Prepare to Meet Your God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Meeting Anna at the airport
Waiting for Dad to get home from work
When should you be worried about meeting God
When Comfort has Isolated you From God
When Comfort has Isolated you From God
1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy
and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time will surely come
when you will be taken away with hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,”
declares the Lord.
Injustice amongst Israel
Injustice amongst Israel
Culturally, we read the first line incorrectly. It’s not insulting the Israelite women’s appearance, but their life of luxury.
Israel – apparently particularly the women – is leading a luxurious life based on oppression of the poor
Because of this injustice, judgement is coming
Judgment for the Injustice
Judgment for the Injustice
The Lord’s holiness is the basis of this judgment
Holiness is not so much an attribute of God but the essence of his godness.
They will be brutally exiled
Hooks or baskets? Either way, they are powerless prey to their enemies
Their walls will crumble and they will be dragged to Syria (Harmon)
Application
Application
Has comfort and pleasure replaced God for you?
Do you love God’s gifts more than you love God himself?
When Worship Is About You Instead of God
When Worship Is About You Instead of God
4 “Go to Bethel and sin;
go to Gilgal and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three years.
5 Burn leavened bread as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.
The Lord sarcastically invites Israel to continue in their sin through false worship.
Bethel is an important location for northern kingdom worship – even after exile
Gilgal was the place where Israel built a memorial after crossing the Jordan, but eventually became a place of idol worship
It was a place of true worship that was perverted with idolatry
The Lord invites them to offer their false worship, but recognizes that worship is self-interested rather than sincere
When Reconciliation has been Rejected
When Reconciliation has been Rejected
6 “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
and lack of bread in every town,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
7 “I also withheld rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water
but did not get enough to drink,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues among you
as I did to Egypt.
I killed your young men with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
The Solution They’ve Missed
The Solution They’ve Missed
Israel must return to God
Their rebellion is not due to ignorance – God has been calling them back for years
Listen to Your Suffering
Listen to Your Suffering
Suffering is not something to avoid, it’s something to hear
The Israelites have suffered (though they were prosperous at this time)
The suffering they have experienced should have been received as God calling them back to him
God is clearly the initiator in their suffering
Not all suffering has the same purpose
Judgment
Warning
Discipline
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Refinement
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Direction
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Regardless of the reason for suffering, it occurs within God’s sovereignty for his purposes
Because of this we can have hope in suffering
Because of this we must hear what God is saying in our suffering
Return (Be Reconciled to Him)
Return (Be Reconciled to Him)
This is the only right response to God’s call
When Judgment is All That Is left
When Judgment is All That Is left
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
and because I will do this to you, Israel,
prepare to meet your God.”
13 He who forms the mountains,
who creates the wind,
and who reveals his thoughts to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth—
the Lord God Almighty is his name.
Israel must prepare to meet their God
This could be a welcome to fellowship
In this case it is a warning that an angry God will not abandon his covenant people – but the covenant includes curses
The chapter closes with an exaltation of the greatness of God
Application
Application
If you are far from God return to him
Allow your suffering to speak
Because you are here, because you are hearing God call to you from his word, it is not too late. Let this be the day you listen to him.
How do we walk in fellowship with God?
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
