The Joy of Glory

Ezekiel 14:21-23 (click here)
…you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 14:23b)

Reflection
The wrath of God is one of the hardest truth pills for modern people to swallow. Yet, the Bible is filled with images, pronouncements, and actual outpourings of God’s wrath. Ezekiel 14 is just one more example among the pages of the Bible.

For many people, this is a hurdle they simply cannot get over. How could Christians possibly proclaim a God of love who seems to be filled with so much rage? How could such a God ever be good, great, beautiful or glorious?

What are to make of such questions when they rumble around within our own souls?

Ezekiel 14:23 helps to bring a little bit of clarity to the questions with which our hearts are wrestling. God tells his people that after his judgment has been poured out on Jerusalem, he will work to help them see his wrath from his perspective. They “shall know” that he has not judged without cause. In other words, they will be able to see that his wrath was the right and righteous response to sin.

Too often, we think of God’s wrath in the same way we experience our own wrath… as a type of blind-rage that is simply flying off the handle, but it is not so with God. His wrath is a perfectly calculated, right response to sin. And, his wrath is working for good and righteous ends!

Our world is filled with so much injustice and evil… and it is the wrath of God that executes justice on injustice… it is the wrath of God that removes evil. We cry out of God’s wrath any time we cry for God to set all wrongs right… to make all things new… to overcome evil and usher in his kingdom!

One day, we will see the wrath of God totally from his perspective and we “shall know” that none of it has been poured out without cause! All of it has actually come out of a place of love for his people and his creation!

We will see that God has poured out his wrath to right all wrongs, execute perfect justice, and make all things new!

The wrath of God actually gives us hope that this world will not always be broken… that wickedness will not win… that all suffering will come to an end!

The wrath of God actually is part of the good news!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Jeremiah 32:32-35 (click here)
They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. (Jeremiah 32:33)

Reflection
When is the last time God spoke to you?

Can you remember it? Can you recall what he said and how it felt to hear him speak? For many people, these questions cause feelings of doubt and despair because they feel as though all they receive from the Lord is silence.

But is that true? Is God silent… or are we not listening?

In Jeremiah 32, God says that he has taught his people persistently, but they have not listened. What does he mean? His voice has not boomed from the heavens. None of these people had encountered a burnish bush, an angelic messenger, or seen ignored signs in the sky.

So how had he been speaking? The answer is not flashy. The answer is rather plain. God had been consistently speaking to his people through his Word. The priests taught the Word and the Prophets proclaimed the Word. God spoke constantly to his people through his Word, but they turned their back to him, not their face, by ignoring his Word.

God still speaks through his Word. You can hear his voice right now! Pick up the Scriptures, read and hear the very voice of God! God is persistently speaking to you through his Word written and his Word proclaimed!

All too often we turn our backs to the Word because that is not the WAY we want him to speak to us. It’s not flashy enough… it is too plain. We desire a mystical experience like a burning bush, an angelic messenger, or a sign in the sky.

We’re like Naaman, who was told that to cure his leprosy he need only to dip seven times in the river Jordan. In his pride, he almost missed out on healing because he wanted to be given a great task that emphasized his own greatness. To bathe in the Jordan would take humble obedience that placed all emphasis and glory on the gracious power of God.

We have told that hearing from God persistently happens through bathing in his Word. Such an act does not make us look grand and super-spiritual, like having awesome mystical experiences would. No… such an act requires humble obedience and places all emphasis and glory on the graciousness of God to speak to us through his Word.

Don’t turn your back to the Lord! Hear his voice today by turning your face towards his Word. He is persistently speaking to you.

Are you listening?

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Isaiah 5 (click here)
Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands. Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.

Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low. But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich. (Isaiah 5:11-13 and 15-17)

Reflection
I remember the first time I heard the story of the Titanic. The world’s largest cruise ship, filled with partying and revelry from the top deck to the bowls of the ship. I remember feeling the irony of people partying as they literally sailed toward death, completely unaware of where they were headed.

It was a party on the way to perishing.

In Isaiah 5, God points out that his people are partying on their own Titanic, but they are not about to run into an iceberg but the wrath of God! They are blind to what is coming and this is the very reason they are headed towards perishing! “…they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or SEE the work of his hands. THEREFORE my people go into exile for lack of KNOWLEDGE…”

Because they do not see the massive reality of who God is, because they do not know him, their lives are about to run aground on the reality of his wrath.

It is a party on the way to perishing.

God’s wrath is righteous and just. He is not lashing out in an uncontrolled fit of rage. No. His wrath is the perfectly right and just response to sin. These people had exalted themselves as if they were god and were committing all sorts of atrocities. It was sheer mercy that God held back his righteous wrath at all… sheer grace that he had given these people any time to repent and return to him. It is sheer grace that he does this for any of us.

But his wrath will not be stayed forever. He will do what is right, what is just, what is good and loving. I say this is “good and loving” because how often have we found ourselves looking at the injustices of the world and crying out “how long O Lord?” Will all the wrongs ever be set right?

We look at our world and it seems there is no final justice! But that is why the wrath of God is good and loving news! There is final justice! All wrongs will be set right! All evil and injustice removed and perfect peace and justice will reign!

“Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low. But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. THEN shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.”

The rebellious party of sin ends in perishing… and peace is ushered in for all who trusted in the Lord! They will graze like lambs in the pasture of grace!

Take heart dear Christian… this world will not always be a place of injustice, oppression, and death! Sin is headed for a head-on collision with the wrath of God where it doesn’t win… it ends!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.