They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord , which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
Judges 3:4 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jdg.3.4.ESV
Testing in the Bible means proving; so unlike our juvenile perspective from which teachers test us in order to fail us or show us how little we know, the reality of the Lord is that He tests us to show what we are capable of (I think most of our teachers have the same goal too). We desire comfort and control. We always will. The Lord desires trust and submission - the Spirit and the Flesh will always be at odds with each other (Gal 5:17). Recognize that this thing the Lord did was actually 'done' by Israel's choices - providence.
There are things I would eradicate from existence - ticks, mosquitoes, domestic cats, pornography, child molesters, same-sex attraction and drug addiction to name a few. But the Lord of Love has allowed these evils and annoyances to flourish in our midst for our testing, to know whether you and I would obey the commands of the Lord. He wants us to succeed, He wants us to resist them - for every temptation the Lord provides (a righteous) way of escape (1 Cor 10:13). Oswald Chambers said today, "No struggling or praying will enable you to stop doing some things..." Saddening, because there is much I would love to lose, but they are for the testing of me, they are for the proving of me.
Will we obey? Will we pass the test? Not every day, sometimes not even most days. Who will save us from this body of death? Thanks be to God through the cross of Jesus Christ!
No comments:
Post a Comment