Destruction has come against the northern kingdom of Israel
and yet they have missed the message. They
have thought this was a human enemy and have vowed to rebuild with even better
materials. The reality is that it is the
Lord's doing that has brought them low and they will be lower still. The prophet says that everyone is godless and
an evildoer and every mouth speaks folly.
The leaders of the people, both the elders and the prophets are to blame
for leading the people astray but the people are not innocent, they know no
better but they should. They have what
they need to know the Lord for themselves but they have ignored the study of
the Word, they have left that to the professionals and they have arrogantly
ignored it themselves.
John's message was to prepare for the coming of the
Lord. His strategy was baptism for the forgiveness
of sins. His warning was the Lord was coming
to judge His people, and the only way to prepare was to deal with sin,
repentance, not just confession, but turning away from sin. John promised that the one coming was
mightier, one whom he was unworthy to serve in the most menial capacity. The baptism to come was the baptism of the
Holy Spirit. What would that mean to
John's audience? Would they have
understood that this was the fulfillment of the promise of Ezekiel and Jeremiah,
that they would get new hearts, that the law would be written on their hearts
and they would know Him for themselves, no longer dependent on others to teach
them?
Peter seems to believe that lust and sensuality are
problems. In some parts of the church
today such things are no longer seen as a problem but rather something to be
celebrated. Peter says these things have
always aroused God's anger and judgment and we are to live on a higher level,
above our desires. He notes several
times when God judged such things, the first being the angels, an obscure
reference for sure. Peter says that
false teachers will come and lead the people astray, just as Isaiah prophesied
in his own day. The solution is to know
and believe and keep the Word of God, simple as that, not re-interpret it or
wish it away. We have been given the
Spirit of God, let us ask Him to make all things clear to us.
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