A Proverb and A Byword

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

In my bible study of King Solomon I ran across this scripture from II Chronicles 7:20 that stopped me to search the meaning and history. These same words are repeated three times in scripture in Deuteronomy 28:37, I Kings 9:6-7, and II Chronicles 7:20 by three different writers of the Books.  Moses was the author of Deuteronomy.  Jeremiah is believed to be the author of I Kings.  Ezra is believed to be the author of II Chronicles.  Both Jeremiah and Ezra wrote God's words to King Solomon during his reign of Israel.  The repetition of these words is what struck my spirit today.  He warns the Kings and Jewish nation that if they do not follow His statutes and commandments they will become a ridiculed people.  They will be laughed at, mocked, held in low esteem, an object of horror thrown out of their Promised Land by the very God who brought them to the land of milk and honey.  Stories of their fall from favor and great demise will be told throughout the world forever.  

II Chronicles 7:20

(NKJV) then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

(NIV) then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

(NLT)  then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

In the context of this scripture God is speaking to King Solomon and warning him not to fall away from the statutes and commandments of God and to live a life according to the laws God gave to the Tribes of Israel through Moses.  This exact same warning had been spoken by Moses to the Israelite's almost five centuries earlier.

Deuteronomy 28:7

(NKJV) And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you. 

(NIV) You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.

(NLT) You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.

I Kings 9:7

(NKJV) then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

(NIV) then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

(NLT) then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

As I read and studied the words "proverb and byword" I began to understand why the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, the Tribes of Judah, the Hebrews, the Chosen People of God, are ridiculed and harassed today.  God warned them not to fall away from His statues and commandments. He had set them aside as a people of His very own.  He had called them out of slavery and bondage and shown them life with Him was miraculous and worthy.  He loved them dearly but they did not love Him in return.  They loved themselves more. They wandered off into the world and the evils of the world.  After all He had done to save them and care for them, they turned their backs on Him.  Then they crucified His son, the Messiah that God sent to save the Jews and Gentiles.  The Jews did not want a passive, peaceful Messiah.  They wanted someone to come in and kill their enemies.  They wanted a ruler who would bring peace to the land after he had killed their enemies.  But as it turned out they were the Messiah's enemies.  The religious snakes and vipers, the Pharisees and Sadducee's that lead the Jewish people were far from the statutes and commandments of the law of God. They made the common people hold to all the laws yet they did not.  Greed and power for these leaders were at the top of their own selfish purposes.  When they crucified Jesus, one of their own Jewish people, they become more of a "proverb and byword" to the world.  They sealed themselves into a lifetime of ridicule and mockery before the whole world.

Today the nation of Israel is strong and powerful even while living in a land constantly torn by war and killing.  What is left of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem has been taken over by Islam and serves as a worship center for their false religion.  They mock and ridicule the Jewish people right in front of all the world by being in control of what is left of this sacred Jewish temple.  All of their neighboring nations ridicule and hate them. They mock them and torment them just as the scriptures say would happen.  The Jewish people are still looking for a killing, fighting, warrior Messiah who will never come.  When they rejected Jesus as Messiah they rejected Father God.  They are still fighting against the Father who warned them to worship and serve only Him or suffer the consequences of their unbelief. 

From my studies of Revelation I believe that only during the Tribulation years will the spirits of the Jewish people finally wake up and see Jesus as Christ.  The truth will be revealed to the Israelite's when Jesus Messiah comes back for the final battle for the souls of mankind. They will kneel before Him as will all unbelievers of the world. The final Judgement will be upon them. 

Lord have mercy.

The Consequences of Sin

Friday, July 09, 2021
7:34 AM

This morning my scripture readings are in Samuel 11 and 12 speaking about King David and his adultery with Bathsheba, murder of Uriah and death of his innocent child.  It's the sad story of what happens to us and others when we sin. I shed a tear for this tiny infant who did nothing wrong yet never was allow to have a life.  David chose to sin and the path of that sin led to the child's destruction.   

Our sins have consequences.  Those consequences can surface quickly or they can surface some time later in life.  Sin that is committed and exposed quickly can lead to repentance and forgiveness.  Sin that is committed and hidden for periods of time can surface at unexpected times and cause havoc in the lives of the sinner and the lives of the people closest to the sinner.  A sin committed, admitted, repented from, forgiven of, is the easiest way for us to learn.  The Father cannot forgive us until we come before Him and ask for that forgiveness.  How can we learn to "Go, and sin no more" if we do not admit our sin?  We cannot.  Hidden sin sits inside us to fester and boil like gangrene. Eventually, left uncared for and untreated, it will lead to death.

David knew he had sinned.  He knew he lustfully took another man's wife. He knew he was responsible for the death of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah.  He knew the mess he had made for himself and for Bathsheba.  He cried out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy during the days while the baby was suffering from an illness after his birth.  David knew that when the baby died the Lord had said, "No, I will not and cannot spare this child."  The decision and consequences of David's sin had been decided and an innocent child paid the price.

Fast forward thousands of years, and innocent babies are still paying the price for the sins of their father's and mother's.  Today as I write this, I am reminded of the cost.  Over 62 million unborn children have died from abortion in the United States alone, since 1973 when abortion was deemed "legal" in the United States.  Each one of the lives of these millions of babies laid in the hands of their father's and mother's. The choice was made and those lives were terminated.  Just as in David's life, murder was the sin.  Just as in David's life, repentance can lead to forgiveness.  Just as in David's life, the consequences are carried throughout the rest of life.  Not one single woman can forget the aborted child regardless if she is a believer or a non-believer, she remembers.  She may not have walked with the Lord at the time of the choice but once she found a relationship with Him, the death of the child tore and tears into her heart.   She is only able to live with the choice, knowing that the forgiveness and mercy of God is there though the heartache will never go away.  The innocent child paid the ultimate price for her sin.

I can say all of this because I too had to make a choice in 1973 to have the child out of wedlock or end the life of that child to make my life easier.  I was 18 years old.  I have no idea how different my life would have been had I chosen to abort my child.  It would have been a completely different life.  Many, many people in my life would not be here today.  My heart breaks for each woman of God who made the choice to abort her child.  She lives with that choice and it never goes away.  Forgiveness is one thing but forgetting is totally different.  The face of that child will haunt every single Godly woman and I am sure that many of the father's are also haunted by the choice to end their child's life.  We learn to live with the consequences of our choices but we always remember. Those who forget are doomed to repeat the sin in one way or the other.

King David was selfish and took what he wanted without thinking of the lasting consequences.  He was a man of God and the Lord had blessed him in so many ways before this horrific sin of the murder of Uriah was committed.  After the sin and forgiveness he was still blessed by the Lord.  He made other mistakes, committed other sins but continually returned to the Lord for forgiveness, guidance, and wisdom until his death as an old man. 

Psalm 139:7-8 (NKJV)
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

Job 34:21-22 (NKJV)
For His eyes are on the ways of man,
And He sees all his steps.
There is no darkness nor shadow of death
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; Because of the steadfast love of the Lord, we are not cut off; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Like David, we can ask the Lord for mercy from the consequences of our sin.  We can ask that He spare others from the consequences but need to be prepared for whatever His answer may be.  We can repent, pick up the pieces of life and "Go, and sin no more".  We can more forward toward what is ahead, the prize of eternal life with Him, without spot or blemish, but only by the covering of the blood Jesus at the Cross.  We must always remember that in this life we will suffer the consequences of our actions and our choices and others in our life will also bear those burdens.

Galatians 6:1-2 (CEB)
Brothers and sisters, if a person is caught doing something wrong, you who are spiritual should restore someone like this with a spirit of gentleness. Watch out for yourselves so you won’t be tempted too. Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. 

For close to 50 years now I have walked with my sisters in their choice. My heart for the unbeliever who is tormented is greater than for those who believe in repentance and the forgiveness of sin.  One is lost but the other is found.  One is saved and the other is not.  I truly want the lost to seek and find the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sin offered by Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

My road was very hard because of the choice I made in 1973.  I continued to make many more mistakes as I matured and grew into adulthood but the Lord was faithful to carry me through and now at an old age can see His plans for my life and the life of my child.  She and I are walking testimonies of the power of God and the power of choice.  We are able to witness to others that even in the darkest moments, the Lord is with us and choices always have consequences.