Wrath Is Rising

The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.  But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.     2 Chronicles 36:15-16 ESV

So much is on my mind these days.  There are personal struggles, family struggles, professional struggles…  All of that in the context of the struggles in our nation and in our world, and life feels very heavy at best, and at times overwhelming.

I want to edit that opening and “pretty it up” a bit, because it reads a little rough to me.  But life is a little rough, and so I’m just going to leave it as-is.

As I was reading the Word this morning, my chronological reading plan brought me to the final chapter of the capture of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.  The last of the people had been taken away to exile or to be executed, with the exception of a few folks left behind to look after the land and send its produce to Babylon.  The people are in turmoil, having suffered great loss and upheaval. 

It didn’t have to be that way.

For generations, God had been warning the people of the consequences of disobedience and rebellion.  He had blessed them, rescued them repeatedly from their enemies, provided for them, disciplined them, restored them.  Over and over, time and time again, God had looked past the sins of the children of Israel and offered them second, third, and many more chances.  He called them to repent – to change their ways.  Occasionally, a king would come to power that would begin to lead the people away from idolatry and back to the worship of God.  But these kings would be followed by evil kings (which frustrates me greatly because it tells us a lot about the way the most godly kings failed in parenting and caring for their own families, but that is a thought for another day), and so more idolatry and rebellion would ensue.

God sent great leaders – Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Josiah and others – to show His people the way that they should go.  He sent the prophets – Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and more – to warn the people about what was going to happen if they didn’t change their ways. 

But the children of Israel refused to listen. 

Israel had been exiled to Assyria.  Judah was exiled to Babylon.

It was not sudden.  God had been very patient with His people.  But eventually, He turned them over to experience the full consequence of their rebellion, that some might eventually be saved.

I believe that the Lord has been very patient with America.  Our founders, many of whom came to the New World seeking Christian liberty, established this nation on biblical principles.  Certainly, mistakes were made along the way, but our foundations were purposeful and noble.

“Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony…”  These words from the Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of what we now know as the United States of America, clearly identify the goals of establishing the colony.

“For the glory of God…”

I am saddened and disturbed and really at a loss.  As we approach the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy that struck our country on September 11, 2001, I look around at a nation that barely resembles what I knew just twenty years ago.  The flag of our nation that was raised solemnly above the rubble of the twin towers brought unity and solidarity in 2001.  Now many – even many among the political leaders in our country – view that same flag as a symbol of oppression, and deem “heroic” those who dishonor our flag.

In our country, our leaders and courts have ruled that evil is good and good is evil, legalizing the killing of the unborn, and destroying biblical values at every turn.  The church has opted to be “welcoming” and “affirming” toward sin and those who promote it.  In our efforts to not seem unloving, we have instead chosen to be unrighteous.

And the Scripture is clear that there are dire consequences for unrighteousness.

For many years, the Lord has had compassion on us.  He has persisted in sending us messengers of truth, but we have rejected those messages, and mocked the messengers, despising God’s Word.  We have scoffed at God.  What is happening around us should not be surprising, but it should be sobering.

When the people of Israel and Judah rejected the ways of God, the Scripture says that the “wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.”

I believe it is fair to say that we are seeing the wrath of the Lord rising.  I pray that we the Church come to repentance before we reach the point where there is no remedy.

So today, it is not a happy thought that I bring to you, or even necessarily an encouraging one.  But I feel that it is important.  And it is, after all…

…Just a thought…