Iam going to start with an attempt to define holiness. Notice that a requirement of being holy is to do as God prescribes.
Numbers 15:40 [KJV] That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
Holy is only as God approves for His purpose.
Exodus 29:33-34 (KJV) And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. 34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
God alone decides what is Holy and then it is up to us to keep it that way. Holy is decided by God and nobody else.
Exodus 20:8-11 KJV Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
To profane means to treat something that is holy as though it is not. Profane itself means not holy. As far as God is concerned what is not holy is profane. There is therefore no middle ground.
Ezekiel 42:20 [KJV] He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.
Ezekiel 48:15 [KJV] And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
Holy means what God reserves for Himself and all the rest is profane. God sets very high standards for what He will accept.
Leviticus 22:21-25 KJV And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. 22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. 23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. 25 Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.
Malachi 1:8 [KJV] And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Even though we may know this we can still fall prey to one of the oldest traps in the book.
Genesis 4:6-7 (NET) Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
Cain knew of God's high standards yet he was not careful to offer the best.
Genesis 4:3-5 [KJV] And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
We cannot afford to veer from our best because even that may not be good enough.
Matthew 7:13-14 KJV Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it..
Holiness and Rebellion
This is actually a pretty scary subject. Being Holy is a choice that we have to make. The most serious threat to holiness is rebellion. Rebellion is insidious and we never seem to avoid it totally even when we fully intend to be committed to God. An outstanding example of rebellion is the Golden calf incident where even Aaron went astray because Israel would not wait on God. An attempt at being holy that went wrong and was treated as rebellion is David returning the ark. His ignorance cost him the life of Uzza (2 Samuel 6:1-11) because he was transporting it in the wrong manner (Numbers 4:15; Deuteronomy 31:9; Joshua 3:3; Joshua 3:6; 1 Chronicles 15:14–15). Ignorance does not exempt us from the consequences of rebellion but God may chose to show mercy.
Acts 17:30 [KJV] And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.
We all need to cultivate the attitude of Joshua concerning how he approached rebellion.
Joshua 24:14-15, 19-21 KJV Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. 15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
In verse 19 transgression
can also be translated rebellion
. This appears to be a better translation since it is not true to say that God will not forgive transgressions. Rebellion however is a very serious sin and involves throwing off God's authority for another. In the New Testament Jude gives a stern warning about the consequences of rebellion.
Jude 1:5-7 KJV I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Rebellion Vexes the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10). God says, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king
(1 Samuel 15:23) [KJV] .
Rebellion is typically accompanied by stubbornness, as is indicated in 1 Samuel above. Stubbornness
is when we are determined not to change even when it is obvious that we are wrong. God sees that as a type of idolatry. It is also connected with iniquity which is translated from Hebrew aven
and here it means when when we are throwing effort into something that can come to nothing. That is also seen by God as idolatry. Idolatry breaks the first and second commandments so it is actually very serious therefor these things that we may take lightly are not at all trivial to God.
Concerning rebellion, we are not immune to the tendencies of the Israelites. While they had a strong leader like Joshua the stayed in line but as soon as his generation was gone and they had to exhibit their own conviction, the record shows time and again that, In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes
and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord...
. The strong leader for us is Christ and not any human. Do we exhibit rebelliousness? Let us take a closer look at its symptoms.
Unbelief and not even listening
We can convince ourselves that what God says is not the right way or we may ignore what God says to suit our personal preference. Listening to God is like listening to anyone else - before we can hear Him, we must be paying attention to Him. If someone is talking to you, you cannot hear them if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. In the same way we must be quiet and we must be focused on what He is saying if we want to hear Him. The problem is that the cares of our lives distract us and the whole day could pass without us really listening. How much time do we actually spend really listening to God each day?
Deuteronomy 9:23 [KJV] Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.
Do we hear him saying things such as these?
Mark 16:15 [KJV] And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Isaiah 58:6-7 KJV Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Galatians 6:10 [KJV] As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
James 1:27 [KJV] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 2:8-9 KJV If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
1 John 3:17-18 KJV But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Those are just a few common ones that I wonder if people really hear. Could it be that we need to listen and pay more attention to what He is saying than perhaps waiting to hear what we want Him to say?
Preferring someone else to reign over us
People like to see a man over us, someone who is like us (but with more credentials) that we can relate to on a human plane, rather than changing to relate on a godly level. We cannot have two masters in any given situation but we tend to give power to the doctor or teacher or lawyer or pilot or priest or boss. Israel wanted a king, today we want to put our lives in the hands of these people. Even though we should seek a multitude of counselors God must be first and supreme. Do we always seek God first and foremost?
1 Samuel 8:7 [KJV] And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Many evil rulers were able to lead Israel astray because they put the rulers before God and Manasseh was probably the worst.
II Kings 21:8-12 KJV Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. 9 But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, 11 Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 12 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
Do we listen to all the Law or do we rebel? The same things that were said to ancient Israel still apply today.
Do we have leaders that are noted for seeking only the truth or are we supporting rebellious leaders?
Proverbs 29:12 [KJV] If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
Most of us can easily think back to a time when the nation would not have tolerated prominent officials publicly flaunting their immorality, but we now accept it and walk in their ways according to the dictates that they institute without repulsion.
Ezekiel 16:47 (NET) Have you not copied their behavior and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were!
So what do we expect? God is concerned about our spiritual welfare more than anything else. Many nations, and perhaps yours too, hove not only followed leaders into corruptions but have set even worse spiritual, moral and ethical examples than surrounding nations that sometimes don't even claim to serve God. What national examples have we set?
Ezekiel 5:7-9 (NET) “Therefore this is what the sovereign LORD says: Because you are more arrogant than the nations around you, you have not followed my statutes and have not carried out my regulations. You have not even carried out the regulations of the nations around you! [8] “Therefore this is what the sovereign LORD says: I – even I – am against you, and I will execute judgment among you while the nations watch. [9] I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again because of all your abominable practices.
Turning our backs on His law
So many people encourage us to do this nowadays and it may seem plausible at first. Some Pro-lifers demand that God said, thou shalt not kill
, and so any kind of killing is ungodly even though the context in the Bible clearly refers to murder.
Numbers 35:29-31 KJV So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. 31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death
Matthew 5:17-18 KJV Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. .
Later in the same chapter (Matthew 5:21-26) God shows that if we do not comply with His law, as Christians we stand to receive the full force of the law. God's prescribed payment for murder is death and he never changed it.
Exodus 21:12 [KJV] He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death..
People tend to follow the pack and that is often used to corral and capture the lot of us. Politicians are especially good at herding people. One trick is to be the pot that calls the kettle black.
Consider their stance on abortion? If you claim that pro-lifers are evil or that some leader is evil then people may focus on that and do not realiase that you are evil too. What about the claim by pro-lifers that God said, Neither shall you give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord
, Leviticus 18:21 [KJV], and since abortion clinics take the place of Baal altars nowadays, You shall tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherah poles, and burn their graven images with fire
Deuteronomy 7:5 [KJV].
Who is Holy and who is rebellious there? If we are political we may align ourselves with a politician against Pro-lifers and reject all that they stand for even when it is absolutely right. This goes for other people and institutions that we like. We accept all about whom we like and reject all that oppose them. The only person that deserves that type of loyalty is God.
I am sure that the people involved in the slave trade never saw these scriptures since it became a national practice.
Exodus 21:16 [KJV] And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 23:15-16 KJV Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
People set aside God's law to do what we want e.g. when filling out Income Tax, or making a business deal or choosing a political candidate or trying to fit in. When election time comes many Christians do not ask God anything or seek His will but we champion a candidate or party.
Nehemiah 9:26 [KJV] Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
Have we really analysed the requirements of Gods law and adhere to them?
Even when things are there in black and white we can refuse what God clearly tells us.
Psalm 107:11 [KJV] Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
We all know of the story in Joshua 9 where Joshua and all the leaders of Israel were tricked by Gibeon. Gibeon convinced them that they were from a distant country and formed an alliance when God wanted them destroyed. The problem was that they slighted God's counsel and deliberated among themselves but did not ask God anything.
God tells us how to relate to people but we want to chose our own way. How precious is God's counsel to us? When do we consult Him? About work? About our daily chores? About marriage? About shopping? Do we consult Him as soon as we wake or just before we go to bed? Is God's counsel important?
Lacking confidence in Him
Fear is a common thing with us when we can't control the situation. God gave ten tribes to Jeroboam.
I Kings 11:30-32 KJV And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: 31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: 32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)
But when Jeroboam feared that he would lose them he rebelled against God.
I Kings 12:26-29 KJV And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Beth–el, and the other put he in Dan.
We can control doctors and science and people but we can't control God. Another difference is that we can see when people are doing their best to serve us but we can't see God. The New Testament is replete with instances where Christ took action and there were no outward signs. It was when the persons reached home sometimes days later that they saw the proof. When we can't see do we despair and do our own thing? Zedekiah knew that Jeremiah was God's prophet and he knew that God had said that they were to remain in Babylon nevertheless Zedekiah tried to form a league with Egypt to secure his freedom but it ended with the destruction of Judah. We may not be able to see God but He can certainly see us.
Ezekiel 17:11-16 KJV Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; 13 And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: 14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? 16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
Complaining about Him
God has marvellous plans for us but the trip does have some discomfort. I don't suppose that any of us has ever complained about the lot that God has given us along the way, have we? I don't suppose that we have ever asked why me
in a complaining way?
Numbers 20:3 [KJV] And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
Consequently Moses called them rebels.
Numbers 20:10 [KJV] And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
That type of complaining is rebellion. It is difficult not to read the whole of the book of James on this matter and even more difficult not to read the whole of chapter one so I will just insert the whole thing.
King James Version : James Chapter 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James said that rather than rebel we should consider it a joyous privilege when trials come. James says that the working of patience ensures that we lack nothing. It ensures that we have nothing to complain about. James realises that it is difficult to understand so he says that we should pray about it and not be diverted by doubt. He then gets back to the point in verse 12 and goes on to explain that it is by patiently learning to cope with austerity that we are made ready to inherit the kingdom. He explains that people are tempted and sin because they do not have the correct mindset to deal with austerity. With that mindset we recognise that all the evidence is there to show that God is the provider of everything so He is who we have to approach when we lack. That is something that we do in quiet prayer and study/meditation not in verbal assaults. We look into the perfect law and do what it says. James goes on to address the matter of strife in chapter 4 and shows that it develops from an attitude of murmuring/complaining. The book of James shows us how to deal with our own rebellion against God.
Not believing, not listening to and not obeying God
We all know that Israel rebelled and refused to possess the Promised Land because of fear of the giants. Fear paralyses people and this is something that we all need to overcome particularly since the giants that they saw never materialised when they eventually went forward. I don't know how many times I would have passed up an opportunity so serve God because of fear; I don't know if any of you have ever done the same?
Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
Samuel Johnson
Deuteronomy 9:23 [KJV] Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.
There is another aspect to disobeying God. We want to see or experience things that do not please God and hold on to trappings of the powerful societies that appear to prosper. We want to look like them, work like them, behave like them. We view their source of power as desirable but it is often contrary to Gods way. We have grown accustomed to it and are comfortable with it. Even though we may want to change we find it hard to be any different. In practise nobody cares about releasing debts or the poor or being or brothers keeper, instead we want to exploit the others.
Nothing is as difficult as to achieve results in this world if one is filled full of great tolerance and the milk of human kindness. The person who achieves must generally be a one-idea individual, concentrated entirely on that one idea, and ruthless in his aspect toward other men and other ideas
: Corinne Roosevelt Robinson.
We always take credit for the good and attribute the bad to fortune
: Jean De La Fontaine.
This is the way we should be:
My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others. That is nice but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success
: Helen Hayes.
The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them
: Benjamin Jowett.
This world says to sell yourself, publicise the good things and conceal the bad. Have confidence in yourself and you will achieve. God says do what you do quietly unto God and look to Him in faith for true success.
The thing about the gods of Egypt is that they presented a plausible alternative to what God says. If you remember, the duplicated the rod turning to a serpent and also some of the plagues. They present another way and we can be deceived into thinking that it is equivalent to God's way.
Ezekiel 20:8 [KJV] But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
The picture here is that God puts his hand on our shoulder to correct us but we poke our fingers into our ears and say la la la la la la...
, and pull away.
Zecheriah 7:11 [KJV] But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Our society does not recognise God's ways in a day-to-day manner. Do we carefully scrutinize their way and examine ourselves daily to ensure that we do not rely on the gods of Egypt?
Daniels example
The amazing thing about Daniel as as far as this is concerned, is that he did not exempt himself. He lumped himself in with all Israel. His prayers did not identify the rest of Israel as being culpable alone. We too have experienced brethren that were torn from a place that God gave us into enslavement and are not faring well. Much of it may have been our own fault and, just like Daniel, we need to include ourselves in the lump and pray for all.
Daniel 9:4-5 KJV And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
Daniel loved God's people even when they went astray and were punished. God expects us to love the same way. Do we have that love?
John 13:34 [KJV] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
My main point is that Daniel saw the rebellious nature of his nation as including him and so he responded as a part of the nation not as an individual. Is this how we see the Church? Are we included in the problems of the whole?
God's worship
Most of us are even now struggling to build or rebuild. To some degree or other we don't know exactly how to worship God. If we honestly evaluate our Church practices we come to recognise the pervasiveness of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and we can only wonder how many other ways that we have misapplied God's law.
In Exodus 32 we have the story of the golden calf. Moses took too long so they wanted something that they could see. It was an abomination but we still have that yearning.
The altar was the place where sacrifices were made. Do we sacrifice in the place and manner that God prescribed or do we chose our own way? People evangelise in the jungle and give half of their fortune but is that what God wants? For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise
: Psalm 51:16-17 [KJV]. God did not say to devote all out time to strangers but He dis say And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me
: Matthew 25:40 [KJV].
We need to be encouraged that God is here and His brethren are here. We do not need a foreign place to go or a foreign way of worship. In addition contacting the dead and such like is somehow not seen as what it is today. People pray to dead people and not to God.
Deuteronomy 18:10-13 KJV There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.
In spite of this people worship saints and beg dead people to intercede for them. In our worship we must be careful to stick to God's law and not what feels good to us. On the other hand we have to be careful that we do not worship a denomination or group. In other words we don't want to hold on to differences because we want to feel elite but whoever is following God is our brother.
God's enlightenment
Most of us have fallen prey this enigma. When we search for enlightenment we may well be actually finding darkness pretending to be light.
Job 24:13 [KJV] They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
2 Corinthians 4:6 [KJV] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This can cause us to be proud and ungrateful.
Romans 1:21 [KJV] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Opening the door to false prophets.
2 Peter 1:19-2:2 KJV We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2:1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Gradually giving ourselves over to licence to do what we please.
Ephesians 4:17-19 KJV This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
The Bible record shows that People are generally not very smart but some are smart enough to recognise that we need enlightenment. The real light comes from God and we can't ever trust in our own intelligence. Do we ever tell ourselves I can figure this out
?
James 4:14-16 KJV Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Living as we think rather than as He says
Isaiah 65:2 [KJV] I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
I was reading an article which questioned the validity of Rosa Parks' civil disobedience
in the light or scripture. The truth is that I had to admit that although I am grateful for the outcome I cannot see how it is justified from a Christian perspective. As we know, Rosa Parks refused to give a white person her seat on the bus and this lead to the collapse of legislated racial discrimination in the south. She was probably given the strength to do it by the Holy Spirit but it may be one of those times of ignorance that God winked at (Acts 17:30) for the greater good.
Matthew 5:38-42 KJV Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
The Bible addresses the issue of Civil Disobedience in Romans 13 and in Matthew above it shows us that our approach to bullies is to initially give them more than they asked for.
Romans 12:17-21 KJV Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We need to cultivate an attitude of seeking the best even for those who seek to do us harm. The following is an extract from a psalm that is written to those who seek righteousness, not only to Israel. If you read it carefully it is not a guarantee that God will do all this in every case but it does tell us that this is His general approach and that we have this hope with us always.
Psalms 34:12-22 KJV What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. 20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. 22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
We are supposed to live as He says in hope that He will do us good by His grace and not of obligation. Obligation is of the letter of the Law but we live by faith. Our goal of seeking righteousness may lead us towards prayerfully taking a stand according to the power that the state has given us (Paul appealed to Rome) but the key is prayerfully. In my original draft of this article I think that I might have left this section of too abruptly. Remember I spoke of civil disobedience before. The issue with Rosa Parks is not civil disobedience. She had been given certain rights by the Federal Government under the 14th Amendment and they were being denied by the local government. She was dealing with a bully. Civil disobedience is another matter. If the state does not Provide for a Christian to be a Christian then we are still under the obligation of Acts 5:29 [KJV], Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men
. Under those conditions we should probably seek to escape to the protection of other Christians who will have this obligation: Deuteronomy 23:15-16 [KJV] Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: [16] He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him
. People who do not understand this tend to misuse the situation with Paul and Onesimus. Paul was demanding that Onesimus should be free among Christians and his former owner as a Christian had this obligation not to return him to his master.
Consequences of rebelliousness
As a case study for this we can examine the life of Ahab. I do not intend to do a full discovery here but to highlight a few things. God was keen to show Ahab that He was the true God and it is to that end that He delivered Israel from Ben-Haddad (1 Kings 20:13). But things eventually reached a climax.
I Kings 21:25-29 KJV But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
I Kings 22:19-23 [KJV] And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth–gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
Eventually Ahab did go into battle disguised but this is what happened:
I Kings 22:34-36 [KJV] And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 36 And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.
So let us consider the consequences of rebelliousness.
God becomes your enemy
Isaiah 63:10 [KJV] But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
1 Samuel 12:15 [KJV] But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.
Hardship
Psalm 68:6 [KJV] God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Brought down
Psalm 107:11-12 KJV Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: 12Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Proverbs 24:16 [KJV] For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Holiness is essential to our salvation but rebellion can cause us to loose all. Fortunately for us the Bible shows us a record of persons, past, present and future who are recorded as being holy (1 Peter 2:9, Rev. 22:11, Rev. 20:6) . Let us make every effort to be counted among them.
