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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Background: God had graciously rescued Abraham's descendants from Egyptian bondage and miraculously guided and protected them so that they came into possession of the promised land of Canaan. He gave them laws to protect them from themselves and from others. He sent prophets to remind them of their responsibilities to Him and to give them timely direction when they lost their way. Although it was not to His liking, God also gave them kings to rule over them much like the nations round about. His beneficent hand cared for them at every turn, even when His counsel was rejected and when His laws were willfully broken. Yet, for all of this, His voice was still not heard by His people.
Enter Isaiah: “Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5.1-4; emphasis mine above and below, jb).
God's Forbearance: We sometimes picture God in the Old Testament as an angry vengeful God. And, it is true that there are times when the Bible says He was angry as well as times when He brought that anger down upon generations and nations. However, to see Him as angry and vengeful is to see Him as He does not exist! Rather than ask the question, “Why did bad things happen to good people,” we ought rather to ask, “Why did good things happen to bad people?” So frequently God “winked” at sin and passed over the evils of His people, so often that the times cannot even be counted! His had fed them, and they bit it! His hand guided them, and they thrust it away. His hand formed a protective shield over them, and they hurried away from the covering He provided. His hand upheld them in times of oppression, and they raised their hands to join with their enemies. The message of the Old Testament is not a message of wrath; it is a message of forbearance and patience!
What More Could Have Been Done? That question has an answer even though we might miss it. The answer is this, NOTHING! God used every circumstance of man to bring about the most good possible. Even when we don't understand, He did! His hand was not a hand of oppression; it was a hand of protection and guidance. How easy it is for us to sit as Monday Morning quarterbacks armed with one one-hundredth of the story and sit in judgment of God. That is what Jerusalem and Judah did and that is the thing for which God called their hands! What more could have been done? Nothing!
He Coulda/Shoulda: Would God have been just in ending the history of mankind in the Garden of Eden just after Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit? What man can say that He could not or would not have been? He had made no promises to the contrary, yet He acted in a manner consistent with His longsuffering nature; He prolonged man's days and implemented a plan by which man could be rehabilitated, a plan by which man could be brought back into union with God!
Rather than look at biblical history with a jaundiced view of God, why not look at it realizing the great love He has for us and them, and how that love moved Him to forbear when justice could have been served by calling a halt to time and consigning man to a deserved place of eternal punishment? He did what He could and He is doing what He can! Will we? That is the more relevant question.
Questions:
1. Why did God do to create and environment where His Israel could serve Him faithfully?
2. How did Israel generally react to His acts of kindness (consider our text from Isaiah)?
3. Could God have done more (consider carefully and prayerfully your answer)?
4. Now to a current issue - Could God have done more for you? If yes, what would it have been? Would you have reacted more responsibly (consider carefully and prayerfully your answer)?
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