Psalm 81:8-16 [ESV] says,
8 “Hear, O My people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to Me! 9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 10 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But My people did not listen to My voice; Israel would not submit to Me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
13 “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward Him, and their fate would last forever. 16 But He would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the Rock I would satisfy you.”
Things have not changed much throughout the ensuing, rolling centuries. The Apostle Paul wrote of the rebellion of the people of his day, stating in his Epistle to the Romans,
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-31 [ESV])
What the Psalmist and the Apostle Paul wrote of sounds eerily like what we see transpiring in our own times today: People in outright rebellion against God and people encouraging and reinforcing as acceptable behavior what God calls an abomination.
Just as He did with the Israelites of old, though, God gently calls His people home to Him today, even those who are the most rebellious against Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27-30 [ESV], 27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
May we all pray for the repentance of those lost in their rebellion and sin a round us, as did the Psalmist who stated,
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15 so may You pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your hurricane! 16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, 18 that they may know that You alone, Whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the Earth. (Psalm 83:13-18 [ESV])
8 “Hear, O My people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to Me! 9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 10 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But My people did not listen to My voice; Israel would not submit to Me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
13 “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward Him, and their fate would last forever. 16 But He would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the Rock I would satisfy you.”
Things have not changed much throughout the ensuing, rolling centuries. The Apostle Paul wrote of the rebellion of the people of his day, stating in his Epistle to the Romans,
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-31 [ESV])
What the Psalmist and the Apostle Paul wrote of sounds eerily like what we see transpiring in our own times today: People in outright rebellion against God and people encouraging and reinforcing as acceptable behavior what God calls an abomination.
Just as He did with the Israelites of old, though, God gently calls His people home to Him today, even those who are the most rebellious against Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27-30 [ESV], 27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
May we all pray for the repentance of those lost in their rebellion and sin a round us, as did the Psalmist who stated,
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15 so may You pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your hurricane! 16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, 18 that they may know that You alone, Whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the Earth. (Psalm 83:13-18 [ESV])
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