If you are joining us in reading through Isaiah and Jeremiah today’s reading is Isaiah chapter 45 and the devotion is taken from chapter 45:1-4. “This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.” One of the hardest concepts to understand is how God can use secular governments to judge his people. We tend to believe that we are better than others. You might think that because we have a personal relationship with God we should be protected from the interaction of those who don’t. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Romans thirteen were told that it is God who establishes governments. All throughout the Old Testament we are shown how God interacts with various governmental structures to judge the Israelites. The history of the early church clearly shows how God used Rome’s power to allow Christianity to be spread. The Medo-Persian Empire was used by God to restore the Israelites back to the promised land from which they been taken seventy years previously. God used the Assyrians to judge the northern ten tribes of Israel. He used the Babylonian Empire to judge Judah and Benjamin, and finally he used the Greek and Roman governments to pave the way for the implementation of Christianity. Because God is all-powerful we need to recognize that he is in control of the entire universe not just a Christian realm. He is the one who is the author of history. He is the one who moves great nations and tiny ants. The book of Colossians chapter 1 teaches that Christ is in control of everything because he is the creator. We need to stop thinking about ourselves being in a vacuum or being in a Christian or non-Christian world. God is in charge of everything and he will use everything to accomplish his goals. We need to pray for understanding when we see things that just don’t make sense. 5-2-2014
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 10:00:01 +0000
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