When Will We Ever Learn?
When all the waters turned to blood and began to stink with the corruption of death, they turned to the god of Hopi and sacrificed before it’s carved image made with hands and it did not answer. When the land was overrun with frogs and began to stink with the smell of death, they turned to the god of Heka and sacrificed to the carved image of a frog made with hands and it did not answer. When out of the dust came the plague of lice, they turned to the earth god, Seb and made a sacrifice to it’s carved image made of hands and it did not answer. When the land was filled with devouring flies and their crops were destroyed, they turned to an image made with hands and made a sacrifice to the god of Khejra and it did not answer. When all the cattle of the field fell ill and the land was filled with a great pestilence, they turned to the god, Apis and made a sacrifice to a carved image of a bull hewn with hands and it did not answer. When all manner of living things were plagued with boils and blains, they turned their hearts toward the god of Neit and made a sacrifice to the image made with hands and it did not answer. When hail, fire, rain, and thunder swept across the land, they turned their hearts to the gods of Shu, Iris, and Osiris and made a sacrifice to the hewn images of carved rocks made with hands and they did not answer. When a mighty swarm of locust swept across the lands making even the ground invisible to see with the eye, they turned to the carved god of Serajia and made a sacrifice to this image hewn with hands and it did not answer. When the sun was blotted out and darkness engulfed the land for three days, they turned to the supreme god of Ra and made sacrifice unto an image hewn with hands, and it did not answer. When the agonizing cries of the firstborn began to spread across the land, they turned to the god of the underworld, Apophis and gave sacrifice to a piece of rock hewn with hands and it did not answer. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have them, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat . They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. (Ps 115:4-8 KJV)
But somewhere beyond the cries of pain and death, having ears to hear and eyes to see, there sat a people in softened obedience to an Almighty God, eating a lamb under the covering of its blood. Patiently awaiting the passing over of a night of terror and looking toward the dawning of a new day. Ye are my witnesses , saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me, there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses , saith the LORD, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? (Isa 43:10-13 KJV)
When will we ever learn? When our marriages go astray, we turn to worldly marriage counselors, and we get no answers. When our children turn their hearts toward evil, we talk lectures upon emotional ears too young to understand, and we receive no answer. When New York and Paris flood our closets with their fashions, we turn to the talking pundits of godless media, and we receive no answers. When Hollywood calls and the fads demand we march to the tune of their beat, and we receive no answers. When we burn with lusts we surf with unfettered frenzy the world wide web of deceitful fancies and receive no answers. When anger rests in our bosom, we turn to alcohol and we receive no answers. When the wounds of the past rise up to declare their place in our lives, we turn to drugs (both street and pharmaceutical), and we receive no answers. When our nerves are shot we smoke a cigarette to soothe our tensions, and we receive no answers. When we do wrong we look at others and compare our choices, and we receive no answers.
When will we ever learn? I have heard it said and it is a true saying, that it took forty years to deliver Israel out of Egypt and then it took another forty years to get Egypt out of Israel! There is nothing new under the sun and as it was for them it is for us. Though we have been delivered by an Almighty God, we are yet consumed by the habitual habits of worship to false gods and their demands. When will we learn that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal? There is no intellectual way out of this and there is nothing that we can create ourselves that will be able to deliver us out of the hand of the fowler! There is no literal thing on this earth that we can bow down to and give obeisance and sacrifice to that can render us from the harvest of habits. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? As Naaman walked away in frustration at the simplicity of the message, we too seem to be looking for something outside that will soothe our hurts and pains. There is no doubt that Namaan, a captain of the Syrian Army was inundated with the customs of his culture. He used to the great ceremonies given to his gods. He was used to the pageantry associated with the sacrifices around his gods. The drum beats, colors, orgies, and the sacrifice of virgins and children to the gods of Syria were elaborate displays of glory to their gods. This was Naaman’s picture he brought with him to the door of the prophet’s house. In his polluted expectation, there is no doubt his mind swirled with a vaunted anticipation of what the prophet would do to bring an end to his demise as a leper. Surely, he thought, some great colorful display would take place before his eyes and the prophet would glorify his abilities as a prophet bringing the glory of his God down upon him and heal him of his leprosy. But it was not so and Naaman’s expectation was cut short and in his rage, he walked away… but he was still a leper. How many times have we been entangled in our own imaginations and knowledge that exalts itself above the knowledge of God? How many times have we missed the call of God in our lives because of pride? How many times have we missed doing the will of God because of how we felt or what we thought should or should not have happened? How many services are going to go by before we allow ourselves to give God the glory and simply place our will into His hands? How many times are we going to walk away mad at the preacher, mad at a saint, and mad at God? When will we ever learn that God will not allow the flesh to have any glory? Ever! That somewhere beyond the clamoring noisome pestilence of the gods of this world and the man-made attempts to deliver a needed peace, there is a quiet place to simply eat the lamb under the merciful shelter of its blood. And it’s there… there in the faint cries of the firstborn… there in the meekness of a grateful heart… we can learn and find the true answer.
