January 30
Ex 10:1-12:13 | PS 25:1-15 | Prov 6:6-11 | Matt 20:1-28
It all seemed so harmless. In fact it has happened so slowly that you might not even have noticed. In the movies and in television, years ago, there was a good guy and a bad guy. Fairly simple. You would root for the good guy, and wait for the bad guy to get was coming to him. But that all changed. At some point the bad guy had to be understood. Perhaps a little background story, a troubled childhood, some bullying, some mistreatment in school, etc. to make you sympathize for the evil entity they have become. What Hollywood has done so effectively has made you root for the bad guy. Though I never saw it, the highly popular television series, "Breaking Bad" justifies the main character's becoming a drug manufacturer and dealer because of his inoperable lung cancer and his desire to secure his family's future. The popular Broadway show, "Wicked" makes you root for the wicked witch, Elphaba, since after her new backdrop story, she was misunderstood. The same is true for the new perspective on "Maleficent", the antagonist in Sleeping Beauty, etc., more recently in the new movie "Cruella", the evil one in the classic "101 Dalmatians". What this has done is desensitize many to the distinction between what is good and what is evil. Good and evil are not relative, or up for opinion. It is not good or bad because I say so, or because you say so. Things are good and evil because God says so in His Word, the Bible. So when, the masses took to the streets in cities all around our nation and looted and burned and killed and terrorized. This is clearly evil behavior, and it cannot be justified away because of their background or because of their anger under the banner of social injustice. I don't really care about the background stories of Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin or Chairman Mao. They were evil murderers responsible for killing massive numbers of people. I don't think the families of those murdered care to hear about the reasons for the downfall of the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. Trying to understand evil does not lead to repentance, which does not allow eternity into heaven. It is a grave injustice to focus on the psyche and not the evil behavior. Evil behavior must be repented of, no matter why it was done, and that individual must humble him or herself before Almighty God and seek forgiveness.
Many try to explain away the actions of "bad" characters in the Bible. I have heard of people feeling bad for Judas, Pharaoh, and so many others. I have heard of some actually justifying them and almost blaming God for choosing them for these roles. God respects free will. This is one of the many facets of His love. He doesn't force or coerce. People make their choices, and they must own them. Circumstances happen to many, some will rise and be strengthened others will allow these circumstances to define them. We read in Exodus 8:15, after the plague of frogs, "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said." We read in 8:19, after the plague of lice, "Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said." Again in 8:32, after the flies, " But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go." I can go further, but this is not poor Pharaoh, being played with by God. Pharaoh, filled with evil chose to harden his own heart. So remember this when we get to 10:1-2, "Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”" In the Hebrew language there are two words for the one word, "hardened". One implies stubbornness and rebellion, which is the word used to describe the behavior of Pharaoh. He chose to harden his heart in rebellion against God. The other Hebrew word indicates "to make firm" as happens to clay when it is hardened in fire. This is the word used to describe what God did to Pharaoh. What this means is that Pharaoh made the willful decision to harden his own heart against God, and after some time God then chose to strengthen his heart in that decision. Again Pharaoh made the choice towards evil, God did not choose this for Pharaoh.
We make choices daily. We all do. Some good, some not. God has made Himself available 24/7 for us to come to Him in a spirit of submission in order to confess and repent of these wrongful and evil decisions. If we choose not to, and if we choose to explain these actions away, over time the decision is made to desensitize our hearts and to somehow justify what God has clearly called evil. Whenever the world calls evil, good, and good, evil, it furthers this process of desensitization. Those who sympathized and applauded those who rioted in the name of social injustice that destroyed lives, homes, businesses, etc. have blurred the lines of good and evil, and no background stories justify it. Those who push forth the abortion agenda in the name of "Woman's Rights" are on the wrong side of history no matter how they try to engender sympathy or justify their position. Every child in the womb was created by God, no matter how it was created. This does not intend to minimize some of the evil acts that might have led to that pregnancy. But the child in the womb that is exterminated is innocent and defenseless. Those who have risen the banner of LGBTQ and Transgender, and make what God has determined at conception into a choice of that individual as they mature have supported evil. Again, this is not my calling things good and evil, this is clearly in His Word. We, His created, do not have the right to call good what our Creator calls evil, no matter how heartfelt our reasons might be. This is why the whole counsel of God is essential. This is the purpose of the One Year Bible Challenge. By going through from cover to cover, there is no cherry-picking verses to make it say something other than what God has said. We can't use overarching characteristics of God, such as love, to contradict clear messages brought forth in Scripture. Unless you yourself, and unless you dispense this truth to your spouses, your children, your family, your friends and those in your mission fields, people will not understand what is good and what is evil from God's perspective. May we all pray for open eyes, open ears, and open hearts for such a time as this.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: