God’s Righteous Acts

God’s Righteous Acts

God has entered into His rest, and He is not made restless by the ungodliness of the spirit of the times. Everything is in His hand, and everything has been determined before it happens. “If there is calamity in the city, will not the Lord have done it?” Amos 3:6. Everything He does is done according to the laws of righteousness and wisdom. When the Lord is angry, He is angry at the sins of man; but His goodness and mercy are hidden in His wrath, and He does that in order to save the person He chastens.

“I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.” Isa. 45:7.

The Lord said to Israel, “If you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God . . . .” Deut. 28:1-2.

Of course it was in the people’s interest to listen to the Lord and be blessed in all these various ways as it was promised to them, but alas, alas! Israel repeatedly fell away from the Lord and was punished, just as He had said. Sin had such power over them, and their fall was so complete that God could not continue to bless them.

Then Jesus came and crushed Satan’s power by overcoming all sin, and now we have the gospel of complete restoration and total liberation from all of sin’s and Satan’s might.

When we observe God’s unwavering, righteous manner of dealing with people, it certainly ought to produce fear in our hearts, knowing what we can expect if we do not, from the heart, receive His word and are obedient to it. Everything that happened to Israel is an example for us, “to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” 1 Cor. 10:6.

“Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Eccl. 8:11.

Even now the sentence against evil is being executed—though not immediately, because the Lord is longsuffering and waits to see if people will repent.

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation . . . .” 2 Pet. 3:14-15.

You can give in to your lust; you can listen to Satan. But know this: The sentence is waiting to be executed in your life if you do not, from your heat, repent. Repentance takes away God’s anger.

When you have accepted the calling of a disciple, you have entered into a covenant with God, by which He has promised to lead you. If you then live for yourself or are bound by the things of this world, God works to set you free from all this. If He cannot do it with goodness, He has to use unpleasant means in order, if possible, to lead you to repentance.

Remember Lot’s wife! Stop thinking about the things that you have seemingly forsaken. She had left everything behind, but her heart clung to it. They “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Heb. 11:3-16.