The Bible teaches us that the word of God is given for instruction and admonition, and sound doctrine, so that the Christian may be furnished unto all good works. But these are not the only purposes for which they are given, for the scriptures state that the word is also written for correction, meaning that it must be consulted when we endeavor to correct erroneous views which may have been harbored either ignorantly or deliberately. As it is used by Paul in the book of Timothy, the word correction presupposes that some or all of the views we may have previously harbored about God and spiritual things could possibly be wrong, and thus the Bible is given to either eradicate the preconceived ideas, or to clarify certain controverted points of doctrine. Let’s read:
2nd Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
One such correction had to be administered in the case of Job’s friends who had cultivated erroneous views of God, and the reasons for human suffering. After Job had been hit by one calamity after another, the enemy of souls brought upon him a very loathsome disease, very painful in nature, and abhorrent to the sight, in so much that his friends and family had to stay at some distance when visiting or speaking to him. When his friends first saw him in his distress, they became greatly troubled in spirit, that a godly man could have fallen on such bad times so suddenly, and because of the severity of the disease inflicted by the enemy, they lifted up their voices and wept aloud for their friend, throwing dust upon their heads in a show of abandoned grief. Let’s read:
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal;
and he sat down among the ashes.
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place”….. “for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
But after the seven days of mourning had passed, Job’s friend, Eliphaz, could not hold his peace anymore, and he was moved to utter the abundance of his heart in a series of scathing rebukes for the wrongs he supposed had been committed, and which he thought had triggered Job’s terrible disease and misfortunes. And the more he reasoned and spoke, the more it became evident that his views of God and spiritual things were pretty distorted, and thus were in need of urgent correction. Using his line of reasoning, which had become quite common in his day, Eliphaz had concluded that Job’s many and sudden tragedies must have been a direct result of something wrong he had done, and without asking or verifying the facts in the case, he blurted out what was to become the cause for a stern rebuke from God.
In his view, the laws of cause and effect followed their natural course without wavering, and therefore the presumption of Job’s guilt was a foregone conclusion, resulting in the untimely demise of almost his entire family, together with thousands of sheep, and oxen, and menservants in the whole process. Furthermore, Eliphaz lay the blame squarely at God’s feet, painting Him as being very angry at Job for his supposed wrong-doing, whilst he let the real culprit in the matter go entirely free. These preconceived, but erroneous ideas and conclusions must of necessity be addressed, lest we poor mortals view our great Redeemer as our enemy, and the conversely, the devil as our dearest friend. Let’s read:
Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.
10 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
The purpose of the Bible study for this afternoon is not to clarify who is to blame or who is to be responsible for the tragedies in Job’s case; instead we must of necessity seek to clarify or correct Eliphaz’s views, using the scriptures, which as stated in 2nd Timothy, are given for correction.
Question: Can a straight line be drawn between sin and calamity, and if a person or a nation is in deliberate
violation of known truth and duty, does that have a direct negative impact on their misfortunes? It is very important for us as Christians to understand this question, and the scriptural answer, because in our day, the song of Eliphaz is often repeated, albeit in much more subtle ways. For example, in many of our insurance policies, hurricanes and deadly tornadoes are described as being “Acts of God”. In other words, let us just say that Job had actually committed some grave iniquity, without repenting, would Eliphaz then be justified in drawing his conclusion, as it pertains to evil cause and calamitous effects? Or would his line of reasoning still be deemed unwarranted and entirely unreasonable?
Answer: Whenever deliberate, high-handed iniquity or sin is committed by individuals or nations, a direct line can reasonably be drawn between sinful cause and adverse effect, if the cause and results are what the Bible says it would be. Under no circumstances is the human agent to presume to make any such connections of his or her own volition, but if the word of God states clearly that such and such would be the result of a certain evil course of action, then we should believe it, and that settles it period. To reason thus can not be categorized as being judgmental, as is often claimed by those in the media, but is simply stating or reiterating what the word of God says. And as far as cause and effect goes, in both the spiritual and temporal realms, God always has the last word.
A perfect example of what the scripture is here referring to, occurred when the Jews had neglected to build the sanctuary of the Lord, but had instead lavished all their means and earnings upon themselves. This constituted the sin of idolatry in one of its most insidious forms, for anything and anyone who we place before God, in order of priority, then becomes a graven image, of the which God has already stated that He will not share His glory with, under any circumstances. The Jews had left God for last, in their order of priorities, and as a direct result, the land refused to produce fruit and grain in abundance, for their own stubbornness was being duplicated by the soil, which was under their jurisdiction, with God being the overseer in chief.
The Hebrews had renovated their own homes, they had
bought stainless steel furniture, some had upgraded the kitchen and bathrooms to granite, and some others had decided to redo their floors with modern artistic tiles, since at that time, home depot back then had them on sale. Still others of the more affluent had chosen to add swimming pools to their back yards, in order to increase the resale value, and a whole lot of other upgrades and additions were being made, whilst shrubs and nettles were growing in and around the house of God, without anyone batting an eye. Now, it’s important for us to understand that God had no problem whatsoever with the addition of swimming pools and other up-grades, for the Bible says nothing against any Christian who desires, and can afford a swimming pool. We must be very careful in harboring erroneous concepts of God, for He delights in giving the very best gifts to His children. Let’s read:
Ecclesiastes 2:4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood
that bringeth forth trees:
7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
The Lord has no problem whatsoever with all these creature comforts, once they do not interfere with the service that is due to Him. The problem was that He was being left for last, and that order of priority is now going to draw a straight and direct line, to the impoverished productions of the earth, because this law of cause and negative effect is not a figment of man’s imagination, but is instead the plain utterances of Jehovah, regarding the relation of a sinful course of action, to resulting adverse circumstances. Let’s read:
Haggai 1:2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the
Lord's house should be built.
3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
Now brethren, no one is here to lobby for any church –building fund, neither is it the intended purpose to place a burden on the conscience of anyone. All the Bible is stating, is that whenever there is known iniquity being committed, whether it be by a nation or individuals, a direct line is drawn in the scriptures as to root cause and adverse effect, for the Bible explicitly says that whatever man soweth, that shall he also reap. The question then for us to answer, is whether anything has changed from the days of Haggai till now, and have the same laws of cause and effect become extinct in our era?
In other words, if we pass laws legalizing iniquity in high and low places, can the same direct line be safely drawn between root cause and adverse effect, just as it was in the days of the prophet Haggai? The Bible explicitly states what will be the result of indulging same-sex marriage, as is currently the case, so the question then is, what should we as a nation reasonably expect, without anyone being judgmental or condemnatory? Should we now expect smooth, easily sailing, as it pertains to the forces of nature, or as it relates to the financial sector, or are we to expect what God says will be the sure result? To answer this very important question we now turn to the word. Let’s read:
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Now, based upon what we have just read, God has no doubt drawn a direct line between this particular type of abomination and the negative circumstances that will inevitably accrue, and since the decision to legalize gay marriage in all fifty states was made on the 26th of June 2015, therefore, as an investor, I must expect the Dow Industrials to take a hit, and based solely on what the Bible says, I must now place my bets for the following business day on the down side. And because the word of
God does not, and cannot fail in any single particular, I can confidently expect my investment to the down side to reap millions. Let’s read:
Friday, June 26th 2015: In a landmark decision for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled 5-4 that the Constitution gives same-sex couples the right to marry.
Monday June 29, 2015. 10:14 a.m:
Stocks Sink as Greece Crisis Sparks Global Selloff. Dow Tumbles 350 Points on Greek Debt Crisis:
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Monday's stock selloff picked up speed in the final hour of trading, a warning sign that investors can expect more turmoil from Greece's debt crisis”… “Adding to global fears was Puerto Rico's debt crisis following Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla's comments that the island's $72 billion in debt is "not payable."
In the U.S., banks were hit the hardest. JPMorgan Chase (JPM - Get Report) shares closed lower by 2.4%, while shares of Citigroup (C) fell 2.5% and Bank of America
(BAC - Get Report) slipped 2.9%.
The very grave mistake that is being made, and repeated so often is that the spiritual factors which are affecting our everyday lives are not brought into the equation, for they are held and viewed as separate entities. The Bible utterly debunks any such theory or conclusion, because as stated previously, the potent spiritual law, regulates all natural and economic laws under its jurisdiction, and therefore, whenever it is interfered with for any reason, it throws the other laws under its domain out of balance. This is what the scriptures teach, and sooner or later, every member of the human family will have to come to grips with this sacred truth. Let’s read:
Isaiah 24:2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate”…..
The doctrine which teaches its adherents that blessings are in store for those who deliberately commit iniquity is nowhere to be found in the scriptures, and as such it constitutes an erroneous view that must be corrected by the word. However, because this nation is a great nation, and the mercies of God are extended to us, it is our positive duty to let everyone know what course of action must be pursued, if we are to return to a state of peace and tranquility. God takes no delight in the hardships and perplexities of the sinner, but He does stipulate what must be done, if a reversal of our misfortunes is to be realized.
We will first need to confess that we have done wrong, by abandoning God’s order on marriage, and the laws which support the evil will need to be reversed. If this is done with a contrite and humble spirit, we will see a dramatic drop in the senseless killings across the land, mass shootings will drop significantly, the severe drought in California and other places will be erased by torrential rains, and the economic activity of the country will begin to increase exponentially. In addition to these, the oft-repeated standoffs between police and citizens will be reduced significantly, for all of these increased negatives are just spinoffs of the word “Spue”, as it is used in the passage in Leviticus. Let’s read:
2nd Chronicles 7:12 And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him”….
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 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.
15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
16 “And mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to do what we know to be right, by making speedy work of repentance, and if we do, God will respond in the positive by blessing our efforts to walk in harmony with His revealed will. Even though what is stated in the Bible concerning these matters may not bode well with the popular majority, nevertheless it is the word of God, and as such will ultimately find fulfilment in due season, one way or another, for His word is settled forever in the heavens. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms the sacred nature of the word of God, and it is His will that the right proactive measures be now taken, to institute the appropriate, and much needed reforms. Let’s read:
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying.
God bless!