Morality for Such a Time as This

Friends,

Alan Smith shares this – The story is told of an American tourist who was traveling in the Middle East. He came upon several shepherds whose flocks had intermingled while drinking water from a brook. After an exchange of greetings, one of the shepherds turned toward the sheep and called out, "Manah. Manah. Manah." (Manah means "follow me" in Arabic). Immediately his sheep separated themselves from the rest and followed him. Then one of the two remaining shepherds called out, "Manah. Manah." And his sheep left the common flock to follow him. The traveler then said to the third shepherd, "I would like to try that. Let me put on your cloak and turban and see if I can get the rest of the sheep to follow me."  The shepherd smiled knowingly as the traveler wrapped himself in the cloak, put the turban on his head and called out, "Manah. Manah."  The sheep did not respond to the stranger's voice. Not one of them moved toward him. "Will the sheep ever follow someone other than you?" The traveler asked.  "Oh yes," the shepherd replied, "sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone."  We live in a world where a lot of different "voices" are calling us to follow. Materialism cries out for us to follow. Power and prestige call out. Sensual pleasure makes its plea. It is easy to be pulled in a lot of different directions…that is, unless we have Jesus Christ as our Shepherd. A sheep in His flock will ignore all other voices and listen for the voice of its Master. (John 10:3-5)

Babylon was an ancient city and the seat of a powerful empire. It was also a symbol of mankind’s rebellion against God.  In this passage (Revelation 18), Babylon represents the world system of the “beast.”  In the context of the passage, it is speaking about the city, province of Rome, specifically, but it also represents the world system, in general.  The Apostle John’s readers would certainly understand it as such.  And the message?  With the world system apparently gaining power on a daily basis, Christians need to be aware of the dangers that it presents…and realize all the more, how important it is to desire closeness with God.  Here, John sees the destruction of symbolic or “spiritual” Babylon, that is, the fall of the world system organized by Rome. “Fallen, fallen” is the effect of the dual judgment upon the religious, as well as the political system of Rome.  It is called, “the place of Satan”, or “demons”…as it polluted the whole world with sexual immorality…and was intoxicated with the riches and the pleasures it had to offer.  And yet, such worldly things never satisfy or last permanently.  John wants his readers to understand that loving such things is idolatry -- it is demonic and destructive.  This all parallels Jeremiah 50:8, 51:6, 45, and helps us to understand that in all ages, God’s genuine people have had to separate themselves from that which is worldly and anti-God.

The middle section of this passage (vv. 9-19), describes the mourning of the merchants as they see Babylon/Rome go up in smoke, with their wealth destroyed. Merchants and kings mourn, because business and government are intertwined.  The wealth of the city provides for many nations and employs many people.  Merchants wail…not for the city, but for themselves...showing how self-centered they really are.  Rome, like all other cities, depended upon imports.  John gives an inventory of all that is lost.  God brings to an end their life of luxury and wealth.  There just might be some contemporary parallels with all of this.  In addition, there were about 60 million slaves throughout the empire, about one-third of Rome’s population.  They were bought and sold like furniture, used and abused. This seems to be a disturbing point to John, as he calls it…”the selling of the slaves and souls of men.”

The last section (vv. 20-24), is a contrast to the lament of the kings and merchants – there is the rejoicing of the inhabitants of heaven that Babylon/Rome has fallen. It is important for God’s people to consider events from God’s point of view, and this overthrow represents the judgment of God…it is the vindication of His servants who have been killed. (Revelation 6:9-11)  It is important to understand such “praise” in the context…that it is not a celebration that sinners have been judged, because this breaks God’s heart…but, through God’s righteous judgment, justice has been fulfilled.  Satan has used religion and business to persecute and slay God’s people. Rome and the Empire worked together to oppose the Lord and his people for a period of time.  And it may have seemed to many at the time that God did not care. But, this is not the case, for at the right time, the Lord vindicates His people and destroys both Rome and the empire.  It is not any different with regard to the world system today.  It may seem as if the world wins victories over God and His people, but the world system is going to experience sudden and thorough destruction at the Second Coming of Jesus.  So, as Paul shares with the Thessalonians…we must be ready, be prepared.  There is no way that we can be ready for the Second Coming without preparation.

One time, 48 hours related a story concerning both sides of the abortion issue.  One lady, a “pro-choice” counselor saw abortion as “nether good or evil,” but “just whatever meets the need.” Her point – abortion is amoral (neither good nor bad).  It is situation ethics – if it helps me for the moment, I will do it, and it will be okay.  On the same show, they interviewed a young woman who had had an “amoral abortion.”  She was undergoing some intense emotional suffering and pain.  She did not understand why she was hurting so badly, because the counseling she had received had said – it was no issue.  Sadly, it would seem strange that something with “no moral value” would be capable of producing such intense pain.  Thankfully, the grace and forgiveness of the Lord extends to all, as His forgiveness covers all of us who have sinned and lived in an offensive way…and this is all of us.

A worldly, humanistic (man is God) culture says, there is no right or wrong…it is up to you to decide what is right or wrong.  There is a certain allure to this…no good or evil, just whatever meets your needs -- it is a seductive message.  But, in the eyes of the Lord, and in the eyes of His people -- there is a moral right and wrong.  And to violate a consciousness of this is sin, which produces a sense of guilt and loss.  This can be the case when we allow any opinion of the world to take the place of God’s voice or will on a matter…whether we are discussing euthanasia (the early ending of one’s life, which was…sadly…in the news again this past week), abortion, marital abnormalities, other addictions (whether it be to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, etc.).  When cultures, countries fail, it is often from the consequences of sin.  And as we see in the message from Revelation 18, there is great suffering and mourning associated with it.

It may seem as if believers are losing more and more freedoms to non-believers.  We who are in Christ are coming under greater scrutiny and judgment by our culture, and even the government…and we must know that the worst may yet be to come.  The world may feel as if it is pulling a fast one on Christians, the church…but, as Paul Harvey would say, we know “the rest of the story”…actually, we know the end of the story. Ultimately, for those of us who are in Christ – we win!  We are really citizens of heaven living here on the earth.  This should help us in our struggle against the things of this world that can so easily distract us.  The Lord can and will help us in our struggle.  His Holy Spirit helps us to say “yes” to God, His will, and “no” to sin, Satan and the world. We must trust in Him.

Blessings, Don

Recognizing the Voice of God

Friends,

Dennis Marquardt offers this -- A hunter had a very unusual dog and decided he wanted to show it off to one of his not so up-beat friends.  As they waited, a flock of ducks finally flew overhead and the man shot one.  It fell into the water and the man told his friend, "Now watch this remarkable dog of mine fetch that duck,” he snapped his fingers and the dog took off. The dog ran on top of the water all of the way out to get the duck...and all of the way back!  Certain that his negative friend would be amazed he asked him, "What do you think of my dog now?"  The fellow replied, "Dumb dog…he can't even swim!"

Nothing grips the heart more than misery.  And as the saying goes, misery does love company. Sometimes people, including you and me, are tempted to fall into a trap of living in “unbelief.”  It is one thing to need some “blessed assurance” from time to time in our lives. But, living lives of doubt and negativity can lead to greater mental and spiritual maladies, such as depression.  We talked about this last time in relationship to what Elijah was going through in his life. (1 Kings 19:1-8)  Depression is a crippling disease for many people, and believers are not immune to it. It can be a physical issue that leads to depression.  But so often, it is the result of one of Satan's most effective tools against believers, and this is discouragement, which can lead to many sins.  This, or it at least incapacitate believers to be unproductive, resentful toward others, and angry at God and man.  When this happens, rather than drawing closer to God and His people, such ones tend to withdraw, which is the most damaging thing that they can do.  We do not need to give in to the temptation to isolate ourselves, but learn even more so to trust in the Lord.

When we last left Elijah, he was about to begin a long journey of about two weeks on foot from Beersheba in southern Palestine to Mt. Sinai.  He may have been in a hurry to flee from the wicked queen Jezebel, but he must have made a number of pit stops along the way, as it took about forty days. (19:8) It is likely that the Lord was directing his steps to lead him to places where he needed to minister and to rest.  And there may be something symbolic in the fact that the 40 days could represent the 40 years that Israel spent in the same wilderness region.  It is also probably not so ironic that it was Israel’s unbelief that caused them to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 13-14)…and it is Elijah’s unbelief and fear that have led him on this journey.  And did I also mention that the Lord also spent 40 days in the wilderness when He was tempted? (Matthew 4:2) We can understand that there is some spiritual, symbolic significance to all of this.

At some point, Elijah comes to a cave where he waits on the Lord. (1 Kings 19:9-14) This is something of a “retreat” center – a retreat from the realities he is facing.  The Lord shows up and…He does not rebuke him or instruct him…but he asks him a question – “What are you doing here?”  The prophet’s reply doesn’t really answer the question.  The indication is that Elijah is not necessarily “retreating” in order to solve some problems and get closer to the Lord.  In reality, he is depressed and willing to give up his calling and his life.  Elijah says he has experienced many trials and hardships in ministry, but that he has been faithful to the Lord.  Elijah’s reply seems to reveal a certain pride and self-pity.  God commands him to stand on the mount at the entrance to the cave, but it doesn’t appear that he does this until v.13. Or, he may have stepped out of the cave, only to flee back into it when the Lord shows up with manifestations of His power.

“The Lord passes by” reminds us of Moses’ experience on the mount (Exodus 33:21-22).  All Elijah needs is a fresh vision of the power and glory of God to get him going, right?  First, the Lord causes a great wind to pass by, a wind so strong that it breaks the rocks and tears up the mountain.  Then, the Lord causes a great earthquake that shakes the mountain, and finally the Lord brings a fire.  The technical word for these manifestations of power is “theophany”, which means “God appears”.  But, there is no direct message from the Lord in any of these manifestations.  What does God seek to do in Elijah’s life by means of these awesome and frightening object lessons?  For one thing, he is reminding His servant that everything in nature is obedient to Him…He doesn’t lack for a variety of tools in order to accomplish He work.  Yet, after the dramatics, there is a “still, small voice” which is translated, “a gentle whisper, or a tone of gentle blowing.”  This reference might remind us of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus, concerning the power and working of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:1ff)  In fact, “still, small voice” is still a reference to the Holy Spirit that we use today.

When Elijah hears the voice, he steps out of the cave to meet the Lord. The mighty power and great noise of the previous displays did not stir him, but when he hears the still, small voice, he recognizes the voice of God.  And now, Elijah hears a repeat of the same question that the Lord posed in v.9 – “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  And Elijah, once again, repeats the same evasive answer. In essence, God seems to be saying to Elijah – “You called fire down from heaven, you had the prophets of Baal slain, and you prayed down a terrific rainstorm, but now you feel like a failure.  But, you must realize that I don’t usually work in a manner that is loud, impressive and dramatic.  My still, small voice brings the Word to the listening ear and heart.” This is an important message to consider.

In this day of mammoth meetings, loud music and high pressure everything, it is difficult for people to understand that God rarely works by means of the dramatic and the colossal. When he wanted to start the Jewish nation, He sent a baby – Isaac; and when He wanted to deliver that nation from bondage, He sent another baby – Moses; and when He wanted to teach His people a lesson in faith and trust, He sent a young boy named David to defeat a giant named Goliath. And, when God wanted to save a world, He sent His Son as a weak and helpless baby.  This offers some perspective for us when we consider God’s work among humankind.

Clashes at Ferguson, ISIS, Ebola, wars and rumors of wars…there is certainly plenty to occupy people’s thinking and give them reason to worry.  But, the environment we live in today in America, particularly, still does not approach the vile nature and culture of what Christians had to deal with in the first century.  Even in places in the world today where it seems that things are spinning out of control, much as Elijah thought his world was spinning out of control, there is still only one solution that truly matters – listening the God’s still, small voice.  What if God does want our attention?  What if God just wants to speak to us from the ruins that are left after disaster has passed us by?  What are you doing here in a nation that is fast forsaking its God?  What are you doing here when there is talk about removing the nativity from Christmas? What are you doing here in a nation that is so consumed with the rights of every religion that Christianity barely has any right at all?  The still, small voice calls out to you and to me -- "What are you doing here?"  One thing is certain -- listening to God, trusting in His Son, and being led by His Holy Spirit is the only way to peace and spiritual prosperity, whether we are in a disaster or in the calm.

Blessings, Don