Rev 18 Adultery and Idolatry

Rev 18 NIV
It is finished! The time of judgment upon Babylon the great harlot and upon those who committed adultery with her has come. 

So what's the difference between adultery and idolatry? Not much. Whenever we make a commitment to someone to put them first in our lives and then place other things before that commitment, that is adultery. It does not have to be a sexual liaison for it to be adultery. Football or fishing or gold or alcohol or drugs or money or  multitude of other things sometimes edge their way into our lives causing us to be unfaithful to those whom we have committed ourselves to love and care for.

If we say we worship the one true God and we put any of those same things that cause us to commitment adultery with our spouses before God and His perfect will for us, we commit idolatry.

Being reconciled, through the blood of Jesus to our Father, is about being in a committed relationship. God our Father committed His only begotten Son so that we might live in and with Him. God, the Son, committed His life to death, that we might live in and with Him. God, the Holy Spirit, commits us to be our help and our strength so that we might live in the presence of this perfect Triune God for all eternity. It's a pretty one sided commitment though. God desires that we should worship Him. He is faithful to us. Yet, we are not faithful to Him. We promise to be faithful and then we go off and serve other false gods committing adultery and idolatry as lovers of Babylon the great harlot.

The angel in John's vision warns us to come out of her while there is yet time; for when that final day comes neither the voice of the bride or the bridegroom will be heard in her again.

There are those who would judge that there are many and various levels of adultery and idolatry. That may be. But, I am not sure that God sees these many levels that humankind has concocted. If you dip just your foot into a cesspool you will still get dirty.

I am not sure if I know anyone who does not put themselves or others or things of this world before God from time to time. We are all idolaters and adulterers; forsaking the beautiful gift of reconciliation, life with our God, for reconciliation with the pleasures of this world.

Thanks be to God, that Jesus was willing to commit his whole life that even though we have turned our back on him; he did not turn his back on us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Mark 12:18-27 - No Marriage In Life After Death

Mark 12:18-27 NIV

Well, here is one tradition that I am glad we do not following: the widow marrying her late husband's brother! My brothers-in-law probably would not appreciate it, either. Not that I don't love them; not that I don't love my husband; but, here in my latter years, I have come to know a love greater than any love that is possible within the hearts of man or woman. It is the unconditional love of God for his children. It is the love of God for His bride, which is the church (all God's people). Isaiah (54:5 NIV) tells us:
"For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth."

The Sadducees were concerned about this world and wanted to dispel any notion of eternal life. They wanted to trip Jesus up regarding whether there would be a resurrection or not with a question about marriage after death. Of course, the Sadducees thought that when you're dead, you're dead. Jesus tells them that they are wrong on both counts. There will be no marriages between man and woman in the Kingdom and that there definitely is life after death. He tells them: "Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” (Mark 12:26-27) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been long gone at the time of Moses. Yet, God affirms that He is their God. The dead cannot love or worship anyone. Yet the great "I AM" is their God; therefore, they must be living. Makes absolute sense to me....

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 49 - Can A Mother Forget Her Child?

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me. (Isa 49:15, 16 NIV)

Most of us cannot even begin to consider that we might forget our children. However, the sad reality is that there are many mothers who do. There are many mothers who prefer not to have children and live as though they don't. Once, again, I consider that the court systems in this country still tend to give preferential treatment to mothers over the fathers. And... if and when the courts do grant a greater proportion of the custody of a child to a father or other person due to gross neglect or abuse by the mother, society tends to want to say that the courts were unfair - that they should never take a mother's children away from her. They need her. What they really need is a mother who will love them. She will love them as God loves her. She will put their lives before her own even as God was willing, in Christ Jesus, to give his life for us.

Isaiah 49 was read by me often when my own children were teen-agers and beginning to stretch their wings beyond what was good for them. Those years are long gone and I had almost forgotten the reassurance they gave me. Now, that I have grandchildren hitting those teen years, I suspect I should probably be reaquainting myself with these verses:

"Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste depart from you.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
“you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.

“Though you were ruined and made desolate
and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’
Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.
Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
but these—where have they come from?’”" (Isa 49:17-21)

 

God's Peace - Pr. J  

Solomon's Song of Songs 1 - God Is Sweeter Than Wine, More Fragrant Than Perfume

Song of Songs is a poem about love. It is a lot about the passion and love between a man and a woman. It's verses cycle from courtship through wedding to consummation. When I first read it so many years ago, it came across to me as a little racy. I wondered why it would even be included in the Holy Scriptures. The explanation I received was that it is an allegory of the love between God and His people, Christ and the Church, the Bride and the Bridegroom. It's been awhile since I've read it, so I will see what understanding I get from this reading.

It begins: "Solomon’s Song of Songs." (vs 1) The Song of Songs is attributed to Solomon and continues with the female oration:

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the young women love you!
Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers." (Song of Songs 1:2-4 NIV)

Is this woman truly in love or is she merely desiring something or someone that other women love, just because he is desired by others. Is it merely a case of what others have, I want? I'm afraid, to me, this sounds more like a young woman or girl lusting rather than in love. Or, maybe that is what is just a part of the dance of love. Are desire and love the same thing? Maybe, it is that they are just so totally intertwined that you cannot have one without the other. It is up to the individual to be able to know the difference between pure lust and genuine love.

On the other hand if we look at it from the view that this is an allegory of Bride and the Bridegroom (Christ and the Church) would it not be wonderful if we could all be so excited about being loved by God? For me, this ends up being a very weak allegory. The love of God is way more pleasing than any wine or the fragrance of perfume!  It is difficult, for me, to equate the joy that comes with being in relationship with God to that of pursuing a man. Let us see, what the rest of the book has to say. Keep reading... See you tomorrow.

May the peace of the LORD be with you now and through all your tomorrows. Pr. J