Jeremiah 48: 7-13 (NKJ)
7 For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, You also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, His priests and his princes together.
8 And the plunderer shall come against every city; No one shall escape. The valley also shall perish, And the plain shall be destroyed, As the LORD has spoken.
9 “ Give wings to Moab, That she may flee and get away; For her cities shall be desolate, Without any to dwell in them.
10 Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully, And cursed is he who
keeps back his sword from blood.
11 “ Moab has been at ease from his[e] youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed.
12 “ Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “ That I shall send him wine-workers Who will tip him over And empty his vessels And break the bottles.
13 Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of
Bethel, their confidence.
Some people think they can actually get away with their sins even after being saved; they are what I call “Untouchables”. The reason why I use this term is because when sin enters one`s heart, it binds and blinds one`s mind, which boosts pride and brings a person to the “I rule the world” place where there is no room for God. God doesn`t share His glory with anybody nor can He dwell in the place where the pride rules. He leaves those Christians “untouched” for a while because He applies long patience to save us, and He waits if we would hearken to Him.
This is what happened to Moabites, they mocked Israelites for being punished by God when they worshiped idol gods (“Israel was ashamed of Bethel”) and sinned against the Lord. Now God is telling Moabites in chapter 48 that although they were “ease from his youth” , meaning “untouched”, there are days coming when vessels would be empty and those bottles would break, so there would be no way back to the old ways of life.
Sin perpetuates a deadly cycle: thought enters one`s mind, then action-we sin, then covering up for the actually committed sin, then denying the committed sin, then self-justifying the committed sin, then cutting Holy Spirit`s conviction off due to the pride in one`s heart. We are busy people. It is exhausting trying to keep up with all this work that sin creates for us.
It`s something that amazes me because it is foolish to think that we can hide from God. We could definitely hide certain sins and facts from people, and even with that, the truth always comes out with time. God puts us in situations where the truth revils and the person who lied only get embarrassed. In this scripture of chapter 48, Jeremiah talks about Moabites who were like “vessels” that weren`t touched, and they produced smell of spoiled odors.
This is a very interesting scripture that I think could be very well applied as a vivid depiction of the backsliding Christians-- “saved Christians” who although claim to be “saved”, but they don`t live that. How can someone attempt to do the work “for the Lord deceitfully”? It is foolish, yet I did that, and I know many who continue to live a “fake” life of “untouchables”. The reason why it`s showing that the vessels weren`t touched is because God is long suffering and long patient; He doesn`t enjoy wiping people off the earth. He created us to have relationships with Him, and He is always on our side waiting patiently when we would turn our ways to Him with all our hearts and mind to seek Him. However, at some point after we get saved when we continue to live the life of “an old man”, His cup of patience and mercy turns into a rod, for our own sake, and He starts to “empty the vessels” and “touch” the “untouchable” through the different circumstances that we bring into our lives with our own hands.
What these verses tell us is that the hardships that we experience in life are part of maturing in Christ process (emptying from vessel to vessel), so the lifestyle that we produce becomes transparent and pure in reflecting the nature of God.
Ezekiel: 33:12, 17-20
12Tell them that when good people start sinning, all the good they did in the past cannot save them from being punished. And remind them that when wicked people stop sinning, their past sins will be completely forgiven, and they won't be punished.
17Ezekiel, your people accuse me of being unfair. But they are the ones who are unfair.
18If good people start doing evil, they will be put to death, because they have sinned.
19And if wicked people stop sinning and start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment.
20But the Israelites still think I am unfair. So warn them that they will be punished for what they have done.
God is merciful and He is willing to cover our transgressions with His love and Jesus` blood that He shed on the cross for us, but we have to be willing and start listening to what He is telling us. We have to yield to the Lord. That means that we have to hearken to Him, for those of us who were or still are prodigals, or maybe non-saved people. God is longing for us to hearken to Him and to come to His presence, to have that personal relationship that He prepared to have with each one of His children.
God placed me in situation where I was no longer “Untouchable”, and He had to apply the rod to get me out of the sin to recommit my life to Him once and for all. His grace is overwhelming, but He will discipline His children to the point when we stop fighting with Him and give in to His will. Our Father has a much better will on our lives than I could ever envision or create on my own. I know that because I`ve tested it, and I was blown away by His blessings in my life. I continue to go through the Death Valley, but He is my Shepherd, and He renews my strength every day to give me enough to get through each day. I know that I will see His glory in my situation as great as never before, and it would serve as a great testimony for others.
If you go through the hardships, you should ask yourself:
- Is it because I was “Untouchable” for so long that my sins reached the threshold in His eyes, and if so, then I need to repent? Is your heart so hardened that you no longer feel Him or hear Him or able to detect what`s His will?
Search your heart and really think whether it`s worth going against the Almighty Utmost High because the truth is, it`s futile. He always wins, for our own sake.
Do not be weary,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed much of your post. I think that there is clearly some pain in the past for you, and for that I pray God's grace upon your life.
However, I am not certain that we can apply the travails of the Moabites to believers today. The reason is that the Moabites were not a part of the "Kingdom of God." They were outside of that. So, it would be better to compare them to the plight of unbelievers.
That is not to say that God doesn't discipline His children. He clearly does. The book of Hebrews makes this quite clear.
I would also ask you to think through your view of the "old man" from Romans 6. I read Romans 6 as stating that the "old man" has been crucified, dead, and buried. That doesn't mean that we don't sin, but that we now have power and dominion over sin through the very presence of God within us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Which, brings up another point... Just a thought.... But, is it possible for a believer to be in continual sin? Or, to essentially break fellowship with the Holy Spirit?
I look forward to your response.
May the Lord of Hosts bless you.
I believe that Bible is applicable to us today including those passages that cover the scriptures about certain ethnicities that got wiped out (Assyrians, etc.). I believe that when I read the Bible, I can have Holy Spirit speak to my heart with each verse that I read if I am willing to apply the scripture to my life (the examples of others are there to learn from). The passage from Jeremiah could be applied both ways: to unbelievers and to believers, and since my attention was to refer to saved Christians (using my own life`s example), I used it that way. I know that when one gets saved, the work of the Holy Spirit produces evident change visible to others, so that the “old ways” are forsaken and are abandoned for good (leaving the Egypt once and for all). I believe that both scriptures of 1 John 2 clearly states that when we get saved, our actions and lifestyle should reflect the way Jesus walked; our inner change should produce vivid outer response. The second important passage that I`d refer to is Matthew 7:21-23- Jesus clearly said that not everyone calling His name would get to heaven even if they are in service because the main vessel is one`s heart that only God knows. If the heart is truly cleaved to Him and is evident in one`s walk with Jesus, than the apparent fruits of the Holy Spirit would be in one`s life (Gallatians 5:22-23).
ReplyDeleteI think referring to the scripture of Romans 6 does tell us that when one gets saved, the old life is crucified with Jesus on the cross, and we have that power of the Holy Spirit living in our heart strengthening us to dominate any kind of temptation (I would refer to the Holy Spirit fruit of self-control Galatians 5:23 for that); However, that strength is only available when we discipline ourselves in our daily walk with God because when there is no relationships with Him, we become spiritually “warm” and we become vulnerable to the temptations of this world. I`ve been there, done it, and I know that this deadly cycle of temptation leading to sin works if the discipline of my relationships with God is not exercised in the daily training of studying His word and applying it to my life. The fruits of the Holy Spirit would never show up in the “believer`s” life if he continues to live in sin.
ReplyDeleteThat would lead me to answer your question about living in continual sin. I believe that it is possible for a believer to live in a continual sin because I`ve done it myself, and I know those who continue to do that; however, Holy Spirit would make one miserable and continue to convict one`s heart. I lived in sin knowingly, and I had Holy Spirit convict my heart, and I was miserable, yet I continued to do that until one day I was placed in circumstances where I had to really make that big decision to stop it. The continual sin in “believer`s” life is evidence either: a person is not being truly saved, or that person rebels against God. That`s why I call those people “Untouchables” because as believers, we still have Holy Spirit living in our hearts; however, the more we sin, the more we quench His voice and become deaf to His convictions. Sin produces blindness in one`s heart and mind, and the further in sin we submerge, the quitter the voice of the Holy Spirit becomes. That`s when God gives us certain grace period to hearken to Him and to repent, but when we don`t do that, He chastens us by placing us in circumstances leading to complete surrender and repentance. It happened to me, and I know other people who had the same effects in their lives (as you mentioned the book of Hebrews makes it very clear).
ReplyDeleteI am not a spiritual geek, and I hope I was able to answer your questions. I think the main question each believer should ask is this: Do I truly live my life to bring glory to God, or do I live for myself satisfy the desires of my flesh? If I live to bring glory to God, I change the ways I live and things I believed in the past because those two don`t jive together.
Thank you for reading my blog, and I pray that it would touch the hearts of people bringing them to God as close as never before, in Jesus Name, Amen.
Does the truth ALWAYS come out? It's been 2 years and I am still waiting for someone to be exposed in a situation I am dealing with.
ReplyDelete