Daily Manna: Judging the Impenitent Friday 14, March 2014 TEXT: ISAIAH 9:8-21 Key verse: “Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day” (Isaiah 9:14). It is impossible for a righteous God to let a sinner go unjudged. God gives the wicked ample time to repent and turn to righteousness. But if he remains impenitent, judgment will descend on him. The nation of Israel exhibited four types of sins against the Lord; self-confidence, impenitence, lawlessness and obstinacy. In their self-confidence, they boasted that they would replace their destroyed bricks and sycamore trees with hewn stones and cedars for their construction works. This is challenging the Lord to a duel which should have been obvious to them that they would not win. Also, they knew that they had lost favour with God having been misled by their leaders, yet they were impenitent. Eventually, they became obstinate and lawless. Several punishments were prescribed -overthrow of their leaders and removal of all means of sustenance, loss of God’s favour for the needy, and civil strife. Despite these punitive measures, they refused to repent. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft and God is angry with the wicked everyday. No earthly father will continue to shower his love and resources on a recalcitrant child; neither will the heavenly Father. Perhaps Israel’s self-confidence derived from “the doctrine of eternal security”: that once saved they will forever be saved, and that no matter what they did, God’s special dealings with them would continue. God will surely judge the impenitent, irrespective of the Christian experiences and achievements they might have attained in time past. The Lord is no respecter of persons. God’s judgment comes in various ways. The enemy, the devil, can be allowed to have a field day in the affairs of the intransigent. Lack of sense of direction or spiritual guidance is another means. Yet, another is civil strife. Only one thing can appease the Lord’s anger: total repentance in Christ (John 3:36). Nothing else, nothing less. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: We judge ourselves by our motive; others by our actions.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 05:30:06 +0000
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