God and Proving His People
Reading in the Old Testament, Specifically Judges Chapter 2 there are verses which read:
verse 22 "That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not."
verse 23 "Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua."
I love here the word choice being "prove" which also means to Try or Test
I think how in order for gods children to have a choice when need the good and the bad. Also we need both influences to really exercise our freedom of choice. If there wasnt some sort of influence coming from both sides it would be a bit hard to be "tested" or poved in how we live our life, deciding on living in a way that follows god or not follows god. A similar verse I like that ties into verse 23 is in the book of mormon 1 Nephi chapter 2 verse 24
verse 24 "And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance."
Rebel is not just falling short of following god but its knowing god and choosing to not follow him even though you have the capacity to, It (rebelling) is much different then someone not following god because they are weak.
I think fear is a big factor with god dealing with his children. I think it is better to fear and do the right thing then to completely forget god and end up dieing not unto god. It seems harsh to think about intitally but i think that being scourged is desirable in the end rather then being left alone and comfortable,becoming rebellious, and ultimately not caring about following god.
verse 22 "That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not."
verse 23 "Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua."
I love here the word choice being "prove" which also means to Try or Test
I think how in order for gods children to have a choice when need the good and the bad. Also we need both influences to really exercise our freedom of choice. If there wasnt some sort of influence coming from both sides it would be a bit hard to be "tested" or poved in how we live our life, deciding on living in a way that follows god or not follows god. A similar verse I like that ties into verse 23 is in the book of mormon 1 Nephi chapter 2 verse 24
verse 24 "And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance."
Rebel is not just falling short of following god but its knowing god and choosing to not follow him even though you have the capacity to, It (rebelling) is much different then someone not following god because they are weak.
I think fear is a big factor with god dealing with his children. I think it is better to fear and do the right thing then to completely forget god and end up dieing not unto god. It seems harsh to think about intitally but i think that being scourged is desirable in the end rather then being left alone and comfortable,becoming rebellious, and ultimately not caring about following god.
Comments
Post a Comment