Lamentations 4
Children suffer under the judgment of God verse 1- 4
How is the gold become dim!
How is the most fine gold changed!
the stones of the sanctuary are
poured out in the top of every street
The precious sons of Zion – comparable to fine gold
how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers
the work of the hands of the potter
Even the sea monsters draw out the breast
they give suck to their young ones
the daughter of my people is become cruel
like the ostriches in the wilderness
The tongue of the sucking child
cleaves to the roof of his mouth for thirst
the young children ask bread
and no man breaks it to them
The rich suffer under the judgment of God verse 5
They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets
they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills
Judgment of God on Jerusalem greater than Sodom verse 6
For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
IS greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom
that was overthrown as in a moment
and no hands stayed on her
Princes suffer under the judgment of God verse 7- 8
Her Nazarites [Princes] were purer than snow
they were whiter than milk
they were more ruddy in body than rubies
their polishing was of sapphire
Their visage is blacker than a coal
they are not known in the streets
their skin cleaves to their bones
it is withered
it is become like a stick
Hunger is part of the judgment of God verse 9- 10
They that be slain with the sword are better than
they that are slain with hunger
for these pine away
stricken through for
want of the fruits of the field
The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children
they were their meat
in the destruction of the daughter of my people
Sins is reason for judgment verse 11- 12
The LORD has accomplished HIS fury
HE has poured out HIS fierce anger
and has kindled a fire in Zion
and it has devoured the foundations thereof
The kings of the earth – and all the inhabitants of the world
would not have believed
that the adversary and the enemy should
have entered into the gates of Jerusalem
Sins of the prophets and priests verse 13- 14
For the sins of her prophets – and the iniquities of her priests
that have shed the blood of the JUST in the midst of her
They have wandered as blind men in the streets
they have polluted themselves with blood
so that men could not touch their garments
People react to leaders verse 15- 16
They cried to them – Depart you – it is unclean
depart – depart – touch not
When they fled away and wandered
they said among the heathen
they shall no more sojourn there
The anger of the LORD has divided them
HE will no more regard them
they respected not the persons of the priests
they favored not the elders
No help found during time of judgment verse 17- 20
As for us – our eyes as yet failed for our vain help
in our watching we have watched for a nation that
could not save us
They hunt our steps – that we cannot go in our streets
our end is near – our days are fulfilled
for our end is come
Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of heaven
they pursued us upon the mountains
they laid wait for us in the wilderness
The breath of our nostrils – the anointed of the LORD
was taken in their pits – of whom we say
Under HIS shadow
we shall live among the heathen
Judgment on Edom verse 21- 22
Rejoice and be glad – O daughter of Edom
that dwell in the land of Uz
The cup also shall pass through to you
you shall be drunken
and shalt make yourself naked
The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished
O daughter of Zion
HE will no more carry you away
into captivity
HE will visit your iniquity
O daughter of Edom
HE will discover your sins
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. (4574 “delicately” [ma‘adan] means dainties, delight, food, refreshment, fine quality food, finery or delicious.)
DEVOTION: There is a difference between those who are rich and those who are poor. They wear the more expensive clothes. They go to the more expensive restaurants. They have time and money to do many things while on vacation. They go places that cost more money. When the rest of the world is concerned about paying for groceries they are not worried. Their cupboards are full.
When the stock market crashed in the 1930’s many rich people became poor. Some of them adjusted but many didn’t. Some committed suicide. Some gave up on life. Some turned to addictions.
People handle things differently. Some can handle being rich or poor. Some handle hard labor better than others.
Here we find people who were used to the better things in life losing everything. Their property is burned to the ground. Their finances are worthless. Their food is gone. They are out in the street looking through garbage dumps for food.
Our world is following the same path of the children of Judah. There was a God fearing time in the past in this country. People who weren’t believers were willing to allow us to worship in peace. They allowed us to state our beliefs without harassment.
Today everything is different. If you don’t believe the way those in power believe you are ignorant or prejudice or just plain phobic of some sort. The children of Judah were going away from the LORD and wouldn’t listen to anything that Jeremiah had to say. They thought he was wrong. They thought that he should either be quiet or they should kill him. They were not in the mood to hear different beliefs.
Now they had to deal with the consequences of their actions. Those who people of power and influence lost it all. They were going to die with nothing.
In fact, before they died they were going to be with all those people that they looked down on before the Babylonians arrived. They were part of the group. It was sad.
CHALLENGE: We should be the ones who appreciate either being rich or poor. We should be the ones who are helping those in need. We should be the ones who are not collecting possessions. We should be the ones who are willing to lose it all to follow Jesus.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of MY people. ((1310 “sodden” [bashal] means to immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes, boil, roast, or fry)
DEVOTION: During a time of great persecution these mothers would boil their children to eat. The children of Israel were under attack from their enemy and had nothing to eat and so they took their children and ate them.
How could any people get so low to let this happen. The nation of Israel had rejected the LORD and thought they could do anything and the LORD would protect them from all their enemies.
They were wrong in their actions and in their thinking. The LORD allowed them to do what they wanted but HE also allowed them to pay the consequences of their actions. It is sad to have those who had it all with the LORD turn their back on the LORD and think that HE would protect them.
Does this happen today? Do Christians act as they please and think the LORD will protect them for their sins? Sad but true even today.
There are consequence to our actions and if we are not keeping short accounts with the LORD HE will cause the same things to happen today as they did to HIS people in the Old Testament.
HE is longsuffering and not willing for any to perish but there is a limit. This is true of those who claim Christ but walk their own way without HIM until things get bad and then they want the LORD’S help.
CHALLENGE: The LORD is watching our actions today and HE will bless or judge us for those actions. If we want the LORD’S blessings, we need to act in a way that is pleasing to HIM.
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: 13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. (5030 “prophets” [nabiy’] means spokesman, speaker, or them that prophesy.)
DEVOTION: Jeremiah is struggling with all that is happening in his world. He is crying for the city of Jerusalem and the people who lived there. He had been preaching repentance. He wanted the people to stop rebelling against the LORD.
He was almost alone in his message because most of the other religious leaders were preaching that the LORD would bless them because they had the Temple. They were teaching the people that there would be peace soon.
Throughout history the LORD has sent his messengers to tell the people what the LORD expected of them. Those who were the true prophets of the LORD were one hundred percent right in their prophecies. Some listened but most did not. It has not changed. More are talking the wide road to hell instead of the narrow road to heaven.
In this chapter we find that the ones who are listed as the chief sinners are the ones who prophesy and the priests. The ones who were supposed to represent God were the worst sinners. They were to be the anointed of the LORD to prophesy truth to the people. They allowed the people to worship other gods. They allowed the Temple to be what they worshiped rather than God.
Jeremiah showed that most of the spokesmen were only in it for the money. The false spokesmen were the ones who were allowing the true spokesmen to be killed. Throughout the book of Jeremiah, we find that they are the ones who put Jeremiah in prison or in a cistern or wanted to have him killed. In this second book written by Jeremiah he is going through the grief process over Jerusalem.
Today we have many men and women who are in the pulpits of our country who are not given the TRUE Word of God to the people. They doubt that the Bible is all TRUTH. They don’t believe there are any absolutes. They instruct the people that the culture has changed, so the message must change. They put doubt in the minds of the people they are teaching. They are false spokesmen and women.
They are allowing people to believe that there is more than one way to get into heaven. They say that all people believe in the same God. There is only ONE true God. They will be judged of the LORD. The ONLY way to heaven is through Jesus Christ!!! The real problem is that they are leading people down the wrong path.
They are taking money that should be going into the spreading of the true gospel for a false gospel. Christians are being lead into all kinds of causes in this world but few are being led into witnessing and winning souls for the LORD.
FEW churches even have a visitation program to reach their neighborhoods for the LORD. Most churches don’t even visit those who visit them in a given week. The cults are not doing this. They are visiting every week.
Our first responsibility is to visit and talk to people about where they are going to spend eternity. Have we shared the gospel with someone this week? Are we occupying till the LORD returns?
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD to instruct you in the proper way to represent HIM in your world. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to the right people who will listen to your witness. Praise Jesus Christ for HIS death for your sins.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 22 The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion, HE will not more carry you away into captivity: HE will visit your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; HE will discover your sins. (1540 “discover” [galah] means to make known information that was previously known only to a few people or that was hidden or meant to be kept a secret, uncover, remove, disclose, lay bare, reveal, or uncover a confidence.)
DEVOTION: The children of Edom are descendants of Esau. They were against the children of Israel because they thought their descendant was cheated out of an inheritance. They have been enemies of the children of Israel since those days.
Now when the children of Israel were going into captivity to Babylon the children of Esau captured those who were running away from the Babylonians and gave them to them for captivity or worse.
There are people alive today who hate those who are genuine believers in Jesus Christ. They don’t like them witnessing in public. They don’t like their standards in dating and marriage. They don’t want them to influence the newborn babies that are coming into this world. They don’t want parents to raise their children to love Jesus.
All this is witnessed on our television sets each day. Our government doesn’t want our soldiers to honor the LORD on any basis. Our schools are trying to erase every trace of Christianity out of them while training students in other religions. It seems that we are living in a day and age that doesn’t want to have any recognition of our Savior Jesus Christ.
If there was an invasion and the ones coming in wanted to kill all Christians there would be people just like the Edomites that would turn them in to the invading army. God is going to judge those who move against HIS people back when it was the Israelites and even today.
CHALLENGE: Remember that the LORD is still on the throne. We are in HIS hands which are good hands.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sanctuary verse 1
Priests verse 16
Rejoice verse 21
Be glad verse 21
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 11, 16, 20
HIS fury verse 11
Anger of the LORD verse 11, 16
Kindled a fire in Zion verse 11
HE will no more regard them verse 16
Anointed of the LORD verse 20
HE will visit your iniquity – Edom verse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sodom verse 6
Kings of the earth verse 12
Inhabitants of the world verse 12
Adversary verse 12
Enemy verse 12
Heathen verse 15, 20
Nation that could not save verse 17
Persecutors verse 19
Daughter of Edom judged verse 21, 22
Dwells in the land of Uz
LORD will visit their iniquity
LORD will discover your sins
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Cruel verse 3
Tongue of the sucking child cleaves to the roof
of his mouth for thirst verse 4
Children ask bread and no man breaks it
to them verse 4
Iniquity verse 6, 13, 22
Sin verse 6, 13, 22
Shed blood verse 13
Polluted with blood verse 14
Unclean verse 15
Not respecting person of priests verse 16
Not favoring elders verse 16
Watch for vain help verse 17
Persecutors verse 19
Lay in wait verse 19
Heathen verse 20
Drunken verse 21
Naked verse 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Just verse 13
Deliverance verse 17
Anointed verse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Sons of Zion verse 2, 11, 22
Daughters of Israel are cruel verse 3
Daughter of MY people verse 6, 10
My people verse 6, 10
Nazarites verse 7- 9
Pitiful women verse 10
Gates of Jerusalem verse 12
Sins of her Prophets verse 13
Iniquities of her Priests verse 13
Wandered as blind men in the streets verse 14
Polluted themselves with blood verse 14
Elders verse 16
Our end is come verse 18
Anointed of the LORD verse 20
Daughter of Zion – punishment of your
iniquity is accomplished verse 22
Carried you away into captivity verse 22
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
4:21–22 The curse on Edom seems unrelated to what had preceded, but since it is part of the acrostic, it could not have been a later addition. The verses serve to remind just how bitter was the enmity between Edom and Israel. It was a rivalry that went back to their ancestors Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:23; 36:1; cf. Jer 49:7–22; Ezek 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Amos 9:12; Obad 10–16). Edom was located southeast of Judah in a region called here Uz (cf. Gen 10:23; Job 1:1; Jer 25:20; the LXX omits Uz). Edom refused to help Judah against the Babylonians. As a reward for their diplomacy and for help during the final days of the campaign (Ps 137:7; Ezek 25:12–14; Joel 3:19–21; Obad 11–14), Nebuchadnezzar gave the rural areas of Judah to the Edomites. “Rejoice and be glad” should be understood as derisive irony, i.e., “rejoice while you can; your rejoicing will be short-lived; punishment is coming.” The “cup” is a frequent symbol for God’s wrathful judgment in the Scriptures. Its origin may be the ordeal of jealousy (Num 5:11–31; cf. Job 21:20; Ps 75:7–8; Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 25:15–29; 49:12; Ezek 23:31–34; Obad 16; Hab 2:16; Zech 12:2; Matt 26:39). As a sign of restored divine favor, Zion (often used representing Jerusalem) was consoled that its punishment and exile would end. Edom could anticipate that its day of judgment lay ahead. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 484). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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21–22 The vain hopes were gone, and only the stark reality remained. To Edom (v.21), who stands for all the enemies of Judah (cf. Isa 34; Ezek 35), the poet says, in effect, “Rejoice while you can, for judgment is coming to you also.” The nakedness involved shame and revelation of sins, but it also implied slavery (cf. Isa 47:2–3). The consolation for Zion (v.22) was that she had received all the punishment she could (cf. Isa 40:2); there could be no more exile. (Ellison, H. L. (1986). Lamentations. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 729). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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4:21–22. Because of God’s covenant with Israel (Deut. 28–30) the people could hope for vindication. The last two verses in Lamentations 4 draw a contrast between Israel and her Gentile enemy Edom (see the chart).
Edom took an active role in promoting Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon (cf. Ps. 137:7; Jer. 49:7–22; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35). (On Uz see comments on Job 1:1.) Edom’s crimes against her “brother” Jacob (Deut. 23:7) represented the actions of all the nations that profited at Jerusalem’s expense. God had noted their actions, and would punish those nations for their sin, exactly as He had said He would do (Deut. 30:7). Though Edom rejoiced and was glad over Jerusalem’s calamity, the bitter cup would someday be passed to her (cf. Lam. 1:21–22). Drinking from a cup pictured being forced to undergo judgment (cf. Jer. 25:15–28). As God was judging Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day for her sin, so He would also judge Edom (and, by extension, all Gentile nations) for their sins. Jerusalem could look forward to restoration, but Edom could only expect judgment (cf. comments on Obad. 4, 15–18, 20–21). (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Lamentations. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1221). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Edom had rejoiced in the day of Judah’s calamity. The cup should soon pass to her. She must be made drunken and naked because of her exultation in the downfall of the city of God, and her manifold iniquities (ver. 21). The punishment of the daughter of Zion was accomplished. Restoration in place of captivity should soon be her portion, but Edom’s judgment was just about to begin. “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (Ironside, H. A. (1906). Notes on the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah (p. 346). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 22. The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion, &c.] In part in the seventy-years’ captivity in Babylon, and more fully in their present captivity; for, as has been observed, there are some things in the preceding account, which had a further accomplishment in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the distress of the Jews by the Romans. The Targum is, “and after thine iniquity is fulfilled, O congregation of Zion, and thou shalt be delivered by the hands of the Messiah, and of Elias the high-priest.” He will no more carry thee away into captivity; he, the enemy; or the Lord, as the Targum; that is, thou shalt no more be carried captive: this seems to confirm the above observation, that this chapter is a prophecy of what would be, as well as a narrative of what had been; and includes the destruction both of the first and second temple, and of the Jews both by the Chaldeans and Romans; for it is certain, that, after their deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, they have been carried captive, and are now in captivity. He will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; punish the Edomites for their sins, as is elsewhere threatened, Jer. 49:7–22; Ezek. 25:12; Amos 1:11 which was fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument; and may have some respect to the destruction of the Romans, when the Jews shall be converted, and return to their own land. The Targum, in the king of Spain’s Bible, is, “and at that time I will visit thine iniquity, O wicked Rome, which art built in Italy, and full of multitudes of the children of Edom; and the Persians shall come and oppress thee, and make thee desolate;” and so the copy used by Munster: he will discover thy sins; by the punishment of them; as, when God pardons sins, he is said to cover them; so, when he punishes for them, be discovers them; see Jer. 49:10. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 729). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah
It’s “Keep on keeping your mind immersed in God and His Word, all the time.” This is a discipline too few of us have mastered: the art of heaven-based thinking. Some call it the practice of the presence of God. (p. 119)
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The opportunist tells us we should look around. The optimist says we should look ahead, and the pessimist says we should look out. But God says we should look up – even when we feel down. (p. 119)
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Christians are not citizens of earth trying to get to heaven, but citizens of heaven making their way through this world. (p. 119)
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Instead of sitting around worrying about the stock market, housing, or unemployment, is there any reason, after all these thousands of years, for God to no longer protect us? Our security is not found in the things of the earth, but in our position with Christ, in God – where we are hidden. (p. 127)
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The president of a seminary founded in 1836 on the “infallible” Word of God says in a new interview she doesn’t believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, the power of prayer, a literal heaven, or miracles.
Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary in New York, made the comments in an interview with Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times for an article published Easter weekend. Although the author’s intent may have been to inspire readers, it also served to spotlight the leftward drift of many seminaries.
Union Theological Seminary’s founding constitution stated the seminary’s goal was to “promote” the “Kingdom of Christ.” Professors were required to affirm they believed “the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God” and the “only infallible rule of faith and practice.”
But as Jones made clear, the seminary is a very different school today.
She rejects a literal bodily resurrection of Christ.
“When you look in the Gospels, the stories are all over the place. There’s no resurrection story in Mark, just an empty tomb. Those who claim to know whether or not it happened are kidding themselves,” Jones said. “… Crucifixion is not something that God is orchestrating from upstairs. The pervasive idea of an abusive God-father who sends his own kid to the cross so God could forgive people is nuts. For me, the cross is an enactment of our human hatred. But what happens on Easter is the triumph of love in the midst of suffering. Isn’t that reason for hope?”
She rejects the idea that God miraculously heals through prayer.
“I don’t believe in a God who, because of prayer, would decide to cure your mother’s cancer but not cure the mother of your nonpraying neighbor,” she said. “We can’t manipulate God like that.”
She rejects the virgin birth.
“I find the virgin birth a bizarre claim,” she said. “It has nothing to do with Jesus’ message. The virgin birth only becomes important if you have a theology in which sexuality is considered sinful. It also promotes this notion that the pure, untouched female body is the best body, and that idea has led to centuries of oppressing women.”
Asked what happens when people die, Jones responded, “I don’t know! There may be something, there may be nothing. My faith is not tied to some divine promise about the afterlife.”
Asked how we can reconcile an “omnipotent, omniscient God” with evil and suffering, Jones responded, “At the heart of faith is mystery. God is beyond our knowing, not a being or an essence or an object. But I don’t worship an all-powerful, all-controlling omnipotent, omniscient being. That is a fabrication of Roman juridical theory and Greek mythology.”
When Kristof asked her if he can be considered a Christian after not believing in a virgin birth or resurrection, Jones answered, “Well, you sound an awful lot like me, and I’m a Christian minister.”
R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said Jones rejected the “entire edifice of orthodox, biblical Christianity.
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Bethany Christian Services, one of the nation’s largest adoption agencies, says it will begin placing children in LGBT homes in Michigan as part of a new state rule.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced in March a settlement with two same-sex couples that requires all adoption agencies that contract with the state to work with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender couples who want to adopt or foster a child. That includes faith-based agencies like Bethany.
That settlement ended a lawsuit by the couples – Kristy and Dana Dumont and Erin and Rebecca Busk-Sutton – who had tried to adopt through Bethany and St. Vincent Catholic Charities upon referrals from the state Department of Health and Human Services, the Detroit Free Press reported. Both couples were turned away.
Bethany’s change does not impact private adoptions or the organization’s work in other states, although last year Bethany made a similar change to continue its contract with the city of Philadelphia.
“We are disappointed with how this settlement agreement has been implemented by the state government,” Bethany said in a statement. “Nonetheless, Bethany will continue operations in Michigan, in compliance with our legal contract requirements.”
Bethany is located in 36 states and works in other countries, too.
“The mission and beliefs of Bethany Christian Services have not changed,” Bethany told LifeSiteNews. “We are focused on demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ by serving children in need, and we intend to continue doing so in Michigan.”
Nessel, a lesbian, fought to legalize gay marriage as a private attorney.
St. Vincent Catholic Charities is challenging the new state rule in federal court, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.
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RUGBY LEAGUE TO FIRE $1 MILLION STAR PLAYER OVER BIBLE VERSE POSTS ON HOMOSEXUALITY (Friday Church News Notes, April 26, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted fromChristianHeadlines.com, Apr. 16, 2019: “An Australian rugby star who makes more than $1 million per year is set to be fired in the coming days for posting a Bible verse about homosexuality on social media and urging his follows to ‘turn to Jesus.’ Rugby Australia said April 14 that Israel Folau was in breach of the players’ code of conduct and had 48 hours to accept the sanction or have the matter referred to a Code of Conduct hearing. The incident warranted ‘termination of his employment contract,’ the statement said. The meeting could occur next week. Speaking after church Sunday, Folau said he would not apologize for the Bible-centric social media posts on Instagram and Twitter and would be content walking away from rugby. Folau signed a contract in 2015 that paid him nearly $1.5 million U.S. per year. He signed an undisclosed new deal last year, and made at least one list as the highest-paid rugby player in the world. He plays for the Wallabies Australian national rugby team and the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby League. ‘First and foremost, I live for God now,’ Folau told The Sydney Morning Herald Sunday. ‘Whatever He wants me to do, I believe His plans for me are better than whatever I can think. If that’s not to continue on playing, so be it. In saying that, obviously I love playing footy and if it goes down that path I’ll definitely miss it. But my faith in Jesus Christ is what comes first.’ The controversy started April 10 when Folau–who is known for his Christian faith–posted an image on Instagram that referenced Scripture and read, ‘Warning. Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators, Thieves, Atheists, Idolaters. Hell Awaits You. Repent! Only Jesus Saves.’ He wrote next to the Instagram picture, ‘Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him.’ He also quoted Galatians 5:19-21: ‘Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.’ The post received 44,000 likes. The same day, he linked on Twitter a story about Tasmania allowing those ages 16 and over to change their birth certificates or to remove gender from the certificates altogether. He wrote: ‘The devil has blinded so many people in this world, REPENT and turn away from your evil ways. Turn to Jesus Christ who will set you free.’ That post gained 4,000 likes. Raelene Castle, chief executive of Rugby Australia, said Folau had been warned in the past about his social media posts.”
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Jesus prays that the Father will make His disciples fruitful and give them future glory.
INSIGHT
The mark of a Christian should be love. In Matthew 22, we read that the two greatest commandments are love for God and love for our neighbor. In John 13:35, Jesus says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In John 17:21, Jesus says if Christians have unity (based on love), the world will believe that Christ was sent from God. When our badge is love, the world is convinced that we are genuine disciples of Jesus, rather than hypocrites. (Quiet Walk)
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He Doth Devise Means
“For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.” (2 Samuel 14:14)
These words of the “wise woman of Tekoah,” spoken to King David concerning Absalom, his son, were wiser than she knew, for they reflect a principle of human experience that affects us all. Human life must eventually deteriorate and die; this declension cannot be reversed any more than water poured down on the ground can be “un-poured” up into the cup again.
This principle is the famous law of entropy (“in-turning”). Physical systems wear out; biological organisms get old and die; societies and empires fall and vanish. All these phenomena are local expressions of God’s universal curse on man and all his dominion (Genesis 3:14-19). It applies to everything, without exception.
However, the very existence of the law of entropy points to a Creator because systems that are wearing out must first have been made new, and beings that die must first have been given life. The very idea of a universal naturalistic evolution of all things into more complex systems is contrary to all real scientific data and is contradicted by all human experience.
Nevertheless, the God who created all things can surely “devise means” by which the law of decay can be set aside. Solar energy and the hydrologic cycle can raise the spilled water; the sinful life can be purified by God’s grace and the blood of Christ; and the dead can be revived by the resurrection life of Christ. Someday the Curse itself will be removed when God creates new heavens and a new earth, and the whole creation “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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