The Walk Of The Nations
(5) The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (6) The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. (7) So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them.” Genesis 6:5-7
In the olden days, when Israel was still the chosen people of God, the world was in a mess. Some seem offended to speak of this, but we should be reminded that the world being in a mess was no new thing.
In Genesis six, just before God brought the flood upon the earth to cleanse it of its wicked inhabitants, God took note of the condition of things. He looked at the hearts of men and women and found them to be nothing like they were created to be. It was so bad that He had to bring a worldwide destruction to get it under control.
We look at the world today and, in our minds, it is worse than it has ever been. We fail to realize that every generation of people has believed the same thing. I can assure myself and you, that if it is in fact “worse than it ever has been,” we would have already seen another cleansing. It would not be with water this time, but there would have been another cleansing.
God’s Elect, the people of Israel, were a constant disappointment to Him. He loved Israel. He cherished her, but she was often evil just like the rest of the world. You hear words concerning her like, “she played the harlot”. Now, it doesn’t take an Eienstein to figure that one out. Israel wanted to be like everyone around her instead of being peculiar (different), as God had chosen her to be.
Evil is a presence. And, that presence beckons humans to join and be a part. It is intriguing and lures us toward it constantly. But, God gives us the power to fight it and live above it. The problem with the “nations”, is that the mind of humans often wants to dwell on evil. “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time”.
God finally tired of the nation of Israel and her constant rejection of Him and His ways and divorced her. When He did, He then took on a new bride, the church.
The church is not some building full of Bible quoters who sing a few songs, say a few prayers and go though a few worship rituals. The church is God’s Elect, His chosen nation. Just as it was with Israel, He calls us to be the reflection of His image into an evil world, illuminating a path of righteousness, justice and truth. It is the function of the church, the Israel of God, to save the world! But saving the world is more than baptizing those we can and bringing them into a covenant with Him. That is certainly on our to do list; but it is broader than that.
It is our responsibility to protect the world from the necessity of an “in time” judgement. God will and does judge nations. Not because everyone in the nation is not baptized, but because of the path it chooses. When the mind is on evil continually, God will bring a nation to its knees. We are to proclaim that truth and show a different view for the hearts and minds of men and women to follow.
We should teach and baptize as many as we can, but even if they refuse, the light that comes from the Elect of God can make a difference in the evil-level of the nation.
So, what’s the point? I know you are asking that about now. The point is, we must never repeat the behavior of Israel, His first bride. We will not affect the nation in which we live by our church going record. We will affect the nations by the light that comes from His bride. His glory should and will reflect from her into the nations; and that will make the difference. If we fail, so will the nations.
There will be evil until Jesus destroys it in the end. It will constantly be around us, but should not come from us. There is the key. Somewhere in the darkness there needs to be an Image reflecting light to guide the nations away from the dangerous paths of evil.
Therefore, the more of us there are, the more light there is to shine into the darkness. No wonder Jesus said for us to go to the nations and proclaim Him Lord and bring them into the superior covenant with Him. Makes sense to me.