But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. They post my sermons on the web and people listen to or watch me preach all over the world. His silence spoke more loudly than the foolish claims of his lying accusers. No buildings, streets, or hospitals have been named in honor of me. 28 who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built,, and of the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. . Fourth, Gods command seemed impossible to obey. The unbelievers, become confused, not remembering ever having the opportunity to serve Jesus. God had not yet told Moses what He was going to do, but Moses knew the Lord did not redeem the Israelites from Egypt to have them slaughtered. Acts 2:23 tells us that Jesus was delivered up, by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. There are so many amazing things in these few verses. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. God will surely judge all rebellion, secret and open. WebGod never does evil Himself. Eventually, Pharaoh decided to use the Jews for slave labor. Here are some examples: All of these people are unlikely choices to be used by God since they didnt truly know or believe in Him. WebThe Scripture teaches that God achieves His purpose in unbelievers. In 609 Judahs King Josiah was killed in battle against Egypt. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. International Standard Version. 1:8). Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. Literal Standard Version. WebThe Scripture teaches that God achieves His purpose in unbelievers. Thats where the judgment will come from. Its okay to be a nobody, if in all you do, you serve Somebody. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. Thats generally the way life is for all of us. Which is why they completely missed the Messiah when they stood right beside Him. ", Writing & Teaching Inductive Bible Studies. God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. In their very act of oppression, they unknowingly serve the glory of the Creator. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end. And He *said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. The total number of prophecies is well over 100. For this reason God purposefully led the wondering multitude to a place where there was no possible way of escape from Pharaoh and his army, humanly speaking. It was the tech team, the web master, the secretary, or whoever posted my sermon on line. Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Because God is utterly unimpressed by my rsum. When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. God asks us to do things we cant do, because it makes us trust IN HIM, not ourselves. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. We see this all the way through the Bible. They will be held guilty. They were the ones who asked for valuables from the people of Egypt, who were so fearful and stricken with grief that they gave the departing Israelites their riches, literally paying the Jews to leave Egypt (Ex. Though used of God to complete his plan, those who crucified our Lord were still personally wicked and godless in what they did. Judas served Gods purposes even though what he did was wrong and he ended up in hell. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). God commissions the invalid retiree to uphold dozens, even hundreds of missionaries on the field. This is the attitude of the evil heart in all ages. (see Matthew 27:5). Jump to Previous 14:11). But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. Do you merely profess Christ and trust in your religious habits to save you, or do you possess Christ in your heart by faith? We are saved by living faith in the Son of Godnot by outward religious observance. But they feared to do it during the Feast of Unleavened Bread because of the crowds that thronged Jerusalem. The Lord even tells Moses to do it, divide it! God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 5:14). We might be a life-hacking, productivity guru. When we reach a dead end in our own resources, God can part the sea of the impossible and get us through, but I digress. If your rsum is sparse, your intellect feeble, your skills unimpressive, and your wisdom just average, fret not. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. Until that man turns from his sinwhich in his case means acknowledging his behavior as sinand runs to the Cross of Christ he cannot be saved. But our God is mightier than any office or country. The book of proverbs also gives us insight into this. I was not a cum laude graduate. God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. Here is my answer: He allowed Judas to betray Jesus so that Jesus could become the Savior of the world. Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,read more.Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness. But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations. Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. So the Lord said, I have pardoned them according to your word; but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. In spite of all this they still sinnedAnd did not believe in His wonderful works. He is the preeminent insider who knew Jesus as well as anyone has ever known himyet in the end never really knew him at all. The Lord said to Moses, How long will this people spurn Me? Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts Also, be sure to stop by our prayer wall. Guiding our world whether we are able to see it or not. Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying, Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. The sheep representing believers who did Gods will and the goats representing unbelievers who do not do Gods will. He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. It doesnt mean everything will also go perfectly or the way we hope. Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice. In spite of our slownessand even sinGod will bless and use us to fulfill His purpose of blessing all nations through Christ, because of our relationship to the Father through the Son. They had been in Egypt under Egyptian task masters for 400 years. When God does something completely different and unexpected (Numb. So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. I think we can learn some great lessons by answering these questions. We live most of our days in Good Fridayenduring confusion, opposition, disappointment and the many tragedies of life. They were in an impossible situation with no way out. In 605 Egypt was defeated by the Neo-Babylonians at Carchemish. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. Questions? For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. God will use it even if you do not understand how. And that is okay. This brings us face to face with the doctrine of Gods providence, which means, A) God has a plan that includes everything that happens in the universe, and, B) Gods plan extends to the tiniest details of life, and. From the earliest days of Jesus life we find the Jewish leaders conspiring against him. God didnt need to have Moses lift up his staff. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). This is the grace of God as revealed in His merciful covenant. A God who can bring something good out of betrayal can be trusted to accomplish his work in your life. God knew that Pharaoh would change his mind about letting the people of Israel go and that he would pursue them to bring them back to Egypt. In Acts 1:16 Peter declared that the Scripture had to be fulfilled. He meant that the Old Testament predictions (he cites Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8) regarding Judas were bound to come true. God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Lesson 7 The Interpretation of Scripture, Lesson 5a Boundaries of the Doctrine of Creation, Primeval Chronology by Dr. William Henry Green, Lesson 8 Gods Special Providence & Miracles, Lesson 10 Assurance of Grace and Salvation, Lesson 2 Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience, Lesson 3 The Regulative Principle of Worship, Lesson 4a The Elements of Regulated Worship, Lesson 4b The Elements of Regulated Worship, Lesson 1 An Overview of Special Eschatology, Lesson 2 -The Great Tribulation of Matthew 24, Lesson 3 The Millennium of Revelation 20, A Guide for Small Group Bible Study Leaders, Defending the Biblical Faith by what God Shows Us, Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechsim, The Inspiration of the Treasured Word of God, Summary of the 45th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, The Holy Spirit In the Ministry of the Word, The Necessity of Biblical Love in the Believers Life, Keep Your Bible Skills Sharp and Ready (part 2), Keep Your Bible Skills Sharp and Ready (Part 1). God can use even you even me. It is only as we look back that we see clearly that God was there all along, working behind the scenes for our good and his glory. WebJohn 3:16. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. Gods plan included the time of Jesus deathPassover, the placeJerusalem, the opposition by the Jewish leaders, and the betrayal by Judas. This could be the begging of a time of great growth for the church. Egypt made his brother, Jehoiakim, the new king over the Jews. Everything else in the story fits into Gods plan: The crown of thorns, the scourging, the trials, Pilates testimony, his verdict of death, a man to help carry the cross, the place of deathGolgotha, and the moment of death3 PM, the time when the Passover lambs were sacrificed at the Temple. New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Those who read my words are in many different situations: May I repeat what I just said: He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. The Bible says, God was well pleased through the message preached to save those who believe (I Cor. In the providence of God, the betrayal by Judas actually advanced Gods purpose in the world. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. He uses believers and unbelievers. Our accomplishments do not justify our existence. 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. And how will they hear without a preacher? This is a true mystery, which we may explain in various ways but will never fully understand. The thing he values the most is dragging him down to eternal damnation. 12:35-36). God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Israel stumbled at the stumbling stone, the suffering messiah (Romans 9:31-33). Moses had great faith! They sweep through like the strong winds from the East gathering up captives that number like the grains of sand. Verse Concepts. Through one mans treachery, Jesus proves himself a man of peacenot a man of war. They mock authority and law, and believe that might makes right. They still look to their own strength and ability as if they were divine and answer to no authority above their own. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. For I work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you., Jeremiah also spoke of the same thing about which God warned Habakkuk. 2) If Jesus did descend into hell, why? So continue to trust in Him and you wont be disappointed. So while many American Christians worry about what will take place in the coming years I find peace in knowing that God can use even the most unlikely candidates to accomplish His will.