I believe this is a Word of warning and encouragement for the people of God on the earth today, even as it was in times past. My comments are in (parentheses).
35But they mingled with the Gentiles And learned their works; (Todays Body of Christ is mingling with the people and practices of the world and satan. It is difficult to determine any difference at all in the character of Christians and non-Christians. Even within the walls of church meeting places we see displays of worldliness and demonic practices. How can we expect to have a stable world and enjoy the blessings and favor of God when we live our life in opposition to His rule in our lives?)
36They served their idols, Which became a snare to them. (Idols of wealth and prosperity, sexual pleasure, power and position, worship of personalities, pride and selfishness, witchcraft or manipulation, drugs and alcohol, and many more… This sounds shocking to some, but it is very prevalent in the church world today. We are to be in the world but not of the world. Our home is in heaven. We should not feel at home here on earth. Seek first the Kingdom of God and all else that we need will be given to us. Instead, many in the church seek this world and it’s demonic pleasures. It’s like when satan came to Jesus and said, “Bow down and worship me and I will give you all the riches and kingdoms of the world because I can give them to whom I please.” What did Jesus say? He rejected the offer, didn’t He? I think many in the church are jumping on the satan train and asking him to bless them with riches and kingdoms of this world.)
37They even sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons, (the great sin of abortion and the lack of Christian opposition to the practice. Also the open satanic sacrifice of children in rituals and the claims of ignorance and lack of Christian oppositions to it. More subtile is the practice of allowing the world to raise and indoctrinate our children through the world’s educational systems. This is a form of child sacrifice. It just takes longer for the results to come to fruition. We neglect our children so we can have more time to chase the world’s dreams and pleasures. The end result is our children are sacrificed on the alter of our selfishness and they end up rejecting God and spending eternity in the lake of fire. It is the parents responsibility to, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6”. )
38And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood. (The blood of the multiplied millions of innocents killed by abortion, child sacrifice and parental negligence to God’s Word cry out to God for justice. If you know someone contemplating an abortion, implore them to choose life not death. Share the gospel message with the unbelievers you find. Tell them to escape the coming wrath of God by believing in Jesus Christ as the Bible teaches. If you have kids in the demonic, worldly public schools systems take them out immediately and ask God to forgive you and train you how to educate your children. If you can home school, do that. If not there are many good Christian schools and co-ops available for your children and you.)
39Thus they were defiled by their own works, And played the harlot by their own deeds. (Whether by commission of sin or omission by doing nothing to oppose such sins the Body of Christ is guilty and are now reaping the consequences from God. Every nation in the past who has become like the nations of the world today were destroyed by God. Do not forget that Jesus said, in the last days it would be like the days of Noah. What happened in those days? God wiped out every human being except Noah’s family. And there were possibly more people on earth then than we have now. Billions of people killed by God’s judgement in the flood. Are we so arrogant to think and say we are any better than those people were. Only God’s grace can save us. Do not be deceived, those who mock God will be judged.)
40Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people, So that He abhorred His own inheritance. (This refers to Israel in the Old Testament but can also be applied to the Body of Christ today. When we ignore God or rebel against His commandments we will receive discipline from His hand. He still loves us and wants us to return to Him to be healed. But if we persist and refuse to repent His justice demands punishment for sin. 1 John chapter 1, tells us that those who practice sin continually are not really followers of Christ. They never had a real conversion and are still in their sins. Those who are truly born again by the Spirit of God will not practice sin, because they are born of God.)
41And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, And those who hated them ruled over them. 42Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were brought into subjection under their hand. (Today, all over the world Christians are under the rule of Godless men and women who have no regard for God’s justice and mercy. They openly mock Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. They advocate for every type of sinful behavior including homosexuality, pedophilia, and sex slavery. They deny people their freedom of religious expression, freedom of speech, the right of self defense, the right to own property, the right to disagree with government demands through public demonstration and more. We do not realize how good we have it until we get a terrible leader who rules unjustly over us.
This is a form of God’s judgement. He gives good governments to His people when they are faithful and obedient to Him, and bad governments when His people are faithless and disobedient to Him. He does this to make them see their sinfulness and repent.
So, what do we think about this? Do we blame the current government for all of the persecution and problems, or do we look at ourselves and our Christian communities and ask, are we opposing God’s rule in our lives? Are we in rebellion against God? Do we need to repent and return to our first love of Jesus Christ, and serve Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength? If we return to God, He will bless us.)
43Many times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And were brought low for their iniquity. (Just as God delivered Israel, he has delivered the Body of Christ many times through the past 2000 years. But we still openly disregard His commands and demean His character. Remember the period known as the dark ages, when organized religion was in control of a large part of the known world? Wicked men who were not true followers of Christ had taken control of the majority of the Body of Christ. During that time terrible things were done to the people of God and the pagans as well, all in the name of Christ. The name of Jesus Christ is still blasphemed around the world today because of what these imposters did during those decades of ungodly rule in the Church. This time of rebellion against God was ended when the Christian reformation happened in Europe beginning with Martin Luther in the year 1517.)
44Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, When He heard their cry; (He loves us and wants to deliver us again. Why should we remain in our present condition when God is waiting to set us free? Some of us are so bound up by sin that we can not even sleep well any more. We find it impossible to have close friendships. Our daily lives have become clouded and awkward. We are suspicious of everyone and everything. It is a miserable existence for a Christian who chooses to live in sin and rebellion against God.)
45And for their sake He remembered His covenant, And relented according to the multitude of His mercies. (If we will repent and return to our first love of Jesus Christ He will make everything new again for us. And he will restore whatever was lost during our time of rebellion. Do you remember the first week you spent with Jesus Christ after you were born-again / saved? Everything was wonderful, wasn’t it. You were forgiven of all sin and cleansed of a guilty conscience. You can have that again if you will confess, repent and return.
Our relationship must be maintained with Jesus Christ. We were purchased with His precious blood. He made us one with Him. We should spend every waking moment in fellowship with Him through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Prayer and fasting should be offered for all of His people, so they too can hear His voice calling them to repentance. If we do this, we will see God move and change people’s hearts. He will also change the actions of the ungodly leaders who control the world and they will be used to bless the Body of Christ instead of persecuting God’s people.)
We should never think or say that there is no hope of God changing our situation. He is our hope. He is our strength. He is our salvation. He is our future and He is our true King.
Save us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the ungodly, people who hate us. We give thanks to Your holy name, we triumph in Your praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD!
Pastor Chris Jones
Gospel For Africa