Asked
& Answered
Questions are a tried and true
instructive method. Asking a question is often the best way for the one
questioned to arrive at an answer. Any question that engages the
thought processes is a good exercise, especially when it results in the
right answer.
The biblical writers often asked
questions. One of the most critical had to do with God being present,
as a dynamic force, among his people. God have mercy on any people who
claim to know God, but NEVER experience his glorious presence in their
midst. Now to that most critical question proffered by the Psalmist:
“Wherefore should the heathen say, WHERE IS THEIR GOD?” (Psalm 79:10).
And in another place: “Wherefore should the heathen say, WHERE IS THEIR
GOD? (115:2).
The concern of the Psalmist for
Israel is a very real one. For when a PROFESSION is not backed up by
PERFORMANCE, even the heathen finally figure out the professor is full
of hot air! The prophet Joel expressed the same concern: “Let the
priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the
altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine
heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore
should they say among the people, WHERE IS THEIR GOD?” (Joel
2:17).
Joel points out a tragic truth: When
the heathen figure out that the God PROFESSED by a people is NOT
PRESENT to PROTECT them, they can be conquered, brought into servitude.
And those who lead them have every reason to WEEP over the impotent
state of affairs! The question asked by the heathen (Israel’s
surrounding nations) in OT days is, I believe, the same question being
asked by the nations watching America.
We claim to be “One Nation Under
God.” But where is the empirical evidence that God is present among us?
The recent hem-hawing, can-kicking deliberations of SCOTUS over the TX
abortion law are proof positive the God of creation is an unwelcome
quest in our highest Court. The same could be said of the WH and
Congress.
Now we fast-forward to the closing
words, the last verse, of Ezekiel’s prophecy, a futuristic look at
Israel‘s reputation AND reality when Jesus, her Prince, establishes his
kingdom on earth: “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and
the name of the city from that day shall be, THE LORD IS THERE”
(Ezekiel 48:35).
It’s one thing for a people to
self-proclaim: “The LORD is HERE.” It’s quite another for others,
outsiders, onlookers to proclaim: “The LORD is THERE.” The former is
subjective opinion; the latter an objective analysis based on
empirical evidence.
The question being asked by both the
Psalmist and Joel was answered by Ezekiel. The answer came a few
thousand years after the question; but it was asked and
answered. In practical, modern-day terms, the world is asking the same
question of the Church, those who name the name of Christ. We’ll know
REVIVAL has broken out in America when the question asked of local
churches, “Where is their God?” is answered by its neighborhoods,
affirming, “The LORD is THERE!”
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