Three Harbingers Of Doom Part 4

The third evident sign, the third harbinger of doom is the decline of social order.

Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

When no order exists, chaos is guaranteed. In the twentieth chapter of the book of Judges we are even witness to an all-out civil war, wherein the children of Israel turned against the children of Benjamin and struck them down with the edge of the sword. These were all Israelites, just from different tribes, but because there was no order, because lawlessness abounded, brother turned against brother and unprecedented chaos reigned supreme.

Israel had no king, and as such everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Not having learned the requisite lessons that history would have gladly taught us, it is as it was, and more than ever before everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes.

More often than not one hears the qualifiers ‘I feel’ or ‘I think’ in regards to the Word of God, and most often what we are feeling or thinking is in opposition to the Bible. I’ve said it before, and it is certain that I will say it again, if our feelings or our thoughts on a doctrinal or Biblical matter contradict the Word itself, then we are in open rebellion toward God, worshiping idols of our own making rather than the Christ.

Oddly enough, when people feel a certain way about a given Biblical doctrine, or think a certain way about a certain passage, they are never inclined toward a more sanctified walk, or a greater degree of faithfulness and righteousness, but rather toward a widening of the narrow path of faith.

We cannot do what is right in our own eyes, we must do what is right in God’s eyes, and it is man who must submit to the authority of God, and not the other way around.

Israel refused to repent, Israel refused to live in accordance with the laws of God, yet when it came to it they thought they could force God into defending them, they thought they could force God into protecting them, and they thought they could force God into giving them victory over the Philistines.

‘Let’s bring the ark of God into the camp, surely that will compel God to give us victory over the enemy, it’s His ark, His laws are contained therein, surely because we have brought the ark with us, our victory is assured.’

Unlike man however, God cannot be pressured into doing something against His nature, God cannot be made to overlook sin simply because we carry a trinket with us. He is righteous and holy and altogether just, and He acts and reacts in accordance to His nature.

We fall into our own snare of self-delusion if for one second we believe that we can somehow find a way around repentance and turning our hearts back toward God as a nation. Israel tried, and they failed miserably. They wanted to keep their idols, they wanted to hold onto their sin, they wanted to continue in their rebellion, but also have the protection and provision of God.

A nation in rebellion against God, cannot expect to have His protection! A nation in rebellion against God, cannot expect to have favor in His sight!

‘But we have ‘in God we trust’ on our currency, surely that should count for something.’

Israel had the ark of God in the camp, and they too thought that should count for something. We cannot despise the things of God, we cannot rebel against His will, we cannot declare our independence from Him all the while expecting Him to be like a long suffering grandfatherly type, who just shakes his head, shrugs his shoulders and gives us what we’ve been asking Him for anyway.

When men attempt to remove the justice of God and the righteousness of God from among His attributes, then it is easy for them to conclude that no matter how they dishonor Him, no matter how they marginalize Him, no matter how they bring offense to Him, He must be there, ever willing to give us victory over our enemies because His love will compel Him to do so. The only problem is that although men have attempted to remove these attributes, although they’ve attempted to expunge the notion of God’s justice and God’s righteousness in regards to who He is, and conveniently leave only the love aspect of God intact, God Himself has not changed, nor has He done away with either justice or righteousness.

Psalm 7:11-15, “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. Behold the wicked travails with iniquity, conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made.”

So when exactly is God angry with the wicked, is it just once in a while, was it just in the Old Testament days? No, God is angry with the wicked every day, and if the wicked does not turn back, if the wicked does not repent, if the wicked does not humble himself and seek the face of God, then God will sharpen His sword.

Because we have chosen rebellion rather than repentance, because we have chosen iniquity rather than righteousness, because we have hardened our hearts as God called us to turn back to Him, He is sharpening His sword, and bending His bow, and preparing for Himself instruments of death.

The harbingers of doom are evident even to the most obtuse among us, even to those who refuse to believe that God still judges in righteousness, and that His justice is perfect. Although the following might be unpopular, even politically incorrect, it is nevertheless true, we have dug the ditch into which we have fallen with our own hands, and in our rebellion we refuse to acknowledge that there is but one remedy, one way out of the pit, and that is by turning back to God.

Jeremiah 51:9, “We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.”

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.