Point of No Return

During the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign in Jerusalem at the age of twenty-six, the King gave command that the Temple was to have major repairs done to it after decades of abuse and neglect. The carpenters, builders, and masons were to be given money from the Temple treasury to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the House of God. During the renovation project the high priest, Hilkiah, came across the Book of the Law of Moses that had been laid aside, neglected, or maybe even hidden for safe-keeping during the reign of the evil kings of Judah, the worst being King Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh, along with his father, Amon. King Josiah’s appointed scribe, Shaphan, brought what had been lost but now was found to the King from the hand of Hilkiah, and was instructed to read what was written in the Book of the Law to the King. Upon hearing the commands and statutes God required of His People written in the Book, King Josiah tore his garment in the act of showing great grief, shame, and conviction for the nation and its inhabitants’ disobedience to God. Fearing the wrath of God upon the nation, King Josiah set about to obey the Word of God to the fullest.

Upon calling all the people throughout the land of Judah to the Temple in Jerusalem, including the elders, priests and prophets, King Josiah read “in their ears all the words of the Book of the covenant which was found in the House of the LORD.” At the conclusion of his reading, he covenanted before God and all the people to walk in the ways of the LORD and keep His commandments, testimonies and statutes with all his heart and soul, for which all the people in attendance covenanted to do also.

 King Josiah set to work commanding all the images and altars to Baal his grandfather Manasseh had erected in the Temple during his reign be destroyed. He ordered all the high places throughout the Kingdom of Judah that had been set apart for idol worship be razed and for the priests who had burned incense to Baal, the sun, moon, stars and planets to be removed. He commanded the destruction of the image Molech in the valley of Hinnom where the sacrificing of children took place, “that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.” King Josiah even ordered “the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun” to be removed, and “the chariots of the sun” be burned.

But the point of no return had already been reached, for “Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him withal.” Although King Josiah desired in his heart to do all he could to lead his nation back to God, in less than two decades following his death the Kingdom of Judah was carried captive to Babylon. “Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of His sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; and also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.”  (2 Kings 21-24)

REPENT, for the Kingdom of GOD is at Hand

John the Baptist’s ministry in the wilderness focused on “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As Jesus began His earthly ministry following His baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist and His forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, Jesus message echoed John’s, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, it is recorded in Scripture, “They straightway left their nets… they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.” Jesus not only called them to become followers of Him, but to repent of their former way of life, leaving all behind, and becoming new creations in Christ through repentance, “to turn from sin… to feel regret or contrition… to change one’s mind” as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. (Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17-22; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

A clear picture of repentance is given by the Prophet Jonah in the Old Testament as he finally found his way to the city of Nineveh via a great fish God prepared for him in judgment of Jonah’s clear violation of God’s command to warn the Ninevites of God’s coming destruction of their wicked city. As Jonah entered Nineveh, “that great city” with its 100 foot high walls compassing sixty miles, Jonah’s message to them from God was, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” There was no debating, no time to be wasted; the Ninevites, including the king, “believed God,” threw off their wicked ways, clothed themselves in sackcloth and ashes, proclaimed a fast to be observed not only by the people, but by every beast, herd and flock, and cried mightily unto God. Unlike Jonah who had previously found a boat heading in the opposite direction, seeking to run from God’s presence and His initial command, the people immediately repented, seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy. It was said by the people of Nineveh, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:1-9)

God was pleased with the Ninevites contrition and turning from sin when presented with their foretold coming death and destruction, “and He did it not.” Throughout God’s Word man is told of God’s coming judgment upon each individual, just as He gave the Ninevehites warning. Because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and “as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” it behooves each individual to repent and be saved, for Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Jonah 3:10; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:27; Luke 13:3)

The True ROCK

In the closing days of Moses’ life God commanded Moses to write a song for Israel, a song that “When many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness.” God had shared with both Moses and Joshua the direction, contrary to His commands, the Children of Israel would go once they entered the Promised Land, eventually succumbing to the idol worship they would encounter. “Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the Children of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 31-32)

Moses began the song by declaring the God who had brought them out of bondage in Egypt into the glorious light of The Promised Land, “HE is The Rock, His work is perfect… Just and right is He.” Upon recounting God’s leading from the time of Adam to the present, Moses then included in his song a time when they would “forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation… Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.”

The song continued that because of their turning away from God a foolish nation would arise, provoking them to anger, and the Children of Israel would be able to put to flight a thousand of the enemy by one man, and ten thousand by two, made possible only “except their Rock [the Children of Israel’s] had sold them, and The LORD had shut them up? For their rock is not as Our Rock… For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.”

 In the closing lines of the Song of Moses the Children of Israel would learn was to be sung, “The LORD shall judge His people… And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted… Let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.” In full assurance it is then proclaimed, “See now that I, even I, am HE, and there is NO god with me.” The Rock of man’s salvation is none other than God Himself… “Upon This ROCK I will build My Church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,” (Matthew 16:16-18).

Reaping What’s Been Sown

As America celebrates another Memorial Day remembering those who have given their lives for our precious freedoms, our once great nation finds itself in the throes of reaping what has been sown over the last 50 years. Since 1962 prayer has been thrown out of our public schools, the killing of innocent babies in the womb has been legalized, free love and mind-altering drugs of the 60s generation are rampant throughout the culture, and God-ordained marriage is witnessing its demise per those who seek to destroy its 6,000 years of history. For a country that seemingly has turned its back on God upon Whose Word it was founded, may we repent and return to our First Love before it is too late, knowing it is written in His Word, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” (Galatians 6:7).

God warned the Children of Israel before taking possession of the Promised Land that if after they had remained long in the land and they were to forget His covenant with them by corrupting themselves and doing evil in the sight of God to provoke Him to anger, they would soon perish from off the land and be destroyed (Deuteronomy 4). It was first King Nebuchadnezzar and his army who conquered and destroyed Jerusalem 850 years later, taking all but those who were sick and feeble captive back to Babylon including the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and the Hebrew prophet Daniel. After 70 years of captivity and the Jews return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls, it is recorded in A.D. 70 the Roman General Titus overthrew the city again, burning it to the ground with the people scattering to the four corners of the earth as God had warned them would happen for their disobedience (v.27). It was not until Israel’s rebirth on May 14, 1948, “a nation born in a day,” that God has allowed the Children of Israel to return to the Promised Land where they will remain in preparation for His Second Coming, never to be scattered again (Isaiah 66).

If God brought destruction to the people of Israel for their disobedience to Him, “provoking Him to jealousy with strange gods… with abominations provoked they Him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God… and hast forgotten God that formed thee,” He said, “I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very forward generation, children in whom is no faith” (Deuteronomy 32:15-20), how shall America escape His judgments that are sure to come if we neglect so great salvation? We are doomed as all nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17).

“And that, knowing the time,

That now it is high time to awake out of sleep;

The night is far spent, the day is at hand:

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,

And let us put on the Armour of Light.”

Romans 13:11-12

Sin in the Camp

The walls of Jericho had fallen. The Children of Israel were celebrating the victory and anxious to move on to the next conquest in their return to the Promised Land after being slaves in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40). The Canaanite city of Ai was scouted out and it was determined a small band of two to three thousand men was all that would be needed to take it. The others could remain in the camp resting from their seven days of marching around Jericho prior to its destruction.

The day of battle came when the inhabitants of Ai defended themselves and sent the Israelites running from the battle back towards their encampment. Thirty-six men of Israel lost their lives that day. The victory celebration over Jericho became the lamentation of a lost battle. Joshua 7 tells us Joshua tore his clothes, fell to the earth with his face on the ground before the Ark of the Covenant containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments until evening, he and the elders of Israel putting dust upon their heads in abject defeat. What one day was a mountaintop experience in Jericho became a valley of despair throughout the camp.

In response to Joshua’s prayer of agony to the Lord concerning their defeat at Ai and the loss of life, the LORD told Joshua to get up off the ground and deal with the sin that was in the camp. Through the process of elimination led by God it was determined Achan of the tribe of Judah had been the one to sin. Achan confessed to Joshua that it was indeed he who had sinned against the LORD God of Israel in taking a Babylonish garment from the ruins of Jericho, along with several pieces of silver and gold which God had specifically commanded before the Battle of Jericho to be collected from the destroyed city and put into the treasury of the LORD (Joshua 6:17-19). Because of one man’s sin in disobeying God’s well-defined command prior to battle the entire Israelite nation experienced defeat. Once Achan’s sin was dealt with, victory over Ai was achieved.

With God sin is not a little thing to be laughed at or mocked. It is very serious and can result in defeat in one’s life, let alone the life of a nation. There are no big sins and little sins with God. All sin is equally deplorable in His sight because of His holiness. For those who desire to achieve victory in life it is imperative to follow the admonition of Moses to the new generation of wanderers in the wilderness before their entrance into the Promised Land, “Thou shalt keep therefore His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee,” (Deuteronomy 6:40).