Greetings,
II Chronicles 12 - a lesson for us;
12:1 - 'they forsook the Lord"
12:2 - "because they had transgressed against the Lord"
12:5 - "Then came the prophet. . . and said. . . Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken Me, and therefore have I also left yo in the hand of Shishak."
12:6 - "Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, 'The Lord is righteous.'"
12:7 - "And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance and My wrath shall not be poured out. . . "
12:12 - "And when he humbled himself, the wrath fo the Lord turned from him, that He would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well."
12:14 - "And he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord."
The activity of God in light of man's response fascinates me and instructs me. How much God desires to do for His people, for the nations; and all for His glory. Yet, look at the responses of man to God, as in this passage. See the parallel between Rehoboam and Judah toward God and our mirror response as a nation and as the church. Both of our nation and the churches response must be examined. They are two distinct entities; yet, they are one, for the church is within the nation. There is a remnant of the saved among the masses of a lost, heathen nation. A nation that has legalized and issued judicial edicts that are abominations in His sight and abhor the good and right ways of God. We have done much, as a nation, to provoke Him to anger and wrath. The church has done little to plead in turning His wrath away from us and our cities and population.
Evil had come to Judah and Jerusalem, and their lives, their future and their hope as God's people was about to be taken away. Why? because they had forsaken the Lord. and in response to them forsaking Him, He forsook them. And when God is absent from a nation, then the evils of hell come in as a flood. They attack physical, spiritual and emotional areas of all life. They attack young and old, individuals, families, cities and regions, populated and unpopulated areas. They are found in all facets, because God is withdrawn and forsaken. His protection, His blessings, His Divine Presence (Ichabod), His healing, His redemption, and His power are removed due to the sins of the people. Yet there is an answer and Judah found it - 'they humbled themselves & they sought the Lord'.
Could it be that the Lord is simply waiting for us to humble ourselves & seek Him? Yes He is. But will we? this is the question left for the church. In recent weeks, there has been several large and small groups doing this very thing, I rejoice in it. However, it is the remnant of the remnant. Now God is not limited in the few or the many to respond. Yet see in Scripture it was the whole that sought and humbled themselves, not just the few. And why should the few be counted, when God has called the whole to respond?
The nation does not know this truth, nor have they seen or heard it called for by the church. A nation will never do that which the church is not doing. Yet, when the church does it, then the by God's grace the nation may follow. See here in this passage, Rehoboam the king forsook the Lord, then the nation forsook the Lord. But when the princes and the king humbled themselves, then the people humbled themselves. the people respond to the leadership. Oh, that we may understand this truth of our day. We have forsaken the Lord and His wrath has gone out to destroy us. He gives us time to humble ourselves and the pleas and calls to humble and pray have largely been left undone. "You ought not to have left these things undone."
We are in a most crisis hour right now as our nation. The church needs to respond and to do so rightly. Whether the nation will or not, is in the hands of the Lord. I know He is able to do so, but if the church never does it, they never will. These last hours and days have been with great evil, that shows us how far God is from us because we have forsaken Him. Allow for me to list (may you see and look at these things):
These are not just things our nation/land.
--lawyer/husband/father in Mass. kills wife, 3 children and himself - murder-suicide;
--mother in FL kills daughter;
--Nebraska flood, 10,000's of people/homes in great need;
--drug overdose deaths continue;
--George Foremans 42 yr old daughter suicide; 17 yr old FL girl commits suicide during school hours on school property; - suicides rage
--New Zealand - mosque shootings - 49 dead;
--Mozambigue massive storm - over 200 dead; hospitals, homes flooded and destroyed;
--Brazil school shooting - over 10 dead;
Oh, do you see the plight of the nations! Do you not see it is because we have forsaken Him? He awaits for us to humble ourselves. I am left like Ezekiel when he saw the angel mark the saints which feared the Lord and those that did not; and then the angel was sent to kill all those that feared not the Lord. And as they were all being killed, Ezekiel cried out, 'Lord, will you slay us all?' I am here!! Oh brethren, the hour is late, the need is great and the spirit of prevailing is so needed.
The last great hope of the church is to follow this response of Judah. It is to humble ourselves before Him; it is to remember Who He is and what He has said; it is to recognize our high offense against Him and His ways; it is to restore holiness among His people and our heart and hands. "For Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord but he that has clean hands, a pure heart and a tongue that has not spoken deceit." And a pleading for His mercy, "in wrath remember mercy" and know that the enemy, just like king of Egypt, has come to desetroy us all. Our homes, our children, our future; and are we content to do so, without a tear, without a heart cry, without a pleading for the God of all to show Himself mighty. and that there is a people that loves Him, fears Him and needs Him this hour. Much is against us, but He is mighty to save! "Nothing is too hard for the Lord!"
Two years have gone by, and church and prayer leaders received this call to Concerts of Prayer. It is the answer to respond to our day of evil. But it is always rejected and refused. Nevertheless the call and invitation is still extended, that in hope of the Lord's mercy some leader will say, "we can't go on like this; something must be done. Let us try these Concerts of Prayer and seek the Lord with worship - confession - petition. Who knows if the Lord will turn and repent and leave a blessing behind Him?'
https://danbiser.blogspot.com/2017/04/concerts-of-prayer-2017.html
Update:
--The Activity of God - II Chronciles - up through chapter 12;
--sermons from Sunday uploaded on youtube; Keyser church sermon from Exodus 2 - 3 also mirrors this same plea and message - "What God Sees and Hears - Cry and Anguish"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYHQaOaYl6Q&t=203s
--new blog posts on Word/Phrase Study - What Hast Thou Done; Hear & See;
--A Word - Isaiah 58; 1/2 verses finished; working to finish before I start new chapter;
Until,
Dan
No comments:
Post a Comment