And, boy, I'm glad I did! Today's selections in the MacArthur Daily Bible are Ecclesiastes 3, Psalm 102:12-17, Proverbs 24:3-4, and 1 Corinthians 8.
Ecclesiastes 3 is the famous "To everything there is a season" passage - but that's only the first section of the chapter. If you look down to verse 14, it says:
I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
What God does is immutable - God accomplishes it with His infinite power, and He establishes it forever by that same power. Nothing and no one can resist what God chooses to do, and when men see the work of His mighty hand, they need to remember the awesome God who holds them in His palm.
You should read "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God," preached by one of America's most godly and influential preachers. Jonathan Edwards preached this sermon in 1741, taking his text from Deuteronomy 32:35 - "Their foot shall slip in due time." He was warning his congregation that ungodliness and rebellion against their Creator left them dangling by the thinnest thread over the pit of Hell, protected only by God's mercy and patience.
Do you know Romans 2:4? "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" If God's patience runs out - and it is not limitless - the eternal destruction in the Pit waited for them as certainly as night follows day.
Therefore, displays of God's power are meant to draw us to Him in holy fear and awe, so that we throw ourselves upon His grace and are brought into His family. Remember, God owes us nothing! We are the ones in rebellion against Him, and He would be completely fair to consign all of us to eternal damnation. But the glorious salvation He offers from His own just wrath should cause us to love Him and follow Him all the days of our lives.
One thing many people do not realize is that when the Bible calls someone a fool, it is not talking about intelligence as much as it is focusing on wisdom. It is a moral judgement when we read "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
The second part of Romans 1 is a diatribe about the foolishness of man:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
If you wilfully choose to go against Him, God will let you. And then, God will let you deal with the consequences. Wouldn't it be better to turn to Him and grasp hold of His outstretched hand? Wouldn't it be better for us to stop being fools, and learn to have a holy fear of God?
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The promise of God to those who turn from foolishness to wisdom is laid out in today's reading from Proverbs:
Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
I want to build and establish my house. And I cannot do it apart from Him. Therefore, I will let His power do its work and submit to Him in holy fear, and let God do a work which will last forever, unchanging.
I appreciate your mentioning this book. I just ordered two copies, one for my wife and one for me. I am working away from home for awhile and my wife and I can read the same passages on the same day.
Thank you,
Woody
Posted by: orwoody | September 01, 2007 at 09:51 AM