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IYAR 14

Judgment

 

“Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for a price. Yet they lean on יהוה, and say, “Is not יהוה in our midst? EVIL DOES NOT COME UPON US.” (Mic 3:11, emphasis mine)

 

It is always with amazement that I look at people who are so obviously ignoring and breaking the precepts of Torah, yet believe with everything in them that they will not be held accountable for the wrong that they are doing.  And truthfully, is this not the heart of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine?  In other words, “I said the magic words, recited the mantra, paid up my fire insurance, now I can do whatever I want with the assurance that my eternity is taken care of”.  What horrible deception!

 

If “what has been is what shall be, what has been done is what shall be done” (Ecc 1:9), then we should be able to study the history of Yisra’el, to learn from their mistakes, that we would not be in error, and fall into the same judgment – correct?  We can follow through the pages of the Tanakh (Old Testament) of the rise to prominence of the Hebrew nation, and their subsequent decline into captivity, and eventual dispersion.  The reason for their punishment: Disobedience to Torah, and to the Elohim who chose them from among the nations (see Deu 28:15; Jer 2:13; Isa 1:4).

 

According to our opening verse, the different classification of people mentioned believed that BECAUSE they were the elite, special and chosen people of Elohim, nothing evil or bad would happen to them, regardless of what they themselves did.  My perception of this scenario would be that there was no longer a real and necessary fear of Elohim, of facing the repercussions of disobedience and rebellion.  How can we, those of us who cling to the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and believe that we are grafted in, deceive ourselves into believing that this same punishment for disobedience does not apply to us as well?

 

“Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness [Torah-lessness]!” (Mat 7:21-22, insert mine)

 

“Because IT IS TIME for judgment to begin from the House of Elohim. And if firstly from us, what is the end of those who do not obey the Good News of Elohim?” (1Pet 4:17, emphasis mine)

 

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