Tag: god’s judgment

Injustice Makes Everything Weird (Zechariah 11:4-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!” (New International Version)

Injustice makes everything weird. Leaders who treat others with dishonor and disrespect are only looking to take advantage of people for their own selfish purposes. Unfortunately, such leaders try and make their leadership appear as if they care about the people they lead – even though they really don’t. This is what makes a group of people led by a charlatan feel insecure, confused, and unsure about things.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is a rather confusing allegory of ancient Israel’s history. Despite God’s desire to lead the people in righteousness and justice, many (if not most) of the leaders oppressed them.

As a sign of what was going on, and what was about to happen, the prophet himself was called to lead the people. He shepherded a flock that was marked for slaughter. The shepherds before him were only concerned about their financial bottom line and fleecing the sheep.

When the prophet took over, he used the shepherd crooks of “Favor” and “Union,” indicating that he was concerned to extend grace and form unity around what is right and just. Although the wicked shepherds were forced out from their leadership, the prophet became exasperated in caring for the sheep.

Thus, he destroyed the shepherd staffs – symbolizing God’s rejection of the flock. The owners of the flock paid the prophet thirty shekels of silver, which were then thrown into the potter’s field. New Testament readers will immediately connect this to Judas Iscariot. All of this is a demonstration of the wealthy trying to try pay off God for them not properly shepherding the sheep.

God, however, raised up another worthless and evil leader who shepherds the flock through oppression and injustice. For which the Lord then curses such leadership.

Yes, it’s all a convoluted affair – which is typically what sin does to everything and everyone it touches. Sin messes with and mucks up people to the point that they don’t know which way is up.

What makes it all even more complicated is the reality that the sheep are just as bad as their shepherds. The people got the leaders they deserved. So, the prophet had the unenviable task of watching over a group of people marked for divine judgment.

But, of course, not every single individual is guilty. Some are true victims who don’t deserve any of the injustice that was happening. And that is the very sad thing about the presence of unrighteousness, wickedness, and injustice – that good people, trying to do the right thing, have to endure such suffering of both body and soul.

And the prophet became a victim of the flock. No amount of money can make up for people who treat their leader poorly by refusing to accept the shepherd’s genuine care, clear warnings, and true counsel.

It’s a sad situation whenever people become so stubborn and self-centered that they are unable to receive good things when offered to them. The only thing people have to look forward to, in such a situation, is divine rebuke and retribution.

There are things much more valuable than money. Honor, respect, dignity, listening, obedience, wisdom, humility, righteousness, justice, and salvation are vitally important and needed – and of greater worth than any sort of financial sum.

Wolves are kept at bay by faithful shepherds who are concerned for the flock. This is how God leads and cares for people. So, evil shepherds who fleece the flock, as well as wicked sheep who oppress their shepherds, are especially heinous to God.

A flock who detests a good shepherd will end up getting a predatory tyrant for a leader, as a means of both divine judgment, and as a way of weaning people back to good leadership. Suffering at the hands of bad shepherds has its root cause in a failure to value and respond properly to the loving care and discipline of the ultimate and true Good Shepherd of the sheep.

It is impossible to be in right relation with God apart from listening to and obeying God’s Word. No matter who we are – whether leader or follower, shepherd or sheep – all must consider the worth of justice and the evil of injustice in navigating the world we live in. For injustice, indeed, makes everything and everyone a creepy sort of weird.

O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of your truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Vision of the End (Revelation 14:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Great Day of His Wrath, by John Martin, 1852

Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as first-fruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” (New International Version)

Throughout the book of Revelation (The Apocalypse of John) the Apostle John communicates visions of the end, of God’s wrath and human suffering. Yet John also pauses throughout his vision to offer encouragement for the faithful followers of Jesus in the present time who are undergoing suffering, even persecution.

The assurance believers have is that God sees their struggle, their devotion; the Lord will protect them – not from suffering and death – but from the effects of divine judgment and punishment on the earth. The Lord will not abandon the believers. Instead, they will share in God’s new realm.

The Lamb and the Redeemed

The ultimate destiny of Christ’s faithful followers is not in judgment but in triumph – even though many of them had to face extreme circumstances and died the martyr’s death. Christ, the Lamb of God, stands in the center of God’s kingdom with the 144,000, who sing a new song to God.

It could be that these 144,000 persons are representative and symbolic of all redeemed humanity. Or, they may likely be Christian martyrs, the ones who were the victims of evil (Revelation 13). Whoever they actually are, their description is figurative in order to convey that these faithful persons are morally and spiritually pure; they did not defile themselves with the wickedness of the world’s systemic and structural evil.

These redeemed persons are the first fruits, believers who have sacrificed their lives for God and maintained their witness to King Jesus, and not to Ceasar as Lord. In the Old Testament, every firstborn (both human and animal) belonged to the Lord. The first fruits (the initial yield of crops) were set aside specifically as a sacrificial offering to God.

In the New Testament, the concept and practice of first fruits is used as a metaphor for something given to God in advance. So, in the book of Revelation, this refers to the harvest at the end of the age; the first fruits are the 144,000, the ones who are the anticipation of Christian resurrection. In other words, there are many more converts to come – people redeemed by the Lamb and set aside for resurrection and new creation. A great harvest of souls comes; because of Christ’s resurrection, his followers shall also experience resurrection.

The Message of the Three Angels

The Apostle John spoke of three angels, each of whom proclaim a coming judgment of God. The first angel has a call to repentance and a warning of imminent judgment. The second angel announces the fall of Babylon (Rome). And the third angel pronounces judgment upon those who gave themselves to the powers of this fallen world, who participated in organizational wickedness through oppression, abuse, neglect, disrespect, and dishonor of others.

It is with the third angel that the “mark of the beast” upon a person’s forehead is the mark of judgment on them. Although the language and picture of this, and what happens to them, was (and still is for some) used to scare the hell out of people so that they would embrace heaven, we must very much distance ourselves from such disgraceful rhetoric.

Again, the vision is full of symbolism and is not to be taken literally; it is John’s attempt to convey an otherworldly experience he had, in terms which his readers could grasp. The big idea is that those who have become devoted members to the machinations of evil in its various forms on this earth will experience the judgment of God.

As they sought glory in this world by any means possible – including using people to keep and hold power – so, they will face an inglorious end when God holds them accountable for their wrongdoing and for letting their own hearts become shriveled and dry.

This is neither the time to participate in evil, nor to procrastinate in making things right – while you still have time to do so.

For those holding on to bitterness, it is time to forgive.

For the ones giving in to their anger through hating others, it is now time to humble yourself, repent, and turn to right and healthy ways of dealing with that anger.

For the persons allowing themselves to be used by others for perpetuating evil in their workplace, neighborhood, or church, it is high time to find your voice, renounce the damaging practices, and speak truth to power.

We all must suffer. What it is we suffer for, is up to us.

Almighty and everlasting God, the rightful Judge of all things and all people, help us, your people, to be rightly prepared for Christ’s coming, through a right confession and right practices in this life. Enable us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling so that we might cast the bright beams which radiate from the approaching day of glory into those dark days and nights of suffering.

Sovereign God, draw us, we pray, near to Christ and in union with him. May we taste and see the goodness of the Lord; be strengthened in faith for the trials and tribulations which lie before us; bask in the love of Jesus; and hold fast to divine promises, and our confession, especially since the end of all things is at hand. Amen.

The Trouble Is Turned (Esther 7:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Coronation of Queen Esther, from the 1617 Scroll of Esther, Ferrara, Italy.

So the king and Haman came to have dinner with Queen Esther. On the second day, while they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you. And what would you like? Even if it is up to half of the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, Your Majesty, spare my life. That is my request. And spare the life of my people. That is what I ask for. You see, we—my people and I—have been sold so that we can be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If our men and women had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept silent because the enemy is not worth troubling you about, Your Majesty.”

Then King Xerxes interrupted Queen Esther and said, “Who is this person? Where is the person who has dared to do this?”

Esther answered, “Our vicious enemy is this wicked man Haman!” Then Haman became panic-stricken in the presence of the king and queen.

The king was furious as he got up from dinner and went into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, because he saw that the king had a terrible end in mind for him. When the king returned from the palace garden to the palace dining room, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king thought, “Is he even going to rape the queen while I’m in the palace?” Then the king passed sentence on him, and servants covered Haman’s face.

Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “What a coincidence! The 75-foot pole Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke up for the well-being of the king, is still standing at Haman’s house.”

The king responded, “Hang him on it!” So servants hung Haman’s dead body on the very pole he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king got over his raging anger. (God’s Word Translation)

“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.”

Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582)

I sometimes half-jokingly say to people that it’s important for me to keep busy so that I stay out of trouble. The truth is, however, that I tend to find myself in trouble a lot – whether I’m busy, or not. The same could be said for the Jewish people.

If you are anything like me, you have experienced, on more than one occasion, of feeling like you are in a circumstance that’s like quicksand. It’s as if you are stuck with no way out. Queen Esther found herself in such a situation. Through no fault of her own, she was thrust upon the stage of being the intercessor between life and death, salvation and elimination. 

The wicked Haman, a high official to the king of Persia, had it out for the Jews. So, he orchestrated a devious plan to do away with them once and for all – even building a gallows on his own property in the anticipation of hanging one of them on it. That’s how much the guy hated Jews.

The King, Haman, and Esther, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1660

But God, who is always awake and alert to whatever is happening in this world, had their backs. Even though the book of Esther does not once pronounce the name of God, the Lord’s influence and divine sovereignty are evident throughout the entirety of the story. 

God seems to specialize in hard cases, and in people who keep getting into trouble, despite their good intentions. And through providential means, the Lord inevitably gains the glory, and God’s people are wonderfully saved from circumstances well beyond their ability to save themselves.

Esther, a Jewish girl who became part of the king’s harem, and then the king’s wife and queen, humbly and prayerfully entered the king’s presence on behalf of her people, the Jews. Even though she was exalted to such a status, there was still the very real possibility that taking such an initiative would get Esther into deep trouble.

Yet, because of divine providence superintending the whole affair, the tables were turned, with the Jews being joyously delivered; and Haman literally finding himself at the end of his rope, on his own gallows. 

Prayer, sensitivity to God, and the humility to listen, undergirded Esther’s decision and courage to step out and act on behalf of her people. 

Especially when it comes to trouble, prayer is not optional equipment for the believer, but absolutely essential to facing each and every difficult situation. That’s because it is God, not us, nor any of our skill or ingenuity, that ultimately brings deliverance. 

Saving ourselves from impossible situations and dire circumstances is way above our pay grade; only God can bring true deliverance – the kind that genuinely changes people so that divine purposes are accomplished.

Our discouraging situations, hard cases, difficult people problems, and vexing trouble – whatever the situation – God has your back, and delights to answer our desperate pleas for help and deliverance. 

Like me, you may find yourself in trouble. But you can also find yourself with all the power of heaven behind you; and with an answer to your prayer that is beyond what you can even think or imagine.

Loving God, your Son Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly. We humbly ask that you pour out your blessing upon our nation. Where there is illness, bring your healing touch; where there is fear, strengthen us with the knowledge of your presence; where there is uncertainty, build us up in faith; where there is dishonesty, lead us into truth; where there is discord, may we know the harmony of your love. This we are to bold to pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Second Woe Upon the Earth (Revelation 9:13-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. (New International Version)

In an apocalyptic vision of God’s judgment at the end of time, the Apostle John saw seven angels with seven trumpets. Each blast of the horn brought ever increasing levels of destruction upon the earth. The final three trumpets are also described as the three woes. (Revelation 8:2-6, 13)

The Sixth Trumpet (Second Woe)

The sixth angel sounded the sixth trumpet, which was also the second woe pronounced on the world. Four angels are released from their place of restraint. Whereas the invasion of locusts in the fifth trumpet (first woe) came from the pit of hell, the next invasion comes from the east, from the outskirts, that is, outside the Roman Empire.

The terrible angels go out to kill a third of all humanity. They lead a massive destructive force that overwhelms the earth. The incredible army looks something like centaurs, being horse and rider in one. And out of their mouths come fire, smoke, and sulfur. These are three plagues which brings death to a third of humanity.

The Response to the Second Woe’s Invasion

John records the human response to the divine judgment unleashed upon humanity with the four angels and their three plagues. In reality, it’s actually a lack of response; there is no change of heart and no repentant attitude from anyone. The awful devastation does nothing to elicit any sort of self-reflection, public awareness of sin, or reconsideration of ways by those left alive.

The Apostle records that the rest of the people, after going through such a traumatic time, keep up their worship of demons and their idolatry. They continue to murder, carouse, and steal, as if nothing had happened.

What’s more, John’s graphic and disturbing vision – from it’s very beginning – does not record a single person turning away from their evil ways. The surviving inhabitants of the earth act like old Pharaoh in Egypt during the days of Moses and the exodus; their hearts are hard, and they are not about to change.

What It Means For Us

A big question for us as contemporary people, two-thousand years removed from John’s apocalyptic vision is this: Do the judgments contained in the book of Revelation have any relevance for us today?

Some might dismiss all of this as weird historical story that nobody can really understand, so we might just as well put it aside as belonging in the past. Others grew up hearing “fire and brimstone” sermons from Revelation that did nothing for them other than help them decided that they never want to be in a church again and listen to a sinner about how sinful everybody is.

Although I do not condone hellfire preaching that does little more than make people feel bad, I do believe these difficult judgment chapters in the book of Revelation have something to say to us which we would do well to hear.

  • If we dig in and want what we want, without considering anyone else or even God, then we really cannot expect blessing either in this life or the life to come.
  • If and when disaster or destruction happens – and afterwards go on our merry way as if nothing even occurred – then we have come under divine judgment.
  • If we purposely stick our heads in the sand, and intentionally avoid what is happening around us in this world, then it will not go well for us in the end.
  • If we become angry, and nurse the grudge to the point of becoming hateful and unloving, then the hardness of heart will not recognize God’s visitation when it comes.
  • If we hurt and harm others without any remorse, or make excuses for bad behavior when called out on it, then we are no better than the unrepentant mass of humanity in the book of Revelation.

There is coming a time when it will be too late. The Day of the Lord will come. There will be a final judgment. But if you are reading this, there is obviously still time. Spiritual procrastination only leads to destruction. Spiritual attention to the here-and-now leads to life. What will you do “Today?”

Our Father who is in heaven,

uphold the holiness of your name.

Bring in your kingdom

so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.

Give us the bread we need for today.

Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,

just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.

And don’t lead us into temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one. Amen.