God's Character:

The Best News in

the

Universe

by Dr. Elliot O. Douglin

Author of The New World Economic Order, The Hour of His Judgment is Come,

Ministration of Holy Angels, Absolute Rest and Principles of Sabbath Rest,

The True Church Prepares For Her Final Conflict, The Mystery Of Three Choices,

The Gathering Of The Nations, The Sealing Work, Abiding In Christ,

The Power of God's Word in the Science of Faith...

Copyright © 2001 by

Truth For The Final Generation

Contents

Chapter Ten
The Curse

Chapter Eleven
Wars In The Old Testament

Chapter Twelve
The Language Problem

Chapter Thirteen
God Protects

Chapter Ten
The Curse

"Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left." Isaiah 24:6.

This text in Isaiah points forward to the ultimate end-time global results of the curse. But in order to understand the nature of the curse we need to study how it all started.

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and obeyed Satan, sin entered the human family and the world.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.

You can read the account of the fall of mankind in Genesis Chapter 3 in your own Bible.

Genesis 3:14-19 describes God as the One who pronounced a curse upon the serpent, the woman, the man and also the earth itself.

"And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

The language of this passage describes God as the One who, by direct decree or direct action, inflicted the curse upon the serpent, the woman, the man and the earth. But, by now, the reader should clearly understand how to interpret such language!

We have already (see Chapter 8) studied the list of curses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and the mechanism by which such curses come in Deu. 31:16-18.

The pain of childbirth, the curse on the ground causing it to produce thorns and thistles, as well as all the other curses, all resulted from sin separating our planet from God's perfect government.

Thorns, thistles, tares and poisonous plants were never made by our loving Creator. We can be sure of this by reading Genesis 1:31.

At the end of creation-week God pronounced everything "very good!"

Jesus also told a parable which sheds light on this matter in Matthew 13:24-30.

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

It is obvious therefore that the Creator did not create a single noxious plant, thorn, or thistle. After sin entered, poisonous plants sprang up. In the parable of the sower the question was asked of the Master, "Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? How then hath it tares?" The master answered, "An enemy hath done this." All thorns, thistles, and poisonous plants are the result of the perversion and degeneration caused by Satan's government of sin.

The curse, then, is the result of sin. When God pronounced the curse He was simply announcing the results of transgression. Yet it was the judgement of God, for He judged correctly that since Adam had sold out the world to Satan's government, He (God) could do no more than to allow or permit Satan's government of sin to take over because that was man's choice.

But Satan's government is the curse! Only God's government can give and maintain order, beauty, perfection and life, therefore when God handed the world over to Satan's government He knew that degeneracy, disorder, decay, evil and death would be the terrible results of Adam's choice. When God pronounced the curse

He was simply declaring the inevitable consequences of sin, consequences which come not from God but from that terrible separation from Him which sin causes.

As we approach the end, the concentration or intensity of sin in the world is rapidly and progressively increasing to the critical end point of separation.

The Spirit of God, persistently rejected, is gradually but definitely being withdrawn from the world. This means that the effects of the curse will become more and more severe as we approach the end.

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."2 Timothy 3:1-9.

"The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." Isa. 24:3-6.

Chapter Eleven
Wars In The Old Testament

Another matter which perplexes many a thinking mind is the matter of warfare in the Old Testament. Why did God command the Israelites in Old Testament times to war and to kill? And if God is a God of war how do we square that with the command to love our enemies?

The problem is not as difficult as it seems. All we need to do is to apply the interpretive Biblical principles mentioned in the past ten chapters.

First of all let us go to Jesus. He is the One who declares the Father, who reveals the truth about God.

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 1:17,18.

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.

What does Jesus teach about war and fighting? We turn to two gospel passages John 18:36 and Matthew 26:51, 52.

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."

"And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

These passages of scripture clearly teach that neither fighting nor the use of coercive weapons of destruction has any place in the kingdom of God.

Wars and fights are the result of hatred, covetousness and illicit desire. In fact the self-centred or carnal mind is at war with God; is enmity against God and therefore at war with its fellowman as well.

"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4:4.

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace… So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Romans 8:6,8.

Therefore man's method of warfare is not God's method.

Many of the directives God gave to His ancient people were given because of the hardness of their hearts. When they stubbornly chose a way other than His way, God in His graciousness and love would give them the best advice on how to operate in the way which they chose. Meanwhile He would be patiently working to bring them back to His ideal way. But in most cases He was so misunderstood that the people believed their (wrong) way to be His or the ideal way!

Let us prove this from the Bible by listening to Jesus Himself, the True and Faithful Witness.

"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."

Jesus explained God's way for marriage. He then explained that hard-heartedness had led them to mistreat and put away their wives for any cause and, because of that, God through Moses had given advice on how best the putting away was to be done.

But "putting-away" or divorce is not God's way and therefore we are not to conclude that a particular command or directive is God's way without carefully studying the principles and circumstances involved.

So it was with polygamy and slavery. No Christian believes that either of these was or is God's will for mankind. God's ancient people copied these practices from the surrounding nations but God still continued to work along with them and even to give them advice on how best to administer or manage those particular ungodly traditions. (Read Leviticus 25:39-55; Exodus 21:1-11).

We have already established from Jesus that military warfare is not of God, and therefore could not have been God's will for His ancient people. We can also prove this from the Old Testament. God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage without their having to resort to warfare. His will for them was a warless march to the Promised Land. In fact He did not even want them to see war. Listen to the word of God in Exodus 13:17.

"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt." Exodus 13:17.

It was God's intention that just as He had delivered them from Egypt without their having to engage in military warfare, so too, He would deliver them from their enemies en route to the Promised Land. And this He told them in Deuteronomy 1:30.

"The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes." Deuteronomy 1:30.

We can correctly conclude therefore that it was not God's will for them to gain the Promised Land by warfare but by faith, which would produce strict obedience to all His laws.

But the Israelites departed gradually and progressively from God's way, choosing rather the way of military warfare. They also chose the way of civil punishments which their surrounding nations practiced. Eventually they chose the monarchial system for they wanted a king like all the other nations around them.

"Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."1 Samuel 8:4,5.

By choosing a human king they were in fact rejecting God as their king.

"But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for

they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee." 1 Samuel 8:6-8.

God warned them of the results of the monarchial system.

"Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.

And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." 1 Samuel 8:9-18.

Notwithstanding all this the Israelites stubbornly persisted in demanding that they must have a king.

"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." 1 Samuel 8: 19-20.

Pay careful attention to the three reasons they gave for wanting a king.

(i) to be like all the nations

(ii) that the king may judge them

(iii) that the king should go out before them and fight their battles

They therefore confirmed their choice of a judicial system and a military system like those of all the surrounding nations.

What God did next was an amazing revelation of His gracious character. Rather than rejecting them altogether He offered to give them the best counsel in their worse choice.

God actually "selected" and anointed Israel's first king!

"And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people." 1 Samuel 9:17

"Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?…

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king." 1 Samuel 10: 1, 24.

Anybody who reads 1 Samuel 10:1,24 without reading 1Samuel 8 could and most likely would conclude that it was God's will for Israel to have a king.

But no, it was not. He was simply giving them the best advice and doing the most He could do for them in the wrong course they had chosen.

In the same way since they had chosen the method of military warfare all that God could do was to give them the best advice on how to operate within the wrong course they had already chosen.

In advising the Israelites about warfare God would indicate whether their enemy had "filled up the cup of their iniquity" that is, whether they had irreversibly cut themselves off from His righteousness.

If God had been doing it His way He would have "given up" the enemy to reap the full consequences of their iniquity and they would have met with total destruction without any military intervention by the Israelites. But since Israel had chosen their own monarchial, judicial and military systems, all that God could do was to give them the best counsel under the prevailing circumstances. He commanded Israel to utterly wipe out the enemy by their chosen military method. But just as how His command to Samuel to choose and to anoint a king is not to be interpreted to mean that the monarchial system is God's way, neither are we to interpret His military commands to mean that the way of military warfare is God's way.

There is an interesting account in 1 Samuel 15 which is worth reading.

Why did God command Saul to kill all the Amalekites?

Israel had chosen the monarchial and military system and therefore God could not use Hs method in their behalf, this they had rejected.

The Amalekites had passed their limit in sin; they were irreversibly set against God. If God were employing His way He would have "withdrawn" from the Amalekites and they would have perished.

If Saul had brought back any Amalekite property to Israel he would have brought into the Camp of Israel that which had been separated from God and would have put Israel at risk of forfeiting the Divine protection. Thus the best advice God could have given was the one He had given.

We have already seen that Jesus (in Matthew 5) explained the difference between directives given to the people because of their stubbornness in following the way of the world on one hand and on the other, God's ideal will.

Here is another example.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Matthew 5:38,39.

What a wonderful God. He worked along with His people in their wrong ways while always seeking to lead them to His perfect ways.

Chapter Twelve
The Language Problem

Again we start this chapter by going back to the text which holds the key to correct interpretation of the scriptures.

"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthian 2:11-14.

The natural mind cannot receive the deep eternal truths of the Divine Nature and character.

In fact the real truth of God's character and ways, is foolishness to the natural mind!

We need the Holy Spirit in order to understand the deep things of God. The Spirit of God in the word of God enables the spiritually-minded searcher for truth to arrive at truth by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. This means allowing scripture to interpret scripture.

God's ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than our human ways and thoughts. Moreover the Bible is written in human language which is imperfect. Therefore we must allow God to tell us what He means when the Bible uses certain human words to describe His ways. God must give us the true understanding of His word.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8,9.

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." 1 John 5:20.

There is one very critically important principle which must be understood in order to correctly interpret statements about God's behaviour. It is this:

THE BIBLE DESCRIBES GOD AS DOING THAT WHICH HE PERMITS OR THAT WHICH HE DOES NOT PREVENT.

Let us prove this principle from the Bible. Read 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14.

"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse." 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14.

Verse 14 clearly states that God slew king Saul.

Now read how Saul was actually killed in the earlier verses of the same chapter, 1 Chronicles chapter 10.

"And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died. So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together." 1 Chronicles 10: 3-6.

King Saul had turned away from God very early in his career as king. He had stubbornly rebelled against the command of God concerning the war with the Amalekites. Listen to what Samuel had told him in 1 Samuel 15:23.

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." 1 Samuel 15:23.

Saul having separated himself from God by his own iniquity, went to war without God's protection. God "gave him up" and "permitted" his enemies to kill him.

Bible language says, "God slew him", but that means he was separated from God's protection and God could have done nothing to help him. What God permitted, He is described as doing.

Let us now consider another example.

"And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah." 2 Samuel 24:1.

Here again the text plainly states that God moved (or tempted) David to number Israel and Judah.

But to number Israel was to commit sin because God had previously commanded that such was not to be done. In fact David's conscience pricked him after he had numbered Israel.

"And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly." 2 Samuel 24:10.

How could God have moved David to commit sin when, according to James 1:13, God does not tempt or move anyone to sin?

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." James 1:13.

Obviously what 2 Samuel 24:1 is really saying is that God permitted David to be moved or tempted by Satan. God has given us all freedom of choice, we can choose to give in to sinful desires or we can choose to resist such desires by God's enabling grace.

This interpretation of 2 Samuel 24:1 is confirmed in 1 Chronicles 21:1 which describes exactly the same event but informs us that it was Satan who moved David to sin by numbering Israel!

"And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." 1 Chronicles 21:1.

For example number 3 we turn to Isaiah 45:7 and Amos 3:6.

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." Isaiah 45:7.

"Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" Amos 3:6

These passages declare that God creates evil, that God does evil. But what is the correct interpretation and understanding of such statements?

First of all let us prove that God is never the source of evil that He never does evil.

"Thou are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?" Hebrews 1:13.

"The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Psalm 145:17.

"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." 1 John 3:8-10.

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:13-17.

These passages of scripture teach, incontrovertibly, that God is never the cause nor the source of evil.

Therefore when passages like Isaiah 45:7 and Amos 3:6 state that God creates evil or does evil, the only correct interpretation must be that God allows or permits evil.

Satan's government of sin is the source and cause of all evil. God is the Source of all good.

This is further confirmed by Job. 2:10.

"But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." Job 2:10.

How did Job receive evil at the hand of God? He received evil at the hand of God when God permitted Satan to strike him with evil.

Darkness is symbolic of sin and all its evil consequences. Light is symbolic of righteousness and all its results of good. Listen again to the message which Jesus brought to earth about His Father.

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5.

This brings us to another critically important principle of correct interpretation of statements concerning God's behaviour. It is this:

WHENEVER ANY PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE DESCRIBES GOD AS CAUSING OR DOING EVIL, IT MUST BE INTERPRETED TO MEAN THAT HE PERMITS OR ALLOWS THE EVIL TO BE DONE BY THE AGENCIES OF SATAN AND SIN.

God does not do evil, in fact He cannot do evil.

"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:9, 21.

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Heb. 1:8, 9.

There are many recorded cases of punishments inflicted upon Israel in the Old Testament. These punishments are often described as being inflicted by God's direct decree or direct action. The problem is that most people go no deeper than the apparent meaning of the words and therefore believe that God rather than sin, was the source or cause of the calamities and destructions which befell ancient Israel. In fact the Israelites were but reaping the consequences of their own sins when God withdrew from them and permitted the forces of evil to strike them.

"Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?

And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts." Jeremiah 2:14-19.

"Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart." Jeremiah 4:18.

We can be sure of this because even before the punishments were inflicted on the Israelites God forewarned them.

In Deuteronomy 28:15-28, Moses had given them a list of the punishments which would befall them if they persisted in disobedience. The language is the typical punitive language where God is described as saying

"I will destroy thee, ….

"I will smite thee….

"I will send enemies ….

"I will send pestilence… etc.

But the correct way to interpret all these statements is given in Deuteronomy 31:16-18.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods." Deuteronomy 31:16-18.

ALL THEIR PUNISHMENTS, EVERY SINGLE ONE, RESULTED WHEN GOD WITHDREW FROM THEM BECAUSE THEY REJECTED HIM, HIS LOVE, HIS TRUTH AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

And since this is true in their case it must be true in all other instances of punishments anywhere, anytime, anyhow, because God cannot change and the principles of His dealing with men and sin are consistent and constant.

"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3:6.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17.

The argument so often put forward, that withdrawal is but one method and there are other methods is utterly false because every description of God inflicting punishment because of sin has the same mechanism of withdrawal by God. For anyone to read any statement about God causing evil or doing evil or destroying or smiting or sending disaster, and interpret it as a direct act of God, is to completely reject the correct principles of interpretation which have been so clearly laid down in the word of God.

We can now look at some other examples which will further confirm that our principles of linguistic interpretation are absolutely correct.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

Example Number 4

"And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.

And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."1 Kings 22:20-23.

Verse 23 states that the Lord put a lying spirit in the mouth of the false prophets. But God cannot lie.

"That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Hebrews 6:18.

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Titus 1:2.

Therefore there must be a correct way of understanding 1 Kings 22:23.

The prophets and the king chose to reject God's true warnings and to accept a message of false security. Since God permits freedom of choice, Bible language describes Him as doing what He permits. In reality God did not cause a lie to be told, rather He gave them up to believe the lies they wanted to hear.

Similarly in 2Thess 2:11 it is written that "… God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie." But God is not in the business of deceiving people or causing them to believe lies. In fact what happens is this, as men reject the truths of His word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to the deceptions which they love.

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.

Example Number 5 - Who hardens hearts?

"And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go." Exodus 4:21.

"For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses." Joshua 11:20.

These passages state that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of Israel's enemies.

Bible language describes God as doing what He permits. People have the freedom of choice to respond positively to God in voluntary submission to His will or to respond negatively by rejecting His will and resisting His Spirit.

In other words people harden their own hearts by resisting God's Spirit and rejecting His love, His truth and His righteousness. God does not harden any person's heart.

"But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said… And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go." Exodus 8:15, 32.

"Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness." Hebrews 3:7,8.

The Spirit of God persistently rejected is at last withdrawn leaving the soul unimpressionable by truth and fixed in error.

Example Number 6

"And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." Numbers 21:6.

Here again notice the language. It says "God sent fiery serpents…." We said earlier how God sends strong delusion. He sends strong delusion by withdrawing His Spirit from those whose minds are fixed against His truth.

Similarly the statement "God sent fiery serpents" means God withdrew His protection and the fiery serpents attacked them because their sin of persistent murmuring and unbelief had separated them partially from God's protection.

Example Number 7

"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." Zechariah 13:7.

"And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." Mark 14:27.

These passages state that Christ was struck and smitten by His Father. In actuality our sins, the sins of the entire world separated Him from His Father. His Father spared Him not but delivered Him up to the consequences of sin for us.

This was the mechanism of Christ's death.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46.

Example Number 8

"And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel." 1 Samuel 15:35.

This text states that God repented that He had made Saul king over Israel. Similarly in Genesis 6:6 we are told that:

"It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart." Genesis 6:6.

But we are told elsewhere that:

"God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the Son of man, that he should repent: hath He said, and shall he not do it? Or hath He spoken and shall He not make good?" Numbers 23:19.

Here again we are faced with the language problem, an apparent contradiction in scripture.

Since God knows the end from the beginning, since He foreknew all that would ever happen, He is never caught by surprise, He never does anything and then regrets doing it!

God, in His infinite love for all of us, wishes that we make a success of our most important work in life, the work of character building.

When any person follows a path of wickedness it hurts God's heart of love and the language which says "God repented that he anointed Saul as King over Israel" really means that God was deeply hurt by the course of disobedience which Saul followed. HE was similarly very hurt by the wicked life styles of the antediluvians, in fact Genesis 6:6 explains itself when it states that:

"It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart." Genesis 6:6.

Example Number 9

"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." Exodus12:12,13.

Notice the language here again but also notice the explanation in verse 23.

"For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you." Exodus12:23.

God's protection prevented destruction, when the people were separated from that protection the destroyer smote the first born. Why was the first born more susceptible?

The Egyptians dedicated their first born to their gods.

Example Number 10 - The Case of Korah

The account of the divine judgement which befell Korah is written down in Numbers 16:28-35.

The Apostle Paul gives a list of the divine judgments, which occurred on the long journey toward the Promised Land. No one is left out. Here it is.

"Do not become idolaters as were some of them (Exodus 32). Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell (Numbers 25:1-9); nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents (Numbers 2:6-9); nor murmur, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer."

And we know who he is.

The destroyer is Satan and his government of sin (John 10:10; Job. 1:12).

The last entry of complainers, destroyed by the destroyer, includes the quail eaters (Exodus 16; Numbers 11), the Kadesh-Barnea rebels (Numbers 13,14; Deuteronomy 1:19-46; 2:14-16); and Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Numbers 16, 17).

We close this chapter by restating the two fundamental principles of biblical linguistic interpretation concerning passages which describe God's actions or behaviour.

Principle One:

The Bible Describes God As Doing What He Allows Or Permits Or What He Does Not Prevent.

Principle Two:

Whenever Any Passage Of Scripture Describes God As Causing, Doing, Or Sending Evil Or Calamity, It Must Be Interpreted To Mean That He Allows Or Permits The Evil By Withdrawing His Protection And Restraint.

Chapter Thirteen
God Protects

It was Election Day in the Garden of Eden. The instructions were clear. Adam, as the Representative Man for all humanity, had freedom of choice. If he obeyed God he would be choosing God's government to continue its perfect maintenance of a perfect world. On the other hand if he disobeyed God he would be rejecting God's government and choosing Satan's government of sin to take over the running of affairs on our planet.

God had made a perfect world. Adam and Eve were perfect in structure and function and innocent in character. (Read Genesis chapters 1-3).

Satan planned his campaign strategy with masterful cunning and well calculated deception. He would approach Adam through Eve, after approaching her through what was then, the most beautiful of creatures, the serpent.

The word of God was clear and unequivocal,

"Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, disobedience will result in death."

Satan told his first lie on earth when he told Eve "you will not die if you disobey God." Genesis 3.4,5.

Eve disobeyed God and then Satan used her to get to Adam's mind. Adam also disobeyed.

Adam's disobedience sold out our world to Satan's government of sin and separated our world from the perfect maintenance which only God's government can give.

Paul summarises these facts in one succinct statement in Romans 5:12.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.

The wonderful powers of creation, the wonderful mechanisms and systems of nature, the geophysical and biological powers which had all been created perfectly were now separated from God's perfect government.

These created powers and systems became spoilt, deranged and disordered. THEY BECAME PERVERTED and inherently self-destructive, and as time passed their malfunction became more heavily felt by man and beast and planet.

But God and His Son were not caught off guard by the entrance of sin into our world. The Plan of Redemption, devised from all eternity past, was immediately put into operation. The Son of God became the surety for the lost race and God immediately put into effect His protective and remedial government of grace to hold in check the sin-spoilt powers of biology, physics, chemistry and geography on our planet and also on its relevant and necessary surroundings in outer space.

The Spirit of God, working through the angels of God, holds in check and restrains the perverted powers of a fallen creation of our planet. If God were to let go or withdraw this restraint the perverted powers of nature would malfunction so severely that it would be impossible for human life to survive on earth.

"It is of the Lord 's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lam. 3:22,23.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10.

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:13-17.

The function of the angels to hold in check the forces of evil is described in Revelation 7:1.

"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." Revelation 7:1.

In Jeremiah 25:32 we are told that the "winds of the earth" symbolize the forces of evil and we are also given a description of what happens when these "winds" or forces of evil are let go.

"A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." Jeremiah 25:31-33.

We must always remember that destruction never comes because of any change in God, it is the result of people forsaking God and therefore rejecting His protection.

"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3:6.

"And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." 2 Chronicles 15: 1,2.

"O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." Jeremiah 17:13.

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:1,2.

We have already studied the story of Job. We saw that Satan knows that God graciously supplies a hedge of protection.

"Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." Job 1:9,10.

When the hedge was withdrawn the "winds" of strife, which were kept under restraint, not only collapsed into malfunction but were further manipulated by Satan into "whirlwinds" of destruction.

God is the Protector. Satan, with his government of sin, is the destroyer. It is only by the mercies of God that we are able to survive at all.

While it is true that the whole world enjoys general protection (Revelation 7:1) we must also understand that those who believe in God and are surrendered to His will through faith in Jesus Christ enjoy special protection like Job did.

"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Psalm 34:7.

"Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." Daniel 6:21, 22.

When Christians understand these important truths and give praise to God with thanksgiving, they actually allow the Holy Spirit to tighten the protective hedge about them and thereby render Satan's attacks ineffective! (For private study read all of 2 Chronicles chapter 20 notice verses 21, 22).

We can also look again at Deuteronomy chapter 28, the chapter of blessings and curses. When God's protective hedge was tightened around Israel the forces of nature were kept in functional order, but when they forsook God and forfeited His protection the forces of nature malfunctioned with severely disastrous consequences upon their shelterless heads.

All of this teaches us how malignant sin is and why God, through the plan of salvation in Jesus Christ, has given to us everything we need to be completely cleansed of all sin and be totally filled with His righteousness. Complete victory over sin is an absolute necessity and is guaranteed in Jesus Christ. Remember that sin is spiritual cancer and whatever defects we do not overcome will overcome us and work out our utter ruin in the end.

Making Up The Hedge

Genuine born-again believers have a very important and critical work to do in maintaining the functional integrity of the PROTECTIVE HEDGE.

"And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 22:30-31.

By persistent, insistent, consistent, heart-felt, earnest, intercessory conversational prayer, the people of God will move the Arm of Omnipotence to strengthen the angelic hedge of protection and to intensify the work of the Holy Spirit in the saving of souls.

When we understand how wonderfully good God is, when we understand the truth about His lovely character, our prayers will take the form of a conversation with Him and His Son. In fact when we know God aright, as is our privilege, our trust in Him, our love for Him and our prayer-lives will all be deepened and enriched. Our prayers will be prayers of strong faith which will bring definite and certain answer to our petitions.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14.

"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:13-16.