Normally we don't imagine God will ever get fed up by the callousness of His (chosen) people. Sure we have this idea that He will punish evil eventually, but the overriding thought is that we can always come back to Him if we stray away.
So we stray - happily - for as long as we like, without worrying about restitution: all we need is to say, "God I'm sorry." Right? Or maybe not, for "God has forgiven our future sins"; so why bother?
Regardless of what we think about God, the testimony of Scripture is that God does get fed up with the callousness, faithlessness and hypocrisy of His people; and when that happens, He unleashes His fury - unless someone does something about it to stop Him.
Eli was quite naive, never mind that he was a veteran priest. When the word came to him (the second time) that God was fed up, he simply said "“He is the Lord. May He do what He thinks is right.” In fact, his naivety is best seen in the 'counsel' he gave his erring sons. He told them: "If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?"
Samuel couldn't help Eli. He was too young in the Lord to understand. In fact, years later when he tried intervening when God got fed up with the king Saul, he had very limited success. You can only expect so much from a guy when his spiritual father and mentor is a poster example of "ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth."
When the Lord is fed up, will there be anyone to stop Him? Several generations before Eli and Samuel, there was a man called Moses. Twice (in Exodus 32 and Numbers 14) he managed to quench the anger of God on the people of Israel. His intervention (intercession) in Numbers was particularly interesting.
He said to God, (vs 13-19) “What if the Egyptians hear about it? (You used your power to take these people away from them.) What if the Egyptians tell the people who live in this land? Lord, they have already heard that you are with these people, that they have seen you with their own eyes, that your column of smoke stays over them, and that you go ahead of them in a column of smoke by day and in a column of fire by night. But if you kill all these people at the same time, then the nations who have heard these reports about you will say, ‘The Lord wasn’t able to bring these people into the land he promised them, so he slaughtered them in the desert.’
“Lord, let your power be as great as when you said, ‘The Lord . . . patient, forever loving. . . . He forgives wrongdoing and disobedience. . . . He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children . . . for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation. . . .’ By your great love, please forgive these people’s sins, as you have been forgiving them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
Considering Moses a type of Christ, it's not hard to imagine Christ doing the same thing for us today. In fact, Paul tells us (in Romans 8:34) that Christ is at the right hand of God interceding for us; and John counsels that "...if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1)
Years back, God spoke to Ezekiel saying, (22:29-31) "The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads." However today we can count, at least, on Christ who speaks better things than (the blood of) Abel.
But shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! In fact, that's such a dangerous option to even contemplate, for there are too many variables outside your control. Besides, intercession can only go so far; you cannot get full effect until you own up yourself and come back to the Father.
Here is God's response to Moses' intercession: "I forgive them, as you have asked. But as I live and as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, I solemnly swear that none of the people who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I did in Egypt and in the desert will see the land which I promised their ancestors. They have tested me now ten times and refused to obey me. None of those who treat me with contempt will see it!"
That verdict remains: None of those who treat God with contempt will see the Promised Land.
Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart; but you have to open it for He's not going to break in. And make no delay: He may not be there when you eventually open, in which case you'd have to go through a lot more troubles to find Him.
Song of Solomon 5
1“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
Eat, friends;
Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
2“I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is drenched with dew,
My locks with the damp of the night.’
3“I have taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
4“My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my feelings were aroused for him.
5“I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt.
6“I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and had gone!
My heart went out to him as he spoke.
I searched for him but I did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
7“The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me.
8“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For I am lovesick.”
9“What kind of beloved is your beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That thus you adjure us?”
So we stray - happily - for as long as we like, without worrying about restitution: all we need is to say, "God I'm sorry." Right? Or maybe not, for "God has forgiven our future sins"; so why bother?
Regardless of what we think about God, the testimony of Scripture is that God does get fed up with the callousness, faithlessness and hypocrisy of His people; and when that happens, He unleashes His fury - unless someone does something about it to stop Him.
Eli was quite naive, never mind that he was a veteran priest. When the word came to him (the second time) that God was fed up, he simply said "“He is the Lord. May He do what He thinks is right.” In fact, his naivety is best seen in the 'counsel' he gave his erring sons. He told them: "If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?"
Samuel couldn't help Eli. He was too young in the Lord to understand. In fact, years later when he tried intervening when God got fed up with the king Saul, he had very limited success. You can only expect so much from a guy when his spiritual father and mentor is a poster example of "ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth."
When the Lord is fed up, will there be anyone to stop Him? Several generations before Eli and Samuel, there was a man called Moses. Twice (in Exodus 32 and Numbers 14) he managed to quench the anger of God on the people of Israel. His intervention (intercession) in Numbers was particularly interesting.
He said to God, (vs 13-19) “What if the Egyptians hear about it? (You used your power to take these people away from them.) What if the Egyptians tell the people who live in this land? Lord, they have already heard that you are with these people, that they have seen you with their own eyes, that your column of smoke stays over them, and that you go ahead of them in a column of smoke by day and in a column of fire by night. But if you kill all these people at the same time, then the nations who have heard these reports about you will say, ‘The Lord wasn’t able to bring these people into the land he promised them, so he slaughtered them in the desert.’
“Lord, let your power be as great as when you said, ‘The Lord . . . patient, forever loving. . . . He forgives wrongdoing and disobedience. . . . He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children . . . for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation. . . .’ By your great love, please forgive these people’s sins, as you have been forgiving them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
Considering Moses a type of Christ, it's not hard to imagine Christ doing the same thing for us today. In fact, Paul tells us (in Romans 8:34) that Christ is at the right hand of God interceding for us; and John counsels that "...if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1)
Years back, God spoke to Ezekiel saying, (22:29-31) "The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads." However today we can count, at least, on Christ who speaks better things than (the blood of) Abel.
But shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! In fact, that's such a dangerous option to even contemplate, for there are too many variables outside your control. Besides, intercession can only go so far; you cannot get full effect until you own up yourself and come back to the Father.
Here is God's response to Moses' intercession: "I forgive them, as you have asked. But as I live and as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, I solemnly swear that none of the people who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I did in Egypt and in the desert will see the land which I promised their ancestors. They have tested me now ten times and refused to obey me. None of those who treat me with contempt will see it!"
That verdict remains: None of those who treat God with contempt will see the Promised Land.
Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart; but you have to open it for He's not going to break in. And make no delay: He may not be there when you eventually open, in which case you'd have to go through a lot more troubles to find Him.
Song of Solomon 5
1“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
Eat, friends;
Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
2“I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is drenched with dew,
My locks with the damp of the night.’
3“I have taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
4“My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my feelings were aroused for him.
5“I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt.
6“I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and had gone!
My heart went out to him as he spoke.
I searched for him but I did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
7“The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me.
8“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For I am lovesick.”
9“What kind of beloved is your beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That thus you adjure us?”
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