Seen This Before

Mark Dunagan
04/07/13 - Sunday Evening

Seen This Before

One might say, “Our age is the most difficult age there has ever been to be a faithful Christian”.  And one could certainly cite a number of discouraging statistics that reveal that many people are living far from God’s expectations. 

• High divorce rates.
• The majority of people rejecting the idea of absolute truth.
• The number of children born to single parents or unmarried parents.
• The consensus that gay-marriage is simply going to happen.

Yet, any student of Bible history, including the prophets in the Old Testament will immediately discover that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Micah and many others faced a spiritual situation that was far more dismal.  The world in which they lived had not only many people who did not serve God, but primarily what they often addressed was the fact that God’s own professed people were themselves not serving Him.

• “Alas, sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity.  Offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly!  They had abandoned the Lord” (Isaiah 1:4).
• “Why then has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in continual apostasy?” (Jeremiah 8:5).
• “They are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 2:5).
• “There is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1).

This is certainly one reason why Paul said that what was written in the Old Testament was written for our learning, that through the Scriptures we might be encouraged and have hope (Romans 15:4).  The Holy Spirit is reminding us that all the unfaithfulness that we see around us today—was likewise encountered by the godly in the past. And the good news? They were valiant and victorious!

Specific Challenges

• People who Denied There was a Problem

“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘peace, peace’, but there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). 

Isaiah and Jeremiah both encountered the reality that what they were saying about the necessity to repent and obey God was being countered by others who were telling the Israelites that they were fine and that the messages through Jeremiah and others were mean and stern, and an exaggeration of the problem.  In like manner, we face a world—and even a religious world —that is in complete denial that there has been a serious falling away from the faith (2 Timothy 4:3-4). 

• No Delight for Scripture

“Behold, their ears are closed, and they cannot listen.  Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them.  They have no delight in it” (Jeremiah 6:10).

Hosea would note that God’s own professed people were being destroyed because of an epidemic of Biblical illiteracy (Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 5:13).  If I am a young person I need to ask myself, “What is going to happen to me if I don’t enjoy reading or studying the Bible, and not merely reading to finish a lesson for a class at services, but studying that spiritually feeds me continually?”  The prophets faced people who were woefully ignorant of Scripture and yet very knowledgeable and talented when it came to the things of the world (Jeremiah 4:22).    

• Lacking a Healthy Awareness of Shame

“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?  They were not even ashamed at all, they did not even know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15); “They display their sin like Sodom; they do not even conceal it” (Isaiah 3:9).

The prophets faced a generation in which people did not even try to hide their unfaithfulness.  They were bold, brazen, boastful of the way they were living. Sound familiar?

• Lacking Manly Leadership

“O My people!  Their oppressors are children, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12).

Here is a picture of a generation of men without a moral backbone.  Immoral women ruled behind their weak husbands and parents were afraid of their children and catered to them. Ring a bell?

• The Wrong Role Models

“Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine” (Isaiah 5:22). Seen that on any college campus?

• Materialistic and Hedonistic

“Everyone is greedy for gain” (Jeremiah 6:13); “And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes” (Isaiah 3:16). “Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink” (Isaiah 5:11). Sound like cursory channel surfing?

• Overconfident Concerning their own Wisdom

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:22).  As a result of being so in love with their own thoughts they boldly reversed God’s moral decrees and declared that what is good is evil and what is evil is actually good (5:20). Hello, Oregonian Newspaper.

What am I Supposed to Do?

What lover of God cannot identify with Micah who said, “The godly person has perished from the land” (7:2).  In such a climate, what can the righteous do (Psalm 11:3)?  Plenty!  Note carefully how God has encouraged such men who were standing in the gap in their time and their attitude.

• Keep on Preaching

“As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 2:5).   Our example and preaching in such dark times is not only seeking to save the lost, it is likewise removing all excuses from those determined to remain unfaithful.  “You shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not” (2:7).   It is easy to forget that ending up saved ourselves is invaluable to God.  Don’t get discouraged if you can’t convince someone else—your salvation, what you are accomplishing, is in no way diminished by their lack of faith.

• Remember Your Vindication

God is going to show up—He always has in the past (Micah 7:7).  Those who arrogantly say, “Where is your God?” (7:10), will eat their own words. 

• Stand Back and Behold the Consequences

Even in our lifetime on the earth we often see God’s justice in this world working itself out.

1. We often see people reaping what they have sown: Galatians 6:7-8
2. We often see the person ignoring God’s law suffering a high price.
3. We often see people paying the penalty in the flesh for a life of sin: Romans 1:26-27
4. We often see material investment in the world failing, as the world seeks to find security apart from God:  Micah 6:14
5. We see people laboring fruitlessly to get ahead materially and finding all their efforts eaten up by inflation and other incontrollable factors:  Matthew 6:19-20; Haggai 1:5-6. 

The Cycle Oft Repeated

Every generation thinks that it can escape the rules that govern this world, that God's instructions are out-of-date, that they can live as they wish and the warnings in Scripture will not prove true for them.  History says otherwise.  Apostasy is followed by the return of some who have been observant enough to have learned the lessons of history and have determined to escape, and God is vindicated (Micah 7:16-17). Let's be a "returner".

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.com
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net