The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. … This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. [Judges 2:11-12,14 (NLT)]
The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the Lord. [1 Chronicles 9:1b (NLT)]
At an elevation of 12,388 feet, the oxygen at the summit of Japan’s Mt. Fuji has two-thirds the density of oxygen at sea level. With an elevation gain of about 5,000 feet, the climb up takes from 5 to 10 hours and the descent down about 3 to 4 hours (not including time taken for much-needed breaks). Covered with snow most of the year, Mt. Fuji’s trails are closed from September 10 to early July because of freezing weather and hazardous conditions. Nevertheless, in April of last year, a 27-year-old university student attempted to climb to its peak. Unfortunately, his adventure ended when he had to be airlifted to a hospital because of altitude sickness.
It’s common sense that, if you get stuck on a mountain and need a helicopter to rescue you, you probably shouldn’t go back. Nevertheless, the same young man returned to Mt. Fuji four days later. Apparently, having left his mobile phone and belongings behind on the mountain, he hiked up to retrieve them. Fortunately, another hiker alerted authorities when he came upon the young man shaking, injured, and unable to move on the trail; once again, he was airlifted to the hospital because of altitude sickness!
That university student certainly was slow to learn his lesson; once should have been enough. His story made me think of Israel’s history as told in the books of Judges, Kings, and Chronicles. God clearly told them the rules—love, honor, obey, and worship only Jehovah and love their fellow man—and He warned them of the consequences of disobedience. God’s rules were as clear as the “Trails Closed” signs on Mt. Fuji. Moreover, unlike the guideposts that are removed when Fuji’s trails are closed, God made sure the Israelites always had the Book of the Law to guide them on their way! Nevertheless, just as the hiker was free to ignore the closed signs, the Hebrews were free to ignore God’s Word and engage in idolatry, immorality, apostasy, and other sins.
As a consequence of the young man’s willfulness and perversity, he came dangerously close to dying. As a consequence of Israel’s willfulness and perversity, God allowed them to be oppressed by their enemies. Eventually, they’d repent and call God for help. While I’m not sure about his repentance, I imagine the young man regretted his defiance of the rules as he lay on the ground nauseated, dizzy, exhausted, and struggling for breath. But, just as the hapless young man was rescued by paramedics in a helicopter once help was called, God always intervened and delivered Israel from their oppressors once they returned to Him. A time of peace and well-being would follow but, just as the young man failed to learn his lesson and attempted the climb again, Israel was slow to learn their lesson; they’d sin again and the cycle of suffering and oppression would be repeated all over again.
Time and time again, in spite of their unfaithfulness, God intervened to save His people and rescue them. Along with the consequences of sin, the Hebrew Scriptures tell the story of God’s divine grace, forgiveness, and patience. When we repent of our sins and turn back to God, He will be there for us! As for that foolish young man—I hope he finally learned his lesson. He was fortunate that another hiker found him and alerted authorities; next time he may not be so fortunate! Moreover, the local taxpayers (who bore the cost of his rescues) are not as patient and forgiving as God and they’re now looking into ways to make reckless hikers bear the cost of rescue!
Just as Mt. Fuji’s “Trails Closed” signs don’t prevent foolhardy hikers from ascending the mountain, God’s law didn’t prevent Israel from idolatry and other sins. Like them, we’ve been given the liberty of choice but that doesn’t mean we always will choose wisely. Nevertheless, it’s been said that mistakes are for learning, not for repeating. Unlike ancient Israel and that university student in Japan, let us repent when we err, learn from our errors, and not repeat them again!
But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint. [Edmund Burke]
Jesus clearly promises forgiveness of our sins but some people treat this gift like Monopoly’s “Get Out of Jail Free” card. In John Bunyan’s wonderful allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, we meet such a person—Mr. Selfwill. Confident in God’s promise of “eternal security,” Selfwill feels free to live any way he wants. Since David committed adultery, Rahab lied, and Jacob deceived, Mr. Selfwill reasons that he can deliberately do those things, as well. He thinks anyone who believes that Jesus has forgiven his sins has the freedom to sin willfully as long as he has some virtues to go along with his sins. Foolishly thinking his good deeds cancel out his bad ones, the unregenerate pretender deliberately sins.
When I was a girl in elementary school, the teachers would speak ominously of our permanent records. While the warning that Santa knew when we were good or bad only worked during December, a teacher’s threat of, “This is going on your permanent record!” scared us into obedience the entire year! I suspect elementary schoolers in the 1950s were more naïve than today’s youngsters, but my friends and I were convinced that each of us had a permanent record that logged more than test scores, grades, and attendance records. It listed every infraction or disciplinary action from kindergarten on through high school and beyond. Every time we used our outside voices inside, chewed gum in class, forgot the hall pass, passed notes, lost our lunch money, or were sent to the office, our transgression was documented for posterity. Passed from teacher to teacher and school to school, we suspected that permanent record might even follow us into “grown-up” life!
Last Monday, I referenced an article in Christianity Today by theology teacher Jared Dodson whose students wanted to know “when bad people will get what they deserve.” Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that bad people will get what they deserve while on this side of the grass. Nevertheless, if they don’t repent and follow Jesus, those people eventually will get their comeuppance. Scripture makes it clear that those who don’t know God and follow the gospel of Jesus “will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.” [2 Thes 1:8-9]
In Luke 7:36-50, we find a “sinful” woman anointing Jesus with her tears and perfumed oil. Taking place in Galilee early in Jesus’ ministry, this occurs at the home of Simon the Pharisee. During a banquet at the Pharisee’s home, a “sinful” woman carrying an alabaster jar entered. Remorseful for her sins, the uninvited guest fell at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and kissed His feet while anointing them with perfume from her jar.
Flawed people that we are, we want to play down our culpability before God by minimizing sin and thinking of some sins as less significant than others. We’d like to think if we avoid the “big ten” Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai that we’re good and righteous people. God didn’t stop telling us how to behave with those two tablets! What about the hundreds of commands we find in the New Testament? Can we truthfully say we do nothing “out of selfish ambition or conceit” while we do everything “without grumbling and arguing?” [Phil 2:3,14] Are we ever conceited, boastful, or envious? [Gal 5:26] Do we show favoritism or partiality? [James 2:3-4] How are we doing in the loving our enemies and praying for them, forgiveness, and self-denial departments? [Matt 5:22,44;16:24] Are we truly free of “malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander”? [1 Pet 2:1] Those sins are no less an affront to God than worshipping an idol or murdering a spouse. Every sin we commit damages our relationship with God.
