No one likes being accused. If we are innocent, we feel robbed. If we are guilty we feel exposed. If we’re not sure, we may experience both. Some people, for this very reason, delight to accuse. Chief among them is the devil himself. He is the slanderer and has been at work from the beginning. His first false accusation? Accusing God of selfishly hoarding the knowledge of good and evil. Other people, however, accuse while disliking doing so. We don’t like stirring up anger in others. We don’t like causing embarrassment to others. We don’t want to do it, but are sometimes called by God Himself to do it. Chief among these is the Spirit, and through Him, the prophets.
The job of the prophet was to accuse. He was a messenger sent from God called to let God’s people know they were out of line. The only way I suspect I could have even been able to pick up such a mantle would be by remembering the goal. While Satan and his minions accuse to steal reputations and to drive the accused to despair, the Spirit convicts of sin. The Spirit led Peter, after he had betrayed Jesus, to come to Jesus. The Serpent led Judas, after he had betrayed Jesus, to take his own life.
God often sends calamity along with the message. In the days of Isaiah He sent the Assyrians as a warning, a call to repentance. God ordained that the Assyrians, a godless nation, would do damage to Israel. Before, however, that destruction could go too far, God called the Assyrians off. At the end of chapter 9 of Isaiah we see how Israel responded. They had faced calamity. They had suffered hardship. But they had escaped calamity. God’s message was clear. Repent. Turn to Me. Israel’s response was just as clear, “We will try harder. We will fight our enemies more vigorously. We will build our defenses more thoroughly. We have the resolve, and we will never again allow ourselves to face such danger.”
This, friends, is the response of death. The very reason God sent the judgment was to challenge their self-dependence. They responded by doubling down. This true account is given for our well-being. It is a prophetic message to believers. Whether we are talking about countless massacres in the culture wars, or our own battle against our flesh, failure is not a reason to give up, but neither is it a reason to grab our bootstraps and heave. If we have any understanding of the gospel we ought to know that what God wants from us is that we would acknowledge our dependence on His grace, on His power. He wants us to ask Him to go before us in battle, and to praise His when He brings the victory.
Self-reliance is how we ended up dead. Having been made alive by His grace and power, how foolish we are to try again. God is good. He is our strong deliverer.
Awesome message. Thank you.