Attention! Let all the people of the world listen! Let the earth and everything in it hear. The Sovereign LORD is making accusations
against you; the LORD speaks from his holy Temple. Look! The LORD is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples
the heights of the earth. The mountains
melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water
pouring down a hill. And why is this
happening? Because of the rebellion of
Israel—yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
Samaria, its capital city! Where
is the center of idolatry in Judah? In
Jerusalem, its capital! “So I, the LORD, will make the city of Samaria a heap of ruins. Her streets will be plowed up for planting
vineyards. I will roll the stones of her
walls into the valley below, exposing her foundations. All her carved images will be smashed. All her sacred treasures will be burned. These things were bought with the money earned
by her prostitution, and they will now be carried away to pay prostitutes elsewhere.” Therefore, I will mourn and lament. I will walk around barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an
owl. For my people’s wound is too deep
to heal. It has reached into Judah, even
to the gates of Jerusalem. Micah 1:2-9 (NLT)
When I was a child we didn’t
have a woodshed, but I did have a strong will that needed breaking. Mom did the bending; Dad was the
breaker. Whenever my will kicked-in (which
was more often than not) over wanting something my parents knew wasn’t good for
me, I would argue with Mom until I brought her to tears. I learned to do this around age 5 and
continued well into my teens. Finally,
in exasperation, Mom would turn, walk away and say, fine…do what you want.
Now, that sounded and looked
like I had gotten my way; in reality it was the beginning of judgment. I was wrong and about to buy myself a heap of
trouble; I just didn’t have the common sense to know it.
Judgment hurts, but it
helps. In all, I was the benefactor,
learning (as any kid-camper who couldn’t identify poison ivy can tell you) that
there are some things you leave your cotton-pickin’ hands off. And when Mom and Dad say “no” it really is
for your good.
From the start, God’s people
were warned – I am the Lord…your ONLY God!(see Exodus 20) For some reason, probably founded in
our fallen nature, they had a tough time with that.
Eventually the hammer fell, and Micah
delivered it; the woodshed was going to be so decisive that howling like ostrich
screams in the night would be common in Israel.
The upshot of Israel and
Judah’s obsession with self and wealth and sexual perversion was
self-destruction. When you live as a
prostitute you will die like a prostitute.
That is the harsh flip-side of free will;
choices have consequences.
And
the beat goes on.
This Monday the Supreme
Court refused to hear arguments in the State’s Rights appeals over same-sex marriage,
effectively dealing the final blow to the sanctity of marriage as God decreed –
one man, one woman.
I have that nagging sense I
had when I was a kid that my Heavenly parent is about to say fine…do
what you want!
We may have gotten our
way…but there will be consequences.
No matter what ribbon you
tie on a mud pile, you’re still about to get dirty. And no matter what some say about crossing
lines God has laid out for our protection, you cannot defy Heaven without
paying the price.
As a nation under
God, we are in deep trouble.
The freight train of
godlessness in the USA has left the station and we are being carried to the
judgment we’ve been demanding.
For You, Today…
Pray for America; we are
going to need it.
Meet you at the woodshed!
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