Deliverance During God's Discipline - Summary
When God disciplines a person or group of people it is with the purpose of bringing them back into relationship with Him. The discipline may seem severe but that is only because it is in response to the severity of their wrong actions and attitudes. God is not capricious, acting with no particular purpose. His motives are always to glorify His name and restore people to him. So when it appears that what is happening around us is discipline from God we need to understand His purpose, our role, and how He may bring us through this tough time. My contention is that we are either now in or about to enter significant and prolonged discipline because of the actions and beliefs of our nation. Like the nation Israel before us we can submit to this or fight it. If the nation as a whole does not submit it is still possible for individuals to be saved. Israel and God's chosen people the Jews are our example as discussed in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
So, what does it mean to undergo discipline? Can we as individual believers have hope for the outcome for us or our nation?
Hope, yes we can have hope because of who God is, His very nature is one of longsuffering love combined with justice. Being just and righteous (Holy) He must discipline for wicked behavior and rebellious attitudes but because of His character of love and long suffering attitude this justice is tempered to bring about positive change in us and restore us to fellowship with Him, for His glory (2 Peter 3:9). What Joy in that purpose! Remember the context of my argument, how God deals with His children when the group they are a part of is being disciplined. We see God's character revealed most beautifully in His actions toward individual children, but ...
Jeremiah 5:7-9 “How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by [them that are] no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were [as] fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
And ...
Jeremiah 5:28-29 “They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
God was writing to His beloved people, those who lived in and around Jerusalem, the center of His plan for all creation. God had provided for all their needs, He taught them and fed them and in wealth and peace the nation of Israel abandoned their God, not completely mind you. They still worshipped on the Sabbath but they also served other gods and committed wickedness. Being so rejected and seeing their sin God had every right to punish, and yet listen to how He pleads with them, in the midst of His anguish over their rebellion and great sin He again reveals His character; He must judge their sin but in love has held back and now is anguished by the whole mess. God asks the question ‘How shall I pardon thee for this?’ which shows His desire to pardon them but He must discipline the people for their rebellion. They did not see their own sin for they were prosperous and worshipping God every Sabbath, at least in outward appearance. But God saw it differently, He saw their actions when not at the Temple and these told a very different story as the above verses prove. The Creator and Almighty God cannot tolerate sin and in His love He is now about to severely discipline them, not punished to utter destruction (Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: Jeremiah 5:10a) but discipline so those who remain will turn back to Him. I read these verses as part of a read through the Bible plan, by the time I was done with Jeremiah I was disheartened by the similarity of my country to that of Israel when Jeremiah prophesied and yet encouraged by God’s deliverance of faithful individuals; those who heeded the prophet’s warnings and submitted to the discipline were spared, carried captive to Babylon along with Ezekiel and Daniel but spared nonetheless. The stubborn were left in Jerusalem to suffer siege and terrible trauma with Jeremiah still speaking God's word to them. And yet we must understand how God spared His people, it was not in a way the people wanted or expected, but the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel were clear that God had provided a path to deliverance. I fear our nation and even the church is now on the brink of discipline and yet I am hopeful that God has planned deliverance for His people. The question is, are we ready and attentive to follow His path or will we insist on our own?
We must understand what deliverance looks like and not confuse it with how God has brought victory in the past; we learn in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel deliverance is not the same as victory. God has a history of delivering faithful people during times of oppression and war (See Deliverance in Faithful Battle) but there are distinctive qualities to these victories. We can think of Joshua at Jericho, Gideon and the 300, David against Goliath or how Jehoshaphat led the Israelites when Ammon and Moab came against Judah. What is common to all of these? They sought God for help, followed His lead and praised God throughout the event. In the account of Jehoshaphat and the people against Ammon and Moab (2 Chronicles 20) it is very clear that after hearing the news of their enemies amassing against them, and after seeking God through prayer, and then responding to God’s word that as the people went out as instructed and when the king set the people to sing God’s praise, it was then (2 Chronicles 20:21) that He responded and set ambushes for Moab and Ammon. The people came upon their enemies already utterly destroyed. God responded to their humility and petition for help which resulted in a miraculous victory. However, I cannot see how the faithfulness of the people and their leaders in these Biblical events compares at all to our nation’s current condition. Our leaders are opposed to, or at best, agnostic to the Creator God, very few are faithful and the people are no different despite public proclamations of belief and the latest survey results which show 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. I just can’t see how a nation that makes divorce so easy and winks at adultery and premarital sex, promotes homosexuality and abortion, and accepts corruption in business and government can claim favor with God, quite the opposite. This scares me; if it wasn’t for God I would be completely hopeless. Without God I am helpless in my own sin without redemption and without a firm hope for any type of deliverance in the middle of difficulty. And yet when in God through salvation I can experience victory like David or deliverance like Ezekiel, but let us be aware of the world around us and understand the Bible so we can know what type of door God will open to us.
If we are willing to accept at least for a moment, or perhaps agree that the nation and even the church in general is deserving of discipline and accept that victory is not an option for us in this situation, what then will God do for His people? Let us reason together and consider some examples.
Although I don’t see victory on the horizon for my country or the church in general I do see a God who has not changed since the days of Jehoshaphat, Jeremiah and Ezekiel; a God who is still in the business of providing for the faithful. So while I see a country and world around me that warrants the discipline of God (who is still now displaying longsuffering patience) I know His discipline will not fall on the faithful in the same way as the unfaithful and wicked. We need look no further than God saving Lot out of the judgment on Sodom or how God preserved a remnant from Jerusalem by sending them and the prophet Ezekiel to exile in Babylon (both examples of personal deliverance in national discipline), or to think of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation for how God views faithful people in the midst of a church ready for discipline (an example of personal deliverance in church discipline) to know God is able and willing to protect His own and, most importantly for us to remember, in His own way. Like you, I want the majestic victory of David versus Goliath or Jehoshaphat against Ammon and Moab, not the apparent defeat of going into captivity at the hands of our enemy. But God uses both means and it is not for us to decide or demand the form of our deliverance.
Please consider for a moment recent headlines and stories in the news and what you know about God’s character. He is absolutely Just and Holy which means sin must be punished but He is also Loving which means He doesn’t want to see you perish but wants a relationship with you. So which part of Him wins? Both do because while He is Longsuffering and grants many opportunities for repentance of the individual or group He must deal with the sin. I pray that you and I are humble enough to evaluate our own actions and attitudes and repent so we can partake in the deliverance He provides, whether exile under the hand of another on earth or escape via the Rapture of the Church.
The real difficulty is when we as individuals are in need of discipline; does God still provide deliverance in these cases? What about the person who says "I really screwed up and am so far from God and how I used to live, what now? How can I bear up under His righteous discipline? Can God possibly accept me back?" I think of David when he sinned with Bathsheba and how Nathan the prophet came to him, this is an example of what God does in order to provide a path to deliverance and life for individuals. He is willing to send others into your life to show you your error and call you back, He is also able to and does reveal sin as you open scripture. Let the Father and the Holy Spirit speak and then follow.
Remember the examples God has set before us in scripture: the Canaanites whose sin had reached full measure and were driven from the land by the Israelites; Nineveh whose sin demanded judgment but repented at the message delivered by Jonah and was granted decades more time; Israel who was sent into captivity to teach them to fear God; David who committed adultery and murder but repented when his sin was revealed by God through Nathan; and Peter who acted differently when among Jewish and gentile believers and was corrected by Paul. God is interested in obedience and fellowship, are we?
Posted November 27, 2011
So, what does it mean to undergo discipline? Can we as individual believers have hope for the outcome for us or our nation?
Hope, yes we can have hope because of who God is, His very nature is one of longsuffering love combined with justice. Being just and righteous (Holy) He must discipline for wicked behavior and rebellious attitudes but because of His character of love and long suffering attitude this justice is tempered to bring about positive change in us and restore us to fellowship with Him, for His glory (2 Peter 3:9). What Joy in that purpose! Remember the context of my argument, how God deals with His children when the group they are a part of is being disciplined. We see God's character revealed most beautifully in His actions toward individual children, but ...
Jeremiah 5:7-9 “How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by [them that are] no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were [as] fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
And ...
Jeremiah 5:28-29 “They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
God was writing to His beloved people, those who lived in and around Jerusalem, the center of His plan for all creation. God had provided for all their needs, He taught them and fed them and in wealth and peace the nation of Israel abandoned their God, not completely mind you. They still worshipped on the Sabbath but they also served other gods and committed wickedness. Being so rejected and seeing their sin God had every right to punish, and yet listen to how He pleads with them, in the midst of His anguish over their rebellion and great sin He again reveals His character; He must judge their sin but in love has held back and now is anguished by the whole mess. God asks the question ‘How shall I pardon thee for this?’ which shows His desire to pardon them but He must discipline the people for their rebellion. They did not see their own sin for they were prosperous and worshipping God every Sabbath, at least in outward appearance. But God saw it differently, He saw their actions when not at the Temple and these told a very different story as the above verses prove. The Creator and Almighty God cannot tolerate sin and in His love He is now about to severely discipline them, not punished to utter destruction (Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: Jeremiah 5:10a) but discipline so those who remain will turn back to Him. I read these verses as part of a read through the Bible plan, by the time I was done with Jeremiah I was disheartened by the similarity of my country to that of Israel when Jeremiah prophesied and yet encouraged by God’s deliverance of faithful individuals; those who heeded the prophet’s warnings and submitted to the discipline were spared, carried captive to Babylon along with Ezekiel and Daniel but spared nonetheless. The stubborn were left in Jerusalem to suffer siege and terrible trauma with Jeremiah still speaking God's word to them. And yet we must understand how God spared His people, it was not in a way the people wanted or expected, but the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel were clear that God had provided a path to deliverance. I fear our nation and even the church is now on the brink of discipline and yet I am hopeful that God has planned deliverance for His people. The question is, are we ready and attentive to follow His path or will we insist on our own?
We must understand what deliverance looks like and not confuse it with how God has brought victory in the past; we learn in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel deliverance is not the same as victory. God has a history of delivering faithful people during times of oppression and war (See Deliverance in Faithful Battle) but there are distinctive qualities to these victories. We can think of Joshua at Jericho, Gideon and the 300, David against Goliath or how Jehoshaphat led the Israelites when Ammon and Moab came against Judah. What is common to all of these? They sought God for help, followed His lead and praised God throughout the event. In the account of Jehoshaphat and the people against Ammon and Moab (2 Chronicles 20) it is very clear that after hearing the news of their enemies amassing against them, and after seeking God through prayer, and then responding to God’s word that as the people went out as instructed and when the king set the people to sing God’s praise, it was then (2 Chronicles 20:21) that He responded and set ambushes for Moab and Ammon. The people came upon their enemies already utterly destroyed. God responded to their humility and petition for help which resulted in a miraculous victory. However, I cannot see how the faithfulness of the people and their leaders in these Biblical events compares at all to our nation’s current condition. Our leaders are opposed to, or at best, agnostic to the Creator God, very few are faithful and the people are no different despite public proclamations of belief and the latest survey results which show 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. I just can’t see how a nation that makes divorce so easy and winks at adultery and premarital sex, promotes homosexuality and abortion, and accepts corruption in business and government can claim favor with God, quite the opposite. This scares me; if it wasn’t for God I would be completely hopeless. Without God I am helpless in my own sin without redemption and without a firm hope for any type of deliverance in the middle of difficulty. And yet when in God through salvation I can experience victory like David or deliverance like Ezekiel, but let us be aware of the world around us and understand the Bible so we can know what type of door God will open to us.
If we are willing to accept at least for a moment, or perhaps agree that the nation and even the church in general is deserving of discipline and accept that victory is not an option for us in this situation, what then will God do for His people? Let us reason together and consider some examples.
Although I don’t see victory on the horizon for my country or the church in general I do see a God who has not changed since the days of Jehoshaphat, Jeremiah and Ezekiel; a God who is still in the business of providing for the faithful. So while I see a country and world around me that warrants the discipline of God (who is still now displaying longsuffering patience) I know His discipline will not fall on the faithful in the same way as the unfaithful and wicked. We need look no further than God saving Lot out of the judgment on Sodom or how God preserved a remnant from Jerusalem by sending them and the prophet Ezekiel to exile in Babylon (both examples of personal deliverance in national discipline), or to think of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation for how God views faithful people in the midst of a church ready for discipline (an example of personal deliverance in church discipline) to know God is able and willing to protect His own and, most importantly for us to remember, in His own way. Like you, I want the majestic victory of David versus Goliath or Jehoshaphat against Ammon and Moab, not the apparent defeat of going into captivity at the hands of our enemy. But God uses both means and it is not for us to decide or demand the form of our deliverance.
Please consider for a moment recent headlines and stories in the news and what you know about God’s character. He is absolutely Just and Holy which means sin must be punished but He is also Loving which means He doesn’t want to see you perish but wants a relationship with you. So which part of Him wins? Both do because while He is Longsuffering and grants many opportunities for repentance of the individual or group He must deal with the sin. I pray that you and I are humble enough to evaluate our own actions and attitudes and repent so we can partake in the deliverance He provides, whether exile under the hand of another on earth or escape via the Rapture of the Church.
The real difficulty is when we as individuals are in need of discipline; does God still provide deliverance in these cases? What about the person who says "I really screwed up and am so far from God and how I used to live, what now? How can I bear up under His righteous discipline? Can God possibly accept me back?" I think of David when he sinned with Bathsheba and how Nathan the prophet came to him, this is an example of what God does in order to provide a path to deliverance and life for individuals. He is willing to send others into your life to show you your error and call you back, He is also able to and does reveal sin as you open scripture. Let the Father and the Holy Spirit speak and then follow.
Remember the examples God has set before us in scripture: the Canaanites whose sin had reached full measure and were driven from the land by the Israelites; Nineveh whose sin demanded judgment but repented at the message delivered by Jonah and was granted decades more time; Israel who was sent into captivity to teach them to fear God; David who committed adultery and murder but repented when his sin was revealed by God through Nathan; and Peter who acted differently when among Jewish and gentile believers and was corrected by Paul. God is interested in obedience and fellowship, are we?
Posted November 27, 2011
