In the greatest book ever given to man these words appear:
"And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strowed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it." Exodus 32:20
America is steeped in idolatry which one would expect for a world of lost humanity. The human race worships pleasure, power, pride, and preeminence over God. One would not expect this kind of behavior in the church but idolatry even abounds in the least expected camp. Moses is inducing the purest form of repentance for Israel to propitiate the wrath of God for their brazen idolatry. Four prescriptions were induced to bring repentance to completion. First, the calf was burned with fire. Before the eyes of the idolater that which is sinfully attractive must become shockingly abhorred. The false beauty of sin must lose its form in the eyes of the sinner for repentance to have taken the first step. That is only possible when the transgression is viewed under the contempt and fiery wrath of God burning its essence to mere uselessness. The wrath of God is not missing. The apostle Paul made that clear: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18) What is missing is not heavenly retribution but human repentance and retreat from sin. The golden calf must assume a new shape in men's eyes. It must become gravel in their teeth rather than candy for their palate. Repentance is the ingredient that will save the world. "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5). It is not the most palatable message but government, the war machine, Wall Street, nor thousands of Universities have solved the problems that threaten the annihilation of man. Tomorrow we will view step two in the upward staircase to right relationship with God.
"And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strowed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it." Exodus 32:20
America is steeped in idolatry which one would expect for a world of lost humanity. The human race worships pleasure, power, pride, and preeminence over God. One would not expect this kind of behavior in the church but idolatry even abounds in the least expected camp. Moses is inducing the purest form of repentance for Israel to propitiate the wrath of God for their brazen idolatry. Four prescriptions were induced to bring repentance to completion. First, the calf was burned with fire. Before the eyes of the idolater that which is sinfully attractive must become shockingly abhorred. The false beauty of sin must lose its form in the eyes of the sinner for repentance to have taken the first step. That is only possible when the transgression is viewed under the contempt and fiery wrath of God burning its essence to mere uselessness. The wrath of God is not missing. The apostle Paul made that clear: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18) What is missing is not heavenly retribution but human repentance and retreat from sin. The golden calf must assume a new shape in men's eyes. It must become gravel in their teeth rather than candy for their palate. Repentance is the ingredient that will save the world. "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5). It is not the most palatable message but government, the war machine, Wall Street, nor thousands of Universities have solved the problems that threaten the annihilation of man. Tomorrow we will view step two in the upward staircase to right relationship with God.
2 comments:
welcome to the blogosphere, preacher. I am glad to see you up and running. Like you, I pray to see true repentance in America.
Saw Kevin's post and thought I'd drop by a give you a word of encouragement ... Jesus!
BTW tell you son thanks for his sacrifice and service.
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