The idea of chastening comes up when we think about people
being corrected by God. As we have noted, Yahweh is not beating people up, and
if someone says that God is punishing people, then we have to ask which elohim (god) they are speaking of.
Yahweh however did/does chasten people, but Yahweh makes it well known to the
individual(s) being chastened. Yahweh is an approachable Lord, not a distant
taskmaster. Yahweh is a Lord who wants to be in relationship with you. Chastening
is teaching, instructing, and disciplining, but according to the Bible it is
only for those in a personal relationship with Yahweh. The issue of
administrations comes up here because at one time there was one nation (Israel),
and only one nation that was under Yahweh’s specific instruction. There are no
nations under Yahweh’s instruction today, only individuals, because the Holy
Spirit resides within people, this changes the dynamic of personal
relationship. As with any teacher/student relationship, there has to be two-way
communication. A teacher does not teach without students, and students are not
taught if there is no teacher. This is a key point that we will see in both the
Old and New Testament. There is no chastening for those not in relationship
with the teacher, and there is no chastening without the student being spoken
to by the teacher. Chastening is never a surprise. Remember Job’s friends?
In Job’s case, Yahweh never disciplined him because Job
didn’t do anything wrong. Job’s friends made Yahweh angry, yet they weren’t
beaten up, they were told to have Job make sacrifices on their behalf. That is
chastening. Moses, Jonah, Paul, and David were all told by Yahweh that they did
something wrong and they needed correcting. You will always know if Yahweh is
correcting you because he doesn’t keep it a secret, and the correction is for
steering you in the right direction. If you are being tested by the devil, you
will suffer many hardships without any explanation. If you fall into a trap
that the devil sets, Yahweh will tell you the punishment you will receive if
you have a relationship with Him. Today, Jesus chastens people, but it is not
with a heavy hand.
We looked at James last week. Sin gives the devil the right
to attack us, however Yahweh knows where we are weak. The devil is looking for
a place in our character to cause us to fail, Yahweh already knows our
weaknesses. Yahweh doesn’t have to test us or discipline us, but he does want
to teach us.
James 1:13 When someone is tempted, he should not say, “I
am being tempted by God,” because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he
tempt anyone. ISV
Yahweh is not baiting you into doing something wrong, the
devil is. Yahweh will tell you if he is part of your teaching and instructing.
There will be no guessing, or wondering. There will not be something bad that
happens to you that is a mystery as to whether it was Yahweh or the devil.
Yahweh will tell you very directly. Let’s look at a few examples of Godly men
who fell short.
Num 20:1-5 The entire community of the Israelis entered the
Zin wilderness during the first month. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died
and was buried there.2 But there was no water for the community, so they
gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 As the people argued with Moses,
they told him, “We wish that we had died when our relatives died in the Lord’s
presence! 4 Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness? So
we and our cattle could die here? 5 Why did you take us out of Egypt and bring
us to this terrible place? There’s no place to plant seeds, fig trees, vines,
or pomegranates! And there’s no water to drink!” ISV
Even after almost forty years of Yahweh taking care of
them, the Israelites were still complaining to Moses. It doesn’t seem that
anyone was thankful for what Yahweh had been providing. Moses and Aaron went to
Yahweh to ask what they should do.
Num 20:6-9 Then Moses and Aaron went into the presence of
the community at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces.
Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them.7 The Lord told Moses, 8 “Take the
rod, gather the community together, and then you and your brother Aaron are to
speak to the rock right before their eyes. It will release water. As you bring
water to them from the rock, the community and the cattle will be able to
drink.” 9 So Moses took the rod in the Lord’s presence, just as he had commanded.
So far, Moses and Aaron had done exactly what they were
instructed to do. But Moses loses his patience with the people and gets angry.
Moses was supposed to talk to the rock, but instead he sarcastically addresses
the people.
Num 20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community
together in front of the rock. “Pay attention, you rebels!” Moses told them.
“Are we to bring you water from this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and
struck the rock twice with his rod. Lots of water gushed out, and both the
community and their cattle were able to drink.12 But the Lord rebuked Moses and
Aaron, telling Moses: “Because you both didn’t believe me, because you didn’t
consecrate me as holy in the presence of the Israelis, you won’t be the ones to
bring this congregation into the land that I’m about to give them.” 13 Because
the Israelis argued with the Lord and he was set apart among them, this place was
called the Meribah Springs. ISV
Moses spoke to the people not the rock. Yahweh rebukes
Moses and Aaron, which means they both were angry and didn’t follow the
instructions exactly. By displaying their anger, Moses and Aaron were
portraying Yahweh as being angry with the people which was not true. Yahweh was
not angry but it appeared so by Moses’ and Aarons’ attitudes. They did not
consecrate Yahweh as holy in the presence of the Israelis, and so then Yahweh
says that they are not allowed to bring the people into the Promised Land. By
misrepresenting Yahweh they sinned and lost their opportunity to go into Canaan.
The devil didn’t attack Moses or Aaron, and both Moses and Aaron knew what was
happening because Yahweh told them.
David’s example is different. Satan tested David by
enticing him to number the people, so that he, David, “may know it “. David was
lifted up in pride to number the men who could fight. This is a very
interesting record when we read the words correctly.
1 Chron 21:1-2 Then Satan attacked Israel by inciting David
to enumerate a census of Israel. ISV
Next we see the elohim has an excuse to attack Israel. Who
is the elohim in this context? Is it Yahweh, satan, angels, or people?
1 Chron 21:7-10 God [the elohim] considered this behavior
to be evil, so he attacked Israel. 8 David responded to God [the elohim], “I
sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the
guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly.”9 So the Lord
[Yahweh] responded through Gad, David’s seer. 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is
what the Lord [Yahweh] says: “I’m holding three choices out for you: pick one
of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.”’” ISV
David first responds to the elohim, rather than to Yahweh
and his response was remorseful. Yahweh
responds through the prophet Gad. An elohim attacked Israel, we will find out
who, shortly.
1 Chron 21:11-13 Gad went to David and told him, “This is
what the Lord [Yahweh] says: ‘Make a choice for yourself: 12 Either three years
of famine, or three months of reversals as you are swept away by your enemies
while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days with the sword of
the Lord, consisting of pestilence infecting the land, with the angel of the
Lord wreaking destruction from border to border throughout all of Israel.’
Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me.”13 So David
replied to Gad, “This is a very bad choice for me to make! Let me now please
fall into the hand of the Lord, because his mercy is very great, but may I
never fall into human hands!” ISV
David is awesome, instead of the three choices for
punishment on Israel for his pride, David tries to negotiate a fourth option.
David wants Yahweh to kill him rather than harm anyone else. But that wasn’t
one of the choices. These are some of the curses listed in Deuteronomy
28:15-ff; so clearly, David would have known what the law, the schoolmaster,
said.
1 Chron 21:14 Then the Lord [Yahweh] sent a pestilence to
Israel, and 70,000 men died in Israel. ISV
Yahweh picked option number three. 2 Samuel 24 tells us
that Yahweh was angry with Israel but we cannot substantiate why that was the
case. The prophet Samuel did not write that portion of the book, and neither
first nor second Samuel appear in some copies of the Septuagint. What we know
is that Samuel died before David took over the kingdom and either Nathan or Gad
wrote the rest of Samuel. We don’t know if the Lord was truly angry with Israel
or not. We do know that Ezra wrote Chronicles, and his account is that satan
tested David. Now pay attention to this next verse. The elohim sent an angel to
destroy Jerusalem. Yahweh sent pestilence but the elohim sent a destroyer to
Jerusalem.
1 Chron 21:15 God [the elohim] also sent an angel to
destroy Jerusalem, but as he was about to do so [destroying it], the
Lord [Yahweh] looked and withdrew the calamity by saying to the destroying
angel, “Enough! Stop what you’re doing!” So the angel of the Lord [Yahweh]
remained standing near the threshing floor that belonged to Ornan the Jebusite.
ISV
The Hebrew does not use the words “about to do so” that is
a translator’s interpretational insertion. The text says “destroying or ruining
it”. Satan sent a destroyer and Yahweh stopped the destroyer. It may be that
the number of those who died did not all die due to the pestilence from Yahweh
but due to the destroyer from the elohim.
1 Chron 21:16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord
[Yahweh] standing between earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand
stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth,
fell on their faces. ISV
It is amazing what reading the exact words can do to for
the context. The plague didn’t stop, the destroyer from the elohim did stop.
Then David talks to the elohim.
1 Chron 21:17 David told God [the Elohim], “Wasn’t I the
one who ordered the census of the population? Wasn’t it I who sinned and acted
wickedly? Now as for these sheep, what have they done? Lord God [Yahweh
Elohim], please let your hand be against me and my ancestral household, but
don’t let your people be ravaged by plague!” ISV
David takes the responsibility for falling for satan’s
test. Yahweh tells Gad to tell David to
buy Ornan’s threshing floor and erect an altar.
1 Chron 21:22 David told Ornan, “Give me the threshing
floor as a site to build an altar to the Lord [Yahweh] on it. Give it to me at
its full price, so the plague may be averted from the people.” ISV
Yahweh tells David how to avert the plague. Obviously
Yahweh went with option 3, three days of plague, the sword of the Lord. And David
was able to stop it either within or before three days, as Yahweh would not
have continued the plague beyond three days.
1 Chron 21:25-27 So David paid Ornan 600 shekels weight
worth in gold for the site, 26 built an altar to the Lord [Yahweh] there, and
presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called out to the Lord
[Yahweh], and he answered him from heaven with fire on the altar of burnt
offerings. 27 After this, the Lord [Yahweh] spoke to the angel, who then
sheathed his sword. ISV
Now Yahweh’s angel puts the sword away. Elohim’s angel was
commanded to stop immediately, but Yahweh’s angel was allowed to continue the
plague until the altar and sacrifice was made. This is how detailed the Bible
is, yet we have always read the words elohim
and Yahweh as synonymous which has
led to much confusion. Sin allowed the devil to harm people, but Yahweh stopped
the destroyer, the angel of elohim. Yahweh’s angel continued the pestilence
until the burnt offering was made and then Yahweh’s angel put his sword away. Was
Israel doing something wrong? We don’t know.
Jonah is another example of correction by Yahweh. As we all
know the basic story of Jonah there are a few details to consider. Jonah was
hardhearted towards the Ninevites, and he did not want to go to Assyria. From hindsight
we know that Cyrus was a great leader of Assyria that allowed Jerusalem and the
temple to be rebuilt. But before that, Assyria would take the ten tribes into
captivity. Sometimes we are so shortsighted that we are reluctant and even
angry about doing Yahweh’s will.
Jonah 1:1-3Now this message from the Lord came to Amittai’s
son Jonah: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city! Then cry out in
protest against it, because their evil has come to my attention.” 3 But Jonah
got up and fled from the Lord to Tarshish. ISV
Jonah was going to go to Spain, west, instead of east. This
is comical as Jonah must have realized Yahweh knew what he was doing. I think
Jonah figured if he was far away from Nineveh that Yahweh would ask someone
else to go there to tell them about Yahweh. The other point we need to consider
is that Jonah knew Assyria would be a tool of correction for Israel and hoped
to change the future. Yahweh sends a storm to get the attention of everyone
involved in the trip to Spain.
Jonah 1:4-5 Then the Lord sent a great wind over the sea,
and a severe storm broke out. It seemed as if the ship were about to break up.
5 At this point the mariners became terrified, and each man cried out to his
gods. ISV
The sailors all called on their own elohim. Jonah was
asleep in the lowest part of the boat, so they woke him up and asked him to
call on his elohim. The sailors’ cast lots to see who could have done something
to cause this freak storm. These were experienced Mariners and they probably
recognized the difference between a regular storm and a storm with spiritual
significance. Although the sailors tried to steer, they could not.
Jonah 1:9-10 “I’m a Hebrew,” he replied, “and I’m afraid of
the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea—along with the dry land!”10 In
mounting terror, the men asked him, “What have you done?” The men were aware
that he was fleeing from the Lord, because he had admitted this to them. ISV
Jonah is swallowed by a fish that turned around back to
Joppa, and after Jonah prayed from Sheol, Jonah finally goes to Nineveh. The King
tells everyone to repent, but he doesn’t use the name Yahweh, but instead elohim.
This is interesting because the King either doesn’t know or doesn’t choose to
use the Creator’s personal name. Maybe Jonah didn’t tell them Yahweh’s name.
Jonah 3:9 Who knows but that God [the elohim] may relent,
have compassion, and turn from his fierce anger, so that we are not
exterminated?”
The King realizes repentance can save them. In the next
verse we see the word Aleph Tav show
up next to the first word Elohim. The
second elohim does not have an identifier next to it and all translations take
liberties with the text.
Jonah 3:10 God [Elohim Aleph Tav] took note of what they
did—that they turned from their evil ways. Because God [elohim] relented
concerning the trouble about which he had warned them, he did not carry it out.
ISV
The second part of this verse says: The elohim of the evil which spoke to do they not do. It’s a rough
translation, but we get the idea. Elohim is plural, so using “they” referring
back to elohim is accurate. The word “warned” is not in the text. The word
“relented/repented” is before the word elohim making it part of the previous
sentence. This elohim said he would do something to the Ninevites because of
their bad behavior. The Aleph Tav saw they turned from their evil ways and
repented. Pay close attention to the Kings speech, the Ninevites turned from
their evil and repented. The other
elohim of evil did not do what he was going to do to them because they repented
and he no longer had a right to harm them.
Jonah 3:10
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they turned 7725 š¹»û |
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and repented 5162 wayyinn¹µem |
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hu*r`h* the evil, 7451 h¹r¹±â |
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that 9999 |
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(Interlinear Transliterated Bible (TR Edition).
Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see
the full copyright page.])
This is a marvelous account of Yahweh’s heart for all the
nations. While satan is the god of this world who accuses everyone before the
throne of the one true God (Yahweh), He (Yahweh) made a way for these people to
get out from under the devil’s attack. Understand that the devil attacks
everyone, saint and sinner alike, but here we see the Ninevites were not
followers of Yahweh, making them a large group of people who the devil believed
he had a right to harm. The Ninevites were not being chastened by Yahweh, they
were about to come under the violence of the devil, but Yahweh stepped in to
help. The Ninevites didn’t have a personal relationship with Yahweh, so He sent
Jonah to speak for Him. Jonah didn’t care as much about these people as he
should have.
4:1 Greatly displeased, Jonah flew into a rage. ISV
Jonah was mad that the people had repented from evil? That
seems to be a very bad attitude. I like Yahweh’s response.
Jonah 4:4 The Lord replied, “Does being angry make you
right?” ISV
So Yahweh grew a plant to shade Jonah, then an elohim
caused it to wither. Then an elohim brought a harsh wind and Jonah, because of
the heat and sun, nearly fainted. Yahweh points out something very important
about Jonah’s attitude.
Jonah 4:10-11 But the Lord asked, “You cared about a vine
plant that you neither worked on nor cultivated? A vine plant that grew up
overnight and died overnight? 11 So why shouldn’t I be concerned about Nineveh,
that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 human beings who do not
know their right hand from their left, as well as a lot of livestock ?ISV
What a dramatic ending to the book of Jonah. Yahweh works
on and cultivates all humans. Jonah did what Yahweh wanted, he spoke to save
the city from an evil attack, but Jonah wanted them to be killed. 120,000
humans, probably because he knew that Assyria would lead the ten tribes into
captivity. Yahweh does care about the lost, all the nations, not just Israel.
The Ninevites were blind to who Yahweh was, and by what we see they didn’t use
Yahweh’s personal name. Yet look at the relationship between Jonah and Yahweh.
Yahweh is patient with Jonah, spared his life from Sheol, and corrected his
attitude. This is a very personal relationship that Jonah didn’t think the
Ninevites should be included in. However, we see an important purpose for Assyria
after the captivity, Cyrus sends Israelites back to Israel.
It requires a vital relationship in order to be corrected
and instructed. And in each of these cases, the people had a personal relationship
with Yahweh and they knew their correction was coming from him - in love. Moses
wasn’t afraid. David offered his life for his mistake. Jonah challenged
Yahweh’s ideas. They did not cower or hide, and none of them were confused over
what Yahweh was doing. We see satan entered into the picture with David and Jonah,
showing us that sin resulted in demonic attack.
Jumping to the New Testament, our understanding of
chastening is clouded due to opinionated translators. We see that people took a
lot of liberty with this next verse, probably applying their own theology where
it doesn’t belong. Young’s is a clean translation.
1 Cor 11:32 and being judged by the Lord, we are chastened
[3811], that with the world we may not be condemned; YLT
NT:3811 paideuo (pahee-dyoo'-o); from NT:3816; to train up
a child, i.e. educate, or (by implication) discipline (by punishment): KJV -
chasten (-ise), instruct, learn, teach.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's
Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:3816 pais (paheece);
perhaps from NT:3817; a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy,) a
girl, and (genitive case) a child; specifically, a slave or servant (especially
a minister to a king; and by eminence to God): KJV - child, maid (-en), (man)
servant, son, young man.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and
Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006
Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
This section (vs. 17-34) is in the context of the Lord’s
Supper or the Love Feast. The rich people were eating to excess and getting
drunk while the poor went hungry. The point is that we are to judge ourselves
so that we are not judged and corrected by Jesus. We are trained, educated,
disciplined, instructed and taught. Just like children growing up we have to
learn to use the bathroom rather than wear diapers our entire lives. This again
shows personal relationship with the one training us.
This is where we have to understand dispensations. In the
Old Testement, the dispensation of the Law was enacted because Jacob’s heirs
became a covenant nation with Yahweh. They had a personal Lord, Yahweh. They
were led out of bondage by their personal Lord, Yahweh, and everything about
their lives was to focus on Yahweh. They were to then teach the world about
Yahweh. They struggled. There are no other nations established on Yahweh as a
personal Lord. While many nations use Judeo/Christian principles for structure
and governance, they are not dedicated to Yahweh. As far as the United States
is concerned, 51 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were
known and registered Free Masons. If there was a covenant relationship with a
spiritual ruler at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
it would be in relation to the god of the Free Masons, not Yahweh. This does
tell us something. Israel may have personally failed, ending up in abominations
and desolations, but many of the social, moral, and hygienic laws spread into
other nations. Once the day of Pentecost came, there was no need for the
temple, or the religious laws because atonement is made through Jesus’ blood.
There is no atonement for sin other than Jesus. There is no temple today, Jesus
is the only atonement people can have. That is a change in the dispensation.
We have a great example in the life of the Apostle Paul on
the chastening from the Lord. Similar to Jonah, Paul had a personal
relationship with Yahweh, but he didn’t know the Messiah. Paul was doing what
he thought was right in his own eyes, he thought he was ridding the world of a
dangerous group of people. Paul had been in Pharisee school when Jesus was on
earth and all he had to go on was the opinion of other Pharisees.
Acts 9:1-9 MEANWHILE SAUL, still drawing his breath hard
from threatening and murderous desire against the disciples of the Lord, went
to the high priest 2 And requested of him letters to the synagogues at Damascus
[authorizing him], so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way
[of life as determined by faith in Jesus Christ], he might bring them bound
[with chains] to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he traveled on, he came near to Damascus,
and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, 4 And he fell to the ground.
Then he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me
[harassing, troubling, and molesting Me]? 5 And Saul said, Who are You, Lord?
And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. It is dangerous and it will
turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and
perilous resistance]. 6 Trembling and astonished he asked, Lord, what do You
desire me to do? The Lord said to him, But arise and go into the city, and you
will be told what you must do. 7 The men who were accompanying him were unable
to speak [for terror], hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul got up
from the ground, but though his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they
led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was unable to see
for three days, and he neither ate nor drank [anything]. AMP
The Textus Receptus (TR) and the NA27 differ on the text of
verse 5. The TR includes the words “it is hard for thee to kick against the
goad”, while the NA27 leaves that phrase out. However, when Paul recounts his
experience to Agrippa this phrase is included by both texts. This tells us that
it should be included, as Paul’s recall of the incident includes it. Modern
translations should have taken Paul’s testimony into account before erasing
this section. There is a reason why this is important.
Acts 9:5 Who said: Who art thou, Lord? And he: I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the goad.
Douay-Rheims
Acts 26:14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I
heard a voice in the Hebrew tongue saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you
continue to persecute Me [to harass and trouble and molest Me]? It is dangerous
and turns out badly for you to keep kicking against the goads [to keep offering
vain and perilous resistance]. AMP
Paul knew it was the Lord; it was the first thing he said.
Imagine, you think you are doing Yahweh a favor and Jesus stops you dead in
your tracks. Oops. How could Paul make such a radical change from persecuting
Christianity to extoling Christianity? While the correction came swift, he was
blind for three days but then healed. Paul spent fourteen years studying and
re-learning the scriptures before he went out preaching.
A goad is a pointed rod used to guide an animal in the way
it should go. Paul had trouble kicking the pointed stick that was meant to
guide him. Paul was rebelling and fighting against the proper way to go. An
animal learns what the shepherd wants by the prick, that is the way we also
learn, but again it is not a surprise, Jesus tells us exactly what we are doing
wrong. Like a herding dog that nips at the ankles of livestock to get them
heading in the right direction, we are well aware of the presence of the one
herding us. The Shepard does not beat the livestock with the rod, nor does the
Shepard impale the livestock. In fact Jesus tells us he is willing to leave the
ninety-nine sheep to search for the one lost lamb. That is the picture of
chastening we should have.
We see that this teaching and instructing is only for the
believer. While Paul wasn’t a believer on Jesus at that time, he was a believer
in the coming Messiah, he simply hadn’t heard about him until the Christian
movement started an uproar in Jerusalem. Paul immediately surrendered to Jesus’
will, asking what Jesus would have him do. Yahweh knows our hearts, and he
knows who is honest. Those are the ones he instructs. Look what Jesus tells the
lukewarm Laodicean Church.
Rev 3:19 Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell
their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and
instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and
repent [changing your mind and attitude]. [Prov 3:12.] AMP
We should be enthusiastic and repentant, because if we are
in relationship with Jesus he will guide us in love. We have to ask ourselves
how this message got so misconstrued. We see the tampering of the modern translators
in their attempt to lead us into thinking a certain way. But there is more.
1 Cor 14:33 For He [Who is the source of their prophesying]
is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. As [is the
practice] in all the churches of the saints (God's people), AMP
This verse is in the context of prophesying in the church
but look closely at the words. Yahweh is not a God of confusion or disorder.
That means there is a god of confusion and disorder, but it is not Yahweh.
There are plenty of folks promoting the doctrines of the god of confusion. Some
people would say that it’s alright to advocate that Yahweh is punishing us so
that we keep people in line. I would say that that is the office of the Holy
Spirit to convict the world of sin, it is not our job. Jesus paid the price for
our sin but we have to stop sinning. Jesus said this in speaking to the
Pharisees:
John 8:44 You are of your father, the devil, and it is your
will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires [which are characteristic]
of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks
what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and
of all that is false. AMP
A lie is fathered, or has an origination point. The devil
is the author of lies. Lies spread very quickly but the truth does not. The
promoter of lies knows how to spread falsehood and how to hide the truth.
Remember that the definition of the word apocalypse
is “the revealing of what has been stolen and hidden by a kleptomaniac”, which
means that one day there will be an uncovering of the truth. Since the devil is
the prince of the power of the air, it is natural for him to use broadcast
media to spread fictitious stories. The clear livelihood of a disciple of Jesus
is to find out if someone’s philosophies are lies. Lies also prosper the
promoters, while the purveyor of truth is covered over. Hebrews tells us of the
relationship of a Father and child.
Heb 12:3-11 For consider Him who endured such hostility
from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your
souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And
you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My
son, do not despise the chastening [3809] of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when
you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens [3811], And
scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening [3809],
God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not
chasten [3811]? 8 But if you are without chastening [3809], of which all have
become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we
have had human fathers who corrected [3810] us, and we paid them respect. Shall
we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for
our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening
[3809] seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained
by it. NKJV
Sin is the issue that allows the devil to harm us, but if
Yahweh wants to teach us he will make it clear and it will not be a mystery.
The chastening of the Lord comes out of relationship. There is a personal and
practical relationship that we are to have with Yahweh so that we are living
and behaving rightly. Like Paul, we might think we are doing the right things,
when in fact we are going in the wrong direction and the Lord will talk to us
personally.
So what do we learn from this? From Moses, we learn not to
misrepresent Yahweh, especially not to falsify Yahweh as angry. From David, we learn
not to rise up in pride regarding one’s position and or become prideful over
those in service to the kingdom. From Jonah, we learn that Yahweh loves all
people even if they will become oppressors and restorers. From both David and
Jonah we see an evil elohim who intends to harm as soon as there is an opening
and that by turning from evil and repentance, the evil elohim is stopped. From
Moses and Jonah we see a Lord who is patient and loving to all people and is
willing to send servants to help guide the nations. From Paul we learn that
even when we think we are doing Yahweh a favor we could be mistaken. All these
men were in communication with Yahweh, and Yahweh made known to them what they
were doing wrong. These corrections were not heavy burdens that they could not
bear but clear messages given in love. None of these people ever questioned
where their chastisement was coming from. So, if you have not heard from Jesus
regarding sin in your life that created a bad experience, then your bad
experience is from the elohim of evil who is also the elohim of confusion and
lies. But Yahweh wants a personal relationship with you. He wants to talk with
you. The greatest advice I have ever been given was that we can talk to Yahweh
and he will talk back. Start a conversation with him today.
