Moment in the Word

Joel 2:14 - Who knows if He will turn and relent...

 

Confronted with God's judgment throughout Holy Scripture, many scoffers sneer, "We are not ancient Israel! We are not Judah! The former examples of God's wrath do not apply to us in modern society."

 

However, we are the descendants of men who claimed the God of Israel and Judah as their own. For example, Jefferson first suggested the following motto for our nation's Great Seal, "The children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night."

 

Unquestionably, our Founding Fathers covenanted with the Holy One of Israel for the benefit of their Posterity, and that same God does not change (Malachi 3:6) despite our chronic apostasy.

 

To our chagrin, breaking the Founding Fathers' divine covenant with the Almighty is not easily done due to God's unwavering faithfulness to those who have already passed. For His holy name's sake, He does not ignore His previous promise or our personal accountability to it. Like Israel and Judah of old, God mercifully allows us to repent (2 Chronicles 7:14) but severely judges if we do not.

 

Having recently commemorated the anniversary of September 11, let us recall Isaiah's solemn indictment against Israel, "The Lord had warned the people... and they all knew it, including everyone in the capital city... But they were proud and stubborn and said, 'Houses of brick and sycamore have fallen to the ground, but we will build houses with stones and cedar (Isaiah 9:8-10, CEV).'"

 

How eerily surreal to hear that same defiant boast unwittingly echoed by our nation's president and representatives only days after the Twin Towers toppled to the ground, "The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."

 

Sadly, we did not notice what the prophet said next, "The Lord made their enemies attack them... but even this did not stop Him from being angry, so He kept on punishing them. The people still did not turn back to the Lord All-Powerful and worship Him (Isaiah 9:11-13, CEV)."

 

What was true for God's former people is even more so for us now! Nearly a quarter century after September 11, 2001, we are far more wicked than we were then. Today, our grievous abominations reach up to Heaven! (Genesis 18:20, Revelation 18:5)

 

We are the Lord's people, but we made him terribly angry, and he struck us with his mighty arm. Mountainous buildings shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. But the Lord is still angry, and He is ready to strike us again (Isaiah 5:25, CEV).

 

So, the Lord will punish us until we shake like grass in a violent stream. He will take us out of the land he gave to our ancestors and scatter us afar... (1 Kings 14:15, CEV).