is a problem for our entire society.

Speaking about this, I would like to look at God’s attitude not just towards an individual who allows himself to be an unfaithful steward, but at how the Lord relates to peoples and countries who, knowing about Him, allow themselves to live as if there is no God.

“The children of Israel continued to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth…And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites; they oppressed and tormented the children of Israel…”(Judges 10:6-8)

Not the most pleasant story and not the most pleasant picture. The people of Israel, who know God, are once again mired in idolatry and evil. Scripture says that it was not just individuals who began to worship idols, but the entire nation. Perhaps it began in individual families where husbands or wives brought their own idols and introduced their worship into their homes, but over time it spread to all of Israel. The people He himself had chosen to spread the truth not only stopped spreading God’s commandments and knowledge about Him, but also began to worship other “gods” as if they knew nothing about the Lord. Sin has the ability to spread like an epidemic, and if it is not stopped at the very beginning, it affects entire countries and nations. So what is God doing?

The first thing we see is that the Lord is angry with Israel and immediately after this he delivers them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites. God delivered Israel into the hands of those nations whom they had not driven out of the promised land in their time. And this is an important lesson for you and me, you cannot put up with sin in your life! After all, any sin that is not eradicated from our lives will sooner or later appear again and its consequences will always be much more serious than we would like. After all, no one among Israel even thought that because of their worship of idols, innocent children would suffer, and this is exactly what happened when God’s people began to oppress their enemies. And this is precisely where, in my opinion, God’s mercy towards Israel was manifested. You say, how can this be? How can it be God’s mercy when enemies attack you and your family, when innocents die and the whole people are in fear? And I will say again that this punishment is God’s mercy, since it was these problems that became the reason for Israel’s turning to God:

And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned against thee, for we have forsaken our God, and served the Baals.(Judges 10:10)

The second thing God teaches us is that He punishes those whom He loves and, conversely, those who are less loved remain unpunished. If you and I love our children, then we punish them for their misdeeds. At the same time, we do not deliberately try to hurt them or show our superiority – our goal is to make them think and rethink their actions. It is this same goal that God pursues when this or that nation is going through difficult times in its history. God is merciful and His punishments are a call to repentance, both for individuals and for the entire nation.

Maybe today you and I don’t quite understand the situation in our country, maybe you are already disillusioned with the leaders of the opposition and how the confrontation between the government and the people generally proceeds. Yes, today there are many confused and disappointed people, both in the church and among people far from God. But our lack of understanding of the situation does not relieve you and me of the responsibility to be the initiators of turning to God and repenting for our sins. After all, the church is directly responsible for the spiritual state of the people. We cannot say: “Everything that is happening today is solely a punishment for the sins of unbelievers or for the wickedness of the rulers in our country.” God speaks to the church today and calls it to repentance and responsibility. After all, it was you and me who often remained silent when “gratitude” or so-called “voluntary donations” were demanded from us for certain services. After all, it was we, as the church, who did not denounce, wherever possible, the entire system of corruption and lawlessness that has seeped into all spheres of society, and from which everyone suffers today, including our children.

This is why the Lord, in His mercy, is punishing us today. After all, He does not want people to continue to perish and go to hell, but His desire is for the church to awaken and rise up “like regiments with banners.” You and I must stand in the gap today, not wait for someone else who has more free time to start going around Jericho. There is no need to wait until the neighboring church begins to repent for the sins of the people and expose lawlessness. It is you and I who must take the position of kings and priests, it is you and I who must initiate repentance in our people! Let us take courage today and say to God as His people:

“…we have sinned; do with us whatever You please, just deliver us now. And they rejected foreign gods and began to serve the Lord. And His soul did not suffer the affliction of Israel.” (Judges 10:15-16)