service genset jogja
Nahum 1:4-5, Various

The Deserts Shall Rejoice!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 2, 2023

When God decides to bring His judgment upon the earth, it will impact everything in nature. This will bring devastation to all life on the planet as well. This is what Nahum informed the Ninevites of. It also tells us. Naham 1:4-5 says, “He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.” Bashan is a mountainous area known for its fertile plateau with pastures and trees. Carmel is the lush mountainous hilltop where Yahweh defeats the prophets of Baal.  Lebanon is the mountainous range known for majestic cedars, the source of lumber for Solomon’s temple. Each of these localities appears as a metaphor for blessing that turns into judgment.”  Ham says, “The only other text where all three places appear is Isaiah 33:9, a text like Nahum 1:4 that depicts divine judgment. To inflict these lush and fertile areas with drought depicts the great power of Yahweh.”[1]

The rebuking of the seas might be a look back at how Yahweh led the children of Israel out of Egypt. But that’s not what is pictured here. The drying of the seas and rivers has to do with the judgment of God upon the life-giving waters on earth. That’s why the lush lands of Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are mentioned. The mountains quaking, the hills melting, and the earth heaving also speaks of God’s majestic judgment on the sins of the world. Nahum, as well as the other prophets, use this imagery to remind us of the power of God and His dominion over heaven and earth. His judgment will be inescapable, and the prophets want us to realize that.

The idea of God, Yahweh, rebuking the sea reminds me of Jesus’ similar control over the natural events on earth. Rebuking speaks of a literal phrase in the Gospels where Jesus “rebuked” the winds and the sea and caused it to be still. There is catastrophic judgment coming upon the whole earth. But believers have nothing to fear. Isaiah spelled this out in his prophecy of God reversing the curses on Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon. Isaiah looks forward to the coming of the Lord when the curses on these lush lands will be reversed, and God’s people will be refreshed. Isaiah 35:1-2 says, “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;  it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.” I can’t help but notice that the English translation says that it will be felt by all who dwell “in” the earth. I think this might have a connection to the Apostle John’s warning to the readers of his first epistle. In 1 John 2:17, he tells them not to “invest” themselves in the things of this world. “Do not love the world or the things of the world.” Because he says, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” The will of God is to believe in Him whom God sent. God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.”

[1] Ham, Clay, and Mark Hahlen. 2001–. Minor Prophets. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.

Tags:
Permalink
Micah 1:4, Various

Thy Kingdom Come!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 1, 2023

The prophets of the Old Testament never sugarcoat the judgment of God. They tell us that God is serious about justice in the world. Because of Israel’s failure, God will bring his judgment upon the whole world. In many prophecies, the judgment seems to begin on the created order. In Genesis 3, God cursed the “earth” because of man’s sin. Along with the curse on the ground came the curse of pain on the woman. Her pain in childbirth shall be multiplied. I think this might explain Paul’s use of the image of childbirth pangs when he describes the situation in Romans 8:22. He says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” The disruption of the natural order of things in the created order is often used as a prelude to God’s bringing forth his judgment on the world. God’s birth in a manger in Bethlehem brought peace and joy to the world. Since that was not welcomed, He will come again, but it will be quite different. Micah 1:4 describes some of those birth pangs, “And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.”

Mays says, “Here there is a poetic portrayal of the way all the earth, mountain, and plain, gives way and begins to disintegrate before the force of his appearance; the picture of mountains dissolving and plains splitting shows that the most permanent topography of the world cannot maintain itself when he appears. How much less men who oppose him! Metaphors visualize the disintegration. Mountains dissolve like melting wax before fire. Plains cleave like water that breaks into many currents as it spills down a rocky slope.”[1] God’s water breaks, marking His inevitable and imminent appearance on the scene.

God’s appearance to bring judgment on the wicked is something the righteous long for. Believers need not fear God’s second coming, but should look forward to it and even pray for it. Isaiah did. Isaiah 64:1-2 says, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood, and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!” The Psalmist had a similar prayer. In Psalm 144:5-8, David prayed, “Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies.” When believers today pray “thy kingdom come,” it’s asking for God’s reign to settle in upon the affairs of man on earth like it is in heaven. This majestic description of God’s coming to judge the nations should serve as a reminder to all that God reigns in both heaven and earth. His reign will come upon the earth, and we should be ready for it. Those who fear God today will have nothing to fear tomorrow. Wiseman wrote, “Men feel secure so long as God remains in heaven, but when he comes to earth in judgment they are gripped by the terrifying realization that they must meet the holy God in person. If men would tremble before God, instead of before each other, they would have nothing to fear.”[2]

[1] Mays, James Luther. n.d. Micah: A Commentary. Edited by Peter Ackroyd, James Barr, Bernhard W. Anderson, and John Bright. The Old Testament Library. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press.

[2] Wiseman, Donald J., T. Desmond Alexander, and Bruce K. Waltke. 1988. Obadiah, Jonah and Micah: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 26. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Tags:
Permalink
Jonah 1:4, Various

Learning the hard way!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 30, 2023

Jonah got a call to go tell the enemies of God’s people in Nineveh that God wants them to repent and that He would forgive them and would not bring the judgment that they deserved. But Jonah hated the enemies of God’s people and did not want to see them forgiven. He wanted to see them destroyed. Possibly thinking that if they were not called to repent they would face the consequences of their sin, he ran from his calling with the intent to hide as far away from God as he could. He boarded a ship going to Spain. But we all know that you can’t run from God. Jonah 1:4 tells us, “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea so that the ship threatened to break up.” The Psalmist made that clear in Psalm 139:7-12. He writes, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” We should also mention Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

God spoke everything there is into existence. He said it and it happened. All of nature obeys him. Then he made man! Man is the only thing in nature that disobeys God. God spoke to Jonah sending him to Nineveh.  The narrative of Jonah’s rebellion from God’s call began with a “but.” But, Jonah ran away.  God’s answer in verse 4 of chapter one begins with a “but” also. “But God hurled…” God sent a storm upon the sea to remind Jonah that he’s the one who rides upon the storms. I’ve crossed both oceans during my Navy career of 27 years and have learned that there is nothing uncommon about a storm at sea. But as Smith observes, “but we are informed that this storm had a special purpose. It was caused by a ‘great wind’ that God’s hand hurled like a spear to stop the fleeing prophet in his tracks. The verb translated ‘sent’ is elsewhere used for hurling an object such as a spear. Persons at sea often experience feelings of isolation, but Jonah would find such feelings misleading. The eyes of the Lord were continually upon him and the sea is God’s dominion.”[1] Psalm 24:1-2 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters”

The English translations miss the humorous part of this verse. The Hebrew literally says, “The ship itself thought it was going to break up.” Other humorous concepts are missed in the book of Jonah. Further, it might not be as funny to us that an inanimate object like a ship would have intelligent thought, but the original readers would have gotten that quickly. One commentator I read noticed it. Roop writes, “We often find it difficult to imagine using humor to express the sacred and the serious. At the same time, we recognize the power of humor to engage the listeners. Hence, we should not be surprised that Hebrew narrative uses humor to captivate the readers. Because the humor in the biblical stories fit people long ago, we miss much of the laughter. Even when pointed out, we may not see the humor. Earlier readers likely would have sensed the combination of humor and pathos in sailors wildly hurling cargo overboard in response to a great wind that God has hurled at the ship, while the object of all the divine attention sleeps below the deck of a ship that thinks itself to be breaking up!”[2]

I will conclude with Richison’s observation. He says, “There may be a ‘but’ in our lives, but God has a ‘but’ as well.  God’s ‘but’ overruled Jonah’s ‘but.’  Man proposes but God will ultimately dispose. God has two ways of dealing with us: 1) by blessing our compliance or 2) by regulating our rebellion.  It is a lot easier on our hide to do God’s will willingly.  God has His way of getting our attention.  Some of us learn only the hard way.  God will cause some storm to come into our lives if we step out of His will for very long.  God always deals with a person’s hard heart.  God loves us too much not to discipline us and restore us to fellowship.”[3]

[1] Smith, Billy K., and Franklin S. Page. 1995. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. Vol. 19B. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Roop, Eugene F. 2002. Ruth, Jonah, Esther. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.

[3] Richison, Grant. 2006. Verse by Verse through the Book of Jonah. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems.

Tags:
Permalink
Obadiah 1:5-6, Jeremiah 49:8-10, 1 Thessalonian 1:7-9

God’s Extreme Judgment

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 29, 2023

God is judging Israel’s enemies because of their pride and arrogance in that they mistreated God’s people and stood as a prime enemy of Israel throughout their existence and wouldn’t even recognize the rights of the Jews to live in their land in peace. God promised total nihilation of this nation according to Obadiah. Usually, when nations are conquered and their cities are sacked, there is always a remnant left. That won’t be the way with Edom. Obadiah 1:5-6 says, “If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night— how you have been destroyed!— would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?  How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!” Plunderers only take what they can carry away. Grape gatherers always miss some of the fruit. But that won’t be the way in Edom. They will be destroyed. The Handbook for translators explains, “The meaning of the verse is: when a country undergoes some kind of defeat, the destruction is only partial in most cases; but in the case of Edom, it will be much more severe—your enemies have wiped you out completely. Just as Edom’s pride was pictured as greater than normal in verses 3 and 4, so here her destruction is pictured as more severe.”[1]

Whereas the Nabateans routed Edom and took their homes in Petra, the remnant moved to an area in the promised land called Idumea which became their home. But by the time of Christ, the last of the Idumeans to appear in history was Herod the Great. Herod was the king of the Jews as designated by Caesar. He was a madman whole killed his wife and two of his sons because he was afraid they plotted to take the throne. In his hatred and persecution of the Jews, he attempted to kill all the babies in Jerusalem to assassinate what the Jews believed could have been the birth of the King of Israel.

The “treasures” of Edom, as mentioned in the verse, would all be searched out and taken. Smith says, “The purpose of the search of Edom would be to locate the nation’s ‘hidden treasures.’ Edom’s mountains afforded numerous places to hide the loot taken in raids or the tax from transporting goods along roads controlled by Edom. Edom thought their treasures were secure. But the prophet said such treasures would be pillaged.”[2] Jeremiah endorses this prophecy against Edom. He writes, in Jeremiah 49:8-10, “For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I punish him.  If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, would they not destroy only enough for themselves?  But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.”

I’ve been listening to a lot of Church history books on my kindle audible. On nearly every page we read about the murder of those who hated the new Christian faith. Some of the stories are frightening. See Foxes Book of Martyrs. But was even more surprising to me that Christians kill Christians because of differing theologies. The inquisitions were horrendous. Then the murder of those translating the Bible into English or other common languages. Then protestants killed protestants because of the mode of baptism or the meaning of the Lord’s supper. God’s judgment on the Edomites who waged war against their distant relatives, the Israelites, met with extreme judgment from God. I wonder if Bridger is right. He looks at Paul’s words from 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 and comments, “The apostle Paul underlined that truth centuries later when he spoke of the final day of judgment for all nations, when ‘the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.’ God will destroy his enemies completely.”[3]

[1] Clark, David J., and Norm Mundhenk. 1982. A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Obadiah. UBS Handbook Series. London; New York: United Bible Societies.

[2] Smith, Billy K., and Franklin S. Page. 1995. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. Vol. 19B. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[3] Bridger, Gordon. 2010. The Message of Obadiah, Nahum and Zephaniah: The Kindness and Severity of God. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press.

Tags: , ,
Permalink
Amos 1:3, Proverbs 24:17-18

The Balm of Gilead

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 28, 2023

Amos begins his prophecy by condemning the nations that surround Israel. There are 8 oracles announcing the imminent action of God against the enemies of God’s people. He begins by promising punishment on Damascus. Amos 1:3 says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.” There will be seven more oracles against different nations and each time the prophecy begins with the same refrain. It’s almost like a song. The literal Hebrew rendering of this chorus would be, “for three sins and for four…” But this idiom probably means “again and again.” 1:3 says, “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” Verse 6 says, “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” Verse 9 says the same thing about Tyre, and then comes Edom, Ammon, and Moab. Each passage begins with the exact same phrase.

If Amos were a popular singer, he would have received a rousing round of applause. The Jews would delight in their enemies meeting with God’s judgment. Everyone was in favor of God judging their evil neighbors, Damascus. However, God didn’t restrict His judgment on Israel’s enemies as we’ll see. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was especially alienated from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The next chorus would have aroused an even greater response from the northern Kingdom. “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” The crowd would have exploded with cheers! Then, however, dead silence would fall as Amos, sang the last verse in 2:6. “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” But Amos 1:3 focuses on the particular sins of Damascus. “Special mention is made of the crimes committed against the people of Gilead. The Aramean state of Syria, whose capital was Damascus, was located east of Gilead, and many of the battles between the kings of Israel and the kings of Syria took place in Gilead.”[1] I’ve often wondered if the song, “There is a balm in Gilead” found its source in the fact that Gilead felt the brunt of God’s judgment for their sins.

In all the modern revenge movies, we just love to see people get what they deserve! Right?  It’s not that way with God. He does not take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, rather, he delights in forgiving sinners! There is a “balm” in Gilead. That “balm” is forgiveness. It’s a rare ointment, however. We all like our revenge or enjoy seeing the failure of our enemies. God does not like us rejoicing over the fall of others. He deeply dislikes us playing God.  Using the similar Hebrew phrase about “turning away His anger, God tells us in Proverbs 24:17-18 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” The force of this proverb includes the idea that joy at the fall of others turns God’s attention from them to you. This is what Amos was telling Israel. In fact, God used one of the most wicked of these surrounding nations as his instrument of Judgment on Israel. An extra-biblical account of the excessive brutality of the Assyrians was recorded in the account of the King of Assyria. He said, “I burnt many captives from them. I captured many troops alive; I cut off of some their arms [and] hands; I cut off of others their noses, ears, and extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many troops. I made a pile of the living [and] one of the heads. I hung their heads on trees around the city. I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls.”[2] How can I rejoice at such carnage even if poured out on my enemy? May the Balm of Gilead pour out over my heart and soul.

[1] Smith, Gary V. 1998. Amos. Mentor Commentaries. Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.

[2] Smith, Gary V. 1998. Amos. Mentor Commentaries. Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.

Tags: ,
Permalink
Joel 1:5, Isaiah 22:12-13

Eat, Drink and be Merry!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 27, 2023

Joel warns the nation that God is about to bring a sweeping disaster upon them as a judgment for their spiritual adultery. Having recently experienced a devastating locust plague the nation was well aware of that concept. But the “locusts” that were to come now were not literal locusts, but the army of Assyria. The soldiers would devour everything before them like a locust plague. With that in mind, Joel calls the people to do three things. Joel 1:5 says, “Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.” They are to wake, weep, and wail.

The call to wake up is to come from their inebriated state and open their eyes to reality. It’s a call to sober up! Many commentators put Joel’s prophecy during the evil reign of Athaliah in Judah. She was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel who reigned over Israel in the north. She instituted all the vile practices of Baal worship she had learned from her mother. Patterson observed, “The ready availability of wine in the northern kingdom during the eighth century is illustrated in the Samaria Ostraca, many of which deal with receipts for wine. It is likely Judah was no different. Whatever the precise emphasis on wine here, God’s people are pictured as pursuing their own pleasure, oblivious to the great danger to which their spiritual lethargy had exposed them.”[1] Just as the locust plague was used by Joel to impress upon the nation the depth of the destruction to come, the drunkenness associated with the sweet wines of the day was used to illustrate the blind stupor of the entire nation concerning God. The wealth and abundance of life can sometimes blind us to the real world. We should not let the pleasures of the world distract us from the reality of our mortal nature.

The second and third things are similar, weep and wail. He calls the people to “weep.” The weeping is associated with the reality that with the locust plague all the ingredients for their “sweet wine” will be gone.  They were to weep over the loss of their abundance, but they were to mourn over the coming judgment. Julian of Eclanum was a 5th-century Pelagian, yet his aberrant theology did not prevent him from seeing this passage correctly. He wrote, “The patience of the eternal judge has been conquered by the shamelessness and obstinacy of sinners. He has decreed to subject you to the flogging that you deserve and to remove those chief instruments of your delights, which you were abusing. Of course, although the progression of this destitution reaches even the ordinary people and those without wealth, even the very commencement of it will torment you. You, then, whom instruction in justice has taught nothing, begin at least to experience the goads of fear, and shed some tears for your vices, which you did not give to your duties. All of you who never felt pain over your wounded innocence, weep at last for your destitute drunkenness.”[2] Isaiah tells of the coming judgment of God upon a people who refuse to face reality but double down on their drunkenness. Isaiah 22:12-13 says, “And in that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth. But instead, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine.” Then Isaiah quotes the frequently repeated motto in every culture. It might be worded a bit differently, but the philosophy is the same. The Miller beer commercial captures the idea for us, “Go for all the gusto you can, for you only go around once in life.” Isaiah puts it this way, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

[1] Patterson, Richard D., and Andrew E. Hill. 2008. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 10: Minor Prophets, Hosea–Malachi. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[2] Julian of Eclanum. 2021. Commentaries on Job, Hosea, Joel, and Amos. Edited by Thomas P. Scheck, Gerald L. Bray, Michael Glerup, and Thomas C. Oden. Translated by Thomas P. Scheck. Ancient Christian Texts. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press.

Tags: ,
Permalink
Hosea 1:3-5

Baal Worship in America

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 26, 2023

There were two people in the Bible named Gomer. Genesis 10:2 tells us that Japheth, the son of Noah, had a son named Gomer. This is repeated in 1 Chronicles. Then, there is a woman, the daughter of Diblaim, whom we meet in the book of Hosea. She was the prostitute that Hosea was told to marry. Hosea 1:3-5 tells us, “So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.  And the Lord said to him, ‘Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.’” Gomer was to have three children, but Jezreel is the only one that is certainly the son of Hosea. It appears from the wording of the text that the other children were not from Hosea himself but were from her adulterous affairs. Most commentators believe Hosea was well aware of what was going on. Smith says, “He understood how Gomer’s adultery represented the behavior of the people in the nation of Israel, God’s covenant partner. They were guilty of ‘the vilest adultery’ (1:2). By their unfaithful worship of Baal and participation in the sexual activities in that fertility cult, they defiled themselves and rejected their own God. In God’s eyes, the nation’s syncretism of the worship of Baal and Yahweh was not a minor problem of little significance; it was an affront to the exclusive covenant commitment God desires of those whom he loves.”[1]

Pastor Jim Erb writes, “Baal being a fertility god had worship that involved sex orgies. They worshiped an idol which was in the shape of an enlarged male sex organ, an Asherah. Temple prostitutes supported the temple worship of Baal. Its worship was filled with perversion, homosexuality, immorality, and sexual promiscuity. Could this possibly be the spirit behind much promiscuity, perversion, homosexuality, and pornography in America today? Baal goes after children. Child sacrifice was part of his deal. Children were sacrificed to a god called Molech in the Old Testament. However, they were also sacrificed to Baal. Could this possibly be the spirit behind abortions and child abuse that runs rampant in the USA? Something to think about!”[2] The indoctrination of our children in America today to sex as early as kindergarten may also have a connection with this.

For the Israelites at that time, and for bible scholars today, Jezreel connotes war, destruction, and bloodshed much like Chornobyl elicits thoughts of nuclear disasters today. It was in the Valley of Jezreel that the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines. It was here that Jehu killed Joram, and Jezebel and wiped out the Omri dynasty for Baal worship. Deborah and Gideon also fought bloody battles there during the period of the Judges. God used Jehu to judge the Baal worship under Ahab and Jezebel, but in this passage, he promises to use another Kingdom to bring judgment on Jehu for similar crimes of idolatry. It didn’t take long for Jehu’s kingdom to fall to the same sexual perversions and practices as were promoted by Jezebel. An occupation with sexual perversions of any kind is associated with Baal worship. The trend in our country is going that way. Today’s world has turned secular. With its turn away from Christianity came all the vileness of Baal worship. It’s promoted in the media, in our schools at a frighteningly early time, and all aspects of society. Adrian Rogers said, “Secularism today in America and the world has taken over the arts. It has taken over the sciences. It has taken over philosophy. It has taken over education. And, our days are so much like the days of Noah. There’s only one acceptable bigotry in the world today. Do you know what it is? It is you can still be bigoted against a Bible-believing Christian. A Bible-believing Christian today is the whipping boy of modern society.”[3]

[1] Smith, Gary V. 2001. Hosea, Amos, Micah. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[2] https://www.sharonherald.com/community/is-baal-worship-going-on-in-usa-and-we-don-t-even-know-it/article_075b30c3-e8a8-5633-9a53-cd2b9a247835.html

[3] Rogers, Adrian. 2017. “The Days of Noah.” In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive, Mt 24:35–39. Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.

Tags:
Permalink
Daniel 1:5-7

The Seductions of Babylon

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 25, 2023

When foreign immigrants came to America, it didn’t take long for them to become “American.” They learned the English language, adopted the American dress styles, they bought into everything in the American culture. The Jews would never do that. Wherever they were taken, they held on to their rituals, traditions, and religion. When Daniel and his friends were taken as captives to Babylon, they were tempted with all the best Babylon had to offer. The Babylonians wanted the young Israelites to become like them. They seduced them with the best food. This passage begins, “The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank.” Their food came from the Kings table. It wasn’t ordinary fare. In many countries, you will find “re-education” camps for those entering a country to indoctrinate the newcomers to the right understanding of history and language and all things. The next verse talks about re-education. It says, “They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.” As we’ll see the young Israelites could not be seduced by food or converted to the pagan Babylonian ways of life.

Then another major step that Ashpenaz took in indoctrinating the children of Israel into the Babylonian culture was to change their names. The passage continues, “Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.” Their Jewish names made them Jewish. Their new names made them Babylonians. According to Richison, “By giving these four young men these names, Ashpenaz hoped to eradicate Hebrew culture and inculcate Chaldean culture into their thinking. The names indicate that they were subject to the Chaldean gods. This was simply a brainwashing technique.” But these young men were seeped deeply in their own culture and the teachings of Moses, the writings, and the prophets. They knew their bible well. “Studies in Chaldean culture did not daunt the convictions of the four Judean believers. The content of Chaldean culture contradicted those convictions, but they were able to stand on their beliefs. These young men were able to study the Chaldean culture with academic excellence.” Richison concludes, “There is a great difference between God’s viewpoint on life and the viewpoint of the world. The viewpoint of God transcends the viewpoint of the world because the source is from eternity rather than time, from all-knowledge rather than special knowledge.”[1]

It has been widely recognized that the Institutes of higher learning in the United States have become more interested in indoctrinating students with the far-left liberal agenda than preparing them for a lifelong career. One of the more conservative reformed colleges in the country, Calvin, has now accepted LGBTQ professors on its faculty. If you do not have a pro-gay agenda, you will be ostracized and “cancelled” in our society. This seems to be worldwide. It seems that every show we attempt to watch on TV will have a gay couple presented as not only acceptable but applaudable. Even Downton Abbey has a gay gentleman that receives the approval of other characters. Then Anne with an E promoted the gay young man who received approval and praise from other gays and Anne herself in the show. There is no escaping the gay agenda. Those that do not approve of this lifestyle are framed as bigoted and hateful in such a way that no one wants to identify with them. But what’s worse, this trend has not been satisfied with working at the college and university level but has taken a turn to brainwash our high schoolers and even the elementary level. According to one source from Wisconsin, “State universities indoctrinate future teachers in controversial transgender, racial, and political theories—and instruct them to teach these principles to children beginning in preschool, a new report has found.”[2] Wisconsin is not the only state. The national trend with teacher’s unions is to support and affirm the gay lifestyle of students. Babylon is still seducing our children!

[1] Richison, Grant. 2006. Verse by Verse through the Book of Daniel. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems.

[2] https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/08/16/public-school-teachers-told-to-indoctrinate-kids-as-young-as-three-in-radical-lgbt-theory/

Tags:
Permalink
sewa motor jogja
© Chuck Larsen 2019. Powered by WordPress.