I am going to interrupt my postings on the names
of God to share a couple of thoughts with you that popped up in my mind while I
was on the elliptical this morning. If I
don’t share them now, I might forget.
I am always bothered by those who declare that we
can’t apply the principles declared in the promises of God to Israel, His
people, to those of us in the church, His people. My bible says that God never changes.
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not….”
Yes, there are promises that are
specific to the nation of Israel, but those that declare principles of how God
acts are applicable to all of God’s people.
I was reading in scripture yesterday and the following verse in Jeremiah
that testifies to the truth of my conclusion jumped out at me.
Jeremiah 18:7–8 “At what instant I shall speak concerning a
nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy
it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I
will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.”
Though the wording is a bit different,
it declares the same principle as God’s declaration to Solomon recorded in
Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land.”
In fact, Jeremiah declares that the
principle of repentance being key to staying God’s hand of judgment is applicable
to any nation—not just His people. The
promise of forgiveness and healing predicated on seeking restored fellowship
through an humble prayer of repentance that is proved by our actions is only
available to “His people.”
This next thought is totally
unrelated, but my thoughts go all kinds of directions sometimes. I was thinking again of creation and my
understanding of their being a gap of indeterminate time between verses 1 and
2. My thinking has nothing to do with
proving the age of the earth or trying to turn the days of creation in something
other than 24 hour days. I believe in a
young earth and 7 literal days of creation.
I believe the record is worded to make allowance for the fall of Satan
and those angels that chose to follow him instead of God.
I think that verse two states that the
earth became a desolation and ruin as a result of that rebellion because the
next thing that God does is call forth light to shine in the darkness. I don’t think this would have been the case
if there had not been the intervening rebellion and introduction of darkness
into creation.
Scripture tells us: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all.” 1 John 1:5
Throughout scripture darkness is
associated with wickedness and evil.
Job 30:26 “When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and
when I waited for light, there came darkness.”
Matthew 6:23 “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be
full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness!”
John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil.”
Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Just in case you are interested….
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