
Some
Thoughts About the
Judgment of God
By James L.
Morrisson
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"If God is
for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31
Introduction
On
September 11, 2001 the United States suffered a massive terrorist attack
that killed over 6,000 people and did great damage. Our President has
declared a war on terrorism.
This
attack was a wake-up call for our nation. It made us realize that we are
not invulnerable. It got us praying. It changed many of our priorities.
Some
have called it God's judgment on America. The statement has outraged many,
but I suggest that we need to take a closer look at the concept behind
it and at Biblical principles related to it.
I
am not saying that God brought about this attack. But if he is sovereign,
then we have to say that he allowed it.
In
this paper I want to explore, from a Scriptural point of view, the question
whether God does judge nations, and, if so, how he does it. I believe
Scripture gives us quite a bit of information on these questions, that
we need to consider and understand. I believe a clear understanding of
the relevant Scriptures will help us evaluate the situation we are now
in. I shall also suggest some areas of our national life which may be
relevant to the issue of judgment. I do not presume to say whether or
not God is judging us, or is about to judge us. But I think we should
be aware of what some of the possibilities are. Every nation needs to
consider whether its ways are pleasing to God.
I
also want to raise another, related, issue. Scripture often declares that
"the battle is the Lord's" (see, for example, 2 Chronicles 20:15).
It tells us to put our trust, not in military weapons, but in God (Psalm
20:7). The military power of the United States is impressive, but it is
small compared to the power of almighty God. If God is with us we can
hope to prevail; if God withdraws his protection we cannot expect to succeed.
"Unless the Lord watches over the city [or nation], the watchmen
stand guard in vain" (Psalm 127:1).
These
are weighty subjects. Many people don't like to think about them, but
I believe we must. I approach them with caution, with fear and trembling.
But I think an understanding of what Scripture says about them will be
helpful and necessary to enable our nation to chart its course for the
future. In that spirit, I offer what follows for your consideration.
A God of Mercy
and Justice
God
has many attributes. He is a God of love. "God is love" (1 John
4:16). God shows an amazing love for us. "God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "God demonstrates
his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died
for us" (Romans 5:8). "The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love" (Psalm 103:8). (Scriptures are
from the New International Version unless otherwise indicated).
But
he is also a God of holiness and justice. When men have had a glimpse
of God, they saw angels who cried ceaselessly, "Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord Almighty" (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). He has told us,
"Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). He is a God who
hates evil and injustice. He has a holy wrath "against all the ungodliness
and wickedness of men" (Romans 1:16). His holy wrath is a righteous
anger against those things that offend his righteousness; it is a vindication
of God's truth against every kind of falsehood.
Paul
speaks of the "kindness and sternness of God" (Romans 11:22).
(The King James Version calls it "the goodness and severity of God").
I believe we need to keep in mind both of these aspects of God. God is
usually loving, merciful, patient and kind. But, when necessary, he can
be severe, and wrathful against evil; he can bring judgment and punishment.
There are some who put such emphasis on God's lovingkindness that they
neglect the fear of the Lord (which is the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs
9:10). And there are some who are so concerned with the wrath of God that
they fail adequately to speak of his love.
I
need to make one further observation on this point. We sometimes hear
it said that the God of the Old Testament was a God of severity, harshness
and wrath, while the God of the New Testament is a God of love. I do not
believe Scripture supports this distinction. God does not change (Malachi
3:6). There is much about God's love and mercy in the Old Testament. And
some of the strongest statements about his judgment and wrath are in the
New Testament. In both parts of the Bible, God appears as a God of "kindness
and sternness". (I develop this more fully in the Appendix.)
God Does Sometimes Judge
Nations and Individuals
There
will be a final judgment when God, through his Son Jesus Christ, will
judge all humans. Some will receive eternal life with God. Others will
receive condemnation, "eternal punishment", "destruction",
"everlasting destruction" ; they will be thrown "into the
fiery furnace", into "hell, where the fire never goes out"
(John 5:29; Matthew 25:46; 2 Peter 3:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Matthew 13:42-43,
49-50; Mark 9:44,48). I want to make it very clear that in this paper
I am not talking about that final judgment. I am talking about a kind
of judgment that God brings now, particularly on nations and groups of
people, to vindicate his justice.
At
times God, to satisfy his justice, brings an immediate judgment on individuals,
groups and nations. Such a judgment does not involve the eternal life
of the soul. It can involve painful and difficult things. Some may think
that a loving God would never bring suffering to his people. But God cannot
indefinitely tolerate injustice and wickedness. His patience is very great,
but eventually he acts.
The
principle is stated clearly in Deuteronomy, Chapters 28 and 30. God listed
the blessings he would pour out on his people if they obeyed him and the
curses they would receive if they turned against him and disobeyed him
Among the curses are terrible diseases and plagues, loss of crops, ruin,
military defeat, and captivity (slavery). God said, "I set before
you today life and death, blessings and curses. Now therefore choose life"
(Deuteronomy 30:19). Many of these curses later came on God's people because
of their disobedience. Again, when Solomon's Temple was dedicated, God
said that if they obeyed him he would bless them, but if they "turned
away" and served other gods he would "uproot Israel from my
land" and bring "disaster" on them (2 Chronicles 7:17-22).
Scripture
shows that God has often brought death or other physical injury on people
in order to vindicate his justice. Because this point is often misunderstood
I shall list a considerable number of examples, to emphasize what an essential
part of God's character this is, and to show the circumstances and variety
of God's responses. I describe them very briefly but I would encourage
the reader to read the Scriptural passages to get their full flavor. Note
that these examples involve judgment against individuals, cities, nations
and the whole world. At times God uses, and even raises up, evil nations
to be his instruments in bringing judgment.
Because
of man's great wickedness God destroyed the whole earth by flood, killing
all the humans except eight (Genesis chapters 6-9).
Because
of their grievous sin God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities
(Genesis chapters 18-19).
In
order to rescue his people from heavy oppression God brought numerous
plagues on Egypt, including the death of all first-born sons (Exodus chapters
7-11).
God
consumed two sons of Aaron with fire for making an improper offering at
the altar (Leviticus 10:1-2).
When
Miriam and Aaron, Moses' brother and sister, challenged Moses' authority
"The anger of the Lord burned against them." God struck Miriam
with leprosy. Then, at Moses' request, God healed her but she was confined
outside the camp for seven days (Numbers chapter 12). It does not appear
that Aaron or Miriam ever challenged Moses' authority again.
When
Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebelled against God's anointed leader Moses,
God caused the earth to swallow up them, their households and their possessions
(Numbers chapter 16). We do not read of any further rebellion like this
against Moses' authority.
When
the people of Israel indulged in sexual immorality with the women of Moab
and worshiped the Moabite gods, "the Lord's anger burned against
them" and 24,000 died in a plague (Numbers chapter 25).
King
Ahab of Israel, led on by his Queen Jezebel, provoked God to anger by
worshiping the pagan god Baal and by other wickedness (1 Kings 16:30-33:
21:25-26). Therefore God caused the rain and the dew to cease in Israel
for three and a half years (1 Kings chapters 17-18). God also destroyed
Ahab, Jezebel and their descendants (1 Kings 21:17-28; 2 Kings 10:17).
The
"fire of God" consumed 100 Israelite soldiers who sought to
arrest God's prophet Elijah (2 Kings chapter 1).
When
the people of Israel (the northern kingdom) repeatedly turned away from
God and served other gods, and would not listen to his prophetic warnings,
God sent Assyria to conquer them (Isaiah chapters 8, 10)."I dispatch
[Assyria] against a people who anger me" (Isaiah 10:6). Assyria did
conquer the northern kingdom and dispersed them throughout its territory.
Scripture records that because the northern kingdom rejected him, served
false gods, and committed other sins, "the Lord rejected all the
people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers
until he thrust them from his presence" (2 Kings 17:20).
Because
of the sins of Judah (the southern kingdom) God declared, "I am bringing
disaster from the north, even terrible destruction" (Jeremiah 4:6;
see also Jeremiah 6:19). Accordingly the Babylonians captured and destroyed
Jerusalem and took many of its inhabitants captive, holding them for 70
years (2 Chronicles 36:15-21).
There
are a great number of Old Testament prophecies in which God prophecies
destruction to a nation or city that has violated his justice.
Jesus
wept over Jerusalem. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children
together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate" (Matthew 23:37-38).
He predicted that the Temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed (Matthew
24:1-2). In fact Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed by the Romans
about 40 years later, in 70 A.D.
God
struck Ananias and Sapphira dead for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11).
When
King Herod gave a speech the people shouted, "This is the voice of
a god, not a man." "Immediately, because Herod did not give
praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten
by worms and died" (Acts 12:22-23)
God
is in control of the destiny of nations. "He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than
he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like
chaff" (Isaiah 40:23-24). "There is no authority except that
which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established
by God" (Romans 13:1; see also John 19:11).
God
Sometimes Withdraws
His Protection and Favor
At
times God may withdraw his protection and favor. He does not cause harm,
but he allows it to happen. At times he merely allows us to reap the natural
consequences of our own actions. While his hand of protection is on us
we succeed, but if he removes it we may encounter great difficulties.
Sometimes
the withdrawal is temporary; sometimes it is permanent. I think we can
see this as a kind of judgment. (God may also withdraw his protection
to test us, as he did with Job (Job chapters 1-2) and with Peter (Luke
22:31-32); but I am not concerned with such cases here). Scripture gives
us several examples from the history of Israel.
When
Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan, God gave the Israelites an unusual
strategy for taking the mighty walled city of Jericho and they conquered
it. He told them not to take any of the silver or gold for themselves,
because they were "devoted things", intended for the Lord's
treasury. He warned them "Keep away from the devoted things so that
you will not bring about your own destruction" (Joshua 6:19). Then
they went against Ai, a much smaller city, and were defeated. When Joshua
asked the Lord why, God replied that they had taken some of the "devoted
things" and had lied about it. God said, "I will not be with
you anymore" unless you deal with this (Joshua 7:12). "You cannot
stand against your enemies until you remove it" (Joshua 7:13). Joshua
found out who had violated God's command, and had him and his whole family
stoned to death. "Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger"
(Joshua 7:26). God told them to attack Ai "for I have delivered [it]
into your hands" (Joshua 8:1). They did so with complete success.
The Israelites continued to conquer all of Canaan.
About
40 years earlier, the people of Israel had refused to believe God's promise
that he would give them the land of Canaan. After God rebuked them for
this, they decided to attack some of the tribes in the hill country. Moses
told them, "do not go up because the Lord is not with you. You will
be defeated" (Numbers 14:42). They ignored Moses, and were defeated.
God
said to Moses that his people would forsake God and worship other gods.
God said, "On that day I will become angry with them and forsake
them; I will hide my face from them and they will be destroyed" (Deuteronomy
31:17).
The
Book of Judges records that repeatedly the people of Israel "forsook
the Lord", worshiped other gods, and "provoked the Lord to anger"..
"In his anger against Israel" God "handed them over to
raiders" and "sold them to their enemies". When they fought
battles "the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them."
Then he raised up a judge to liberate them. For a time all was well but
then they turned away from God and the whole process repeated itself over
and over (Judges chapter 2).
God
chose Saul to be King of Israel. For a time he was successful, but then
he disobeyed God twice. The first time Samuel, who had anointed him as
king, said "now your kingdom will not endure" (1 Samuel 13:14).
The second time he told him that God had "rejected you as king over
Israel" and "torn the kingdom of Israel from you" (1 Samuel
15:26-27). Near the end of his reign Saul consulted a witch, who summoned
up the spirit of Samuel (who was now dead). Saul said, "I am in great
distress... The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned
away from me." Samuel said, "Why do you consult me now that
the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy" (1 Samuel
28:15,16). Soon thereafter Saul was wounded in battle and killed himself
to avoid capture; his three sons also were killed (1 Samuel chapter 31).
David,
who succeeded Saul as King, had great success. He built up the nation
of Israel
in power, wealth and territory. Then he committed adultery with Bathsheeba
and arranged to have her husband killed in battle. He hid this sin for
about a year. He records in Psalm 32 how God dealt with him for this.
"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all
day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was
sapped as in the heat of summer" (Psalm 32:3-4). Then the prophet
Nathan confronted him with his sin and he confessed. Nathan told him that
God would bring calamity on him out of his household. "The Lord struck
the child" that Bathsheeba had born him and he died. (2 Samuel chapter
12). Later, another of his sons, Amnon, raped his half-sister, and David
did nothing about it. (Perhaps his own sin with Bathsheeba made it difficult
for him to take the leadership in his family that he should have taken.)
Another son, Absalom, became indignant, killed Amnon, and eventually rebelled
against David and almost took the kingdom away from him (2 Samuel chapters
13-19). And so calamity came on David as Nathan had predicted. Eventually
Absalom was killed; David's rule was reestablished; and Scripture repeatedly
speaks of David as a man whom God loved. There are some elements of direct
judgment in this history, but I think we can see it primarily as a case
in which, for a time, David lost the favor and protection of God. In Psalm
51 David prayed, "Do not cast me from your presence, or take your
Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).
Under
David's son Solomon the kingdom of Israel prospered even more. However,
Solomon ignored God's command not to marry foreign wives, and he began
to worship pagan gods. Scripture tells us that "The Lord became angry
with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord" and
that God said "I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you"
(1 Kings 11:9, 11). The result was that the kingdom was divided, and never
again attained the power and wealth that it had during the reigns of David
and Solomon.
Before
he destroyed the northern kingdom God said, through the prophet Isaiah,"When
you spread out your hands in prayer I will hide my eyes from you; even
if you offer many prayers I will not listen" (Isaiah 1:15). Again,
speaking to the southern kingdom, he said, "Surely the arm of the
Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your
iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his
face from you, so that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2). Later,
speaking of the southern kingdom, God said, "Do not pray for this
people or offer up any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen
when they call to me in the time of their distress" (Jeremiah 11:14;
see also Jeremiah 7:16).
The
people of Israel were God's chosen people. They were not chosen because
of their own righteousness or integrity; they were simply chosen (Deuteronomy
9:5-6). When Jesus came, as the fulfillment of prophecy, the religious
leaders of the nation did not accept him. "He came to that which
was his own, but his own did not receive him" (John 1:11). Jesus
declared to the Jewish leaders, "the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."
(Matthew 21:43). He prophesied "Woe" to the scribes and Pharisees
(Matthew chapter 23). Paul, in Romans chapters 9-11, describes how the
Jewish people lost the promise that God had given them."What Israel
sought so earnestly it did not obtain" (Romans 11:7) "They were
broken off because of unbelief" (Romans 11:20). Paul says that Israel
lost its favored status but it will eventually be restored.
I
believe that our nation, like Israel, has been greatly favored by God.
He has given us great material wealth. We are the greatest military power
in the world. We have freedoms which few nations enjoy. I suggest we need
to see all these, and more, as gifts which a gracious God has bestowed
on us.
God
warned his chosen people Israel that when they entered Canaan and prospered,
"then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your
God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." "You
may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced
this wealth for me.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who
gives you the ability to produce wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:14, 17).
He went on to warn them that "If you ever forget the Lord your God
and follow other gods... you will surely be destroyed... you will be destroyed
for not obeying the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). Are we,
as a nation, in danger of becoming proud and forgetting the Lord our God?
I suggest that we need to be careful that we do not lose God's protection
and favor. His word is clear, "Unless the Lord build the house, its
builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen
stand guard in vain" (Psalm 127:1).
Our
military might is tremendous. We have awesome weapons of destruction and
a well-trained and courageous body of men and women to use them. But all
of our military might is tiny in comparison to the power of almighty God.
In the war we have announced against terrorism we are facing an enemy
who is remarkably elusive and difficult to pin down. I suggest we are
in a situation like that of Joshua. If God is with us, we shall succeed.
Without the help of almighty God, we cannot expect to succeed. We need
to pray that God will not remove his protection and favor. We also need
to change our ways so that our iniquities will not separate us from God.
SOME PRINCIPLES OF GOD'S JUDGMENT
God Usually Warns
His People in Advance
God
usually warns his people before he brings judgment upon them. Before the
northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians, and the southern
kingdom was sent into captivity in Babylon for seventy years, God gave
repeated warning through his prophets that they needed to change their
ways. Over and over God said, "I called but you did not answer, I
spoke but you did not listen" (Isaiah 65:12).
Commenting
on the fall of the northern kingdom, Scripture says, "The Lord warned
Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers... But they would
not listen... They rejected... .the warnings he had given them" (2
Kings 17:13-15). Only after many warnings did he destroy them. Jesus spoke
sadly of those who, "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing,
they do not hear or understand" (Matthew 13:13).
When
God was about to destroy Sodom, the angels told Lot to warn his whole
family. He spoke to his sons-in-law, but they "thought he was joking"
(Genesis 19:14). The next day they were destroyed with the rest of the
city, while Lot and his daughters escaped. We need to be careful not to
brush aside or ignore the warnings that God gives us.
God Gives Us an
Opportunity
to Change Our Ways
The
purpose of a warning is to give men an opportunity to change their ways.
God has shown repeatedly that if men repent and change their ways (the
word "repent" means to change) he will withhold the judgment
he had planned.
"When
I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to
devour the land, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are
called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive
their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).
God
told Jonah to "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against
it, because its wickedness has come up before me" (Jonah 1:1). Jonah
did, proclaiming, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned"
(Jonah 3:4). The people of Nineveh fasted and called on God. "When
God saw what they did and how they had turned from their wicked ways,
he had compassion and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened"
(Jonah 3:10). Was Jonah a false prophet? No. God changed his mind when
he saw genuine repentance.
Later,
God declared this as a general principle. "If at any time I announce
that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and
if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not
inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce
that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does
evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good
I had intended to do for it" (Jeremiah 18:7-10).
The
purpose of God's warnings is to give people a chance to change and avoid
the judgment of God. This is clearly expressed in God's prophetic warning
to the "house of Israel": "Repent! Turn away from all your
offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of the offenses
you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you
die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone,
declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" (Ezekiel 18:30-32).
CIRCUMSTANCES THAT CAN BRING ABOUT GOD'S JUDGMENT
The
examples I have given suggest some of the kinds of things that have, in
the past, been the basis for God's judgment against nations or people.
Let me try to list some of them and suggest how they might apply to our
nation today. I mention these examples very tentatively. You may disagree
with some of my examples, but perhaps they will suggest a way of thinking
that is useful.
Godlessness and
Wickedness
Paul
said "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all
the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their
wickedness" (Romans 1:16). The following are some illustrations of
this "godlessness and wickedness."
Idolatry
As
we read the Old Testament record, the one single factor that stands out
as the primary ground for judgment against Israel, and against the two
kingdoms of Israel after they divided, is idolatry. God's people turned
away from him and served other gods. God said it thus, through the prophet
Jeremiah, "'Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not
gods at all) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.
Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,' declares
the Lord. ' My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns
that cannot hold water'" (Jeremiah 2:11-13). Typically what happened
was that the Israelites worshiped both the God of Abraham and pagan gods;
God saw this as turning away from the one true God.
God
sent the people of Judah into captivity in Babylon for 70 years, partly
because of their idolatry. It is noteworthy that, after they came back
from that experience, they do not seem to have engaged in idolatry any
more. Apparently the experience cleansed them.
Today
we do not bow down to many graven images. But an idol is anything we set
ahead of God. And I suggest there are many things our nation today may
be setting ahead of God. One thinks of such things as wealth, power, and
influence, of self-gratification and pleasure; of valuing material things
more than spiritual things. Perhaps it can be said that we make science
and technology a god. I value the great contributions science and technology
have made to our society, but I do wonder when we consistently accept
as true everything a scientist or group of scientists say, and question
or ignore what God says in his Scripture. Perhaps it is not so much that
we reject God as that we ignore him; but is there any real difference
between the two?
There
is also, in America today, a remarkable resurgence of the occult - witchcraft,
paganism, satanism, spirit channeling, dial-a-psychic, and the like. Scripture
says, "Let no one be found among you who... practices divination
or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells,
or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." God said
these practices are "detestable" and that, because the nations
of Canaan engaged in them, God would "drive out those nations before
you```````" (Deuteronomy 18:10-13; see also Isaiah 8:19).
The
founders of our nation were agreed that democracy could succeed only if
it was based on a strong moral sense and a strong belief in God. We have
moved a long way from that foundation. I suggest that we need to return
to it.
Child Sacrifice
Another
"detestable practice" listed in Deuteronomy 18:10 is child sacrifice.
Scripture often warns against sacrificing children to pagan gods. This
was one of the reasons for the destruction of the northern kingdom of
Israel (2 Kings 17:17). What does God think of abortion today? I believe
his word is very clear that God sees life as beginning at conception.
He told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you"
(Jeremiah 1:5). "You created my inmost being; you knit me together
in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13). When Mary, bearing the infant
Jesus in her womb, visited her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John the
Baptist, "the baby leaped in [Elizabeth's] womb, and Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:41). If I am right as to this,
then abortion-on-demand is sacrificing a child to its mother's convenience.
We have sacrificed over 40 million children in this way. How does God
see this? Is he apt to bring judgment on our nation because of it?
Injustice
God
said through the prophet Micah, "Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds...They covet fields and seize them,
and houses and take them. They defraud
a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance. Therefore, the Lord
says, 'I am planning disaster against this people'" (Micah 2:1-3).
There are many other such prophecies against injustice.
Immorality
A
major part of the sin for which Sodom was destroyed was sexual immorality.
In particular, Scripture records that all the men of the city, young and
old, demanded to have sex with two men (angels) who visited Lot (Genesis
19:4-11). Part of the reason for God's destruction of 24,000 Israelites
was that they "began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite
women" (Number 25:1). Paul said that because of "sexual immorality,
impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" "the
wrath of God is coming" (Colossians 3:5-6; see Ephesians 5:3,6).
What
does God think of the "sexual revolution" which has been rampant
in the United States for so many years?
God's Intention
for His People is Always Good
When
God does judge his people (in the ways that I am talking about in this
paper), it is for their own good. "We know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according
to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We should see God's action, not as
punishment, but as correction.
God
does not want even the wicked to perish. "I take no pleasure in the
death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their wicked ways
and live. Turn. Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of
Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11). God "is patient with you, not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
God
has declared certain principles in his dealings with individuals that
I think apply also to his dealings with nations. One is that of discipline.
"God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however
it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been
trained by it" (Hebrews 12:10-11). He has also said that we should
"consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many
kinds", because they develop our character and bring us to maturity
(James 1:2-4; see also Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6-7).
I am not suggesting that we should take joy in what happened on September
11. But if it leads us to return to our national heritage, and to be stronger,
more mature and more righteous as a people, we may eventually, perhaps,
be able to see that, while God did not cause it, he has used it for good..
Conclusion
My
primary purpose in writing this paper has been to make it clear that the
possibility of God's judgment is very real. God does judge peoples and
nations. He does withdraw his protection and favor from them. And the
result can be very terrible. "It is a dreadful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).
I
hope that the many examples I have given will dispel any notion that God
never brings death, illness, military defeat, or other injury on nations
and people. He has, many times. He has also allowed it by withdrawing
his protection and favor.
God
does not change. His attributes of love and mercy, and also holiness and
justice, are the same today as in the times recorded in Scripture. And
I see no basis for assuming that he will not do the same things today
that he did in the days recorded in Scripture.
Whether
our nation is facing judgment today, and what we need to do about it,
are questions beyond the scope of this paper, and beyond the scope of
my competence to comment on. I have tried to suggest some areas of possible
concern. There may be more which I have failed to mention. But I leave
it to others to speak for God as to what we need to do about them.
September,
2001
Appendix
Has
God Changed?
God
has said, "I the Lord do not change" (Malachi 3:6). We find
many passages in the Old Testament that speak of God's great mercy and
love. And some of the strongest passages dealing with God's wrath and
judgment are found in the New Testament. God, as revealed in both parts
of the Bible, is a God of great love and mercy and also a God of justice
and, at times, wrath. Paul speaks of "the kindness and sternness
of God" (Romans 11:22), and we see both qualities in both Testaments.
Among
the very many Old Testament passages dealing with God's mercy and love
are the following: Psalm 136 with its refrain "His love endures forever."
Psalm 103:8, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
abounding in love." Lamentations 3:22, "Because of the Lord's
great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are
new every morning, great is your faithfulness." When the Lord's glory
filled the Temple that Solomon had built, they sang, "He [God] is
good; his love endures forever" (2 Chronicles 7:3). God said through
Jeremiah, "I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness
on earth, for in these I delight" (Jeremiah 9:24).
The
New Testament often speaks of God's love. John declared "God is love"
(1 John 4:16). But it also speaks of his wrath and of eternal judgment.
Jesus said that in the last days he will judge all men; some will live
and some will be condemned (John 5:29). He will divide the sheep from
the goats; the sheep will go to "eternal life" and the goats
to "eternal punishment." (Matthew 25:46). Those who cause sin
and do evil will be "thrown into the fiery furnace" while the
righteous will shine in the kingdom of God (Matthew 13:42-43; see also
verses 49-50).
John
the Baptist said that "God's wrath remains" on anyone who rejects
the Son (John 3:36). Paul said that "the wrath of God is being revealed
from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress
the truth by their wickedness" (Romans 1:18; see also Romans 2:5,
3:5; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22; 12:19). He lists certain kinds of conduct and says,
"because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient"
(Ephesians 5:6; see Colossians 3:6). He tells us that a time will come
when the Lord Jesus will be "revealed from heaven in blazing fire"
and will punish "with everlasting destruction" those who do
not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians
1:7-9). Hebrews speaks of a "fearful expectation of judgment and
of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." "It is
a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews
10:27, 31). Revelation 6:16-17 speaks of a time when people will hide
"from the face of him who sits of the throne [God] and from the wrath
of the Lamb [Jesus]. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who
shall stand?" (see also Revelation 11:18, 14:10, 16:19, 19:15).
God's
"kindness and sternness" are both eternal qualities of his.
Both are evidenced throughout the Bible.
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2002 by James
L. Morrisson
www.ScriptureInsights.com
08/19/2007
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