Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Revelation 18:8 closes with this absolute statement: “For strong is the Lord God Who judgeth her [Babylon].” God is all-powerful in all that He does, from His justice to His salvation (as we considered yesterday). Thus, the future judgment against Babylon is certain. We must not think, though, that all of God’s justice is far in the future, for He is always the same and is ever at work. Hosea 5 provides good insight into the activity of God. Verse 14 presents a word picture of His terrifying judgment (here, against idolatrous Judah in the 700’s B.C.): “For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away, and none shall rescue him.” When God gave Hosea this prophecy, its fulfillment was many decades in the future and pointed to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire. The results were very much like an attack by an apex predator. However, verse 12 speaks of a different form of judgment: “Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.” The damage done by moths is slow and, at the beginning, almost imperceptible. Romans 1:26a, referencing those who refuse God (verses 24-25), states, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections.” In simple terms, God permits their choice of evil living to continue and to consume them. As we await God’s promised final judgment (and, also, final redemption for those who trust in Jesus and for His entire creation – see Romans 8:18-23), we can easily see evidence of the “rottenness” of our culture. God’s giving “them up” is an inexorable part of His overall plan of justice. May we thus be exhorted to “lay up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt” (Matthew 6:20a).