It's humbling to see yourself in Scripture

Isaiah chapter 28 speaks to so many.  Or rather, it speaks loudly to my many shortcomings and faults.  Maybe yours, too.

Pride
To the haughty and proud he says, "Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards....He will throw it forcefully to the ground.  That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot."  Everything you boast about--your wealth, your possessions, your beauty--all of it will burn.  By way of contrast, he says this:

In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.  He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. --Isaiah 28:5-6

I had to go to traffic court yesterday.  In my flesh, I started harboring a certain hatred toward the judge.  I recalled the episode of "The Big Bang Theory" where Sheldon went to traffic court and when his arguments failed, he insulted the judge.  I smiled.  I thought a moment about asking the judge, "Isn't your mother proud, putting you through law school so you could impose fines on these fine people, take time out of their day, and make them subservient to you so that the township can reap a few dollars."  But then I looked at the people assembled there.  They were guilty.  I was guilty.  There was only one woman there who pleaded not guilty, and she would have to battle with the prosecutor to prove herself innocent.  Humbly, I began to repent.  The judge was doing his job.  He was performing a public service.  He was standing up for law and order in our town.

Those who believe the Bible says we shouldn't judge are wrong.  We should discriminate between right and wrong.  We should judge among ourselves who is worthy of honor and who is not, who is in need and who is not.  And the caveat that Jesus said in Matthew 7:1, that everyone loves to misquote, is about being careful in our judgment.  Verse 2 says, "For in the same way you judge others, you yourself will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."  What a sad, sad world we would live in if people like the traffic judge I briefly stood before to enter my guilty plea, if people like that could read our minds.  "Oh, so you think I'm a failure? I'm at the bottom of the legal barrel?  You are no super success, yourself.  I sentence you to sit in a room with your more successful class-mates, and let them hurl insults at you for not being so successful."  Luke 6:37-38 places Jesus' thought more in context:  "Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."  Put aside your pride, and seek justice for all, and help for those battling evil.

Dogmatic Orthodoxy
Back to our text.  Isaiah 28:9 and following start speaking to the dogmatic, the fundamentalists who believe you must work you way to salvation, to become righteous before He will accept you.  Verse 10 says, "For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there."  We all know people like this.  We may even at time be people like this.  "You have to be like us to be a Christian," we may say.  In contrast, God says He came to give rest and refuge, not rules and regulations.

To whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and "This is the place of repose"--but they would not listen.  So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there--so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured. --Isaiah 28:12-13

When I was in high school, I viciously attacked other Christians, because I was trying to defend the doctrines of my own denomination.  If I had spent half the time sharing Christ's love with the lost that I spent haranguing  fellow Christians, there would have been a revival in my school.  I got so hung up on my own church's doctrine that I missed out on the message.

You may have seen the phrase, "Hoisted by his own petard."  It is a phrase found in Shakespeare's Hamlet that literally means, "Blown up by your own bomb."  Applied to this scripture, it is as if God is saying, "I really want to show you love, and give you rest.  I want you to relax and be who I made you to be.  But you have all these rules that you think you have to follow.  If you refuse to give up the rules, then fine: live by them until they crush you.  And when you are wounded and broken, come back and see me.  I'll still be here."

Living a Lie
Some people believe in a cause for which they are willing to die.  Some may see that as admirable.  It can only be admired if the cause is the cause of Christ.  Everything else is a covenant with death.  Verse 15 says, "You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement....for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."  Many good people devote their whole lives to a cause, and then become disillusioned because the cause falters, or the leaders are found to be corrupt.  Not so with God:

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. --Isaiah 28:16

Of course we know that Jesus himself became the cornerstone.  1 Peter 2:7-8 says, "Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.  But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone' and 'a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' "  1 Corinthians 3:11-15 says, "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, it will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

There is a popular commercial series for Direct TV entitled "Get Rid Of Cable".  It has been much parodied on YouTube, so you have probably seen it.  Each spot starts with a problem posed by the Cable Company, and a person's reaction to it.  This reaction leads to improbable results, causing more ridiculous outcomes, like a person feeling powerless dealing with the cable company.  In this example, he end up dressing up as a superhero and not only causes injury to himself but places himself in an embarrassing position.  The tag-line is, "Don't fall in a sky-light and land on a dinner table; get Direct TV."  The sheer ridiculousness makes it memorable.  Next time you see one of those commercials, think about taking up a secular cause.  Think about pouring your entire body, soul and fortune into this cause.  Then think of the worst thing that could happen--the leader is disgraced, or the comrades in arms sell out to an evil idea.  Then think of God's Day of Judgement, when everything is tried by fire.  You will still be saved, but with the smell of fire and brimstone on your clothes.  Don't go to heaven with the smell of fire and brimstone on your clothes.  Base your life on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ.

Why does God allow evil?

British naturalist and environmentalist George Monbiot has made an interesting observation about wolves.  He has observed that Yellowstone National Park had been without wolves for some 70 years.  They were all killed off by 1926.  Since that time, the park became overrun with deer.  The deer grazed away the vegetation, which caused other destructive forces to have sway over the park.  Then, in 1995, wolves were finally reintroduced into Yellowstone, and the effects of what Monbiot calls "rewilding" were dramatic.

The wolves brought the deer population down to a sustainable level.  But that's not all.  Suddenly realizing that there were predators among them, the deer made some radical changes to their behavior.  They started moving more, and staying together in herds.  They began to avoid places in the park where they could easily be trapped.  Then, like dominoes falling, other strange changes started happening in Yellowstone.  The vegetation grew thick in the places where the deer were no longer congregating.

The increase in vegetation allowed more birds and beavers to move in.  The beavers built dams, which became habitats for otters, muskrats, ducks, fish, reptiles and amphibians.  The wolves also killed some of the coyotes.  With fewer smaller predators, there was an increase in the number of rabbits and mice.  These smaller animals boosted the population of weasels, hawks, foxes and badgers.  Meanwhile, ravens, bald eagles and bears fed on the carrion that the wolves left.

But that's not all.  The river patterns in the park began to change.  The regeneration of lush vegetation stabilized the riverbanks, leading to less erosion and straighter water flow.  So instead of winding back and forth, the river current grew stronger and straighter.  "The wolves, small in number, transformed not just the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park--this huge area of land--but also its physical geography," Monbiot concluded.

But you all know that I am not an environmentalist, and this blog does not concern itself with naturalism.  This blog exists to encourage people spiritually.  So what possible spiritual meaning could be found in "rewilding" or reintroducing wolves in to Yellowstone National Park?  And what does any of this have to do with the question posed in the title, "Why does God allow evil?"

When I looked up "imagery of the wolf in the Bible", I was directed to http://www.zoocreation.com/biblespecies/wolf.html and a chapter of Wood's book, Bible Animals from 1875.  I found out more about wolves than I ever knew.  Sure, wolves are mentioned in Scripture, but indirectly.  No wolf ever attacked David's flock of sheep; where he writes of killing the lion and the bear, nowhere does it say he slew the wolf.  Similarly, lions are specifically mentioned as attacking Samson and other prophets.  We read of dogs that consumed the carcasses of Ahab and Jezebel.  Bears were called by the prophet Elisha and attacked the children who were mocking him for his bald head.

But in no case is the Wolf mentioned, except in a metaphorical sense; and this fact is the more remarkable, because the animals were so numerous that they were very likely to have exercised some influence on a history extending over such a lengthened range of years, and limited to so small a portion of the earth...Seldom seen by day, (the Wolf) lies hidden in its covert as long as the light lasts, and steals out in search of prey in the evening.  This custom of the Wolf is mentioned in several passages of Holy Scripture, such as that in Jeremiah 5:5,6: "They have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.  Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them."  In this passage, the reader will see that the rebellious Israelites are compared to restive draught cattle which have broken away from their harness and run loose, so that they are deprived of the protection of their owners, and exposed to the fury of wild beasts.

So the Wolf symbolizes evil in Scripture.  Evil is something the Christian should avoid at all costs.   But without the presence of Evil in this world, we, the Sheep of His hand, would forget the Shepherd.  We would wander off, and stay in the lush valleys, near the still waters.  Like the deer in Yellowstone, we would eventually grow fat and lazy, and would see the vegetation disappear and the banks of the river erode, so that the waters would eventually dry up.

So knowing that we should avoid Evil, but realizing that God allows it to be present here, we should hold on to the promise found in Romans 8:28, that "All things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."  Like the deer learned to avoid the wolf, we need to learn to avoid evil.  Like the wolf, evil has several traits that, if learned, can help us detect and avoid it.  As Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "If you know your enemies and you know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles....If you do not know your enemies or yourself, you will be imperiled."  So let us study the Wolf, and make connections to the Evil which we all need to avoid.

The Lone Wolf
A single wolf will not attack a herd.  But it will follow at a respectable distance, to study the herd, to learn their ways, and to search out their weaknesses.  We, then, should follow the scriptural admonition found in Hebrews 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."  You are less apt to be caught up in sin if you are involved in a Church, especially if that church teaches Scripture and encourages you to embrace Christ.

Nevertheless, even the most ardent believers, the most adamant church-goer cannot shake evil entirely.  Like the wolf, evil will follow at a respectable distance, waiting and watching for a chance to separate you from the pack and attack.  Be vigilant, my friend.

The Pack Attack
When hunting in a pack, wolves are bold, cunning and ferocious.  They will come together and strike at a herd of much larger, stronger animals, and they will not stop until they prevail.  They will always send a few to the outside perimeter, to cut off any who try to escape.  When they attack, they instinctively go for the parts of the body that are most vulnerable.  All of us have weaknesses, vulnerabilities.  If we find ourselves too far from the Body of Christ, we should beware.  And if we are in a Body that is under attack, we should look for unchecked sins.  Like God told Cain, who had just offered a sacrifice inferior to that of his brother, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:7).

In John 10:1-16, Jesus compares himself to a good shepherd, who watches over the fold.  If the wolves should come to take the sheep, he would rather give up his life that to let them succeed.  Contrast that with the false teachers, who are compared to bad shepherds; they are hired for money, but they have no interest in the sheep, and therefore will not expose themselves to danger in defense of the fold.  We need to make sure that the churches we join are shepherded by Christ, and good, strong under-shepherds (pastors).  If not, we are as vulnerable to attack as if we were not involved in church at all.

The Crafty Animal
Wolves will do whatever they can to avoid a trap.  In some instances, when they feel they are trapped, wolves have been known to "play dead."  Wolves prefer to hunt at night, under cover of darkness.  They are cunning creatures, preferring to steal upon its prey and take it unawares.

We should always be wary.  Matthew 7:15 warns us to watch for false prophets, who come appearing to be "in sheep's clothing", but are actually ravenous wolves.  The good news is that Jesus knows that there is Evil in the world.  Matthew 10:16 says, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."  He is there for us, there with us, willing to walk beside us through life's peaks and valleys.  He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but he does allow us to be tempted.  He knows that there is Evil in this World, and for good reason--so that He can show His power and love in a way that will benefit us.

Ultimately, He will take us out of this world.  In the Heaven He has prepared for us, he promises in Isaiah 11:6, "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them."

Sing sweet and low a lullaby till angels say Amen
A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem
While wise men follow through the dark, a star that beckons them
A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem

A little Child will lead them, the prophets said of old
In storm and tempest heed Him until the bell is tolled
Sing sweet and low your lullaby till angels say Amen
A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem

A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem
A mother tonight is rocking her Baby in Bethlehem

Temptation leads to idolatry, or victory

For no temptation--no trial regarded as enticing to sin [no matter how it comes or where it leads]--has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man--that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear.  But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out--the means of escape to a landing place--that you may be capable and strong and powerful patiently to bear up under it. --1 Corinthians 10:13 (Amplified).

The current sermon series at Gateway Church has been amazing.  Called It Is Written, you can access the sermons at http://gatewaypeople.com/sermons.  The first sermon in the series showed how, when Jesus had fasted 40 days and then was tempted by Satan, he always responded with Scripture.  It Is Written.  The three temptations listed in the Bible (there were doubtless many, many more) had to do with three basic human needs: Provision, Protection, and Power.  The Bible speaks to each of these needs.

The fourth sermon in the series, just this past weekend, takes up the theme of temptation.  But it all ties in to another concept: Idolatry.  There are a lot of stand-alone verses in 1 Corinthians 10, and many of them deal with temptation. But what struck me, and I guess that I had never seen it before, was that the entire passage from verse 7 to verse 14 talks about idolatry.  Verse 7 starts, "Do not be idolaters, as some of them were."  Verse 14 ends with, "Flee from idolatry."  So the whole passage invites one to read each verse with a new set of eyes, from a different vantage point.

All said, there are three specific temptations listed, "such as are common to man."  I submit to you that succumbing to any of these temptations is tantamount to idolatry--that is, putting something else in place of God.  We may not worship graven images, but we practice idolatry when we allow anything to have control over our mind, will and emotions.  Let's look at these temptations that lead to idolatry in more detail.

Sexual Immorality
This is the most obvious of the three temptations listed in this passage.  Yet it is the most prevalent temptation of our day.  We have more opportunity, and less accountability, to indulge ourselves sexually now than ever before.  But don't think this is a new problem.  Paul warned the first century Christians in Corinth to avoid being tempted, starting in the second half of verse 7 and moving to verse 8.  "As it is written: 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play.'  We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died."

There are two Old Testament references here, the first one from Exodus 32.  In the first, Moses had gone up on Mount Sinai to receive the commands of the Lord ("It is written on tablets of stone"), and Aaron was left to lead the people.  The people convinced Aaron that something had happened to Moses, and that God was no longer relevant, so Aaron made them a golden calf.  The people had a feast day in honor of this idol, and then after they ate, they indulged in pagan revelry.  In this sense, sexual immorality was practiced as a form of worship to this golden idol.

The second reference is from Numbers 25:1-18.  The men of Israel at that time lived among the women of Moab, and started intermarrying.  When the Moabite women set up their households in the Israelite cities, they brought their idols, their images of Baal, with them.  The men of Israel not only allowed this, but began to practice pagan rites, which included sexual immorality.  It's a very graphic description--Phineas the priest, the grandson of Aaron, went in to the Tent of Meeting (what was used as the center of worship before a permanent Temple could be built).  There he found an Israelite man on top of a Moabite woman, and he drove a spear through both of them.  Due to the courage of Phineas, and his willingness to stop the degradation of the Tabernacle, God stopped the plague that had killed 23,000 people.

Now, many of us today might have trouble making a connection between them and us.  We don't have temple prostitutes, we don't engage in coitus as an expression of worship to a god or goddess, and we sure don't have capital punishment for adulterers--or idolaters, for that matter.  But we do indulge in all manner of sexual immorality.  The Greek word used in 1 Corinthians was pornomea, the root of our word "pornography".  Pornomea involves more than sexual images; it includes lewd acts, lust and adultery.  The sinfulness of it is in our gratifying ourselves; putting more effort into fulfilling our carnal desires than we do in keeping our marriage vows, or keeping ourselves pure for our future spouse--not to mention pleasing ourselves over pleasing God.  Remember, idolatry is putting anything or anyone (including yourself) above God and his holiness.

Tempting God
1 Corinthians 10:9 says, "We should not test the Lord."  The Amplified Bible puts it this way: "We should not tempt the Lord--try His patience, become a trial to Him, critically appraise Him and exploit His goodness--as some of them did and were killed by poisonous serpents."  Before we get into the Old Testament reference here, let's go back and study what it means to "test the Lord" or "become a trial to Him" or "critically appraise Him".  When Jesus was on this earth, teaching and healing and revealing God to so many people who had never had access to God before, the one group of people who stood in His way the most were the Pharisees.  They were certainly the most critical of Him.  And in Mark chapter three, the had accused Jesus of blasphemy.  Jesus took up their argument and turned it against them.  "I tell you the truth," Jesus said.  "All the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (Mark 3:28-29)

When Satan tempted Jesus by taking Him to the pinnacle of the Temple and daring Him to throw Himself down, so that the angels would come to His rescue, Jesus said, "It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God."  Satan was in essence asking Jesus to put on a show, a circus act that would astound and amaze the people, but would not do them any good spiritually.  We do much the same thing when we wish for a ridiculous blessing: "If God really loved me, He would let me win the lottery."  This silliness can be forgiven.  But many play lotto with our eternity.  Many will say, "I know I should become a Christian, and some day I will ask God to save me; but not now."  Friend, you don't know what the future holds, or how many days you have left.  Don't tempt God, because pretty soon, it will be too late.

The Old Testament reference to the time when people were killed by poisonous serpents is found in Numbers 21:5-6.  In that story, the people of Israel started griping.  They spoke against God and against Moses, saying, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the desert?  There is no bread or water; and we hate this miserable food!"  On the small scale, they conveniently forgot that when they were in Egypt, they were slaves, and had to toil in the sun all day to earn their bread.  What they had now was freedom from slavery, and free food, provided by God Himself.  On the larger scale, what they were really saying was that God's plan was no good, that their plan would be better.  Again, this is idolatry--putting themselves in a position above God and His perfect will for their lives.  Much like the man who says he will trust in God some day, but not now.  He is essentially saying that he knows better than God what he should do with his life; that he would rather gratify his own desires now and put off following God, instead of bowing to God now and being subject to His will.  James 4:14 says, "Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow.  What is the nature of your life?  You are [really] but a wisp of vapor--a puff of smoke, a mist--that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]." (Amplified).

Complaining
The third example of a temptation that leads to idolatry is found in 1 Corinthians 10:10. "And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel."  This is possibly a reference to the sons of Korah in Numbers 16.  When God set apart the people of Israel, He gave the rights and responsibilities of the Priesthood specifically to the Levites, the sons of Aaron.  The sons of Korah rebelled against this hierarchy, because they wanted to be priests themselves.  God's anger burned against them, and as an example to the people, God killed them.  A great chasm opened up in the ground and swallowed them.  But instead of humbling themselves before God and seeking His will for their lives, the people complained.  "Those people put to death yesterday--they were good and godly people," they said.  "There was no good reason to treat them like that."  In essence, they put themselves on the same level as God; they put God on trial as if they were a jury of His peers (forgetting that God has no equal).

Here is what happened next:

The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  "You have killed the Lord's people," they said.  But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Glory of the Lord appeared.  Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the Lord said, "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown. --Numbers 16:41-45.

Moses interceded for the people, and Aaron gave a sacrifice of atonement for them, so the wrath of God was turned back, but not before He had sent a plague that killed 14,700 people, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.

Many of us today shake our heads and cluck sadly at the news headlines.  "That should never have happened," we may say.  "Why do good people suffer?  Why do the wicked prosper?"  We tacitly agree that if we were in charge, things would be different.  We would certainly put an end to suffering.  We would steal from the rich and give to the poor, take the wealth of the 1% and distribute it evenly among the 99%.  We would make things fair for all, once and for all.

And this, my friend, is the spirit of idolatry.  Deciding we know better than God.

Let me tell you something else, my friend.  But for the blood of Jesus covering us, God would have wiped us all out centuries ago.  Just like Moses stood between God and the people, just like Aaron offering a sacrifice of atonement for them, Jesus gave His life to atone for us, whether we know it or not.  The time will come, however, when Jesus returns to gather up the faithful, those who overcame temptation and shunned idolatry. And when He takes His church out of the way, there will be nobody there to intercede for you.  God will judge you on how you dealt with temptation.  Did you put yourself and your needs, your desires, above God?  You will be humbled, you will be brought low.  There is no denying it: you will be judged.

God has provided His own Son as a sacrifice for your sin.  If you are covered by the blood of Jesus, God will turn away His wrath, and will not see your sin.  Jesus will be your means of escape, and heaven will be your landing place.

In the distance I can see the storm clouds coming my way,
And I need to find a shelter before it starts to rain,
So I turn and run to you, Lord,
You're the only place to go,
Where unfailing love surrounds me,
When I need it most.

You're my hiding place,
Safe in your embrace,
I'm protected from the storm that rages,
When the waters rise,
And I run to hide,
Lord in you I'll find my hiding place.

I'm not asking you to take away my troubles, Lord,
Cause it's through the stormy weather I'll learn to trust you more,
But I thank you for the promise,
And I have come to know,
Your unfailing love surrounds me,
When I need it most.

You're my hiding place,
Safe in your embrace,
I'm protected from the storm that rages.
When the waters rise,
And I run to hide,
Lord in you I'll find my hiding place.

So, let your people seek you,
While you may be found,
Cause you're our only refuge,
When the rain comes pouring down.

You're our hiding place,
Safe in your embrace,
We're protected from the storm that rages,
When the waters rise,
And we run to hide,
Lord, in you we find our hiding place...
Lord, in you we find our hiding place.

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