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© Daniel Valles. May be reproduced for non-profit purposes only, citing the author and source.
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"God's Line-In-The-Sand"
Daniel Valles
READ
Jeremiah 18:6-12
Many times we have heard the 2 Chronicles 7:14 preached, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." While you can argue that this promise was made to the nation of Israel and Solomon, the premise is still true regarding repentance. The chapter in Jeremiah, which we read, is where God claims power over all nations. Verses 7 and 9 contain a frightening phrase that only appears these two instances in the whole Bible. With this phrase God laid out a definite promise. This promise can be both a blessing and it can be a cursing. That phrase is "at what instant..." What follows that promise is one of the greatest blessings that any nation in the world has ever received from God - IF they "turn from their evil", then God will repent (turn from) of what "evil that I thought to do unto them." At what instant has the idea of the duration of the wink of an eye! God is saying that the split-second that you hear My warning of judgment and turn completely to Me, I will stop what I was going to do to you!
It is not enough for Christians to think that a repentant spirit will change the course of this country. Unless we live changed and repentant lives, our country will not change. The perhaps unfortunate consideration, however, is that Americans (and specifically American Christians) turned a deaf ear to God's warnings decades ago. What we are reaping now is what God has said He would do to those who turn from Him. America is reaping the second promise.
The first promise was that God would stop the impending judgments IF the people hearkened to His warnings. Nineveh is a prime example. As evil as they were, they were not yet experiencing the wrath and judgment of God. God sent them a special warning about certain destruction and sudden collapse if they did not turn from their evil. It is recorded for all time that the pagan, secular king declared throughout Nineveh: "Cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" Jonah 4:8-9.
"And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." vs. 10
Would that America had hearkened! We scoffed at the warnings, labeled them politically-incorrect, uncomfortable, disturbing, over-zealous, and went on our merry way! We rejected God's first promise, and in doing so reaped the second promise.
The second promise was the second "at what instant." In verse 9 and 10, God states that if that nation "obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." There will be a changing of direction from blessings to cursings. That nation that was once blessed with prosperity will be cursed (Lev. 26:20,26).
Haggai 1:6 recalls, "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."
The blessing of safety is replaced with open hedges (Isaiah 5:5), wise rulers replaced with those that will not rule properly (Isaiah 3:4), health replaced with pestilence (Lev. 26:16; Jeremiah 14:12), and on and on. Jeremiah 32 is a good example of particular judgments. God's second promise was "at what instant" that a nation turns from His warning, He will start judging. It may not all come in one rain of fire and brimstone like Sodom and Gomorrah, it may not come in just forty days like Noah and the Flood - but it will start. The children of Israel went through several prolonged judgments of invasions, occupations, captivity, sieges, etc. In verse 11, God states that He will "frame evil against you, and devise a device against you." The methods and devices will vary with each situation and nation; but judgment will officially start and commence "at what instant" that God's warning is rejected.
Are there points of no return? Yes. Leviticus 26 is an absolutely clear outline of where God says He will judge in incremental judgments for the purpose of trying to get the people to hearken to Him. Yet, there is a line in the sand: "if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins." (Lev. 26:27,28). There is a point where there will be no more warnings.
"...they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes." vs. 43.
What can we say? Just like in Habakkuk, God's warnings to our country could not be plainer than if they were spelled out on every billboard!
"Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander,
they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept
them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt
offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them
by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." Jeremiah
14:10-12
One of the most frightening verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 15:1: "Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth." There is a point where tears of repentance will not be hearkened to. One half-second after the fire started falling on Sodom and Gomorrah, there were probably some sincere prayers. One minute after the first rain started, there were probably people on their knees. One thousandths of a second after a sinner goes to Hell it will be too late to repent.
America has been warned many times. We have been spared large, visible consecutive judgments; yet it is clear we have not hearkened to God. God is merciful, but He is also Just and Holy. Our nation is ripe for swift judgment.
What is the purpose of this article then? To show that God is just when He does judge. Prayerfully read Jeremiah 16 to see what sort of response Jeremiah was told to have when he saw the final judgment on his people.
Is there hope for the sincere believer? Can one who eschews evil, abhors evil, and fears God with his whole heart, body, and soul still have hope? Jeremiah 37:12 is an excellent verse where Jeremiah, upon declaring the judgment that was to come, "went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people." Jeremiah was not going to stick around. He tried to leave the city. However, he was arrested for 'treason' when he tried to leave. Even though it seems bad, God protected and provided for him during his imprisonment. Because of his situation and location, God used him to deliver several last-minute messages to the king. God delivered him through the overthrow of the city, and even gave him favor in the eyes of the captors. However, God also gave a promise to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, who helped Jeremiah, that we can learn from:
"But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 39:17-18. God will take care of those who trust in Him. Yes, there are many martyrs and many persecuted. They are given extra grace, God bringing them home. On the other hand, there will be individuals who will go through the flood and fire, as a witness, who will also minister afterwards. Daniel, Elijah, Noah, the three Hebrew children, Jeremiah, and many more were brought through in His plan.
Wither God will bring you through, or bring you home is in His timing and plan. What we need to concern ourselves with is: are we likewise putting out trust in Him? Can we say that we fear God with our actions, thoughts, deeds, and devotion? God will be just - on a national level and on an individual level. God may shortly judge our nation as a whole for its evil, but He also keeps His eye on His faithful stewards. Do not live for this world, live wholly for Him.
Deuteronomy 13:4 "Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him." How is your walk with God? Are you just holding onto His hand, listening casually to what He has to say, or is your life sold out for God, embraced in a death-grip that the world cannot undo?
Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Related Articles:
Why Would God
Judge America?
The Great
Commandment: How Do We Love God?
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